In The Spotlight | ‘Give the inspiration’: Johnstown artist uses rap music for expressing faith, ‘feelings’ – TribDem.com

Anthony Cromer, who goes by the stage name Tony Dahdonn, combines both his Philadelphia background and current Johnstown experience in the songs he makes for 1984 Music Group.

Cromer moved from Philly to Cambria County about 12 years ago.

“I came here where there’s a little bit of people and I can actually get a lot of things accomplished,” he said.

He started 1984 Music Group – named after the year he was born – and has drawn upon his early days when rapping.

“I found myself going back to my actual younger side,” Cromer said. “I started digging into some of the things that I couldn’t tell my parents, that I couldn’t tell people in the streets, I couldn’t tell in the school growing up.

“I always had trouble growing up with expressing my feelings and not being able to talk about what’s going on with me or anything I’m thinking about. So I decided to put it into my music.”

Cromer described God as the foundation for his work.

“It’s always leading with church,” he said. “If you have a choir and you can sing in the church, you can generate music out of anything. Just create your sound, create your beat, and then you create your lyrics, create your hook, and you have a complete song within not even an hour.” 

‘Rapping about … life’

He is the cousin of Stephanie Mills, a Broadway star and Grammy-winning R&B singer.

“She’s the queen of soul, so I’m actually trying to follow the footsteps that’s in my heart as far as music-wise,” Cromer said.

“I thought it would have been soul, or R&B or something. But actually it combined with everything.

“I just started studying a lot of different music genres and different artists and people that actually want to give the inspiration to the world, through what they make their music about, as far as their life. I love rapping about my life and things I’ve been through and overcame.”

Recently, Cromer has found himself inspired by events taking place across the nation – and locally – following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was recorded losing consciousness while a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. The incident sparked protests across the United States, including a demonstration in Johnstown that about 500 people attended.

The events have “actually affected me a lot” and “given me something to say.”

“I try to take it all in as gaining knowledge and gaining more of what to write about,” Cromer said. “Hopefully, Johnstown – we actually can come together. There’s not much racism here. I’ve been here over a decade. There’s not been much racism.

“They’ve been screaming at police and trying to get them out of here and things like that. The police have been fine with me. I’ve never had a run-in with the police here yet. Hopefully it will keep on sending a message to everybody here in town.” 

Encouraging others

Cromer does most of his writing in the basement of his apartment in Johnstown’s Woodvale neighborhood and then records at a local studio.

His songs, “1984,” “Black Angels,” “Things U Hate” and more, are posted at soundcloud.com/tonydahdonn.

He also performs locally, including at last month’s “grow-test” event in Central Park that was in support of allowing medical marijuana users to raise their own plants, as opposed to being required to purchase cannabis from dispensaries.

Along with making his own music, Cromer supports other local performers, trying to encourage young musicians.

“I see myself in teenagers growing up,” Cromer said, “anywhere from 30 on down, I see myself.”