Andy Mineo

Andrew Aaron Mineo (born April 17, 1988), is an American Christian hip hop artist, producer, music executive, and video director based in New York City.

He is signed to Reach Records and his creative initiative Miner League.

In addition to his solo work, he is a member of Reach Records' hip hop collective 116 Clique.

Originally from Syracuse, Mineo worked as a producer in high school at Henninger High School in Upstate New York, and joined the hip-hop group Fat Camp, signed to Syracuse University's Marshall Street Records.

After moving to New York City, he realized his weak spiritual condition, re-dedicated his life to Christ and closed down his production studio in order to restart his career.

He had formed a friendship with Chris "Oxburg" Leonard, and the pair recorded a song together in 2001.

After graduating from The City College of New York (CCNY), Mineo, along with Leonard, joined a rap group called Fat Camp, which subsequently won a song contest for WJPZ-FM and signed to Syracuse University's Marshall Street Records.

The group opened up for major acts such as Jadakiss, The Roots and Common, as well as members of the underground scene, such as Immortal Technique and Dead Prez, when said artists performed at the University.

In 2006, the group recorded and released a studio album entitled The Food.

In his first year of college, Mineo met the producer Alex Medina and through him discovered the urban evangelism project T.R.U.C.E. After hearing the song "Price Tag" by Da' T.R.U.T.H., Mineo decided to close his studio and rededicate his life to Christ.

He also left Fat Camp, which promptly dissolved.

Although he is a Christian, he chooses to not to identify as a "Christian rapper", because he feels the label turns some people off.

Following the closure of his studio, Mineo went on tour with T.R.U.C.E. He released his first mixtape, Sin is Wack.

He independently released his first mixtape Sin is Wack in 2009 and joined a community outreach program created by Nicky Cruz called T.R.U.C.E. where he met long-time friends and collaborators Alex Medina, Wordsplayed, Rich Perez and others.

Upon meeting, Andy began collaborating with Alex Medina on a record called "Background" that would later be placed on Lecrae's Rehab album and was Andy's introduction to Reach Records.

Mineo explained in an interview that he came up with the concept of the "Sin is Wack" title through his work with T.R.U.C.E. Following this release, Mineo sang on the Lecrae song "Background" from Rehab in 2010 and "Reverse" from Blacklight by Tedashii in 2011.

Mineo explained to Rapzilla "Background" was his first attempt at singing, and following the success of that song he received subsequent requests.

The Christian Manifesto claimed that Mineo's hook for "Background" made Rehab one of the best Christian albums to date, and stated that Mineo became one of the most sought after artists, particularly for singing hooks.

When asked about his recognition as a singer instead of an emcee, Mineo stated that "I enjoy making melodies", and said he wasn't too concerned about rapping when he supplied hooks for songs and was content with the opportunity to serve in any capacity.

Mineo contributed to "Put On" from Captured by Flame and "The Reunion Cypha" on Stop the Funeral by The Ambassador.

In 2011, Andy released "In My City", a single featuring Efrain from Doubledge, that continued to build momentum and buzz.

He released the single "In My City" in 2011 as part of the God in My City Movement prayer walk that Mineo was involved in.

The song was reported by Rapzilla to become an "anthem for a lot of people."

On July 28, 2011, at Legacy Conference 2011, Reach Records announced that Mineo had signed with the label.

Upon signing with the label, Mineo abandoned the stage name C-Lite, stating that he "never really liked the name" and that his signing marked a good time to transition to his legal name.

He released his debut mixtape on Reach Records, Formerly Known, on September 29, 2011.

After rebranding from C-Lite, Andy signed with Reach Records and released, Formerly Known, a full-length studio album, Heroes for Sale on April 16, 2013.

Gravity won the Best Gospel Album category in the 2013 Grammy Awards.

Mineo was raised in a single-parent home in Syracuse, New York.

In the summer before entering the 8th grade, Mineo went to a Summer camp at which his sister worked as a counselor and was exposed to the Gospel and his life had changed.

However, after his conversion, Mineo went into high school with no Christian support, and he soon drifted away from his faith.

While in high school, Mineo acquired recording equipment and started selling studio time out of his home.

On January 28, 2014, he released an EP titled Never Land.

His sophomore album, Uncomfortable, was released on September 18, 2015.

Andy began building his own creative initiative, Miner League and signed Wordsplayed along with L.A.-based alternative artist Willow Stephens that featured on his "Strange Motions" track on Uncomfortable.

In 2016, the first project from the initiative, Clowntown, was released by Wordsplayed and followed by Willow Stephens' self-titled EP.

In 2017, Miner League and Reach Records partnered to release a collaborative mixtape titled, Andy Mineo & Wordsplayed Present Magic & Bird on August 4, 2017.

His video and television work includes "Saturday Morning Car-Tunez", "League Chumps Season 1", and co-direction on numerous of his own music videos.

As a producer, his work includes tracks from his self-released "In My City", Formerly Known, Saturday Morning Car-Tunez, and Heroes for Sale.

He also produced the single "Destiny" by Sheena Lee, in which he was a featured performer, and, along with rapper Derek Minor, aided DJ Official in producing "Power Trip" by Lecrae, featuring Andy Mineo, Derek Minor, and Sho Baraka, from the album Gravity.