Anthony Hamilton has plenty to be pleased about this Christmas. The soulful R&B singer is a successful married father of six and he’s touring behind a seasonal album, “Home For the Holidays,” which he will showcase when he performs Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre.
You can’t blame the 43-year-old Hamilton for basking in all of that good fortune but he earned it by paying an inordinate amount of dues. “I had some rough times way back,” Hamilton said. “But I did what I had to do.”
“There was so much hype around me during the early ’90s,” Hamilton said. “It would have been easy to buy into that because so many industry types were calling me the next big thing.”
Hamilton signed with Uptown Records in 1994 but the label went under. “That’s the way it goes sometimes,” Hamilton said. “I knew I just had to keep pushing.”
The laid back Charlotte, N.C., native was armed with survival skills after navigating through a hardscrabble childhood. “I knew that life isn’t easy,” Hamilton said. “You’re not going to be given anything. You have to work for it and sometimes life isn’t fair. But if you work really hard, good things can happen.”
Hamilton’s resilience paid off. The mainstream finally caught up with Hamilton in 2002 courtesy of his vocal on Nappy Roots’ single “Po Folks,” which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Song Collaboration in 2003. The following year he was featured on the Jadakiss hit “Why” and he lent his voice to a posthumous 2Pac project.
Angie Stone, Buddy Guy and Jeezy have also hired Hamilton for their projects. “There’s nobody else like Anthony Hamilton,” Jeezy said. “He has the voice. He can really sing. That’s why everybody wants him. I have so much admiration for Anthony”
Not everybody has a set of pipes like Hamilton. “That’s just the way it is,” Hamilton said. “You can go sample someone but it’s easier to get me.”
It’s not so easy to lure Hamilton, who became a platinum selling artist a decade ago courtesy of “Comin’ From Where I’m From,” which featured such hits as the title track and “Charlene,” as a support act. Hamilton is on another level these days.
His fan base increased courtesy of “Freedom,” which he co-wrote and sung as a duo with Elayna Boynton, which is featured on the “Django Unchained” soundtrack.
“The more people know you, the better,” Hamilton said. “All I ever wanted was to be able to support myself and my family as a musician and I’m doing it.”
“Home For the Holidays” is the icing on the cake for Hamilton. Chaka Khan, ZZ Ward and Gavin DeGraw join Hamilton for an eclectic workout, which features a perky “Little Drummer Boy,” a reverent version of the James Brown classic “Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto” and a moving original penned by Hamilton, dubbed “Spirit of Love.”
“I’m in a good place,” Hamilton said. “I’ve never given up and now I’m really enjoying myself. I had always hoped I’d get to this point and now I’m here.”
ANTHONY HAMILTON appears Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre, 95 South Turnpike Road, Wallingford. Tickets are $35 and $65. Show time is 7 p.m. For more information, call 203-265-1501 or oakdale.com
