By DCist Contributor Josh Solomon
It’s a sort of D.C. dream realized: from Howard Homecoming to the Fillmore.
A student who once performed a 15-minute set, squeezed between countless top-of-the-line acts, is now—six years later—going to headline his own show in Silver Spring on Friday.
Though he’s entrenched here now, the artist isn’t exactly a DMV native; Chicago—one of the richest music scenes for young artists—is where G the Mastermind calls home. It’s where he was classically trained in piano and listened to his dad’s R&B.
But G has lived in D.C. for the last nine years of his life. In 2006 he attended Howard University as a biology major and chemistry minor, but quickly realized the music life—which he had devoted himself prior to college, and even hired a manager at the age of 16—was the career path for him.
When he opened for Mary J. Blige and Nipsey Hustle in 2009, G got to live a dream. When he stepped offstage, legendary hip-hop producer 9th Wonder came up to him and told him: ‘’Yo, I love your music. It’s very genuine,'” G remembers. “‘It’s very new. And your sound is nothing like what I’ve heard before. Keep at it. Continue to keep making great music.’’
G the Mastermind isn’t just a one-trick pony, he does it all: producing, writing, rapping, singing, mixing, and more. He looks to multi-talented artists like J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T., John Legend, and his biggest idol, Ryan Leslie, for inspiration. Thanks to his myriad talents, he earned the “genius” moniker in the rap game. “I’m a musical wizard,” he says. “They call me the urban Einstein; a true mastermind—and I love it.”
During his time at Howard University, G honed his wizardry under the
tutelage of his professor and mentor, now-retired audio engineer Reggie Miles. Since
they were from the same town and shared the same pastor, they connected instantly;
but, as Miles later noted, it was his student’s “passion” and “persistence” that made their connection truly unique.
“I knew he had something special,” Miles explains. “He didn’t complete his work on time, he handed in his work before time. He would look at me and say ‘is there something else to do?’”
His sound is influenced by his classical background as well as his love for the golden
era of R&B, the ’90’s. He merges both with a present-day hip-hop sound, keeping a mid- to up-tempo beat on the majority of his tracks.
“Nowadays, everyone wants turn up music. Just turn up, turn up, turn up, and if you’ve got the R&B hit that’s still trying to do the baby-making, love music, you’re not competing,” G says. “There’s a new generation that only wants turn up music, so you have to find a way to blend yourself out here. You have to find a way to still have the essence and the feel of what you’re looking for, but still find a way to have some bounce with it,” he says. “So it still blends in with the modern day society, the industry and the music.”
One person who instantly appreciated this blend was Mariam Aquarium. The Maryland
R&B crooner found her way to G the Mastermind in May after he put out a call
on Twitter for a female vocalist to jump on a track. A mutual follower connected
the two to link them up for G’s single, “No Wannabe” which they will perform together Friday.
Though she wasn’t familiar with his music at first, Mariam was eager to work with another local artist. “; I’m always willing to listen to new
music, especially when it’s from local musicians,” Aquarium says. “We gotta support each other here in the DMV.”
Though the Chicago scene is an alluring place for any aspiring rapper, G has decided to keep his talents in the District, for both professional and personal reasons.
“My brother actually got shot about a year and a half ago,” G says. “It kind of changed my whole mentality to motivate others, to uplift others, and to do something epic.”
Now he hashtags most of his tweets with “#SomethingEpic” in an effort to promote a positive spin on the world around him.
Recently, after winning a WKYS contest for an older single, “Murder She Wrote”, G received quite a bit of local radio play; something that’s difficult for many D.C. artists to do these days. Whether it’s through concerts, radio, or print, his effort to make his message known is growing right alongside the District’s music scene.
“He knows that my motto was ‘failure to prepare is preparing to fail’,” Miles says. “So he always prepared himself for this moment. Even though he was taking little bitty steps, he was still on track in his journey. And I’m very proud.”
G the Mastermind performs Friday at the Fillmore in Silver Spring, supported by Irie Intentions, The Future Band, Adam E Project, Tokyo Crow, Aye Yo Smiley, The Orphans and Dom Of Da District. Tickets are $13.
