Holland Gallagher, otherwise known as Gentleman Contender, grew up in New Orleans and moved to Durham in 2005. Now, he’s a junior at UNC majoring in Statistics and minoring in Music and Arts Entrepreneurship. When Holland’s not in class, you can find him making music or playing and performing at events in Chapel Hill or Carrboro. If you’re ever in the mood to hear something new, check out the events calendar for Cat’s Cradle, you might be able to catch one of Gentleman Contender’s stellar shows.
Her Campus: When did you start making music and writing songs?
Holland Gallagher: I’ve been making music my whole life, and I started writing songs in the eighth grade. When I got to college I started messing around with electronic music, and then I started rapping a year and a half ago when I was a sophomore.
HC: What instruments do you play?
HG: I play piano. I took lessons when I was little like everybody else does, and then picked it up again in eighth grade. I just taught myself, I was never classically trained. I started playing songs that I really liked, and then I learned a little bit of theory.
HC: How would you describe your music style?
HG: Sort of in between synthpop and rap. There are definitely elements of pop music in my songs and elements of rap music in my songs. On my new record there’s a lot more singing.
HC: Who are your favorite artists?
HG: My favorite artist hands down is Frank Ocean. I just think he’s a genius and the greatest artist of our generation. I’m also into bands like CHVRCHES and Purity Ring. On the rap side, I’m really big into Vic Mensa right now.
HC: Why did you decide to come to UNC?
HG: It was between here and UCLA, and ultimately, UCLA was a lot farther away and more expensive. I’ve always had a lot of love for UNC, coming from the area.
HC: What do you plan to do after you graduate?
HG: I plan to take a couple years off and just really go all out with the music thing. I want to see if I can go on tour or sign with a label to produce.
HC: If playing music doesn’t work out, then what would you like to do?
HG: I don’t know. I could try to get a job doing statistics, but I really don’t want to. I’m really big into writing screenplays too, so I think I could do something with that if I can’t find a place in music, but I’m pretty confident that I will.
HC: Tell me something most people don’t know about you.
HG: I used to be really dope at chess. I won a state championship in Louisiana when I was 10. I haven’t played in a while though, I should pick it back up.
If you want to keep up with Gentleman Contender and his music releases, go check out Holland’s website: http://www.gentlemancontender.com