Luke Girgis
Luke George Girgis, formerly known by his stage name, Coptic Soldier, is an Australian hip-hop artist, music manager, record label executive, and publisher. He often performed with stage partner, Phatchance (aka Chance Waters) and later became his manager.
Girgis founded a talent management company, Be Like Children, in 2006, and in 2013 co-founded a record label, I Forgot Sorry! In 2017 he established Seventh Street Media Pty Ltd, first acquiring music publications, Tone Deaf and The Brag, and later expanding to include several other publications under the Brag Media Australia trade name.
Early life and education[edit]
Luke George Girgis[1][2] was born in Melbourne. His parents were second generation Egyptian migrants who raised him in Sydney's Sutherland Shire as a member of the Australian Coptic Orthodox church.[3]
He attended St Patrick's College in Sutherland. He later recalled his first live band "A Year 12 rock band in the school hall when I was in Year 5. – Can't remember their name..."; from that performance he learnt "That no matter how bad your music is, you can always make a crowd laugh".[4]
Girgis obtained a degree in rehabilitation counselling at the University of Sydney before completing a degree in Theology at Charles Sturt University.
Music career as Coptic Soldier[edit]
Coptic Soldier was signed to Nurcha Records in 2005 before its closure in 2009. He remembered, in 2008, that he was "first introduced to hip hop by the likes of US bigwigs Eminem and Tupac, but has since drawn inspiration from artists closer to home."[5] His performance name acknowledges his heritage in the Coptic Christian faith and his "fighting for what you believe in."[6] He released his debut mix tape, False Start, on that label in 2006.[7] InTheMix's Xpose described his work: "While this release isn't in the upper echelon of those currently coming out in this country, it definitely impressed me. Potential wise Coptic Soldier has a lot to offer, he is an emcee you want to hear more from as he speaks what is on many of our minds."[7] As from 2007 he ran an artist management company, The Girgis Circus,[6] which catered for his fellow artists, including Phatchance aka Chance Waters.[2]
In 2010 Coptic Soldier teamed up with Sydney soul vocalist Miriam Waks and independently released an extended play, The Sound of Wings, which was produced by K21, an Adelaide-based hip hop artist.[8][9] As a solo artist he independently distributed a release, The Past Three Years.[5] He described it as "a street release that really reflects my life in the last three years... I write basically whatever is on my mind. Most recently I have been in huge reflection about my growth and fortune, so all the music I seem to be writing at the moment shows just that."[5]
In March 2010 he joined Phatchance for a national tour, Inkstains, which saw the pair co-headline nine dates across Australia.[10] He also provided management for other hip hop artists Mind over Matter and Elgen & Johnny Utah; and for a pop music artist, HR King.[11][12] Also in that year he co-founded an independent record label, I Forget, Sorry!, together with Phatchance and Mind over Matter, to cater for the artists' releases.[13][14] He explained his plans to Birdie of Beat magazine, "The biggest focus will be this acoustic tour for now but we do have a couple of other big things that we’ll work on after that. Chance is going to work on his album, which I’m excited about – that will hopefully be late this year or early next year. Then I'm going to be doing my album late next year too. For me the acoustic EP is a sequel to my debut EP [The Sound Of Wings] with Miriam Waks and a guy from Adelaide called K21 who won the Hilltop Hoods initiative."[2]
During 2011 Coptic Soldier and Phatchance undertook a combined Hey Where's Your DJ tour, which Chris Singh of The AU Review caught, "When one thinks of live hip-hop, the usual picture in their head is that of at least one emcee rapping to the beats dropped by at least one DJ – a format often criticised by those outside of hip-hop. Every so often, a hip-hop act comes along and replaces the DJ with a backing band, not only giving their concert much more musical credibility, but allowing for more creative live interpretations of each of their songs... [the pair] decided to start experimenting with instrumental interpretations of their fine Aussie hip-hop tracks, national interest in these two emcees skyrocketed and their resulting acoustic EPs were met with more success than they hoped for."[15] In May 2011 the pair appeared on Hip Hop Show on youth radio, Triple J; they were interviewed by the host, Hau Latukefu, who also played their tracks, "No More Waiting" (by Coptic Soldier featuring Phatchance) and "Liquid Company" (by Coptic Soldier, live in the studio).[16]
In May 2012 Coptic Soldier was performing solo shows through New South Wales to Coffs Harbour.[17]
Personal life[edit]
As of 2017 Girgis was living in Sydney with his wife Christine and their child. He is an active Christian and wrote an article in support of same-sex marriage ahead of his the Australian same-sex marriage postal survey conducted in 2017.[56]