Biography
Gold Chains emerged as a hip-hop provocateur appealing to indie rock audiences, releasing material through the niche imprints Orthlorng Musork and Tigerbeat6 instead of major operations like Def Jam or Rawkus. A capable rapper and producer, he gravitates toward the earnest comedic sensibility of Gonzales rather than the hip-hop parody associated with MC Paul Barman. Born Topher Lafata and raised in Reading, PA, he translated early enthusiasms for skateboarding and hardcore punk into a band shaped by post-punk and industrial aesthetics. While attending college in Connecticut he maintained live performances and extended his range by working with a live hip-hop act. Lafata also acquired a four-track, sampler, and drum machine to begin capturing his own material. One of his earliest productions, the cassette Gold Chains: Music for a Higher Society, supplied the performing alias he adopted once he began playing shows in San Francisco. Support dates for Kit Clayton and Kid 606 generated substantial returns; his first widely available recording, the Gold Chains EP, surfaced on Kit Clayton’s Orthlorng Musork label in late 2001, and the follow-up EP Straight From Your Radio appeared via Kid 606’s Tigerbeat6.
Albums
