SEASON FINALE: Artist Spotlight: Making It Count w/Anthony BUSS Nelson

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Hey, hey, hey, Podcast Nation. It is your girl, Kandidly Kristen, and this is the Kandid Shop, your number-one destination for Kandid conversations. If you're new here, welcome. And if you're a regular listener, welcome back and thanks for your support.

So y'all, today I am sitting down for a very special Artist Spotlight chat with the dopest up-and-coming rap artist on the scene, and my bonus son, Mr. Anthony Nelson, a.k.a. BUSS. So if you've heard my show before, you've already heard this young man's talented flow, since he is the genius and voice behind the amazing musical intro that precedes all my episodes. It is with immense pleasure and a whole lot of pride that I welcome Anthony Nelson, or Buss, to the Kandid Shop. Welcome, welcome, welcome, Buss to the Kandid Shot.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : It's my pleasure, it's my pleasure, it's my pleasure.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Oh my, listen, it's been way too long. You do, when you gave me that intro, what, it's now like three years ago and then you redid it. I was like, I ain't never changing my intro. This is so fire. I've been looking forward to having you on the show. So let's just get into it.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : It's been that long, three years since the intro?

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : Wow. That sounds good.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: It does. Everybody be like, your intro is really dope. I'm like, I know.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : I like most the way you come off the intro with the introduction to the artist. It sets the stage well.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm trying. It's trial and error with this thing. So first of all, I need you to tell all the folks out there where you got the name Bus from.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : I got that name from my brothers, man. Growing up, I was a kid who would just do anything. I'll take any dare. I'll do anything for a couple of dollars here and there. So they asked me to do the craziest things and I would do it. And I guess over time, the nickname came. I don't know. You got to ask them for the actual detail. But I just know it came to me as a kid. And I stuck with me. And then people heard about it in high school. It was over after that.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: OK, and I just want y'all to know out there it's Buss with two S's, OK? Two S's. Got it. Got to be two S's. Got to be two S's. So listen, Buss, talk to me about how you started in this industry and what was your inspiration to, you know, pursue a career in rap? Yeah. Where'd that come from?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : Man, I think it's honestly in my blood, but I would say my brothers, they was rapping before me. They're about five, 10 years older than me. So I seen them rapping, going, performing, going to the studio, downstairs in a basement, making music, making beats. And I just always thought it was dope how you could put words together like that and have people, you know, sing along with it. and them songs be impactful. So I used to make the beats for them. And then one day, they let me rap a verse. And this was probably 2007, I probably wrote my first verse.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Okay, and it was over.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : And then after that, I just fell in love with it for myself. And then here we are today.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Here we are today. So let's go back, back, back a little bit to your true elite days. Talk to me about that group and why you decided to strike out on your own and just do your own thing.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : Yeah, my brothers, man, they laid that foundation for me musically. So it was a group. It was me and my two older brothers. And we also had a singer, but he departed later on. But for the most part, it was me and my two older brothers. We were three rappers, three brothers, three Christians, and we just fell in love with music and trying to find a way to relate to, you know, people who look like us with the same hope that and the same faith that we have. So we decided, well, God put it in us that music was the best route. He blessed us with that gift. And then as life went on, you know, as I got older and I fell in love with the craft more, more so for myself, like I said earlier, my brothers, you know, they started having families. They started getting married, having kids, and then time just became a factor. You know, I was getting older. I was trying to, you know, really go. And, you know, time became a factor, and then they gave me the blessing to keep it going. So, you know, if it was in God's will, I'm going to just keep it going, carrying the torch and being impactful any way I can.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Clearly it has. So take me through your process, your creative process. How do you select the beats, develop the lyrics, which comes first, the music or the words? What's your process like?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : It's all different, honestly. It's all different. Man, I say if ideally I like to sit down and listen to beats first, I probably go through about 50 beats before I actually find one that I like. I'm so picky on beats because I feel like beats is the first step to a good song. That's the first thing the listener going to hear is when you press play, they're going to hear that instrument, they're going to hear that melody, they're going to hear that drum. So I think it's important that that's taken seriously with a high standard. So I would say I like to listen to the beats first. But there's also times where I got verses pre-written, and sometimes I like to fill in, you know, find something that I could just spit this verse over. You know, I might be in the moment one day, just jot some things down, and then, you know, I might just want to lay it down later. But I would say I like to listen to beats, find one. Most times, I don't even finish a song right then and there. Most times, I just write. Yeah, I just write a couple of lines and then come back to it the next day with some fresh thought. So I can't ignore that.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah. OK. Do you do your own beats, or do people give you beats, or a little of both?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS :: At this point, I don't make beats at all anymore. I just get them. Oh. Yeah, I just get them. People that I know send them, producers that I network with throughout my short career.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah. That's OK. It's getting longer every year. Yeah, for sure. OK. So you don't do your own beats at all anymore. Well, that's some growth, because now people are sending you their beats. So that's a lot.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : I still love the process, though, of like producing beats. I like to sit in a room with a producer sometimes, and we kind of bounce ideas off each other as far as sounds. And I feel like that helps me write when I can actually, you know, articulate the vibe that I want to hear through the beat. And it allows me to like open up more freely to write. So I still enjoy making beats, though.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: OK. All right. So some people have rituals and routines. Do you have any that help you get into that creative zone, or are you always in that zone?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : No, it takes candles sometimes, a lot of candles, and ginger ale. Those are probably my two things I feel like I got to have. Really? Candles, and a lot of candles, and ginger ale. And I like them lighting. Okay. Okay. All right. That's my setting for it to try to get myself in that zone.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Okay. I like that question. All right. Let's talk a little bit about Make It Count volume one and two. Both of those kind of carried, or seemed to me to carry a significant message. So what was the inspiration, number one, behind the title? And was there a message that you were trying to get out with those two EPs?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : For one, the brand, the umbrella of everything that I'm doing. which is an acronym, M-I-C, which is an acronym for making count. And that's, you know, making everything count, the hard times, the bad times, the trials, the tribulations, the good, the bad, making everything count for something bigger than what it may feel like or look like on the surface. And, you know, I use a verse from from the Bible, James 1 verse 2, and it's speaking to, you know, basically considering everything that you go through on a day-to-day basis as pure joy, as hard as it may seem, you know, just trying to dig the blessing out of it as much as you can, even in the storm. And, you know, it shapes you. So the brand of that was just making it count and, you know, trying to encourage people to, you know, keep your head above water. You don't got to throw in the towel. hard times don't last forever. Even if they do in this life, it won't in the next. So just trying to encourage and uplift. And I feel like that was a great visual to even put on merch is relatable. It looks good. And it honestly came about through one of my other friends named Ali. And we was in the studio one day, and I was playing him a song. And I kept saying, make it count, make it count repeatedly throughout. And he stopped the song and was like, yo, you should basically basically say you should bring that you should bring that to life a little bit. And we looked at each other and I had to run with it from there. You know, I, you know, I talked, you know, prayed about it, got some guidance on it. And it fits, so that's where we are right now. And shout out to Dante for bringing that to life.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah, shout out to Dante. And it also spells Mic you know, the M-I-C.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS: That's another acronym to it. That's another possible acronym. Microphone Mike, yep.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yep, yep, yep. Look at that. Every time I see it, I'm like, that's dope the way it's two different things, because you'd definitely be on the mic, so.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : You know what you're talking about.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah. Now talk to me about your new EP, Between Two Worlds. Yeah.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : That's probably my closest project to me, personally, because I was going through a big transition stage in my life. I just had my first son. at that time doing that music. Yeah, shout out to Jace, my first boy, my first son. You know, I was dealing with that transition in life. I was dealing with not feeling like, you know, I was to be where I want to be as far as musically, even in life sometimes. You know, a hard time. I was trying to battle through life. Life just hit and music. That's where I was at. in my life, and it shined through the music. And I titled it Between Two Worlds because I feel like I was here one day, and the next day I was here in such a quick time. So I feel like I was somewhere in between. I didn't know where I was at, so I was just trying to find my way. And you could hear it through the music, just the journey of that year, half a year. I feel like that was the perfect title to describe where I was at. And then the music was very honest, I should say.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: I like honest music. So do you think that your style, your sound has evolved from Make It Count to Between Two Worlds? And if you think it has, how has it?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : Yeah, I would say it has for sure. Lyrically, I feel like I got better as an artist. You know, you keep doing something over and over again, you're bound to grow. You can grow negatively or you can grow, if it's not for you, you're going to grow negatively. If it's for you, you're going to grow positively. And I stayed at it and I got better with what I was saying. I grew in my faith. I went through life. I grew as a man, my ear for music and what people enjoyed from me as an artist. I figured out my sound, and yeah, I definitely feel like I grew a lot. Definitely. I do too. Even in the way I take criticism, I feel like I grew.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: And that's important.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : For sure, for sure. I used to be quick to shut people down, even if If it's not in that moment, I'll remember it and I won't come back to you. You know what I'm saying? But as I grew, I felt like I can, there's value in what they're telling me. That goes back to making an account, even if it's not something I see out of Iowa, I can still get something from what's going on. So yeah, I definitely think I'm still there.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Because sometimes we be too close to stuff, and we don't want to hear it. And that doesn't help you grow. You can't always have yes people around you. People is just going to agree with anything. So yeah, that's important. It's impossible to grow like that.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: No, you're absolutely right. So looking to the future, is there a specific direction or evolution that you see for yourself and your music?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : If it's God's will for me, I would love to do music full time. I would love to be able to provide for my family, doing something I love every day. And even beyond music, just being able to put myself in position to impact people around me, impact my community, impact, you know, those who've been supporting me from the beginning on a larger scale. You know, so I would love to five, ten years from now, be able to do that every day. bringing hope to people musically and just on a life basis.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: I think it's going to happen. So if you could right now pick one artist, living or dead, to collaborate with, who would it be and why?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS :: Well, I ain't going to lie. Lately, I've been in my real soulful bag. Man, shout out to my mom, because my mom likes Jhene Aiko. So I've been listening to her a lot lately. I would love to collab with her. I don't know if that's the only one. You want me to give one in particular, like only one?

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Well, don't have to be. The question was one, but you can tell me who are your, if you had like, If you had everything you wanted, what artist, I'm going to say plural, not just one, would you want to collaborate with?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : I'd probably go Nipsey Hussle. Okay. Just because of his independence and business and just his message from Running the race until you cross that finish line and embracing whatever comes in between that. I could relate to that. And just musically, I think he's a dope artist, a dope spitter. Yeah. Yeah.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: OK. So Jhene Aiko and Nipsey Hussle. OK. All right.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : Jhene Aiko presently and then Nipsey Hussle.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah. Got you. Got you. All right. Do you have favorite tracks? And I'm talking about on Make It Count and Between Two Worlds and Are there any lyrics or verses that holds really particular significance to you on any track on those two or three EPs? I know my fave, you already know my fave one make it count behind one, but Stay True. I still write that.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS: It's crazy because I honestly was going to say that one, honestly, because that's  “I said, swear my dreams are taking long. I was pissed but never stalled. Make trip, I never fall. Stay true to who you are. Can't win without a war. God came and healed these scars. Late nights with all my dogs, I can see it from afar. See, it's days like these, I think that pain made me strong. Had purpose all along, whether right or whether wrong. When my dog stuck inside a jam, I'm the one they call. Felt good to talk the sauce. Before you walk, gotta crawl. If you question God long enough, know he bound to respond. Better answer when he call.” Yeah, that's one of my favorite verses.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Absolutely.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : And it speaks to, I feel like that verse spoke to where I'm at today. I feel like I wrote that back then for where I'm at today. Nice. That's gonna help me get through. That's definitely one of my favorites for sure.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Absolutely. That's probably gonna be always number one. Not that I don't like others, but that one, that was the one.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : If I had to pick another one, I would say Highway Love is one of my best songs. Maybe not my favorite, but I think that's one of my best songs. Yeah, yeah. I think that connects with everyone.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah, I like that a lot too. I think that's Dorian's favorite too. Yeah, I think so. So, you know, the music industry, period, can be challenging, especially for up-and-coming artists. So as somebody that's been doing this a little bit, what advice do you have for aspiring artists out there just getting started?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : I would say find your sound. Find yourself as an artist first, like what you want to talk about, you know? make it gotta be believable then I would say find your sound and I would say push it don't give up as you know find your sound master master your sound and and be consistent through even through the hard times like write write write try to write through them them writer blocks when you don't really when you don't really feel like waking up you know try to try to get a workout and find your sound and master it. Can't nobody sound like you.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Man, that's so important because I get so tired of hearing folk that sound just like everybody else.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : Yeah, it don't even be believable. You can hear it.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: No. So, Bus, as an artist, what legacy would you like to leave in the world with your work?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : I would say ultimately that I help someone save their soul. I think it's bigger than where we are right now. It's bigger than this life. I would say if I can push someone to the faith, I'll be happy with that. If I can encourage one, I feel like I've done my job. If I can impact one person, I feel like I've done my job.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Absolutely. I'm like that too. If I can, somebody gets helped by one podcast that I put out, then I'm happy.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS :, for sure.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: So tell us, tell me what's next for us in terms of both your music and your own personal growth. You got some upcoming projects, any new music coming out? What you got going on?

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yeah, for sure. I say top of the Top of the year, first quarter, maybe second quarter. Ideally, I'm gonna drop a tape, a small tape, maybe four or five track tape into a big album that I want to do come summertime, springtime, summertime. And probably 13 track album, an official album, everything else been titled mixtapes, I want to put together actual body of work. come summertime, spring, summertime. And you know, in between, that's gonna be all new music, all new music, both of them projects will be all new music. And I still I'm thinking about doing another Valentine's Day pack, little two pack love song, try to keep that going. I was getting good response on that, good feedback with that. You know, the love season is right around the corner, so give people something to chew in the kitchen. And then in between that, trying to get back to some community events, back to the heart of it. Then I want to have a big showcase. It's funny you say performing. I want to have a big showcase sometime this year. Next year, I should say. And then Have everybody come out that I did songs with from the beginning to where we are today and just celebrate the day.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Oh, I will be there for sure. Keep me posted.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : You're going to have a table and live stream the whole thing.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Oh, wait a minute now. OK.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : Let's do it right. That's what I'm saying. We're going to do it right.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Yes, indeed. All right. I'm so looking forward to that. That will be so awesome. So listen, it would not be an artist spotlight if the artist didn't do us a little something, something. So what you got for me? I'm trying to hear some of them bars. We heard a little bit earlier, but I want to hear something else. So what you got?

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : (Rapping) Your whole life a lie. Look in the mirror like who am I? I know in rough times they touch lines like suicides. My mama take her left and her right and then she combine. I was blind to my feelings at first like dotted lines. Can't color. Whoever get out of line, I ain't got the time. Shove callus, son, you get pushed aside. Never mind. It's best if you pick a side. See me zoom by. Who hit the corner? I like the new guy. Never get too low. I'm never too high. Take July 5th and treat it like the 4th of July. Better stack your money when it's ugly you can get by. Trying to pull strings to make knots like a shoe tie. Couldn't live through what I've been through. Straight damage. Been peeped through, you see through like panoramic. Umbrellas in your glass, your toes is where the sand is. Don't panic. Translation for where they landed. Ride 3 a.m. trying to figure out how to expand it. Left hand on the wheel, the shoulder is kind of slanted. Never by luck. Was God or no, we planned it. Got it out the trunk, well, hunk the hand to hand it. I'm thanking God for all these blessings, as I clearly stated. Just an assistant to the chef, I barely made it. Before you even seen the light, death nearly grazed him. My Junebug a warrior, Gary Payton. Amen.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Nice. Nice, nice. I just love your flow. Your voice is just, I can't even picture you doing anything else besides basketball. That was, you know, basketball and this. Them days sound like Dorian. That was amazing. You're amazing. This has been an amazing chat. I personally can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you, both as an artist and just a young man. I'm so grateful that when we moved up this way, that Dorian linked up with such an amazing group of young men. And you guys are still around and still friends. And that's fricking awesome. So thank you so much. You the thebomb.com, and you know.

ANTHONY NELSON aka BUSS : I want to say thank you. I appreciate you. You know, you've seen me since I was a boy, sophomore in high school, into a man that I am today. So, you know, everything you're saying means something to me. And I admire the consistency that you're doing with the podcast, 100%, because I know it ain't easy. I know the labor. So I take my hat off to you for that.

KANDIDLY KRISTIN: Thank you. It is a labor of love. And listen, I, from the depths of my very soul, wish you crazy, crazy, stupid success in any and everything that you do with the music, with whatever you endeavor to do. I just, I wish you all the success in the world. I appreciate it. Genuinely. Thank you. Thank you for being here. And guys, BUSS with two S's, contact info will be in the show notes along with his social media handles, links to his music, so go check him out. Yes, indeed, you gotta check him out so you can hear more than that little intro, because it gets better and better. Don't forget to visit my website, y'all, at www.theKandidshop.com. Kandid with a K. Listen to this episode and a bunch of other ones. Drop a review. Share the show. And until the next time, I want you all to keep it safe, keep it healthy, and keep it Kandid.