Anton Raphael Baleanu, known as AntsLive (born 2000) is a British rapper and record producer.
Biography
Ants was born in North London to a Romanian father, who would play Latin-American music around the house, and a Sierra Leone mother, who loved MoTown classics. When Ants turned seven, he got his first CD player and a copy of 50 Cent's 2007 album Curtis, sparking his passion for hip-hop and spurring him to download torrents of rap through LimeWire. At the wish of his grandma, he started to write poetry aged just eight.
Before he became devoted to music, Ants also had a passion for sport. He was scouted for Chelsea's U16 when he was six-years-old, and he practised football six days a week until he turned 16.
Before going solo when Covid hit, AntsLive and his friends Tejy, an R&B singer from North West London and producer Jay Blu formed the trio Trademark.
Awards The video for "Number One Candidate" won the award for the best hip hop/grime/rap video at the 2023 UK Music Video Awards. AntsLive was nominated in the best newcomer category at the 2024 MOBO Awards.
Berlin Music Video Awards The video "Billie Holiday" was nominated for the award Best Narrative in the 2026 edition.
Discography
All of Ants' songs are published on Spotify. These include:
Mixtapes Just A Matter Of Time (2023) Real Life (2024) We Live. (2026)
Singles + EP Title Year Features Brown Liquor 2020 rowspan="13" Tokyo Freestyle Shenanigans 2021 HBK Tweakin 2022 Bite the Bullet Glow Up Skeet Ooh La La 2023 Captain Ants C'est La Vie Cutlery 2024 Estelle Toxic Minds by Blaze YL*(feat. AntsLive & joe unknown) Frostbite rowspan="9" Perfect Timing (with Len) Richer UK Baddie (with SL) Alexa (with Kairo Keyz) Sex on the Beach V (with Sainté) On the Radar Freestyle Crew Love 2025 Inconsistent by Glizz*(feat. AntsLive) Valentine's Type Beat (with Sainté) rowspan="1" Skincare Riddim by Col3trane*(feat. AntsLive & Erick the Architect) ABC's rowspan="3" BILLIE HOLIDAY 12 CAR CONVOY FIRST CLASS LANDING. 2026(feat. Knucks & BAO) RACKS.(feat. WIU ) Pink Rosé rowspan="1"
References
External links
Number One Candidate at YouTube