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. Born D’Anthony Carlos, he 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, and reappeared in 2013 as simply GoldLink. Every upload gained more attention, while producers like Kaytranada and the Danish crew Galimatias & Joppe collaborated with the MC. When he dropped the street release The God Complex in 2014, he was contacted by legendary producer Rick Rubin, but tours with SBTRKT and Flume, plus work with Chet Faker on the track “On You,” kept him from completing his official debut. Rubin earned a “mentor” credit on GoldLink’s 2015 LP And After That, We Didn’t Talk, which was released by Sony’s Soulection imprint. ~ David Jeffries
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