Marc E. Bassy has stepped into his own power as an artist. Revisit earlier projects like 2016’s Groovy People EP and 2017’s Gossip Columns album, and the San Francisco-born singer-songwriter has mastered orchestrating heartbreak records for the masses (see: gold single “Morning” and the double platinum single “You & Me” featuring rapper and fellow Bay Area native, G-Eazy). These days, though, he’s pumping out more empowering notes in his music and has become the founder of his own independent label, New Gold Medal Records.

Inspired by the recent artist that have taken the more entrepreneurial route with their businesses, Bassy wanted to flip the script on his own trajectory after swerving in and out of label deals since he was 20 years old. “It’s the best possible scenario for any musician to own their own music, to be in control of their own marketing and just be distributed by [another company],” says Bassy, who left Republic Records in 2019. “‘New Gold Medal’ is just the idea that the standard has changed now for what success means in this industry. It’s not just about having a song on the radio. It’s about having an impact on the culture and taking care of your people, and that comes from ownership and independence.”

Bassy is no stranger to autonomy either. Starting off as a member of a group at a young age, he later broke out into a solo career, catching the attention of labels and fans with his smooth blend of pop and R&B. By his own design, his musical prowess has landed him in studios with peers across genres like Kehlani, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, Charlie Puth, G-Eazy, 070 Shake, Blackbear, Syd, The Martinez Brothers, Tory Lanez, Mike Dean, and Lucky Daye among others, proving that he has the range when it comes to tackling any type of song.

Beyond the music, Bassy — who comes from a family of business owners, including a mother who owns a successful personal care product company and aunts who own restaurants — functions with a core team of six to eight people. Bassy and team are getting ready to release his third album as an independent artist “Folk Hero Funk” set to be released 7/28/23 and go off another headline tour in the Fall ’23.

Bassy’s newest project “Folk Hero Funk” explore instruments, narrative, and alternative production in a way that transcends the confines of his previous projects. This project provides a blend of a more “folk” approach to his fun summer pop songs while simultaneously maintaining his core “funk” and R&B sound as well. This album was inspired by a conversation between Bassy and Virgil Abhloh to record music in Paris together. Shortly after Virgil’s passing, Bassy saw through the trip and earlier this year returned to Motorbass Studios to finalize, mix, and master the project to maintain the full analog integrity all the way through the entire music process from start to finish.