GoldLink

Having risen through grassroots momentum to major-label status, the Washington, D.C. MC GoldLink fuses forward-thinking hip-hop with restless indie pulses and robust, dance-oriented rhythms that trace directly back to the 1980s and the city’s longstanding go-go sound. Since emerging in the early 2010s he has held steady prominence through the Grammy-nominated 2017 single “Crew” and the 2018 Christina Aguilera collaboration “Like I Do.” After releasing three mixtapes he issued the wide-ranging debut full-length Diaspora in 2019, followed by the sharper, more abrasive Haram! in 2021.

Born D’Anthony Carlos, he first recorded as Gold Link James. Circulating his dense, high-energy tracks online gradually expanded his audience; after a brief pause he resurfaced in 2013 under the streamlined name GoldLink. Each new upload drew wider notice, attracting producers such as Kaytranada and the Danish pair Galimatias & Joppe. The 2014 street project The God Complex prompted contact from veteran producer Rick Rubin, though tours with SBTRKT and Flume plus the Chet Faker feature “On You” postponed his official debut. Rubin earned a mentor credit on the 2015 mixtape And After That, We Didn’t Talk, which appeared via Soulection.

The following year GoldLink signed with RCA and began anew with another Kaytranada collaboration, “Fall in Love.” His second mixtape, At What Cost, arrived in March 2017 and reached number 177 on the Billboard 200; it included the breakout “Crew,” a Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy joint that received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Performance. A second nomination arrived in 2018 for his featured turn on Christina Aguilera’s “Like I Do.” Lead singles “Got Muscle” and “Zulu Screams” preceded the mid-2019 release of Diaspora, his second RCA album and the one he regards as his first authentic full-length, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 77. After appearing on the Gorillaz track “Severed Head,” he returned in 2021 with Haram!, a louder and more aggressive set anchored by the relaxed Flo Milli collaboration “Raindrops.”