The Wrldfms Tony Williams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The WRLDFMS Tony Williams
Williams in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Antony Von Williams
Also known as	Penafire the World Famous Tony Williams
Born	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Origin	Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Genres	R&B hip hop soul gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter record producer
Years active	2003–present
Labels	GOOD The High Society Uncle Pete's Parade

Antony Von Williams, known as the WRLDFMS Tony Williams, is an American singer and songwriter. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Tony Williams is the first cousin of famous American rapper Kanye West. He has helped with singing or writing songs for most of Kanye West's albums. This started with the album The College Dropout in 2004.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Tony Williams grew up as an only child in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Both his mother and father loved music. Tony got his first instrument, a saxophone, when he was eight years old. He sang in youth choirs at church. He also played in the marching band until his tenth year of high school.

Tony's love for music continued as he grew up. He formed several bands that played different styles of music. These styles included funk, rock, alternative, and Christian alternative. He was always the lead singer in these bands.

Tony Williams' Music Career

Tony Williams has had a busy career in music. He is known for both writing songs and singing them.

Tony Williams as a Songwriter

When Tony Williams writes songs for Kanye West's albums, his name appears as Tony "Penafire" Williams. This is his special writing name. He helped write two songs on The College Dropout, which won a Grammy Award in 2004. After that, Kanye West asked Williams to write for all his future albums.

In a 2005 MTV show called Composing History: The Making of Late Registration, Tony was shown helping Brandy sing on the song "Bring Me Down." He also helped write that song. In the show, Kanye West said Tony was "a great writer with a cutting edge voice."

Tony Williams as a Singer

Kanye West performing at Coachella festival with Tony Williams singing backup in 2006.

Tony Williams first became known as a singer on Kanye West's album The College Dropout. He sang a version of the gospel song "I'll Fly Away" on it. On Kanye's second album, Late Registration, Kanye would mention Williams in the song "We Major." This led to a famous line among Kanye fans: "I gotta say what's up to Tony Williams."

On that same album, Tony wrote the main part of the song "Roses." He sang it with Patti LaBelle. This album helped fans connect Tony Williams' voice and name with his face. He was also featured in the song and music video for "Drive Slow." Later, he sang with Kanye on the MTV show Life and Rhymes of Kanye West.

When Kanye went on the Touch the Sky Tour, Tony Williams was known as the backup singer who always joined West. He went on several world tours with Kanye.

Tony Williams has performed at two different Inaugural Balls. He sang with Jay-Z on the song "History" at the Neighborhood Ball. He also performed with Kanye West at the Youth Ball. His voice is recognized on many popular Hip Hop songs. He has performed with artists like Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nas, the Game, and Rick Ross.

In March 2010, Williams released his first big project, a mixtape called The World Famous Tony Williams: Finding Dakota Grey. It was released with the GOOD Music label. This project had new songs, covers of other songs, and remixes. One remix was "Dreaming of your love remix" with French rapper Matt Moerdock.

In October 2010, Williams released his first single, "Everything About You." This song was from his first studio album, King or the Fool, which came out on February 14, 2012.

Tony Williams as a Featured Artist

Tony Williams got to show his own artistic style in 2007. He appeared on Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape. He sang a song he had written called "Dreaming of Your Love," which Kanye produced. This helped him become known as a featured artist.

Around that time, Williams added "The World Famous" to his name. He did this to be different from a famous drummer with the same name. Also, the intro to "Dreaming of Your Love" says, "You're listening to the world famous." Williams has had songs played on the radio in Brazil, where he sang some parts in Portuguese. He has also had some success on music charts in France.

In January 2025, Kanye West (now known as "Ye") shared a picture of himself and Williams from a 2016 event on his Instagram page. This made people think they might work together on West's twelfth studio album, Bully. However, Williams was not on the album when it was released.

Tony Williams' Music Albums

Tony Williams has released several albums and mixtapes. Here are some of them:

Studio Albums

EPs (Extended Plays)

Mixtapes

Singles (Main Artist)

These are songs where Tony Williams is the main singer.

Other Songs on Charts

These are songs that appeared on music charts.

Album Contributions

Tony Williams has contributed to many albums by other artists. Here are some of his contributions: