Top Bottom

GMC (Gas Mask Colony) is the brainchild of four San Francisco emcees who grew up together surviving the harsh realities of a modern day urban lifestyle. Their music has been crafted through years of freestyle sessions, perfected in the streets of the city. Throughout their lives, they have grown from a crew of thugs and partycrashers to a cabal of lyrical madmen, taking extreme pride and seriousness in their craft. The changes they have been through made them the young men they are today and over the course of their development, they stayed true to the mic the whole way. In the end, the individual life stories of each member in the group is a perfect example of what it is today to be apart of the hip-hop culture on the west coast. The Gas Mask Colony consists of Dregs One, Grambino, Relikhan and Telli Prego. Even beyond music, one would be hard pressed to find a group of friends such as this. Each member of the crew comes from a different background, transcending all racial, cultural, and religious boundaries. They are able to use their differences to bring something fresh and unique to the group, coming together as one to produce a sound and style rarely seen today in the world of hip-hop. The crew produces lyrics and messages that countless cliques can identify with. Graffiti wrtiters, punk rockers, gang-bangers, skateboarders, deejays, surfers, rich kids, poor kids, artists, b-boys, hippies- these types of people and more have already found songs by the group that they've been able to relate to their lives. Through their artform, GMC provides a soundtrack for urban life and give a voice to the youth living in the streets of San Francisco. The members of the group started off as childhood friends, some of them going as far back as kindergarten. Early in their high school careers, they found they shared a common passion for hip-hop. Their rapping experience began with beats pumping from a boombox, spitting heated freestyles in the streets. After gaining notoriety among their peers by battling opponents and spontaneously rapping in front of crowds at parties, the ambitious rappers decided to take their talent from the streets to the studio. The crew went from making low-quality tracks with basic programs to recording in the studios of youth centers to finally putting in the hard work and sacrifice required for setting up their own office and recording studio with their own equipment and setup. Their first venture was a mixtape entitled 40 Ounces and Flow Sessions, which they passed around to friends and random acquaintances throughout the city. Even this relatively small project resulted in developing a solid and loyal fanbase of people who were truly impressed by the talent of the four youngsters. Their latest effort is a seven track E.P., Top Bottom, which gives an overall account of the way they came up. With this debut, GMC hopes to create a stir within the underground hip-hop community and bring their art to a wider audience. With tracks like "Top Bottom", detailing their experiences growing up, "Arabian Knights", which showcases the four's lyrical prowess and "I.H.O.T", an anthem for party animals everywhere, this E.P. will undoubtedly open up the eyes and ears of hip-hop fans everywhere and show that the Colony is a force to be reckoned with.