AntTheVillain on RTU Worldwide Radio

A VR album you can walk into

AntTheVillain built a VR experience for his album that runs straight from a link, with no download, on a Meta Quest, phone or laptop. Inside there is a gallery to hear the music, a room with his merch in 3D, a basketball court and a screen playing his YouTube videos.

"I built it. I'm really reading the SDKs."

He described plans to make it a meetup space, where visitors can see and talk to each other. More on VR music in Phoenix.

Direct to fans

The album PHX/L.A. is sold directly on antthevillain.com instead of on streaming services.

"Everything getting invested right back into the tech, right back into the business. AntTheVillain LLC, that's a Phoenix company. That's a Phoenix business."

Phoenix roots

Many people in Phoenix first knew him from his shop in the downtown alley around 2020 and 2021, before they knew he made music. He talked about watching waves of artists come through the city, and about evolving with the times.

"What worked in 2020 don't work now."

Independent and on the road

"I put on 20 shows independently in the last two years, moving around the Southwest and then going out to New York."

"I'm surrounding myself with people who rock with me."

He also shouted out Bossy, a New York artist whose set he caught on his first trip to New York.

"Nobody's bigger than the program."

The freestyle

The interview closes with a live freestyle over Murkemz's "PHX" beat. Read the lyrics.