It is no secret that the heart and soul of dance music today thrives in the Bay Area. It is here where the breath of diversity gives life and cultural flavor to the music, continually showcasing new beat, rhythm and groove.
M:G, a.k.a. Maribel LaLanne (née Gonzalez), serves as living testimony to this talent. With her debut release “Sweet Honesty,” M:G’s vocals shine pure against a hard edge of bass-driven beat.
The weekend “Sweet Honesty” was released, the bay area response was so overwhelming at WILD 94.9 in San Francisco, the song appeared in the “Hot Eight at Eight” in just a few days. In a matter of two weeks, it became the most requested song on WILD 94.9 and was #1 on “St. John’s Four Play at Four.” Since then, the single debuted on the Billboard Top 100 at #91 and spent a total of 22 consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Dance Maxi-Singles, peaking at #7 throughout its stay.
The success of “Sweet Honesty” has led her to many performances in California, Nevada, and Texas. She has shared the stage with artists such as LL Cool J, Mase, INOJ, Kai, K-Ci & JoJo, Sylk-E. Fine, Tamia, Jon B., Voices of Theory, Nu Flavor, Angelina, Zapp & Roger, Spanish Fly and Pinay.
“What Do You Remember” was the sophomore single off her debut album Make a Little Noise. “It’s much more mature, incorporating many elements of freestyle dance,” says Glenn Gutierrez, producer. “It leads into the entire ‘mode’ of the album.” Follow-up singles “Think Twice” and “Aphrodisiac” enjoyed heavy spins by club DJs everywhere.
M:G claims she ‘breathed choir’ her senior year of high school, but remembers that this was not always the case. When there was no room for her to play the trumpet in her middle school band, she was sent to the school choir. Little did she know, she would finally discover her God given talent, which is singing. “Now you are talking to the girl who cried during her first solo,” recalls Maribel. Years of singing in the choir and taking various music classes would soon pay off.
Classified Records came into the picture in Spring of ’97. A demo of M:G singing a Madonna song cover fell into the hands of former WILD 94.9 mixer Vicious V, who passed it onto Classified Records. The day after, CR discovered M:G’s range and quick ability to pick up songs and was later signed to the label.
“My dad was so shaken up (when he found out I was signed) that he had to leave work,” M:G said. “Later that night my mom told me he cried. So you could imagine how I felt, blessed. It was the best day and first day of my new life!”
Under the direction of producer Glenn Gutierrez, who has worked with artists Jaya, Stevie B, Pinay and Jocelyn Enriquez, M:G is currently working on her sophomore album and has fulfilled a lifetime fantasy of hers.
While M:G was touring, she finished her prerequisites for dental school. In 2002, Maribel graduated from dental school as a Registered Dental Hygienist. In June 2008, Maribel left her full-time practice to open LaLanne Fitness CrossFit in San Francisco.
These days Maribel has been busy running the gym, chasing after her toddler son and modeling. She recently graced the pages of FHM International—Turkey and Skinnie Magazine, and will be appearing in FHM again in early 2013.
“You have only one lifetime, why not fulfill your dreams and fantasies? I would rather live my life knowing that I have accomplished all the goals that I have ever set out for myself rather than live a lifetime of ‘What If?'”
“The End of The World” marks the long awaited return of Bay Area dance music diva M:G, written and produced by Dance Music legend Glenn Gutierrez (“A Little Bit of Ecstasy”, “Do You Miss Me”, “Sweet Honesty” and more).
