Tha Gift and The Future

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Tha Gift and The Future

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Written by Brandy Varnado

Thursday, 23 April 2009 19:07

With the ability to sing, rap and play basketball exceptionally well, you could say that Antonio Ramos is a tough competitor in the entertainment business. Clad with over thirty tattoos and standing six-foot-three inches tall he is not what you expect: an intelligent young business man. But rather than considering himself a threat, he calls himself Tha Gift.

Growing up in Richmond, CAserved as the catalyst to propel him forward. “It gave me drive, heart and discipline,” he says. Being able to escape the perils of poverty and ghetto life has given NIO Tha Gift a perspective on life that keeps him humble yet hungry. He’s a hustler who is determined to make something out of nothing. And at just 21-years old he is the CEO of his own company, SNF Entertainment, while other young men his age have turned to a life of crime. SNF is an acronym for succeed never fail and by sitting down with NIO you quickly come to know that this is his motto for life. “I take pride in being a man,” he expresses. And, according to NIO, the biggest part of being a man is knowing your purpose.

NIO admits that his life could have gone in many different directions, but as a man wise beyond his years, he yielded to patience and became a hip-hop artist. But the word hip-hop takes on a different meaning for NIO. He breaks down the word as this: Here I Present a Hero of Poverty. In the same way that he upholds his integrity as a man, he seeks to provide audiences with the same veracity as an artist. He is careful to call himself an artist and not a rapper. In fact, “I get offended by that term,” he confides, “an artist paints you a picture through words, gives you a visual. That’s what I do.”

But despite NIO’s gifts he still falls victim to the stereotype of a Bay Area rapper. Through his travels from everywhere to New York and China, he is cognizant of the perception of Bay Area music and rappers as “clowns, a joke”. This is mainly due to the over-publicizing of the hyphy movement almost three years ago. However, NIO is calling for a change in hip-hop that demands substance, creativity and virtuosity from its artists. Furthermore, NIO desires the industry, particularly its executives, to “force real music. If we can push the ‘stanky leg’ to people, why can’t we transition into something better?”

NIO’s unique viewpoint of the industry is a breath of fresh air and is in the same vein as artists like Drake, Kid Cudi and Wale, all of whom he hopes to work with in the future. “I want to work with those with the same goals as myself,” he says. However, he also believes, “I’m not out to tell another man’s story. I’m motivated to tell my own story. No one can duplicate me as a person.”

His assurance in himself as well as his passion for hip-hop music has landed him the opportunity to ghost write hooks for some big name producers, travel to China and perform and currently he’s working on his second album, H.I.P. H.O.P. The new album promises to be classic. NIO says, “It’s everything from 1988 to 1996. It has rhymes with reason and lyrics with lessons.” The album will not contain many features, but will showcase NIO’s vocal and lyrical talent. This May NIO will drop a mixtape album hosted by DJ Clinton Sparks entitled Slumdog Millionaire.

Without designing a timeline for himself, NIO hopes to stay relevant in the industry and work towards building a dynasty at SNF. “I just want to put my chess pieces in place so that I can yell out checkmate!” he insists. With a hustler’s ambition to find a way, NIO will continue to use his gift and make a place for himself in this industry for years to come.

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