Have you heard: Alex Gold

"Soul to Squeeze" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Only God Can Judge Me" -- Tupac Shakur

"Changes" -- Tupac Shakur

"The Love of My Life" -- The Roots

"I Could Have Lied" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Seed 2.0" -- The Roots

"Rolling Sly Stone" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Bottom of the Map" -- Young Jeezy

"Atliens" -- Outkast

"The Next Movement" -- The Roots

Sophomore Alex Gold's passion for hip-hop music started about eight years ago when he first heard Tupac's Shakur's song "Changes."

This song helped Gold through difficult times, he said, and he has made it his goal to help people by providing them with inspirational lyrics as Tupac had done for him.

He started recording songs under the name Real1ty about two years ago and has between 21 and 25 songs out right now, he said.

Earlier this week, Gold's music was released on the "Coast to Coast 50" mix tape. Independent artists can submit their music to be put on these mix tapes and two artists were picked to be recorded, he said.

"This mix tape is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me," Gold said.

Ten thousand copies will be distributed worldwide to more than 25,000 people in the industry, he said.

Gold has also collaborated with the group Fasorika, whose members are originally from West Africa, on a song called "Hope," which now can be heard on radio stations in Savannah, Ga., where Gold lives, and Africa, he said.

"Hope" and other tracks by Gold all have stories behind the lyrics, Gold said. His music was greatly impacted by the death of one of his friend's older brothers, whom Gold described as a talented bassist with big aspirations.

"His dream was to reshape the music industry into something comparable to what it used to be," Gold said.

Now it has become Gold's long-term goal to reshape the music industry and bring hip-hop back to the days when lyrics were not focused solely on making money, he said.

He currently works with a producer in Richmond, Anthony Gillison, and said he hoped to schedule performances in the near future. Some of his other releases are entitled "Doubted," "Dangers of Love," "I Have a Dream" and "Intelligence."

Gold's Web site allows viewers to listen to his music, read his bio and purchase Real1ty merchandise.