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Andy Mineo
Background information
Also known as	C-Lite
Born	(1988-04-17) April 17, 1988 (age 36)
Origin	New York City, New York
Genres	Christian hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, singer, producer, andmusic video director, minister
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Reach, Trace, Marshall Street
Website	andymineo.com

Andy Mineo, former stage name C-Lite, is a Christian hip hop artist, producer, minister, and TV and music video director from New York City. He is currently signed to Reach Records and in addition to his solo work is a member of that label's hip hop collective 116 Clique.

Originally from Syracuse, Mineo worked as a producer in high school Upstate New York, and formed a hip hop group signed to Syracuse University's Marshall Street Records. After moving to New York City, he examined his spiritual condition and re-dedicated his life to Christ and closed down his production studio to restart his career. He released his first mixtape Sin is Wack Vol. 1 in 2009. After providing sung vocals for the song "Background" by Lecrae from the album Rehab, he collaborated with others. In 2011, he released the single "In My City", featuring Efrain from Doubledge, also garnered attention. He appeared on the song "Reverse" by Tedashii from Blacklight. He signed to Reach Records in 2011 and abandoned his stage name "C-Lite" in favor of his legal name. Under this name he released another mixtape, Formerly Known, in 2011. His full-length studio album, Heroes for Sale, was released on April 16, 2013.

His video and television work includes his creation of "Saturday Morning Car-Tunez", a four-part web series in which Mineo portrayed himself and remixed classic hip-hop songs, and his co-direction of his own music videos "In My City" and "Fools Gold". As a producer, his work includes tracks from his self-releases "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. Gravity won the Best Gospel Album category in the 2013 Grammy Awards.

Biography

Early life

Mineo was raised in a single-parent home in Syracuse, New York. In the summer before entering the 8th grade, Mineo went to a Christian camp at which his sister worked as a counselor and where he was exposed to the Gospel and was converted. 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.

After he left college, Mineo formed a rap group with some friends 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 his freshman 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.

Subsequent career

Following the closure of his studio, Mineo went on tour with T.R.U.C.E. He released his first mixtape, Sin is Wack Vol. 1. 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 Stop the Funeral by The Ambassador. 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.

In May 2012, Mineo launched a 4-episode web series entitled Saturday Morning Car-Tunez which featured him remixing classic hip-hop songs. The remixed songs were released as a free download. On July 17, Mineo performed alongside Lecrae at the Apple Store in SoHo, New York to promote Lecrae's 6th studio album, Gravity. In August, Mineo performed in the 2012 God Belongs in My City Concert tour with Anthony Shepherd & The Roar and Sheena Lee. He also headlined the 2012 Kingdom Choice Awards along with Swoope and Bizzle. From the month of October through November, Mineo toured as a member of the 116 Clique on the Unashamed 2012: Come Alive tour. On December 7–8, Mineo was a featured performer at the Kings Dream Conference, a launching of the Kings Dream label by the hip-hop group theBREAX.

On January 8, 2013, Mineo announced the release date for Heroes for Sale, April 16, 2013, and released the cover.

On January 1, 2014, Mineo announced season two of Saturday Morning Car-Tunez, which showed the making of Mineo's upcoming EP, Never Land, which he released on January 28, 2014.

Discography

Studio albums

• Heroes for Sale - 2013

Mixtapes

• Sin is Wack Vol. 1 - 2009

• Formerly Known - 2011

Compilations

• Saturday Morning Car-Tunez - 2012

Production discography

Self-released

Sin Is Wack - 2009

01. "Night of the Living Dead" (featuring Ravi Zacharias)

06. "Who's Watching?"

"In My City" - 2010

Formerly Known - 2011

03. "Formerly Known" (featuring Co Campbell)

11. "Fools Gold" (featuring Sho Baraka and Swoope)

Saturday Morning Car-Tunez - 2012

1. "Hands High" remix of "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes - (produced by Courtland Urbano)
2. "Shut 'Em Down" (featuring Co Campbell) remix of "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" by DMX - (produced by Alex Medina)
3. "Next Episode" (featuring Sheena Lee) remix of "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg - (produced by James Gabriel)
4. "Benjamins" (featuring Rich Perez & Izz) remix of "It's All About the Benjamins(remix)" by Sean Combs featuring Lil' Kim, The Notorious B.I.G., and The LOX - (produced by Tyshane)

Heroes for Sale - 2013

06. "Caught Dreaming" (featuring For King & Country) - with Jeremey S. H. Griffith and J.R. for So Hot Productions

08. "Shallow" (featuring Swoope) - 808 & Elite with additional production by Joseph Prielozny and Andy Mineo

11. "Uno Uno Seis (featuring Lecrae) - Alex Medina with additional production by Andy Mineo

14. "Still Bleeding" (featuring Co Campbell) - With Chris Morgan and additional production by Joseph Prielozny

Lecrae

Gravity - 2012

11. "Power Trip" (featuring PRo, Sho Baraka and Andy Mineo) - (DJ Official with additional production from PRo and Andy Mineo)

Sheena Lee

Project Destiny

• "Destiny" (featuring Andy Mineo)

Videography

2010

• Andy Mineo - "My City" (Co-directed with David Ham)

2011

• Andy Mineo - “Everyday Thing" (Directed by Francis De La Torre and Produced by James Diaz)

2011

• Andy Mineo featuring Sho Baraka - "Fools Gold" (Co-directed with Francis De La Torre)

2012

• Andy Mineo featuring KB - “Young” (Shot by: Kyle Dettman and Edited by: Francis De La Torre)

2013

• Andy Mineo - “AYO!” (Directed and Produced by Squint & ORIGIN8 Visuals)

2013

• Andy Mineo - “You Will” (Directed by Francis De La Torre and Produced by James Diaz)

2013

• Andy Mineo - “Wild Things"

2013

• Andy Mineo - “Uno Uno Seis” (Directed by The Craig Brothers & Andy Mineo and Produced by 808xElite & Jermaine)

Filmography

• 1988 births
• Living people
• American Christians
• American evangelicals
• American evangelists
• Hip hop singers
• Rappers from New York City
• American hip hop record producers
• American music video directors
• American television directors
• Performers of Christian hip hop music
• Singers from New York City
• Male actors from New York City
• People from Washington Heights, Manhattan
• People from Syracuse, New York
• Syracuse University alumni
• City College of New York alumni
• East Coast hip hop musicians