Louisville Music Producer Wins Grammy For Work With Christian Artist Lecrae

Antonio Gardner works under the name Yons as a music sample creator, producer, and as an instructor at AMPED Louisville. When he won a Grammy this February, he was working on a song. Not sure what was happening when he heard members of his Pelham and Junior team screaming, he panicked at first.

“When they announced the win I wasn't watching the tv,” Gardner told LEO in an email. “I was working on a song and I just heard Pat Junior and his wife screaming, I was alarmed as it didn't initially register what happened, then it hit me that we won and I couldn't believe it, it felt surreal.”

Gardner started his journey in music back in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida. First in church and then as a member of a youth band. Not long after, Gardner began to make demos with a tape recorder and a casio keyboard. He once even used the menu screen music from the Nintendo 64 game, “GoldenEye.” Gardner remembers how the gift of a late friend gave him his final push toward music and production.

“My friend who passed away a few years ago, who was from Jeffersonville, Darius, moved to St. Petersburg for college when I was in high school and gave me my first copy of FL Studio,” Gardner said. “That launched my career into music production.”

He began to study the FL Studio program and created music with his cousin, Jeremy and friends from their church. The troupe performed around St. Petersburg and won a talent showcase at St. Petersburg College in Gardner’s freshman year. One of the members was shortly after signed to a Christian Hip-Hop label.

Though he visited Louisville and Jeffersonville many times growing up, Gardner finally made his way to live in Louisville in 2008 and married his longtime girlfriend. In Louisville he met and began working with local artists like Otis Junior, Jecorey Arthur, Dave.Will.Chris, Jordan Jetson, Casey Powell, Zaniah, and more.

Gardner’s Grammy win came after long years of hard work as an individual artist and producer and through his connection with Pelham and Junior, based in North Carolina. The song, “Your Power” by Lecrae and Tasha Combs Leonard was nominated and won Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance. Gardner’s sample was used in full in the final production of the song and netted him a writing and production credit along with his Pelham and Junior teammates.

“Instead of going to LA to celebrate the Grammy nomination they decided to have a Grammy party in North Carolina where they are based,” said Gardner. “So I flew there as I had never met them in person after working together for about a decade and becoming close friends via the internet and phone.”

“As a musician you kind of only dream of something like that. On one hand I don't care about Grammys because I've learned they're not really fair, but on the other hand it leads to a lot of opportunities, press, etc., and I see how it can be used for good for myself and everyone around me. My music production students at Amped are inspired by it and it has given them hope that they can win a Grammy and be successful one day.”

Just because he’s in the Grammy league now doesn’t mean that Gardner is going to take it easy. He’s already doing work.

“I have always been an artist first, before a writer and producer,” he said. “So I look forward to releasing new music as I have resources now I haven't had in the past to get my ideas out, and also work with artists and producers whose work I'm a fan of.

“The Grammy win has definitely got me attention from people in the industry I've wanted to work with as well as opened some more doors locally for many of the things I already do.”

As a teacher at AMPED, he knows that his Grammy is important to his community and his kids in the program.

“I currently work at AMPED, a music academy for kids in the West End of Louisville — founded by Dave Christopher. It has been perfect for me to use my music skills and history working with inner city youth to build better community,” he said. “I look forward to using the opportunities and spotlight I've gotten from the Grammy win to add on to that work and expand in every way we can with the program as I truly believe we do important work.”