Voices from the Threshold #9

GLDMAZE

GLDMAZE is a hip-hop artist whose latest project, MANDO FILES:: VOL. 1, impressed me with its intricate worldbuilding, dense lyricism, and ambitious fusion of science fiction, fantasy, and Afrofuturism. It’s the kind of album that rewards repeat listens, revealing new layers each time you return to it.

In this interview, we discuss mythology, hip-hop, language as alchemy, underground rap, psychosis, civilisation, creative obsession, and why the best art should leave us with more questions than answers.

The artist:

GLDMAZE (Christopher Crawford Jr.) is a Texas-based hip-hop emcee, writer, and digital artist whose work comprises abstract, world-built lyricism, sci-fantasy lore, bizarre colors and configurations, and creative philosophy. GLDMAZE has an afrofuturist mind with the heart of an artist and the spirit of a wizard. With this fusion he explores radical notions of identity, revolution, the mind/spirit, and alchemy.

Thanks for doing this interview, GLDMAZE. I really enjoyed listening to your latest album. The production was in point, and your delivery was next level. There seems to be a whole world and mythology you’re exploring through your lyrics too. Can you give readers a brief introduction to that lore?

Thank you, man. Yeah, so my mythos takes place on Earth at different phases of its evolution with Humanity, and currently in the story Earth is now known as Velderon after aliens give it a facelift so to speak, and arcana is a separate pillar of society now with its own “spectrum” of espionage. Mando Files takes place within this espionage community. 

That leads into my next question—what’s the core aim of your work? What are you trying to make the listener feel, confront, or experience? What gap are you trying to fill?

Oh for sure, mystify. My work is an effort to bring back intentional alchemy within these institutions of language. The way the code manifests I think is its own puzzle that I immerse in as much as I hope others do. I love puzzles. I’m not the best at solving them, but that’s partly because I often second-guess my intuition. It is practice in intuition, for me and for the audience.

As a rapper, who are your biggest influences?

Probably MF DOOM, Earl Sweatshirt, Deltron 3030, Travis $cott.

What’s your opinion on modern rap as it currently stands?

There’s a few pockets of brilliance, a lot of ignorance to the underground jewels, a lot of redundant imagery though. Lyricism needs revitalizing–that frontier does have its figures though, in unexpected places too. I think overall good music is being made, I just want to see more nuances conveyed in other types of narratives. 

And what about the age we live in more broadly? Does the world feel stranger to you lately? More unstable? More surreal?

The world feels a bit surreal, very grave, very strange, and very desperate. The Storm has been here for a while. I think this time period marks a turning point we have yet to see the true revelatory moments from. It’s all confusion and division with the average person feeling the weight of everything or nothing at all. We need more people willing to navigate that weight, and really that shadow, with love and grace, not suspicion and hatred. Again, that’s hard to do given our environment and the “setup” as it were, but with intention I think the world can be conveyed in a way that challenges this dark reality with impact.

What are your biggest hopes and fears for the future of our civilisation?

My biggest hope for humanity is that we will start acting for posterity’s sake. I fear my generation will be too emotionally stunted to build anything productive.

What’s the greatest moment in your life been so far?

Probably performing with my brothers-in-bars [SpaceGoonz] on the same stage as a hip-hop legend. Same show, different sets. I know for a fact it was a bigger deal for us than it was for him, or maybe it was similar, but man it felt like a full-circle moment in my hip-hop journey.

What’s the most challenging one been? And what did you learn from it?

Probably my first psychotic break. I’m open about it now because it’s important, but I learned that no one sees the same world as you, and that dissonance can be dangerous if not channeled.

How do you balance your creative ambitions with the rest of your life?

I believe my creative practice extends into most if not all aspects of my life, even if I don’t intentionally label these aspects “creative.” I live and breathe what I do, and I’m always thinking about it. I try not to say obsessed but there’s definitely an embodiment in the process.

If someone discovered you through this interview, what’s the one piece you’ve posted on Substack that you’d point them toward first?

I would say THE.MAZIST ORIENTATION is a great guide to my work on Substack—the lore, the music and lyrics, poetry, more, especially if you want to really dive into all that. Other than that, check the new project out. MANDO FILES:: VOL. 1. Ya feel me?

Alright—you get the last word. How would you like to sign off? What would you want to say to the people reading this?

I consider all the people who find something of value in my work to be a Seeker, and to be a Seeker is to question why you even had that question. To question the quest you’re on, yet trek on.

If GLDMAZE’s answers resonated with you, be sure to subscribe to his Substack and do go check out MANDO FILES:: VOL. 1. There’s a lot more going on beneath the surface than we could ever cover in a single interview.

Besides, now it’s your turn.

Which of GLDMAZE’s answers struck you hardest? Which did you agree with? Which did you disagree with? And what question do you wish I’d asked?

Drop your thoughts below and let’s give GLDMAZE a proper grilling in the comments. ↓