Paul Anthony Full Force Interview on Healing Music and Survival

Paul Anthony from the legendary group Full Force sits down with Rah "Mr. Trauma Talks" for a raw and powerful conversation about his life, his music, and his healing. Paul opens up about surviving cancer, the spiritual and emotional journey that changed him, and the strength he found through family, faith, and purpose.

He takes us back to singing on the streets at age 12, the rise of Full Force, the impact of his brothers, and the legacy they built together. Paul also speaks about the upcoming Resilience Mental Health Conference at the Palladium Times Square and invites the world to come out and be part of something meaningful.

This interview is real, emotional, inspiring, and filled with wisdom from a man who has lived through the fire and came out stronger.

#PaulAnthony #FullForce #CancerSurvivor #HealingJourney #Resilience #MrTraumaTalks #RahSpeaks #MusicLegends #SurvivorStories #Motivation2026 #InspirationDaily #MentalHealthMatters #NYCEvents #BroadwayConference #PalladiumTimesSquare #RealConversations #LifeAfterTrauma #EmotionalInterview #HealingStory #LegendaryVoices

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello everyone, welcome to another amazing edition of Drama Behind the Glamour. Step into the world behind the spotlight with Drama Behind the Glamour, a powerful new podcast hosted by none other than Ra. Each week, Ra sits gun with artists from all walks of life, models, fashion designers, actors, and musicians who share their unfiltered stories of struggle and resilience. And yes, I say trauma behind the glamour, but your trauma talks presents the amazing, the legend himself, Mr. Paul Anthony from Full Force. And when I talk about his mission to send that story of healing out there, it's beyond amazing. And you know, R put it together every week where he lets you hear the stories. We see all these stars, we see all these amazing singers and artists and models and designers. They're all looking great, shining, but you do not know what's happening behind the scenes. And today he calls himself the legend. But I would say he's the living legend because he's here to tell you his story. And guess what? He's coming to New York City on June 11th to tell you his story in person at the Palladium Times Square. So, without further ado, I would love to introduce the amazing, the talented, the legend himself, Mr. Paul Anthony.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

What's going on, y'all? How are you? This is the legend Paul Anthony from the group Full Force. A lot of people know me from playing Stab in the iconic film House Party. That was a blessing as well. And uh it's an honor to be here, it's an honor to bring energy to uh this event. Um we're gonna be touching based on a lot of wonderful things, a lot of uh intriguing things, a lot of things that I'm sure a lot of you have been through as well, you know. My own story, you know, started when I was maybe 10, 11 years old, singing on the streets of Bedford Stubinson and East Flatbush, Brooklyn, you know, singing on the street, you know, for money. Um my father and my uncle Cito, they helped bring me up, and my Uncle Paul was out there while I was singing. And later on, my father taught my brothers Be Fine and Lou, as you know, it was Bow Leg Lou, how to sing as well. And uh there we migrated on the way to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where we won four times. I was 12, Lou was 13, I think B was eight, and that's when we first turned professional and did a bunch of shows with a lot of old-time groups that you probably wouldn't even know the name of, but it was a wonderful experience. Um and that was the beginnings, but we just kept on grinding, kept on moving up. And then later on, um, you know, we decided to uh, you know, along with our Majesty Salem, we decided to produce groups, you know, so, you know, because we were so ahead of our time, you know, people weren't ready for us, you know. We we dressed like rockers and, you know, we had an RB sensibility, a pop writing pen, but we had a hip-hop attitude. So when you're working with somebody, you put yourself under less of a microscope. So, you know, one of our first successes was a song we wrote for Curtis Bowl called Basketball, or co-work rather. And then later on, we went to really uh put some put some bricks into that building called Hip Hop by uh producing, co-writing a song on our first group, UTFO, called Rock Sand, Rock Sand. I think we're still in the Guinness Book of World Records for 25 answer songs. And then uh later on, um we actually helped create freestyle dance music with a wonderful uh group we put together called Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam. And we wrote a lot of hits and that opened up the doors for a lot of uh freestyle and Latin artists pretty much around the world. And then we had our own album, and we went on to work with so many wonderful groups like uh an artist, you know, like the great Bob Dylan and The Godfather Soul James Brown and Patty LaBelle and uh and uh Earth Wind and Fire, and then later on Rihanna and Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj and the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC and LFO and Method Man, Lil Kim, so many, so many wonderful acts, you know. And uh our first movie that we did was a successful movie called Crush Groove, where me and my brother Beefine starred in that, and later on, the iconic house party where I played Stab and it was a wonderful, wonderful event. Um during the dance, uh, during that process, you know, I'm one of the people to first bring bodybuilding and fitness into hip hop and RB. So when I was hit with a shocking thing called cancer, it shocked everybody because I was always in shape, always worked out, inspired millions. But, you know, sometimes he will give his toughest battles to his toughest warriors. That was my interpretation of it. I won't go too deep into that. We'll say that for the interview, but it was a long journey. But persevered, came through. I had a village around me, my family, my team, my friends, my wife, my kids, everybody. And uh through that now. So now the music is the joy, you know, but the purpose is to touch, change, and save lives, you know. And by the way, when my musical ship came in, I was a social worker. And I uh had 167 ADC, means age-dependent children, single mothers. And um, so you learn to really speak and engage and and find out the the spirituality and the mentality of everyone, and you find out that it's all connected, everything from the physical to spiritual. And I gave away so much money and so much Medicaid, so much food stamps. And I remember back then, many of my clients, I said, Okay, you got everything you need? You got everything? Okay, good. Now, listen to this song, because I ain't gonna be here long. I said it about three years, three and a half years. I ain't gonna be here long, you know. But then when the music came in, uh, it was it was an amazing, amazing time, you know. So we're gonna go into more details about that, some other things, and to show you how, you know, it you know, you sometimes have to go through to get through. And sometimes, you know, it's all connected. That's why it starts here, you know, what the mind can manifest, the body will follow, fueled by the spirit. It's all connected together. So we're gonna we're gonna take you on a journey just like that. The legend Paul Anthony out. And it's very, very important that you come out to hang with me and a host of other really, really engaging people. June 11th, Times Square. You got to be there at the palladium. It's all about mental health and it's all about being resilient. That's why it's called resilience. I'm gonna say it again, resilience, June 11th, the palladium coming out, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Welcome back, everyone. So you just heard it from the legend himself. That little snippet of what he has been through, what he has endured. I know what Ra say about resilience all the time. Your resilience is your truth, it's your story, it's what crafted you into being the man that's sitting here every single day. Because you don't just go through it, just don't wake up. As you said, I can imagine back when you see you got your first Grammy, and everybody's going crazy for all the amazing songs that you had out there with full force, right? But nobody when they don't know the little guy who was standing on the street singing, the little guy who stepped up the ladder one step at a time, and slowly, it didn't just happen because at those times, so let's go back now to those times, okay, and you tell us how it felt if you go back and you remember when you had to actually go out there and do that where it was tough, and you got all these social media, tell them.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Ah, it was interesting, you know. I mean, but um, it felt like a natural progression because even when it was tough, you know, in my household, even when we were young, singing wasn't an option. You know, that's what you did, you know, schoolwork and music. Schoolwork and music. My dad was part of these old doo-op groups back in the day, and my uncles were as well. So it was uh it was part of what we did. So it was just natural. Even rejection, you know, we were trained for that. You never like this cry or anything because we just know you just keep on keeping on, even at an early stage, you know. So even though uh there are times that we may not have won this or the crowd blew away, we like, okay, it's just a matter of time. Just a matter of time. So it was never uh a doubt if if success wouldn't come, we just didn't know when.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Right, right, right. So you grew with that, knowing that listen, wait, man, it's gonna happen. That's right. See, the sign says never give up. That is a spot-on never give up moment right there. And you're hearing it, you're hearing it from someone who has been in the industry. When it comes to being a superstar, a singer, a survivor, and a person who's out here healing with your messages, right? When it comes to that person, right now in today in 2026, which part of your previous lives, and and you get what I'm saying, your previous lives coming to today aligns exactly with who you are.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Um, I think uh I get the most joy now out of being impactful, and that can come from so many different levels. You know, uh I've got I've been approached by people that say they got married to one of our songs. Uh in my life, I've had people say that when they saw one of my interviews, uh how I danced with the animal, or how I uh persevered, or how I went through, it inspired them. I get that a lot, you know, it's touched their lives. People that are ready to cash in did not, you know, so that's special. Or if I'm running to pro athletes, whatever, and they say, hey, when I first thought you, saw you training uh in the video working out, that inspired me to be a world-class athlete. I get that a lot. So there's different portals, different levels of inspiration. But as long as you can inspire and engage, to me, that's uh always been my life goal. Even when we didn't make it, my goal was to live forever. That's so cool. Yeah, and that's how you live forever by what you create and what you believe and what you touch.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

And as you talk about fitness, how do you add in and you you bring in your fitness together with the people that you influence? I I was trying, I was going through a bio, I see that word Michael Jordan on there. So tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Oh man, yeah, that was a that was a wonderful experience, you know. That was uh full force we were blessed to do uh one of the biggest settling videos for the NBA Entertainment called Michael Jordan's Playground. And um it was wonderful because everybody was nervous. David Stern, how would he react, you know? But when he met us, you know, we made him feel so natural. We brought all our crew, we brought Kid and Play, we brought Lisa, Cher Pepsi Riley, uh Dr. Ish and UTFO. I mean, it was a wonderful, wonderful vibe, you know, and um he just got loose. That's why you see him dancing in the video and joking around, and and he'll say, you know, when I'm at full force, I feel so comfortable, and he's doing a double bicep and all this kind of stuff, and dancing, and yeah, we had a good time. But once again, we've always been able to touch people, and that's always been one of my gifts, how to touch someone from the inside out, you know. So when you have that experience of something like that, once again, that was many, many years ago, but Mike still remember it, remember it, as it was a wonderful moment in time. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Well, uh, I would say this, and I I tell it through all my rosters, I call them all the time. It's I've been doing this for seven seven years plus. And uh one of the things I see every single step up this ladder from being an international number one best-selling author to being um international motivational speaker, and I have all these little awards and achievements. You know, nobody could take that away from you, Paul. You're so right. My next question was basically while you're thinking, I'm like, I say, let's wing this, right? Stop thinking about the questions you wrote. And I'm like, but it comes in very strong to ask what was one of the most like spine-chilling moments. I know every moment is a moment, as I say, it builds, right? Nobody can take that from you, but there's going to be a spine-chilling moment that you're like, Paul, look where you are, Paul, look what you did.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Right, right. Oh man, that's a tough question because there's so many, you know, and I'm the type of guy that, you know, I don't hesitate to celebrate. I celebrate all kinds of things, you know. But um one that immediately comes to mind on the music side, on the entertainment side, was being blessed to be uh full force, we're the only ones to write and produce an entire album on the Godfather of Soul. Wow. When I think about that, when I think about seeing him at the Apollo Theater when I was 12, when I see uh how he's inspired so many in rap, so many Army, he was such a revolutionary, you know, to be at that stage of time to do songs like It's a Man's World, It's a Man's World, but it'll be nothing but a woman, or Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud, it was impactful. So to do the entire album, I mean, I couldn't, I still, when I think I still touch myself, you know what I mean? Because it really, that's like one of the pinnacles of my career, you know. Um, I wrote the last song we did, we did, well, we did the whole album, but two singles that were released, and mine uh wrote a song called Static. And it was his last single, Godfather Soul. And we learned so much from him. There's certain, certain real gems that he shared with me in terms of leadership and and what you do that I'm gonna say for my book. Um, but that has to be one of the crown jewels for me. There's many, there's many, there's many experiences, many things working with the Bashie boys and and watching them, you know, working at a song and teaching these guys, and next thing you know, here we are, 60,000 people, and they're doing our song, you know, and everyone's singing a song, and that's another way to live forever. So there's so many moments, but that would be the first one that comes to me right after.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Wow, they'd give me chills. That's so wow, that's a wow moment. You know, and talking about all this, so before we started here today, we had an amazing, the legend Paul Anthony came in, and he's sitting and he was talking to us about an experience. Let's go now. So, this this amazing guy, you just heard him tell you, he's when he started battling with the big C, as most people like to call it, because a lot of people they say it, but they're scared because they think that okay, it's gonna affect them more. I heard it from people who tell me I don't like to mention a name raw, it's we just call it the big C, right? And he told you that. But when you first got that news, how did you react? You know, do you you you three times this has happened to you? So we're talking about the first time, the first the first time you're stepping into it. Because now the writer of our story, we all have this story, right? And the writer of our story already knows, hey, this is only the trial tribulation for you, man. Right. This is a trial. So how did you handle the trials?

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Oh man, I remember like it was yesterday, you know, because um first I was training in the gym and I was training. I think I was doing squats for what, four or five, and I was, and then uh my training partner said, Paul, make sure you check out that lump in your neck. I'm like, what are you talking about? And I went to the mirror and I'm like, oh wow, this lump run my neck right away. So unlike most of us, most men, we sort of, you know, procrastinate when it comes to our health, not me. I was in the doctor that afternoon or the next day to check what that is, and they they did what's called an FNA, you know, fine elaspiration, and they pull out some fluid, and they said, you know, you better do a biopsy. So we did a biopsy, and then uh we came in, Lou and I, and a world-renowned doctor, he said, Yeah, you have metacell lymphoma. So I'm like, well, what's that? You know, I never heard of it. It's a rare form of cancer. So, you know, I went to my phone, I looked it up right there, and uh the first two words I saw was uh incurable and fatal. Those first two words you read about that. And I remember seeing it, and I said three words, my first words was wow. And Lou is like stunned, and about 35 seconds after that, the only thing that came to my mind is like, I said, I ain't changing shit. Those are my exact words. And I meant my internal fortitude, my constitution. I'm not letting this deviate me from no, okay, and that's what I said. So right there, in my own belief, I started going to work on myself right away. And the doctor, he said, you know, the type of cancer you have is two years, no, only two years past diagnosis, survival. And I said, Well then you better hurry up and get to work. I I could write a whole lot of hit songs in two years, if that's what you think. I told him like that, like that. But my mind is like, nah, mm-mm. Uh nah. There's a reason for that. So to me, one of my many phrases as a songwriter is when the unexplainable occurs, there in the midst stands the father. So I said, okay, what do you want me to see? There's either something you want me to see, or there's something you want to show me. I said, let me think about it. So my interpretation was, I said, okay, I know what this is. I started talking out loud. I said, I know what this is. This is going to be the pathway to my next season. So you want to make sure that my words of life and death is true. And the only way that could be is you put me on there. I get it. And I said, Gee, you got jokes. And I would talk out loud to him like that. And right then I'm like, okay, let's go. And me and my brothers, we literally went on tour, like I mentioned earlier, going to various hospitals. I was in third, going to the fourth stage of cancer, and all I knew it was incurable. But um, we went and uh just to answer Krishna deviate, that was my first thing, it was like first shock, and then after that, it's like I'm ashamed. No. No. And I said, okay, this is his test. You know, and I said, I get it, I got that. And that's why I call myself the cancer champion. Because, like you said, most people are afraid of the word. But I said, no, no, no, I respect it, but I don't own it. I'm gonna grasp that word and I'm gonna take the power away from it. I'm gonna call myself the cancer champion. That's why with my foundation, the cancer survival walks the earth, but the cancer champion conquers the world. And there's a difference, you know. So um that's that, but to answer your question, it was first shock and go right to work.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Do you believe that, um, do you believe that you're put into certain situations throughout your life that shape you into a place that when that time reaches and it's your time, you're you're you're made, you're you're prepared to handle that. No question.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

No question. Absolutely. You know, life is interpretation, you know that. And it's so about how you interpret and how you see it. But the things that you are shapes and prepares you or not for what's coming. You know, and I always saw that, you know. It's like it's so funny, when uh when we were little in Best Side, we couldn't even afford toys. We had to make our own games. So what we did is um I was able to draw, and I'm talking about eight, nine years old. So we would draw on uh white paper, little cartoon characters, whomever, and then we would cut them out with scissors. We called them things. And our mine was always to got men doing a double bicep. At seven years old, I was always draw guys doing a bow bicep bicep. And then when I got Marvel comic books, I would cut up Spider-Man and The Hulk and all the all the Marvel guys, you know, the hands like this and this. And uh, that was at seven years old. I didn't think that um at that time, later on in life, bodybuilding would be my thing. And through fitness and training, I would inspire millions all over the world in fitness and bodybuilding, which I did. So, you know, that's proof positive that you are who you are, and sometimes what you do and what you go through shapes and prepare you for what's to come. You know, you can't see it. You may not see it. You don't have to see it.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

See that? And here he comes with it, right? What is meant for you shall never pass you by. And what passes you by was never meant for you. You have this man telling you it like that exactly. Because you ever heard people say all the time, you only get how much you can handle, and you see that with certain people. Right. Have you ever heard someone tell you their story? And while they're telling you a story, you're solving the entire thing for them because you have been in a worst scenario, right? But for them, it's like they're carrying the whole mountain.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Right. So there's like a lot and a lot to carry, you know. And it's funny, you know, once again, it's how you interpret it because they'll say, Oh, that's too much, or that's too far. And I'm like, there's no such place. There's no such place, you know.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

Coming in with that, and like I love those type of things. And one other thing is that you said, after being diagnosed with cancer, you and your brothers went on to oh, you're all going to sing, you're all going to hospitals, you go, you all went in. It's not giving up. Yeah. How was your support when it comes to your family, wife, kids, the people around you? How how how did they handle it when you were all joyful and okay, I gotta beat this thing?

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Right. Well, you know, one of my phrases, everything feeds everything. And um a lot of their strength came from how I handled it. Um, and how I handle it came from within and from the strength I got from my team, my tribe, my family, my close friends. There was a lot of love. My brother and uh his ex-wife, she was a research queen, Angela. And my brother B, he's big on research. You would find out certain things. And Lou, you know, he would go to every appointment I have. He was there with me, you know. Um, my wife Michelle, she would be there with me, sleeping in the hospital. Then my daughter Symphony, who's now a physician's assistant, she would bring certain things. And then a lot of my close friends would send the love and energy, um, bring me food and everything like that, you know, because I kept on eating. I didn't care what the food tastes like. Enough to me. I'm gonna keep on eating, I can, you know. Um so that team that you have around you to reinforce and re-up, I call it the refactor, you know, reinforce, reinvigorate, realign, reassess, review, reaffirm, just re-up. They kept on rein up with me. And that kept me energize as well, you know. So um uh I've always been the tip of the sword in full force and in life, but you still have to have that strong spear. Just like, you know, you could be built, but you need that foundation, you know, that family, that woman, that child, that belief, you know. So yeah, it takes a village. It takes a village.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

It takes a village, it takes your people, the the ones who actually stand with you. Absolutely. That's so amazing, you know. I want to hear so much more from you, but I think these people need to come out at the Palladium Times Square on June 11th. Oh, yeah, and hear you and see you and meet him and get some photos with this guy. This is the legend himself, Paul Anthony. You know, Paul. You spoke based on so many things, success. Being a healer, being a trainer, a coach for some people. You talk about writing songs and and with Backstreet Boys, how and you know, I look at things as this. I told my mom just recently, this is on air, that I, most of my friends that really connect with me and give me some advice, they're all above 60. And they have the golden nuggets, bro. Yeah, they have the golden nuggets laden with diamonds because they've been there, they know what they're talking about. Yeah, yeah. 20 years ago, I meet someone in their 60s and they're telling me the story, and I'm like, in my head, I'm like, you know what you're talking about, you don't know what I'm going through. I I know I live it. I've heard stories, I'm like, this is warren. Yep, and then I'm living it. I'm like, oh, can I go back and talk to that person? You can't, you can't, you gotta remember what that person said. Sure. You gotta remember you should have listened. Sure. And that's the thing about things in life. Yeah, you know, so when you talk, I watched my uncle in 1998 pass away from cancer. And we, with my aunt, she was so dedicated to them, just like you. I used to sleep in the hospital room on the floor with her as well. Because she's really pushed. And then I come, I have my neighbor, she was next door to me. In 2014, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. In 2020, during the pandemic, she passed away. I was there throughout the battle with her. Right. And one of the things I remember that really hit me how bad when she was sick is how much she believed in what I started doing with your life experiences with raw. Right. One day she was driving me to get shots in my back from before I had back surgery. The pain was so bad, and I was crying while she was driving me. Now you have someone with stage four colon cancer on heavy chemo, and you're telling this person you can't take the pain, you want to die. She was like, rah. I drive you with my sick self. I would not do that for anybody, but I do it for you because I believe in you. I listen to you. And here you are telling me that you want to give up, you want to die. No. Right. And right there it shook me. Like, wow. You have this person fighting. And she did good because our good, our good friend Chadwick. Chadwick went five years and she made it six. You know, but she believed in Christ that he would have saved her down to the last. She told me, take your hands, Ryan, put it in my belly and pray for me. And we prayed, you know what I mean? And when you connect with someone, you really help them. I'm really happy that we could sit here and have this conversation. I wish we could talk all day, but we know that doesn't happen. Tell these amazing people where they can find you.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

Oh, well, on all social media, you know, I'm The Legend Paul Anthony. I'm one of many legends out there, but I just like to put it out there. I'm at the Legend Paul Anthony on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all over, you know. But I tell you where you can find me June 11th. I wanna be in the palladium, okay? Resilience. You need to come, you need to vibe, engage, and let's just share that energy, okay?

SPEAKER_01 28:50

Wow, you heard it from the legend himself, and you know what Ross says. When you're feeling done out, you have just heard that story of resilience and keep moving forward. When you're done out, remember there once was a man who had the blues because he had no shoes. Down the street, he met a man who had no feet. So remember that you can, you shall, and you will. This is Ra and the amazing, the legend, Paul Anthony. We love you all.