Pop-oriented vocalist and songwriter Marc E. Bassy has been mixing and matching styles with no regard for radio format since his emergence in the late 2000s with the group 2AM Club. His solo career advanced in the 2010s with the albums Gossip Columns (2017) and PMD (2019), the first of which featured a platinum collaboration with G-Eazy in the form of "You & Me." As the first release on his New Gold Medal label, the latter made official his departure from major-label Republic. He has since added to his solo discography with the Bowie EP (2021) and East Hollywood 2 (2022). Bassy's secondary job as a songwriter and featured artist includes work with Pia Mia and Lecrae.

Before he took Marc E. Bassy as his stage name, Bay Area native Marc Griffin got his start in 2AM Club. The Los Angeles-based group released the album What Did You Think Was Going to Happen? on major-label RCA in 2010. Griffin subsequently branched out as a solo artist and songwriter, and made significant progress in 2014, the year he issued his first mixtape as Marc E. Bassy and co-wrote "Fight for You," recorded by Pia Mia and Chance the Rapper for the soundtrack of Divergent. Signed as a solo artist to Republic, another major, he released the East Hollywood EP in late 2015, and in 2016 scored his first platinum hit with "You & Me," featuring G-Eazy. "You & Me" led that year's Groovy People EP, and was also featured on the 2017 album Gossip Columns. Groovy People and Gossip Columns both registered on the Billboard 200.

After the 2018 EP Postmodern Depression, Bassy left Republic and launched his New Gold Medal label the next year with PMD, his second album. Collaborations as a featured artist -- in support of Lecrae, Young Bae, and Cheat Codes, among others -- along with scattered headlining singles, preceded Bassy's Bowie EP, issued in 2021. The following year saw the release of East Hollywood 2, a feature-free sequel to the 2015 EP of the same name. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi