Chances are you recognize Ant Clemons’ signature red beanie and his breathy, staccato singing style. They’re even stronger that you’ll know several of the songs he’s penned, like the certified platinum “Damage” by H.E.R. or “Hit Different” by SZA and Ty Dolla Sign. But you may not know much about Ant Clemons himself, even though the singer/songwriter earned a Grammy nomination for his 2019 album Happy 2 Be Here. Fortunately, we recently got a chance to talk with Clemons about his purpose, his career, and how he’s helping others with their mental health.
First, it’s clear Clemons has put in work and that the awards noms are more than warranted. Over the course of his short career, he’s collabed with the best of the best, including Kanye West, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, and Camila Cabello. Clemons is living his wildest dreams in a way that’s undeniably authentic and pointedly just for him.
But that kind of success comes with pressure. When asked about his journey, his music, his mental health, and how he holds it all, together Clemons’ explanation is simple. He operates with strict intentionality and a keen belief that God is orchestrating his every step along the way. His faith is how he maintains his peace of mind. It’s how he stays the course.
Growing up in Willingboro, New Jersey, music always played a big part in Clemons’ life. His sisters are both musical; one’s a DJ and the other is a fellow singer, so his interest in the art began organically.
“It was a small town, but we had the best time ever,” he remembers. “My mom would always cook. My sisters and I would always be singing and dancing in the house, and my dad loved to sing.”
Though initially a childhood hobby, music quickly became Clemons’ focus, showing him that he could build on his talents, while also providing him solace in times of trouble.
In fact, when Clemons’ parents divorced, he turned to music.
“I kind of knew I liked making music, but it was just something fun,” Clemons says. “When I started going through real life, I needed an outlet to talk about it. I needed something constructive. I was able to use songwriting to tell my story, and it started to become the thing I loved to do.”
That love would prove fruitful soon enough, but first it required a little push from the universe. While working shifts at a chain restaurant in New Jersey, Clemons remembers a moment God told him to move permanently to Los Angeles. So he did.
Once on the West Coast, Clemons slept on couches and floors and used every resource available to him, including help from friends who let him live at their place rent free. Those friends—Scott “Robot Scott” Carter and Aliandro “Ali P” Prawl—also happened to run a production company called Triangle Park, and only asked that Clemons write one song per day in exchange for a place to stay.
He laughs about that now.
“I was like, ‘What?’” Clemons says. “I was writing songs for free anyway.”
To Clemons, it was a win-win situation, free lodging for something he was already doing.
“I didn’t have a lot of friends in California, but the people I knew were more than enough,” he says. “They looked out for me. God was showing up in all these different places. I would have missed the opportunity of a lifetime by not being obedient to what God told me to do.”
“When I started going through real life, I needed an outlet to talk about it. I needed something constructive. I was able to use songwriting to tell my story."
Living and working in California led Clemons to connect with R&B singer Jeremih. In turn, Jeremih linked Clemons with Kanye West, leading to his biggest break yet. In June 2018, Clemons and West collaborated on the track “All Mine” from the Ye album, which changed everything. West even went above and beyond to make sure Clemons was properly credited for his vocals on the song.
“There were so many pivotal things happening in my life,” he says with a smile. “Kanye was this guy I’d been idolizing, and he saw something in something I did. You couldn’t have written a better fairy tale.”
Despite working with his idol Kanye, Clemons confesses he still felt like he was missing outside validation.
“I hadn’t had that moment,” he admits. “Rapping outside the radio station like Big Sean or going to New York like J.Cole, or having Jas Prince connect me to Lil Wayne like Drake. I thought my story hadn’t had any validation.”
To combat that, he realized he needed to go back to what worked in the past, shifting his focus from success to faith.
“I was like wait, ‘No, this is how it’s supposed to be,’” he says proudly. “What God ended up showing me was that life is made of a whole bunch of moments. A lot of people chase that one. You go for one moment, and you may be missing the one He needed you to be in that space and time. He connected me with Kanye and Kanye guided me.”
It’s that knowing—a deep-seated, core faith—that helps Clemons stay on top of his mental health.
And focusing on his mental health recently led Clemons to a different type of collaboration. During the past year, the singer/songwriter connected with The Jed Foundation, a non-profit that advocates for suicide prevention and the mental health of young adults and teens.
He knows that healthy mental habits can be helpful if learned early and that’s made Clemons an advocate for helping others learn about and maintain their mental health.
In fact, Clemons’ song “Better Days,” featuring Justin Timberlake, is an ode to just that.
The inspirational single, which gained steam after President Biden’s inauguration, broke the Shazam record for most Shazamed song in a single day. It was played nearly 100,000 times in a span of 24 hours.
“I feel like we all grew up in the past few years,” he says. “I’m very happy the world became a little more emotionally conscious. And if I attack writing songs with mental health in the back of my head, I’m now part of the solution.”
And Clemons doesn’t only preach the importance of mental health and emotional awareness, he wears it too.
While his red beanie has become Clemons’ trademark, it’s also his way of staying grounded and true to his roots.
He actually credits an old Mr. T. interview for inspiring his dedication to his red beanie.
“I remember watching a video with Mr. T., and he had a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of chains on his neck,” he recalls. “But his shoes had tears in them. He had tape all over these boots, and he said it keeps him grounded. That’s what my hat is. It reminds me of the times I slept on the floor and had nothing.”
“That’s what my hat is. It reminds me of the times I slept on the floor and had nothing.”
With everything Clemons does, with every song written and every studio entered, he keeps intentionality and a sense of gratitude at the forefront of his work. Knowing he walks in faith and is led by personal truth is his driving force and how he maintains a level head in the competitive music industry.
“You only have one you, and if you’re not taking care of your temple and your you, you can’t be the best you to anybody else,” Clemons explains.
Beyond his advocacy for Jed Foundation, Clemons looks forward to dropping another album and hopes to work with other phenomenal artists, like James Blake and Frank Ocean.
“I look forward to leaving my mark on this music thing,” Clemons says proudly. “I look forward to creating a space where people can come behind me and believe in themselves and believe in the calling on their lives.”
