It’s been 10 years since Mateo “Prince Golden” Henley and guitar-shredding producer Tyler Mulder founded alternative-hip-hop quintet Samurai Shotgun. That may sound like a common genre, but Henley, Mulder & co. really strive to revolutionize it as a whole new category.
After spending a few years in Atlanta, the band members now work remotely due to their lives taking them in different directions. Three members relocated to Florida, and have founded their own record label—Bushido Mob Records—which currently has a number of Floridian musicians signed. One of the label’s newest releases happens to be a solo project from one of its founders.
“P.E.A.C.E” was recorded by Samurai Shotgun members Prince Golden, Mulder, and drummer Jovan “El Feo” Lecaro, but did not quite fit in with the direction the band was heading in.
“I liked the song and decided to salvage it for my own music since the majority of the writing and production was done by me,” Mulder told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Topped off with allusions to Peter Quill (Starlord’s alter-ego) and Bruce Willis in “Die Hard,” “P.E.A.C.E'' urges listeners to just take a breath and enjoy the ride after all the world has been through in the last year.
“You will get derailed and you will fail/But it’s okay, you’ll have a story to tell,” Prince Golden raps, ending the last verse. Immediately after comes the rigorous guitar work from Mulder. Though solo work can sometimes mean that a member has left the band and gone solo, the end is not in sight for Samurai Shotgun.
“We are only scratching the surface for Tampa to get the recognition that it deserves. I want to be a part of that process,” Mulder added. Though separated across three states, Samurai Shotgun’s heart remains in Tampa Bay. If you really want to help the Samurai boys, donate to a GoFundMe to help the band’s DJ Qeys makeup for lost income while he recovers from a broken leg.
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This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2020.