Anthony J. Coleman’s (a.k.a. OG Ant; a.k.a. OG) rap journey started way back around 1989 when he started rapping at the age of eighteen. The only rappers out of Houston at that time were pretty much Scarface, who was a personal classmate of Anthony’s, and the Geto Boys; they were two of the biggest inspirations that got OG Ant started with putting to paper his own rap music encompassing what was on his mind, in his heart, and what he was experiencing. He watched Scarface start from the very beginning.

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The inception of having his own record label “Roc Solid” as an outflow of Hip Hop began back then, but the full-bodied manifestation of it became a dream deferred as OG Ant unfortunately went to prison at the young age of nineteen and was released at age thirty-three. The thirteen years of early adulthood spent in prison brimming with the magnification and rawness of human nature were both disheartening and heartening, both isolating and bridging, both too real and too abstract, were destructive but also formative.

 

Once released, OG Ant found a new faith and new love of Hip Hop. It took a lot of time for him to rediscover his footing in getting back into rap and to start up his business; but driven by the spark that rap kindled in him, OG Ant relaunched Roc Solid Music Group (RSMG) in 2006 and then again in 2012 after another incarceration. Having a vision for what their style of urban rap stood for, OG worked to create his own label and establish the RSMG brand. The name branding of “Roc Solid” grew out of word play at the core of how OG defines himself – although not perfect, persistently striving to be a solid person with the aim of being good and solid at whatever he sets as a target.  
 

Knowing firsthand from battle rap pop-offs the depth of untapped talent “in the streets”, OG Ant began to sign local artists onto the RSMG label. Not getting caught up in trends that come and fizzle off, RSMG prides itself on purposing to stay unique focusing on delivering “real” content, retaining a true love and affinity for urban rap, and staying “tuned” and “linked” into the streets. For OG Ant, RSMG’s true artistry flows out of “keeping it real with the streets” from which they come and overcome struggles – such as worrying about paying the light bill, guns going off in the neighborhood, getting incarcerated and moving back into a world that has left you behind, losing a job and dealing with the fear of losing your home, pink eviction notices taped to your front door, living paycheck to paycheck, dysfunctional families, waves of drug epidemics, dealing with lack, facing limited opportunities…He dwells on the origination of the word play on R.A.P. itself, “reality about people”, and that RSMG presents to its listeners the realities the artists have lived.  

 

For OG Ant, the music RSMG provides becomes a source of expression, therapy, catharsis, affirmation, and enlightenment while experiencing the ups and downs of life.