# GoldLink

D'Anthony William Carlos (born May 17, 1993), better known by his stage name GoldLink, is an American rapper and singer from Washington, D.C. He gained recognition following the release of his debut mixtape The God Complex (2014), which was met with critical acclaim. In 2015, he was chosen as part of the XXL Freshman Class and released his second mixtape, And After That, We Didn't Talk—supported by the singles "Dance on Me" and "Spectrum". He signed with RCA Records to release his 2016 single "Crew" (featuring Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy), which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100, received sextuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. It preceded the release of his debut studio album At What Cost (2017), which was met with continued positive reception despite trailing the single's commercial success. His second album, Diaspora (2019), entered the Billboard 200 at number 77.

## Early life

GoldLink's father was a parks and recreation worker and his mother a secretary at a law firm. After his parents separated, GoldLink moved to Bowie, Maryland with his mother and eventually settled in Virginia. He graduated from Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia.

## Career
### 2013–16: Beginnings and breakthrough

GoldLink began his career performing under his birth name D'Anthony Carlos. He began making music as a hobby after graduating high school at Hayfield Secondary School, eventually recording tracks in a local studio in Falls Church, Virginia named Indie Media Lab. He released his first tracks on Bandcamp under the name Gold Link James. It was in 2013 that he began performing as GoldLink, releasing several free tracks on SoundCloud.
GoldLink released his first mixtape The God Complex in July 2014. Complex named it one of the best projects released during the first half of 2014, Spin placed it at number 19 on its The 40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2014, Clash ranked it at number 7 on their Top 10 Mixtapes of 2014 and Pitchfork Media gave the mixtape a 7.9 rating.
GoldLink began collaborating with producer Rick Rubin in 2015. In November 2015 he released the mixtape After That, We Didn't Talk, much of which was considered a follow-up to questions left unanswered from The God Complex. Pigeons & Planes placed it at number 19 on its Best Albums of 2015 list. GoldLink was also named a member of the XXL Freshman Class in 2015. In 2016, GoldLink signed a major deal with RCA Records and revealed he is working on his debut album for the label. He released the single "Fall In Love" featuring rapper Cisero and produced by Canadian band BADBADNOTGOOD and Canadian producer and DJ Kaytranada. He later released the song "Untitled" with TDE rapper Isaiah Rashad. In December of that year, he saw his furthest commercial success following the release of his single "Crew" (featuring Shy Glizzy and Brent Faiyaz). It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 45, received six-times platinum certification by the RIAA, and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; the single also spawned a remix by Georgia rapper Gucci Mane.

### 2017–present: At What Cost and Diaspora

In February 2017, Goldlink took part in "Red Bull Sound Selects" 3 Days Miami among artists Kelela, Angel Olsen, Brika, and others. On March 24, 2017, he released his debut album, At What Cost. It featured guest appearances from Wale, Shy Glizzy, Steve Lacy, Jazmine Sullivan, Kaytranada, Mýa, Ciscero, Kokayi, Hare Squead, Radiant Children, April George and Lil Dude. The project debuted at number 128 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Apart from "Crew", it also spawned the single "Meditation".
On June 7, 2018, GoldLink was featured on the song "Like I Do" by American singer Christina Aguilera from her eighth studio album, Liberation, which was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
On June 12, 2019, GoldLink released his second studio album Diaspora. In an interview with Wonderland Magazine, he said that he considered "At What Cost" to be his breakout mixtape due to a label agreement and "Diaspora" as his debut album.
On June 18, 2021, GoldLink released his third studio album Haram!. In the run up to the album release, GoldLink began trolling some of his fellow rappers, tweeting insults and threats at Sheck Wes and sporting a fake facial jewel on his forehead in a July 13, 2021 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon appearance, in apparent mockery of the facial jewelry trend popularized by Lil Uzi Vert and Sauce Walka. In the album's first single, "White Walls," GoldLink continued his disses of Sheck Wes. The feud with Wes dates back to 2019 when GoldLink's then-girlfriend Justine Skye accused Wes of abuse, stalking, and harassment.

## Controversy
### Mac Miller comments

On November 26, 2019, GoldLink wrote a post on Instagram that outlined both his appreciation for Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller, who died of an accidental overdose in 2018, and his belief the late star intentionally cribbed the sound of And After That, We Didn't Talk for Miller's album The Divine Feminine. GoldLink claimed he showed Miller his album while they were on tour together for Miller's previous album GO:OD AM and wrote the rapper loved it and had him play it for the whole touring crew. GoldLink pointed to similarities in the albums' structure and use of singer Anderson .Paak for a lead single. Paak responded in an Instagram post of his own, slamming GoldLink for having a "God Complex" and being disrespectful in the wake of their friend's death. On November 28, 2019, GoldLink spoke on the war of words at a concert in Hamburg, Germany, focusing on the love he expressed in the post for Miller and emphasizing he never accused the deceased rapper of stealing or copying.

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | US | US R&B /HH | AUS | BEL (FL) | NLD | Certifications |
| At What Cost | Released: March 24, 2017 Label: RCA Records Format: Digital download, LP, CD | 127 | 36 | — | — | — | RIAA: Gold |
| Diaspora | Released: June 12, 2019 Label: RCA, Squaaash Club Format: Digital download, LP, CD | 77 | 40 | 70 | 148 | 87 | |
| Haram! | Released: June 18, 2021 Label: RCA, Sony Format: Digital download, streaming | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||

### Mixtapes

List of mixtapes, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Mixtape details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Mixtape details | US R&B /HH | Certifications |
| The God Complex | Released: July 22, 2014 Label: Squaaash Club Format: Digital download | — | |
| And After That, We Didn't Talk | Released: November 8, 2015 Label: Soulection Format: Digital download, vinyl | 21 | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US R&B /HH | Certifications | Album |
| "Sober Thoughts" | 2015 | — | — | | The God Complex |
| "Dance on Me" | 2015 | — | — | | And After That, We Didn't Talk |
| "Spectrum" | 2015 | — | — | | And After That, We Didn't Talk |
| "Fall in Love" (featuring Ciscero) | 2016 | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "See I Miss Pt. 2" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius) | 2016 | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Crew" (featuring Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy) | 2016 | 45 | 15 | RIAA: 7× Platinum BPI: Silver | At What Cost |
| "Rough Soul" (featuring April George) | 2017 | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "Meditation" (featuring Kaytranada and Jazmine Sullivan) | 2017 | — | — | | At What Cost |
| "Got Friends" (featuring Miguel) | 2018 | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "Loud" (with Silk City and Desiigner) | 2018 | — | — | | Electricity |
| "Zulu Screams" (featuring Maleek Berry and Bibi Bourelly) | 2019 | — | — | | Diaspora |
| "Joke Ting" (featuring Ari Pen-Smith) | 2019 | — | — | | Diaspora |
| "U Say" (featuring Tyler, the Creator and Jay Prince) | 2019 | — | — | | Diaspora |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||

#### As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "FBGM" (BMB Spacekid featuring GoldLink) | 2015 | Non-album singles |
| "Aquafina" (Falcons featuring GoldLink and Chaz French) | 2015 | Non-album singles |
| "Compromise" (Christian Rich featuring GoldLink) | 2015 | FW14 |
| "Sticks and Horses" (George Maple featuring GoldLink) | 2016 | Lover |
| "Nobody" (LEISURE featuring GoldLink) | 2016 | Leisure |
| "Together" (Kaytranada featuring AlunaGeorge & GoldLink) | 2016 | 99.9% |
| "Boo You Know" (Falcons featuring GoldLink) | 2017 | Non-album singles |
| "Far Gone" (Burns featuring Johnny Yukon and GoldLink) | 2017 | Non-album singles |
| "Through Enough" (VanJess featuring GoldLink) | 2017 | Silk Canvas |
| "Wide Open" (Deante' Hitchcock featuring GoldLink) | 2017 | So Much For Good Luck |
| "Nobody" (Niia featuring GoldLink) | 2017 | Non-album single |
| "Function" (Ciscero featuring GoldLink, April George and Cheakaity) | 2018 | Devil's Pie |
| "Like I Do" (Christina Aguilera featuring GoldLink) | 2018 | Liberation |
| "Open" (Mýa featuring GoldLink) | 2019 | TKO (The Knock Out) |
| "Vex Oh" (Kaytranada featuring GoldLink, Eight9Fly & Ari PenSmith) | 2019 | Bubba |

### Other certified songs

List of other certified songs, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Certifications | Album |
| "Herside Story" (with Hare Squead) | 2017 | RIAA: Gold | At What Cost |
| "Black Balloons" (Denzel Curry featuring Twelve'len and GoldLink) | 2019 | ARIA: Gold | Ta13oo |

### Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
| "Hi Lo" | 2018 | Chloe x Halle | The Kids Are Alright |
| "Black Balloons" | 2018 | Denzel Curry, Twelve'len | Ta13oo |
| "Something Real" | 2019 | Adé, Wale | Always Something |
| "Prescriptions" | 2019 | lilbootycall | Jesus Said Run It Back |
| "Babouche" | 2019 | Jidenna | 85 to Africa |
| "Severed Head" | 2020 | Gorillaz, Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2018 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap/Sung Performance | "Crew" (with Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy) | Nominated |
| 2018 | iHeartRadio Music Awards | Best New Hip-Hop Artist | Himself | Nominated |
| 2018 | BET Awards | Best New Artist | Himself | Nominated |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap/Sung Performance | "Like I Do" (with Christina Aguilera) | Nominated |