GoldLink

An MC who was lifted to the majors thanks to a groundswell of support, Washington, D.C.'s GoldLink mixes forward-looking hip-hop, jittery indie rhythms, and heavy, danceable beats that hark all the way back to the '80s and D.C.'s go-go movement. Active since the early half of the 2010s, he achieved and sustained prominence with the Grammy-nominated singles "Crew" (2017) and the <a href="spotify:artist:1l7ZsJRRS8wlW3WfJfPfNS">Christina Aguilera</a> collaboration "Like I Do" (2018). He has since followed his three mixtapes with an expansive debut album, Diaspora (2019), and its comparatively abrasive follow-up, Haram! (2021).

Born D'Anthony Carlos, GoldLink launched his career as Gold Link James. Sharing his vibrant, busy tracks online earned him a following that steadily grew, then he paused for a bit before reappearing in 2013 as simply GoldLink. Each upload gained more attention than the one that preceded it, as producers like <a href="spotify:artist:6qgnBH6iDM91ipVXv28OMu">Kaytranada</a> and the Danish crew <a href="spotify:artist:0tOrKkXIn3VYyVHFEPG6Xd">Galimatias & Joppe</a> collaborated with the MC. When he issued the street release The God Complex in 2014, he was contacted by legendary producer <a href="spotify:artist:1EpmQFTiJbcxzwbLpuUL8L">Rick Rubin</a>, but tours with <a href="spotify:artist:1O10apSOoAPjOu6UhUNmeI">SBTRKT</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:62R1EpHT7Y1OzPA9fVKKP9">Flume</a>, plus work with <a href="spotify:artist:6UcJxoeHWWWyT5HZP064om">Chet Faker</a> on the track "On You," kept him from completing his official debut. <a href="spotify:artist:1EpmQFTiJbcxzwbLpuUL8L">Rubin</a> earned a "mentor" credit on GoldLink's 2015 mixtape And After That, We Didn't Talk, which was released through <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Soulection%22">Soulection</a>.

A year later, GoldLink signed with major label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a> and started fresh with another <a href="spotify:artist:6qgnBH6iDM91ipVXv28OMu">Kaytranada</a> collaboration, "Fall in Love." At What Cost, his second mixtape, arrived in March 2017 and reached number 177 on the Billboard 200. It contained his breakout single "Crew," a collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:3tlXnStJ1fFhdScmQeLpuG">Brent Faiyaz</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1DvtabXAjfrMihPP6JQdHs">Shy Glizzy</a> that was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap/Sung Performance. The following year, he earned his second Grammy nomination with a featured appearance on <a href="spotify:artist:1l7ZsJRRS8wlW3WfJfPfNS">Christina Aguilera</a>'s "Like I Do." Headlining singles "Got Muscle" and "Zulu Screams" preceded the mid-2019 arrival of his second <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a> full-length, Diaspora, which he considers his first true album. The set entered the Billboard 200 at number 77. After he was featured on the <a href="spotify:artist:3AA28KZvwAUcZuOKwyblJQ">Gorillaz</a> track "Severed Head," GoldLink returned in 2021 with Haram!, a noisier and more aggressive set, though it was led by the casual <a href="spotify:artist:08PvCOlef4xdOr20jFSTPd">Flo Milli</a> collaboration "Raindrops." ~ David Jeffries