About August Gonzalez
Drawing from an array of influences ranging from hip-hop, indie-pop, to pop-punk, August Gonzalez is an artist that refuses to be put into a box. Whether it was collecting albums from artists like Green Day and Chiodos to Tupac and Kid Cudi, or writing parody songs and rap batting in school, August’s passion for music has been a significant presence in her life from an early age. In college she would discover the music-making program Garage-Band and learn how to record herself, playing her freestyles and beats for anyone that would listen.
However, struggles with her identity and belief in her own ability would lead the Iowa native to being discouraged from making music through her early twenties. It wasn’t until 2018 that she would again be inspired by Logic’s “Freestyle Fridays”. Breaking a few years long hiatus, August began posting a freestyle of her own once a month on social media for two year to positive feedback.
Then, in 2019, after getting a taste of the music business from a year-long stint at an independent record label, she decided to take the next step in her career. Shortly before her first studio session with Brendan Carper (Five AM, LOVESBLIND) at the helm as producer, her friend and former co-worker Alicia reached out about a song they had written during their time at the label. This led to more songs co-written and then a project together called “Ali & August”, with their first EP “Vibes” released in September 2021, marking the first time August had ever made any of her music available for streaming.
Now August’s focus is on her solo work, with her forthcoming pop-punk EP. “The world is pretty ugly these days and it’s easy to get lost in it and feel down. I wrote this song for anyone struggling to get through the day – that don’t feel like they’re enough or don’t want to get out of bed. For anyone walking with a heavy weight on their shoulders, just wanting to give up – I want to let them know they’re not alone. I want to tell them not to give up because they are enough and worth fighting for.”
ABOUT THE SONG: “LXXKN 4 THE L!TE” – out now
“Back in 2017 I started doing these “Freestyle Fridays,” and one Friday a month I would record myself rapping over a beat and post it on my socials. So the first verse of this song (with a few changes) was originally a freestyle I posted back in 2020 during quarantine over Blink 182’s song “Miss You.” I remember during this time I was a bit depressed being stuck in my room 24/7 and I just wrote about how I was feeling and I didn’t like this sad version of myself and I missed the happy fun person I used to be before covid hit. It got a great response on my socials so I decided
to make a full song and put it on my EP.
So I have an amazing producer, (Brendan Carper of FIVE AM, LOVESBLIND) and I told him I had an old freestyle I wanted to make into a whole song. After I showed him I told him I wanted to change the entire vibe of the song. “Miss You” is slow and sad, and I wanted it to be the complete opposite I wanted to speed it up and wanted it to sound uplifting, something you can just jam the fuck out to and makes you feel good! He had some ideas, I had some as well and the instrumental took a couple days and I had lyrics ready the next week.”
– August Gonzalez
Watch the video & stream”LXXKN 4 THE L!TE” here
For any more information on the artist, email pr@fromthestrait.com
