When you’re a producer in the context of film, music or any other creative realm, you’re a person who gets stuff done. Anthony Gillison, also known as Ant the Symbol, lives up to the title given his track record of seeing ideas through to fruition, and connecting people “for the greater good of the hip-hop scene,” as he puts it.
When it comes to his own music, he’s on a winning streak. The former St. Christopher’s student landed on the shortlist of the Newlin Music Prize, which honors the best album from the Richmond-Petersburg area, in two of its first three years. He also earned the title of best hip-hop artist or group in Style Weekly’s 2024 Best of Richmond readers’ poll. His latest album “Virginia Gentleman” features a slew of standout local emcees, including Radio B, Ty Sorrell and Chance Fischer.
But you’ll often find him directing the spotlight toward others. Shortly after he began crafting beats in the late 2000s, he started booking shows. In 2023, he was tapped by locally focused label Shockoe Records to curate the RVA Rapper’s Delight showcase, which turned the Hippodrome into a high-energy celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. A follow-up event took place at RVA Boombox during this year’s Richmond Music Week, and Gillison was thrilled with its collaborative atmosphere.
“It definitely was proof that there’s a
certain level of unity that we’ve never had before,” he says. “Everybody was talking to each other, enjoying all of the music, showing love to every artist that got up on that stage.”
Earlier this fall, he founded a new event called Open Minds Night—an open mic for rappers, singers and poets. All are welcome, from established artists trying out new material to new acts in need of exposure and networking. “I decided to do it on a whim so that everybody has a space,” he says.
Gillison also recently got married and had a daughter, so “boredom is no longer a thing,” he jokes. Just three weeks after the birth of his daughter, his Hourglass performance video was shown at the James River Film Festival. “It feels good to have [so much] support and reinforcement that everything that I need to do in life is possible at the same time,” he says.
