Goldlink

Early life

Carlos was born in Washington, DC, and moved to Cheverly, Maryland during his early teens. He finished his last two years of high school in Northern Virginia, where he began making music as a hobby after graduating. He found a local studio, where he was encouraged that with his voice, charisma, and story, he could do more with his music. He began taking his craft seriously, and released his very first tracks on Bandcamp under the moniker Gold Link James. The songs piqued interest on YouTube and within the Tumblr community, as he began to study the essentials of rap’s hierarchy and develop his signature fast-paced, biting, blending sound in light of his regional influences.

Career

In June 2013, he released his first song as GoldLink. He would go on to drop several free tracks on his Soundcloud month after month, including remixes of songs by progressive beatsmiths Ta-ku, Kaytranada, and BMB, as well as a collaboration with Danish producers Galimatias and Joppe.

On April 1, 2014, he released his first and only full body of work, The God Complex. The tape garnered him serious praise worldwide, earning a 7.9 on Pitchfork as well as a budding mentorship under Rick Rubin. He went on to do a serious run of live shows, supporting Flume and SBTRKT on their respective 2014 fall tours and headlining a brief Euro tour with Andre 3000 in attendance at the London stop.

In July 2014, he released a collaborative track with Australian artist Chet Faker titled “On You” as part of Adidas Songs from Scratch series, and in September 2014, he featured on UK artist Bipolar Sunshine’s single “Future (Part 1).” In December 2014, after featuring on EDM artist ZHU’s “Paradise Awaits (Part 2),” he dropped a 3-song EP of unreleased demos and went on a mini Australian tour.

On April 1, 2015, the 1 year anniversary of The God Complex release, he shared the video for the Kaytranada-produced single “Sober Thoughts.” In the summer of 2015, he was named a 2015 XXL Freshman, and embarked on his first North American-headlining tour. He ended the tour in his hometown with a sold-out show at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club, where he announced his next project, entitled And After That, We Didn’t Talk, will be released with the support of Soulection. On November 6th, 2015, And After That, We Didn’t Talk was released.

Musical style

GoldLink’s sound is densely weighted with shimmering polyrhythmic sounds, constructed with producers who usually have one foot in and one foot out of hip-hop. His sound milks nostalgic cuts of 90s hip-hop and R&B and the area’s natural Go-Go heritage with transcending circadian drops of dance music and Afro-Caribbean drum patterns. GoldLink’s raps are calculated, tackling them with a roller-coaster delivery, with a distinct voice and unmeasurable cadence. With his unyielding charm, Goldlink tackles his own battles of social and cultural injustice, pursuing a relatable voice of romantic instability.

Influences

In interviews with VSCO, NPR, Washington City Paper, Complex, The FADER, Billboard and others, GoldLink has named a bevy of musical and cultural influences, notably Edgar Allen Poe, Grimes, Pink Floyd, Def Jam Poetry, the Hot Boys, and gospel music, that have helped shaped his musical background. He is also passionate about the sounds of his hometown, Go-Go, a subgenre of funk that grew out of Washington D.C. Goldlink noted in an interview with Hot 97 that he wants his music to have a feeling of positivity, with an upbeat sound. He states that too much modern music focuses on negative and that it proves harmful for today's society.

Albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As featured artist