The real GFR

Marlom Augustin’s passion for music has grown from YouTube diss tracks to owning his own label

BY FERNANDO LARGAESPADA, STAFF WRITER

Low-dimmed LED lights a microphone create junior Marlom Augustin’s ideal setting for converting melodies and chords into music for the masses. In composing lyrical stories set to a beat, Augustin — more commonly known as GFR— has accumulated over 300,000 streams on his music.

Augustin is a songwriter, producer and rapper who owns and manages a music label, Modern Reality Records, which has signed artists like Lil Heat, Cuban Adrian and Psycho 17. By using platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, Augustin has been able to make his dream of becoming a musician into a reality.

Augustin first got involved in the music industry in 2016 after he and his friends made diss tracks for fun. His love for making music and performing live grew rapidly. After seven months, he began making his first solo songs where he started rapping. He then stopped making disses and remixes and started focusing on making original music. His rapper name — GFR — is an acronym for “Gaming For Real.” Augustin previously ran a YouTube channel for gaming under this name, so he decided to keep it since he became known for it.

Augustin’s work is not exclusive to one genre as he delves into the worlds of Rap, Pop and Latin music. To start a song, producers CarsonBeats and WatAboutMe first send Augustin a sample beat. From there, he uses his emotions and connection to the beat to decide what genre he wants to tie into the song. When he gets to the lyric writing stage, Augustin uses the beat to inspire him.

“I guess I’m what you call a hype lyrical rapper,” Augustin said.

By incorporating comedic lyrics at a fast rate and not using repetitive bars, Augustin works to ensure his audience can enjoy his music and react. Some of his most recent songs include Side Story, Rebel, Boof and Cold Blooded.

“I wasn’t born from a family with musical background or anything. I just put in the work and practiced. You practice and practice and over time you become better,” Augustin said.

In 2018, Augustin worked with a producer from Texas, commonly known as “Redtynt,” who made him an entire beat pack with rapper and producer Pi’erre Bourne. Augustin used this beat to create his most popular song, “Nonsense,” which has accumulated over 120,000 streams.

“He is really underground but has a lot of connections,” Augustin said. “I started working with him and built a friendship.”

Augustin enjoys previewing his songs before he releases them to his followers. His fans love his snippets and when he shows them his process.

“I enjoyed the process of making it, as well as how it sounds,” Augustin said. “But I let [the fans] pick and choose what songs should be the singles and which songs they think are the best.”

In being an artist, Augustin has learned the importance of owning all of his own masters and reading through the contracts for all agreements. With his own label, he ensures that all his artists own their masters and make decisions they won’t regret in the future.

“That’s the point of my label and why I started it,” Augustin said. “This prevents artists from being dragged down by legal purposes and benefits from all the things a popular label would offer them.”

Augustin believes he can improve as a musician by bettering his flows, lyrics, bars and devoting time to his craft every day.

“I wouldn’t say I’m perfect, but after three years, I’ve definitely grown a skill for music. I would have never thought I’d sound the way I sound today,”Augustin said.