“Solid hip hop groups are harder to come by in Austin than say, country or rock, but thanks to local band, Magna Carda the hip hop scene in Austin is that much better.” (KUTX)

Having met in 2012 at St.Edward’s University, Megz Kelli (Rapper) and Dougie Do (Producer) teamed up to create their first mixtape titled “Creature Creative” (2012). As the duo found their first mixtape an overall success, they began to explore their live performance boundaries by forming a band.

Now that the duo has found a whole band, they call themselves Magna Carda. Magna Carda is the collaboration of Megz Kelli (rapper), Dougie Do (keyboard/producer), Eric Nikolaides (guitar), Derek Van Wagner (bass), and Michael Gonzales (drums/producer). Based out of Austin, TX, the Magna Carda is an infusion of Hip-Hop/Jazz along with golden age and Neo-Soul.

As the band has opened for major acts in the past such as The Pharcyde, Blu, Chali2na (Jurassic 5), some artists that inspire them are Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, Jill Scott, Hiatus Kaiyote, The Pharcyde, Robert Glasper, and John Coltrane (to name a few).

All artists maintain musical backgrounds. When they met the rest of the band (now Michael Gonzales, Derek Van Wagner, Eric Nikolaides) in January of 2013, Megz and Dougie were introduced into their musical spectrum. The whole group has been inseparable ever since.
Their latest release “Like It Is” is available now for free download/streaming.