Gary Rinaldo (born May 3, 1969), better known by the name Gary G-Wiz, is an American record producer and film score composer. Most known for being a member of the hip hop production team the Bomb Squad, G-Wiz is a longtime Public Enemy producer and contributed to many albums including: Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black, Greatest Misses, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age, Autobiography of Mistachuck, There's a Poison Goin' On, Revolverlution, and How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?.[1]
Biography
G-Wiz, like many East Coast hip hop producers, began as a DJ spinning at basement parties and small clubs in Long Island, Queens and New York City in the mid-1980s.
He made the transition to record producer in the early 1990s, when he handed fellow Long Islander Chuck D a tape full of beats. The hip hop production team, The Bomb Squad, had silently gone their separate ways after Fear of a Black Planet (1990) and no new Public Enemy album was imminent. After hearing G-Wiz's music, Chuck D immediately planned to do an EP with G-Wiz being the sole producer. The two had such chemistry, the original eight cuts soon turned into 12 and Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black was born.[2] Apocalypse 91: The Enemy Strikes Black, as of 2007, is Public Enemy's greatest selling album to date, selling close to two million copies,[citation needed] and spawning the hits "Can't Truss It"[2] and "Shut Em Down."
G-Wiz went on to produce for artists such as Janet Jackson, Aerosmith, U2, Busta Rhymes, Rakim, Run–D.M.C., Method Man, Redman, Ludacris, Twista, KRS-One, Bell Biv Devoe, Peter Gabriel, Lisa Stansfield, Aaron Hall, Big Daddy Kane, Anthrax and Sinéad O'Connor.[2]
In 1992, G-Wiz was introduced to the world of film, where he composed the score for the Paramount Pictures film, Juice,[2] starring Tupac Shakur, as well as producing on the film's certified platinum soundtrack.[3] Since then, G-Wiz has contributed songs and score to Spike Lee's He Got Game, Bulworth with Warren Beatty, Paramount Pictures Mad City, Fox Television's King of the Hill, and a collaboration with Chuck D to create the main title theme to Fox's Dark Angel starring Jessica Alba. G-Wiz produced "Harder Than You Think", which climbed to No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart,[4] becoming the highest charting Public Enemy UK single to date.
Discography
- Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991)
- Greatest Misses (1992)
- Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994)
- He Got Game (1998)
- There's a Poison Goin' On (1999)
- Revolverlution (2002)
- How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? (2007)
- Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp (2012)
- The Evil Empire of Everything (2012)
- Man Plans God Laughs (2015)
- Down with the King (1993)
Chuck D (solo)
- Autobiography of Mistachuck (1996)
Hyenas in the Desert
- Die Laughing (1996)
- The Truth (1993)
Film and television
- Juice (1992)
- Digging to China (1997)
- He Got Game (1998)
- Bulworth (1998)
- Dark Angel (2001)
- Volcano High (2001)
- X Games (2003)
- ESPY Awards (2003)
- Method & Red (2004)
- The Longest Yard (2005)
- American Gangster (2007)
- Pineapple Express (2008)
- Lakeview Terrace (2008)
References
- ^ "Public Enemy Mark 20th Anniversary With New Album". Hiphop-elements.com, 24 July 2007.
- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 130. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
- ^ "Juice (1992)". Archive.is
- ^ "harder than you think | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
External links
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