OAKLAND (KRON) — He grew up on the streets and had a promising rap career until tragedy forced him to rethink his life.
Now, an Oakland artist is releasing his first album with a new message.
KRON4’s Hermela Aregawi goes in-depth on Tuesday night. She sat down with the rapper known as A. Doulos to talk about his blend of hip-hop and faith.
43-year old Anthony Nelson says he’s living a life he would have never imagined years ago.
“The younger me, my whole mindset was different,” Nelson said. “I’m trying to figure out. OK. What next female I can hook up with? What’s the next get quick rich scheme? Do we got something that I can get high on or drunk on? My mind was so twisted.”
That was the 1990s when Nelson was known by his rap name Ant Diddley Dog.
He worked with some Bay Area hip-hop legends at the time. But personally, he was stuck in a vicious cycle of girls, drugs, and crime.
That was until 1996 when his close friend and partner-in-rhyme, Rappin Ron, was killed.
His love for hip-hop never died but his desire for the street life did.
“I’m just talking about a more purposeful subject matter, which is the soul of man,” Nelson said. “The redirecting of his mind and his heart.”
Nelson now goes by A. Doulos, the Greek word for servant.
The proclamation released last August is his first full-length album and features lyrics like this, “At first, I thought that my birth was a mistake, so I let earth dictate my worth, instead of his grace.”
Now a father of five, Nelson says his music is aimed at young people.
“That’s who we talk to the most…this is their culture,” Nelson said. “This is what they listen to.”
He hopes this will inspire them to focus on what’s positive.
“It’s OK,” Nelson said. “You don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed to do something that helps to preserve life, to build better homes and communities and stuff like that,” Nelson said.
His friend, Pastor Carlos Jackson, says Nelson has become a positive force in the community.
“Well, the new Anthony is socially conscious,” Jackson said. “And he is bringing positivity and hope to the community where the old Anthony took from the community.”
A. Doulos has been invited to South by Southwest this year and will perform in the Bay Area this spring.
He says, for him, it is a dream realized.
Nelson also has a barber shop in Brentwood he opened in 2014. It’s called KJ’s, which stands for Keeping Jesus.
The shop isn’t just a place to get a haircut, but it’s where a group of barbers mentor the young people that come in. And it is a place where throughout the year, they collect donations for struggling families.
A tour for his new album, The Proclamation, will kick off on Mar. 31 at Impact Hub in Oakland.