Meet-N-Greet: Polo Grounds Music & RCA Records Present..Lantana

Marcus Waldon, born 9/11/87, has been
“Lantana” since day one. The Cincinnati rapper,
who grew up listening to such artists as Hot Boy$,
Juvenile, Jay-Z, and Tupac, has been making
music most of his life. In fact, music is his life.
Lantana, who dropped his latest mixtape, the
“The All Hustle No Luck Tape,” grew up in the
streets of Cincinnati, and actually lived on Lantana
St., when he was growing up, so it was fitting that
he chose to go by that name. “They used to call
me “Easy,” he recalls, “but I went away for a little
while (he had been incarcerated) and people
starting calling me that, and it stuck. It meant
something to me, and it represents my people.”
In 2006, he dropped his first mixtape, “Its Dat
Real,” which has been described as a hood classic,
full of original, quality work. However, he
committed aggravated robbery, and this time,
found himself serving four years behind bars.
Released in 2011, he decided to focus completely
on music and put his street life behind.

Hitting the ground running, he dropped the
mixtape “Lantana On The Way”, in May 2012,
leading off with the single, “All Hustle No Luck.”
His second mixtape, released in December 2012,
called “The All Hustle No Luck Tape,” features
contributions from local artists Dubb Santora, 40
Mike and Fly. Lantana prefers working with
artists with whom he has a relationship, going
against the current trend where most artists have
features from known artists.

“Dubb Santora was on the first mixtape; I met
him when I was away, and he had seen me struggle
and I’ve seen him struggle. I focused on just
having people I know on mixtape. I’d rather stand
on my own so that it will be a mutual respect
rather than have someone just hop on a song.”
Lantana reached notable achievements within a
year after regaining his freedom in 2012, such as
winning the fans’ choice competition for the 2012
Beats Summer Concert series. Lantana was also
nominated for five 2012 Ohio Hip Hop Awards
and won two–Best New Artist and Mixtape of the
Year.

Coming from the streets of Cincinnati, Lantana
describes his lyrics as authentic, “My lyrics are
real to me; they come from how I feel about a
situation. I’m not trying to please nobody, but this
is who I am,” he explains.

As Lantana points out, “‘The All Hustle No Luck
Tape’ is my best work to date and it’s just the
beginning of my story. I really want to have an
impact on my listeners. I want to inspire people to
want more for themselves and those around
them. I truly do it for my people.”

The artist, who is equally as comfortable in the
studio where he spends most of his time, performs
frequently throughout the state of Ohio, describes
his stage presence as “high energy.” He adds, “I’ve
got a lot of energy onstage but off stage, I’m more
of an observer. Music consumes my whole life,”
he adds.

Opening up for such artists as Yelawolf, Young
Jeezy, Big K.R.I.T, and Machine Gun Kelly,
Lantana finds himself being the artist who plans to
put his hometown on the map. As the CEO of All
Hustle No Luck Entertainment, LTD, Lantana’s
goal is to take music wherever it can go: “the
good, the bad, everything that goes with it.”
All hustle no luck, all day, every day.