In January 2019, Daniel Ellsworth (Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes, Chaos Emeralds) teamed up with Christopher “C4” Umana (Big Sean, Trey Songz, Kelly Rowland) for a songwriting session in Los Angeles. The chemistry was undeniable, and soon after, DARKMINDS was born—a genre-blending pop/hip-hop duo that fuses Ellsworth’s infectious pop melodies and smooth falsetto with C4’s cutting-edge hip-hop beats and sleek production. Since then, DARKMINDS has released two albums, multiple singles, and two EPs, earning placements in national campaigns for Apple, Can-Am, MLB, PGA Tour, VH1, KT Corporation, and GQ Sports, as well as across major platforms like Netflix, Disney+, ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX. Their hit song "Ready Let's Go" has been streamed millions of times and has been featured in over 500k Instagram Reels.

As DARKMINDS steps into 2025, they continue to push creative boundaries with fresh music that blends elements of pop, hip-hop, soul, rock, and R&B. American Songwriter praises their sound, saying: “...the music of DARKMINDS is so enchanting and infectiously warm that it can make even the darkest of rainstorms feel like a sunny day on the beach.”

“We never set out to make DARKMINDS fit into one box,” says Ellsworth. “We’re a little bit of everything all at once. We both bring different influences to the table and love exploring how those worlds collide. Everything we create is born from that collision.”