Anthony Fantano is an American music critic and
YouTuber. He recently entered into a heated argument with Canadian rapper Drake
over the leaking of allegedly fake screenshots of their conversation, claiming
that the rapper thanked Fantano for criticising his music and hoped that the
music critic will like his next album. Drake, however, disclosed the real messages he
sent Anthony Fantano and posted his own screenshots on Instagram Stories. 

For more than a decade, Fantano has been giving album
and song reviews directly into a camera on The Needle Drop, his YouTube channel
with 2.26 million followers, making him the most mainstream music critic to
date. 

 Who is Anthony Fantano? 

Fantano
was born on October 28, 1985. He was raised in Connecticut and spent his
adolescent years in Wolcott. As a child, he wanted to become a cartoonist and
still enjoys cartoons like Adventure Time and Regular Show.

The 34-years-old studied political science and journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.

Also Read: Drake hits back at music critic Anthony Fantano for fake DM leaks

Fantano’s
career

Fantano
began his career as a music producer for the Southern Connecticut State
University college radio station in the mid-2000s. “I’ve always loved
music,” he said, “but working there turned me into a lot of different
styles and pushed my tastes into different areas.”

Fantano
began working at Connecticut Public Radio in 2007, where he hosted The Needle
Drop. In that year, Fantano debuted The Needle Drop in textual reviews, before
expanding to video reviews in 2009. Fantano decided to pursue The Needle Drop
full-time in late 2011.

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Cal
Chuchesta, Fantano’s fictional musically oblivious and introverted roommate, is
a regular guest on The Needle Drop. Fantano, aka Chuchesta, released The New
CALassic, a comedic mixtape, as a free online download on August 18, 2015. A
day later, he reviewed the mixtape and gave it a light 3 rating. Chuchesta took
over the show in a rage at the end of the review, claiming that Fantano had
promised to give the mixtape a 10 off camera. Fantano’s rating, on the other
hand, remains unchanged.

Fantano
occasionally uploads interviews with musicians or famous figures in the music
industry that is broadcasted live on his Twitch channel.  He has interviewed
notable personalities like Brockhampton, Rebecca Black, and Oliver Tree.