Tony D

Who was Tony D?

Tony D, born Anthony Depula, was a hip hop artist from Trenton, New Jersey. Although he was a hip hop artist & DJ, he was most famous for being an influential producer in hip hop music. He was the producer behind Poor Righteous Teachers and YZ. He has also produced tracks for DJ Muggs, Young Zee, Outsidaz, Pace Won, Blvd Mosse, King Sun, Scott Lark, and Shawn Lov.

Tony D was the first artist to have a record released on Mark Rae's burgeoning British Grand Central Records independent record label. His other albums were released on Cha-Ching Records and 4th & B'way/Island/PolyGram Records, and he was a part of the group Crusaders For Real Hip-Hop, which released one album on Profile Records.

Tony D's early records were sampled by several artists, including Naughty by Nature on the hit "O.P.P." and by Heavy D without permission. All cases were settled out of court.

Apart from Tony D., Depula was also known professionally under the names Harvee Wallbangar and Grand Pubha Tony D.

Later in life, Depula hosted a weekly hip hop radio show on Princeton University's 103.3 FM, which aired in Central New Jersey.