American rapper From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank L. Walton, Jr[5] (born July 9, 1994), better known by his stage name Fly Anakin is an American rapper and record producer from Richmond, Virginia. He is the co-founder of Richmond hip hop crew Mutant Academy.
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Fly Anakin | |
|---|---|
Fly Anakin in 2021, taken from the Frank promotional photoshoot by Timothy Saccenti | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Frank L. Walton, Jr.[1][2][3][4] |
| Born | July 9, 1994 |
| Origin | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | flyanakin |
Fly Anakin was raised in Richmond, Virginia. As a child he was a regular church goer.[6] His older brother introduced him to rap albums including Ghostface Killah's Ironman, Jay Z's Reasonable Doubt and Hot Boys' Guerrilla Warfare. His later influences included Jeezy, Kendrick Lamar and Curren$y.[2][7][3]
Fly Anakin released his first mixtape in 2014, Mirrors_episode1, with future Mutant Academy member Ewonee.[3] This was the first of over a dozen self-released mixtapes and EPs. Fly Anakin played in shows and in homes in Richmond.[4]
He signed to Lex Records in 2019, releasing a collaborative album with Pink Siifu, FlySiifu's in November 2020, followed by an EP, $mokebreak in April 2021.[8] In 2022, Fly Anakin released his debut solo studio LP Frank which included production from Madlib, Evidence and Mutant Academy members.[9][10] According to Metacritic, the album received "universal acclaim" from critics, with a score of 84.[11] Following its release, Frank also featured in several lists of the best albums of "2022 (so far)" including Complex, HipHopDX, Paste, The Quietus and Uproxx.[12][13][14][15][16]
In March 2022, Fly Anakin performed several shows at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, including sets at the Lex showcase and the Song Exploder showcase.[17][18] The following month he supported Armand Hammer on a short run of European shows at venues including XOYO, London and Le Botanique, Brussels and Le Bellevilloise, Paris.[19][20][21]
A concert scheduled on the 5 May 2022 in Lyon, France was cancelled by the local concert promoter[22] when Fly Anakin vetoed an opening act following an argument between the promoter and Fly Anakin's booking agent. The booking agent wrote an e-mail to the promoter stating: "All artists choose who they perform with because this is their art form, not yours. Nor is it your culture either, from what I understand. Fly Anakin wants to celebrate his culture, hop-hop, with Black artists..." The incident was reported in French media including the local Lyon newspaper Le Progrès, and national media including Marianne and BFM TV website.[23][22][24] Marianne noted that Fly Anakin "...denied any discriminatory will on his part, rather evoking a musical problem: the envisaged artist was not up to the task, he told the Progress on Thursday."[23]
In November 2022 Fly Anakin and Madlib released a reworking of "No Dough" from Frank.[25] At the end of the 2022 Metacritic ranked Frank as the “best reviewed debut” rap album of the year, and the ninth best reviewed debut album across all genres.[26] On 5 April 2023, Skinemaxxx (Side A) EP was released.[27]
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