Biography
Affiliated with Tech N9ne's Strange Music imprint, the hip-hop outfit Mayday! scored a national breakthrough in 2006 via "Groundhog Day," a track that bypassed traditional radio and MTV playlists in favor of early YouTube exposure. Crafted by DJ Craze and featuring Cee-Lo Green on the refrain in the style of Gnarls Barkley, the nine-to-five tribute amassed more than two million streams inside forty-eight hours and shattered the platform's existing viewership benchmark. Coverage soon appeared across major outlets such as ABC's World News Tonight and The New York Times, prompting overtures from several prominent record companies.
The sudden spotlight traced back to modest beginnings. Miami-area natives MC Bernbiz, born Bernardo Garcia, and producer/keyboardist Plex Luthor, born Aaron Eckhart, both residents of Kendall, Florida, first teamed up simply for enjoyment. Plex Luthor already possessed underground credits, notably through the Miami rap collective Algorithm, along with scoring contributions to the Discovery Channel and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Their earliest release, the 2004 underground favorite "Quicksand," secured a deal with the fledgling SouthBeat Records. That partnership enabled fuller expression of their wide-ranging influences—rock, jazz, and Miami dance—mirroring the city's multicultural fabric on their self-titled debut album, which arrived in September 2006.
Also in September 2006, mtvU named them to its "Freshmen Five" class, positioning the group as a collegiate favorite on the cusp of wider success. Financial difficulties soon halted SouthBeat's progress and led to prolonged bankruptcy proceedings; during that period, consultations with fellow acts on the struggling roster connected them with Ben Miller, performing as rapper Wrekonize. Wrekonize became an official member in 2010, coinciding with the self-released album Stuck on an Island, whose title alluded to the label's troubles. In 2011, Tech N9ne recruited the ensemble for a feature on his Welcome to Strangeland project, an association that culminated in their signing to Strange Music that same year. Their first project for the imprint, Take Me to Your Leader, surfaced in 2012, followed by Believers in 2013. The 2014 release ¡Mursday! paired them with rapper Murs. Future Vintage arrived in 2015 and included appearances by Tech N9ne and Afro-beat artist Femi Kuti. Their seventh album, Search Party, emerged in 2017 and enlisted Tech N9ne, Common Kings, J.L., Danny Acosta, and additional guests. South of 5th appeared in 2018 and entered the Billboard reggae chart at number one.
The sudden spotlight traced back to modest beginnings. Miami-area natives MC Bernbiz, born Bernardo Garcia, and producer/keyboardist Plex Luthor, born Aaron Eckhart, both residents of Kendall, Florida, first teamed up simply for enjoyment. Plex Luthor already possessed underground credits, notably through the Miami rap collective Algorithm, along with scoring contributions to the Discovery Channel and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Their earliest release, the 2004 underground favorite "Quicksand," secured a deal with the fledgling SouthBeat Records. That partnership enabled fuller expression of their wide-ranging influences—rock, jazz, and Miami dance—mirroring the city's multicultural fabric on their self-titled debut album, which arrived in September 2006.
Also in September 2006, mtvU named them to its "Freshmen Five" class, positioning the group as a collegiate favorite on the cusp of wider success. Financial difficulties soon halted SouthBeat's progress and led to prolonged bankruptcy proceedings; during that period, consultations with fellow acts on the struggling roster connected them with Ben Miller, performing as rapper Wrekonize. Wrekonize became an official member in 2010, coinciding with the self-released album Stuck on an Island, whose title alluded to the label's troubles. In 2011, Tech N9ne recruited the ensemble for a feature on his Welcome to Strangeland project, an association that culminated in their signing to Strange Music that same year. Their first project for the imprint, Take Me to Your Leader, surfaced in 2012, followed by Believers in 2013. The 2014 release ¡Mursday! paired them with rapper Murs. Future Vintage arrived in 2015 and included appearances by Tech N9ne and Afro-beat artist Femi Kuti. Their seventh album, Search Party, emerged in 2017 and enlisted Tech N9ne, Common Kings, J.L., Danny Acosta, and additional guests. South of 5th appeared in 2018 and entered the Billboard reggae chart at number one.
Albums
Singles
