HotLeaks - Who started Gate City Squad, and how did you guys come together?
Josh - "Matt took after our uncle and began making music when he was very young. He took up rap and made a bunch of songs with Syntax beats. I jumped on the scene when I was twelve and together we started working pretty consistently. Shortly after that, Dano started getting on the tracks and we kind of subconsciously created a group. Our uncle later deemed us as the "Gate City Squad", and the name stuck. Matt was always the pushing force behind GCS and can be credited with starting the group. John jumped on board this year because of his song-writing ability, creative talents, and great attitude. He makes everything that much easier for the entire group with his laid back personality and willingness to put out good music."
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HotLeaks - What made you guys get into the hip-hop game? Did anybody in particular inspire you?
Matt - "Our Uncle would be our biggest influence I would say, as he was a rapper since he was a little kid, and still makes music to this day. Our parents are also in a band and have much musical talent. Our dad plays the drums, and our mom is a singer. So you could say our family was basically the backbone of all our musical influence."
Josh - "I was always in love with hip-hop and rap. With our uncle Bill always being involved in rap we were pretty inspired by the movement he was making. He was incredibly dedicated to his craft and had a real smooth style. Matt got his inspiration from Bill, and I later got inspiration from Matt. "
HotLeaks - I noticed when I first spotted MattyFee, the site mentioned he was an athlete as well. Is there any more GCS athletes? I was also wondering if sports were your main thing, or are you going to take the path of guys like Mike Stud and Loggy, and leave the sports for music?
Dano - "We've been putting out a good amount of music as of late and have been getting into the whole blog scene, so I just think more people have had the chance to hear our music so alot of artists who like our style want to collab to gain the exposure from their fans and ours both without affecting music quality and sound. I play baseball at UConn, and am extremely busy with that, so whenever I get the chance to throw down a verse, chorus, or bridge on a track, I shoot down home to put one down. But I can't do as much as would like to, so I'm doing everything I can without affecting my status on the team."
Matt - "My basketball career at Plymouth State officially ended over a month ago so I am going to pursue music on the side and focus on landing a job once I graduate."
HotLeaks - I’ve noticed on some of your YouTube videos, that you guys recorded that particular song in “GCS studios”. Where is that?
Matt - "GCS Studios is in my apartment at school/basement back home. I put a lot of money into it and hope to start producing other up-and-coming artists soon."
HotLeaks - You guys seem to have been doing things really organically. I see a lot of artists try and force their shit, but there no forcing with you guys. What made you take that path?
Matt - "We make music that is US. We don't try to follow trends or put out certain types of music simply because it's popular. If you're not true to yourself in your music, people will notice and it takes away from it."
Dano - "We make mostly all of our own beats and just go with the flow. When we write, we write with the flow of the beat, not the lyrics first. I like to get a feel for the beat and see how I could relate to it, then write words I feel me and everyone else would really vibe to."
HotLeaks - How did you hook up with Collin McLaughlin for the track My Everything? Plus you have a wicked track with Mike Stud. How did you get all these connections?
Matt - "I had made this beat a couple of months back and needed some vocals to accompany the verses I wrote for it. I came across Collin on GMAD and was super impressed with his tone and vocal abilities and figured I’d take a shot in the dark and see if this beat interested him in any way. I sent him an email telling him what I envisioned for the song and he immediately was on board. He loved the beat, laced an incredible hook, and truly made the song what it is today. The same story goes with Mike Stud too. I sent him this club beat I had made last summer and he was like, “I really need two verses on this…” I was really excited (1) that he loved the beat and (2) wanted to do two verses on it. After a couple of weeks of emailing different versions and mixes of the song to each other, we finally finished it. I’m real proud of how the song came out because it shows that GCS and Mike Stud can put our foot in any type of genre. We are not limited to strictly hip-hop; we can branch out."
HotLeaks - Speaking of collaborations, in a perfect world, where you could work with any artist, Who would you want to work with?
Dano - "I personally would love to collab on a track with someone along the lines of Mario/Neyo, or even possibly Hayley Williams. All of them have styles and voices, which can mix well with mine. Plus just being in a room with them and learning as much as I could would be a dream anyway.
Josh - "In a perfect world, it would be nice to collaborate with Jay-z. It would be amazing to see him up close and work on something with someone so great."
Matt - "I would love to collab with B.O.B because he is so unique and talented in the studio that I think we could make an absolute jam."
HotLeaks - Finally, do you guys have any big plans for upcoming tracks, or possibly a mixtape in the works?
Matt - "We always have new music coming out, and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. So there's nothing to worry about when it comes to the music aspect. Hopefully more people hear us and give us the exposure we hope for, so that we can get as many collabs as possible with more popular artists and ones who we feel would work great with our sound."
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