Music
Press
"one of the top up and coming hip hop groups in the game..."- Dennis Velasco - about.com
"Versatile GC and Soul Mafia provide a refreshing sound to an industry that is scared to take risks. GC is his own triple threat by rapping, playing the sax on many of the tracks on this CD, and putting on a strong live show. In the heatseeker "America", GC breaks down his view on the corruption in the "land of the free, home of the brave." Also make sure to check out the songs "Get off the Ground" and "Crazy". -Rob Schwartz - whomag.net
"Check out the music and message of GC and Soul Mafia. Their debut CD titled IN-SIGHT was incredible. Intelligently written fusion rap, hip-hop, rock, and jazz--like nothing I've heard before. Their lastest release, Redline, is available now. If you can see GC and Soul Mafia perform live, go!"- Peter Mercurio (has written reviews for NY Times)
- petermercurio.com
"Soul Mafia's sound is sort of like Nas meets Coltrane at Beethoven's funeral." -borough doll - giantstep.net
"I want to give it up one more time for those artists that truly rocked the Festival Village, our 3 hour event outside the Stadium that once again attracted a crowd of well over 10,000 early birds. JUST LOOK AT THE CROWD:RON ARTEST, JOELL ORTIZ, SOUL MAFIA (that's their lead man, GC, also pictured here), MAINO, DRE, BABY CHAM, BEENIE MAN, and... yup, they came and they SHUT IT DOWN(!!)"- Chris Nadler (Hot 97, KISS FM, WRXP) - http://chrisnadler.typepad.com/exclamation_marketing/
"It's rare to find hardwork and hustle mixed with so much talent. GC has been in New York for less than five years but has made an industry impact that many artists never achieve, and at the same time he remains humble and Strives..." -Will DuBose - Strivemagazine.com cover story and interview
Composed and performed theme song to "City Slam"
Composed theme song to "The Season" - ESPN
composed and performed theme song for the FOX show "Pride" - FOX
Composed and performed Knicks theme song for "Knicks Night" television series - MSG
on Papoose Hot 97 concert "...but the stand out opening act by far was Soul Mafia. These dudes play their own instruments and they have a dude who flows and another guy who sings. The dude who flows does double duty on the sax, and I gotta say he was pretty damn nasty at both. Just imagine spitting a 16 and then going directly into a sax solo. Good shit." - nahright.com
Discography
Featured on Hot 97/ XXL "Street Essentials" mixtape along with DMX, Mobb Deep, Lyfe Jennings, etc. Featured on So So Def "Phronology" mixtape hosted by Jermaine Dupri. Debut album MK Ultra coming in summer 2009
Photos
Bio
It is increasingly evident that to be successful in the current landscape of music, artists can no longer be contained in boxes and in fact must for their own survival become multidimensional. Lil Wayne conjured his inner rock star and marched to multiplatinum; Linkin Park blended programmed drums and rap with big guitars and soaring vocals to grow an international fan base; Kanye West reinvented himself as an emo singer on “808s and Heartbreak”, and the list goes on. Blame it on the internet or globalization, but the walls separating musical styles are increasingly looking like lines in the sand… and Soul Mafia is a wave.
A jazz saxophonist/rapper/guitarist who looks like an MMA fighter, a classically trained pianist turned hip-hop producer who has an infatuation with 80’s rock, a foster kid from Indianapolis who channeled his pain into singing like the hip hop Marvin Gaye, and a young drum phenom born and bred in Crown Heights Brooklyn who plays like the loudest rock drummer you ever heard: musical genres crash as often as cymbals. Hints of Prince, Billy Idol, Daft Punk, B.I.G., even Coltrane and Beethoven dance in and out of their new album, but despite these unlikely ingredients, Soul Mafia somehow still sound like pop.
Arriving in New York City in 2001, GC and keyboardist/producer Prism began to establish the Soul Mafia brand through a trial by fire of open mics, battles, self promoted shows, and guerilla marketing tactics. By developing Pursuance Inc., the production wing of Soul Mafia, through placement on FOX, ESPN, and MSG, GC and Prism were able to finance their grass roots efforts. The early years were characterized by a revolving door of supporting players, but after several line-up changes, GC and Prism found the missing elements of Soul Mafia in drummer Lil D and vocalist Iam Beck.
With the inner circle established and battle tested from Detroit to South Carolina, the new album MK Ultra complete and the Wasted tour locked, Soul Mafia is ready for the world. Forged through years of struggle and sacrifice as individuals and as a collective, Soul Mafia is prepared to go the distance. In the words of GC, “might lose my shirt, but never the shoes; receipts you keep when you pay your dues.”
Links
