Local hip-hop artists bring conscious rap to peacefest

Saxophones and bass guitars are not often associated with rap music, but for Anthony Lucius, the two go hand in hand.

Anthony Walker, 24, of O’Fallon, is better known as hip-hop artist Anthony Lucius. He and his bandmates, Sebastian Crider, 22, of Belleville, and Travis Scott, 20, of Fairview Heights, add live instruments, such as saxophones, bass guitars, drums and piano, to their rap music.

Anthony, mainly a lyricist, creates his own beats to go with the rhymes. Sebastian plays bass guitar for Anthony and is also a composer. He writes sheet music for the beats that Anthony creates so that the other musicians can play along with the songs. Travis plays the sax.

When asked how he can create sheet music to a hip-hop beat, Sebastian said, “I listen to one beat at a time on a loop, until I can figure out the key. It may not be verbatim every time, but I try to basically capture the vibe of every song.”

Anthony and his musicians will perform from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at a peace fest on the Public Square in Belleville.

“I feel that people of a certain stance on hip-hop and they look at it as if we’re all rapping about materialistic things,” Anthony said. “I feel like when people hear me and hear the band, they’re going to have a new look on rap music.”

For more information on Anthony Lucius and his tour dates, visit Anthony Lucius

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 2:36 PM.