Andy Mineo , also known by his former stage name C-Lite , is a Christian hip hop artist, producer , minister , actor , and TV and music video director from New York City . His 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 , is scheduled for release 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 was nominated for the 2013 Grammy Awards in the Best Gospel Album category.