To many, Anthony Hamilton is best known for his award-winning songs that are laced with his signature soulful voice. Songs like “Charlene”, “Best Of Me”, and “Cool” are all laced with his feel-good, down-home scratchy vocals that sems to melt like butter. But to his six children–six boys to be exact–he is simply “dad.”
The Grammy-winning performer has released six studio albums, yet, despite his busy schedule–touring, recording, appearances, etc–Hamilton puts his family first.
As the patriarch of six boys who range in age from 2 to 25, Hamilton hopes to continue to provide the proper support and guidance to rear his six sons into strong and respectable men.
“I’ve seen it all,” Hamilton tells theGrio. “I’ve experienced every level of fatherhood you can imagine. And along the way, I’ve instilled the right type of fear and morals, it’s been beautiful.”
“Having children,” says the father of five, including year-old twins, “gives you another burst of energy, a new perspective. Back to Love (his 2016 album) stems from that energy.”
For Hamilton, fatherhood has been a blessing – a journey that he says has taught him how to be a better man, father and husband.
“I’ve learned to have a lot of patience, I’ve also learned where I lack as a man and a father and where I’ve matured with each child,” he says. “I’ve seen my growth. Understanding myself and them is the most beautiful thing.”
Hamilton says that fatherhood has exposed him to many lessons that have helped to make him the man he is today– a dad who understands the importance of the influence he has on his children and how that will help shape the men they will one day become.
“The best part of fatherhood is seeing someone who resembles you and watching them sleep and be with you for however long God allows and we’re connected the whole time. It’s so beautiful to see, just watching them grow,” he says.
Aside from the experiences fatherhood has exposed him to, Hamilton says he hopes his children also pick up a few key lessons along the way.
“I hope that they learn that anything is possible and that they have faith in God and themselves and that that alone can help them exceed any expectations,” he says. “I hope that they learn…
… that love is always available and that they should always seek it. I hope they learn balance in working extremely hard and learning how to take time out to enjoy it.”
Hamilton ended up getting adopted at age 15, into a family with a mother and father who he describes as loving and nurturing. From there, he was able to heal and have that father figure be an example for him.
After not being present for much of his childhood, Hamilton says his adoptive parents more than filled the void of his biological father’s absence. More than a decade passed since Hamilton communicated with his dad – and while his mother encouraged him to reach out, he says he never felt the need to do so.
It wasn’t until he met and married his wife in 2005 that Hamilton was finally convinced to reconnect with his father.
“My wife wanted to meet my biological father,” he says. “She wanted to identify where I came from, so I called him.”
In discussing the importance of understanding his spouse, Hamilton acknowledges many of her personal attributes – and the qualities he believes she admires in him – that makes their marriage the strong pillar in their family.
“I admire her willingness to fight for me, she’s very forgiving, she’s about family, she’s loyal, she’s incredible,” he says. “She admires my willingness to be an individual my fight to keep my identity and not apologize for it. The way I love, my heart, the way I love people and my kids.”
Hamilton says becoming a husband was a key moment in his life – a moment that he wanted to share with his children to teach them some of the the power and responsibilities of manhood.
In the end, he just hopes he passes the test of fatherhood with approval.
“When I became a husband I feel like that was something necessary for them to see. I felt like I showed them how to be a man,” he says. “Hopefully, at the end of it all of they’ll say ‘you did good, dad. You did alright.’”
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