ALUMNI NEWS
Music Maestro
Grammy Award Winning-band leader, musician, and music producer, RC Williams has made his mark on the music industry
By Aaron S. Williams & Aliatu T. Burke
R C Williams (Zeta Upsilon 2000) is the maestro and band leader of Dallas, TX–based eclectic band RC & The Gritz. Williams’ band is composed of a diverse mix of musicians whose musical range spans R&B, hip-hop, and soul. In addition to being a band leader, Williams plays keyboards, provides vocals, as well as produces other artists. For years, he and his band have played numerous venues and festivals throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area. In 2024, RC & The Gritz won Album of the Year Award at the Dallas Enter- tainment Awards for their album, Live in Paris . Brother Williams has traveled extensively performing with a long list of leading musical talents: Snoop Dogg, Prince, Kirk Franklin, Jill Scott, Queen Latifah, God’s Property, The Roots, Bootsy Collins, Pharrell Williams, Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Dwele, Raheem Devaughn, Bilal, Roy Ayers, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Roy Hargrove, and Willie Nelson to name just a few. “I’ve been blessed to play all over the world, I played most of the major music festivals in the U.S. and across the world, I’ve played at the Gram- mys, the Brit Awards, the Kennedy Center,” he says.
Brother Williams with fellow band members
“ WILLIAMS’ BAND IS COMPOSED OF A DIVERSE MIX OF MUSICIANS WHOSE MUSICAL RANGE SPANS R&B, HIP-HOP, AND SOUL.”
A lifelong Dallas resident, Williams was raised in a family of professional musicians. His parents influenced his direction in music as a child; his siblings were either musicians or singers, and his extended family was also musically involved in the church. Brother Williams began playing instruments at the age of four, after his
father purchased his first drum set. By the age of 12, he transitioned to piano and started playing alongside his best friend and future Grammy Awardee, the late Shaun Martin (Dallas (TX) Alumni 2011). Some of his musical influences were Ahmad Jamal, Bernard Wright, Herbie Hancock, Jay Dilla, and Quincy Jones, to name a few.
WINTER 2025-2026 ♦ THE JOURNAL 79
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