Artist

Prophet

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Prophet is the high-spirited machine funk alias of Anthony Butler. The underground musician debuted in the '80s with a privately pressed full-length and found a home for a follow-up over 30 years later on the revered <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stones+Throw%22">Stones Throw</a> label. Butler, born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, learned to play several instruments as a youngster. During his senior year of high school, he earned an all-state honor. After graduation, he headed to the Bay Area, where he played with a military band and then a group that performed extensively with all-covers sets. Butler eventually went off on his own and recorded original material primarily by himself, utilizing a drum machine and synthesizer. After he unsuccessfully angled for label interest, he self-released a solo debut, Right on Time, in 1984.

Butler continued to perform with an assortment of acts, most notably <a href="spotify:artist:5ec8q0kgHALtKS7I7K7BUo">Henry Turner, Jr.</a> & Flavor following a late-'90s return to Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, Right on Time found an audience with a small group of serious record collectors. Through the Beat Electric label with distribution from <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Peoples+Potential+Unlimited%22">Peoples Potential Unlimited</a>, the album was reissued in 2013. At a record fair, Butler crossed paths with <a href="spotify:artist:3KjYnDT3cEQ8ngiCLTCIl9">Peanut Butter Wolf</a> -- one of a few fanatics with an original copy -- and was subsequently added to the roster of the DJ's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stones+Throw%22">Stones Throw</a> label. Set up with fellow <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stones+Throw%22">Stones Throw</a> artist <a href="spotify:artist:4GcpBLY8g8NrmimWbssM26">Mndsgn</a> at the label's recording studio, Butler recorded his second widely available full-length, Wanna Be Your Man, released in 2018. The album featured a new version of the debut's "Tonight" with <a href="spotify:artist:3sjtmLaxBX2uQypDRE3IlN">Nite Jewel</a>. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

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