Meet the 16-Year-Old on a Mission to Become the Best ‘Minecraft’ Rapper

I stumbled upon Galaxy Goats a while ago while browsing YouTube. Real name Garrett Mate, this 16-year-old has taken YouTube by storm, doing vocal covers of everything from D.R.A.M. to Adele, Robbie Rotten, Kendrick Lamar and more. But these aren’t your everyday song covers. They’re self-written covers about one thing, Garrett’s favorite game, Minecraft.

These covers also have a little something special to them. Most Minecraft cover videos you see are fully animated according to the song’s subject matter, but Garrett’s are a little different. Most of his videos are Minecraft gameplay footage with some edits here and there. And he dances! He has a large green screen that he dances in front of and overlays that footage onto his videos.

This isn’t just normal dancing though: these dances consist of erratic dabbing, arm flailing, and other seemingly improvised dance moves (though Garrett assures me he’s spent months training to improve his craft). His dancing takes these covers to a whole new level.

What got you interested in YouTube? Why’d you start a channel?

Galaxy Goats: Well my friend and I actually created the channel a few years back just making some Minecraft videos for fun. I was watching a youtuber called KingDaddyDMAC at the time and his videos really made me wanna start making my own.

What did you originally want out of your YouTube channel and how has that changed since going viral?

G: When I first started, the only people who watched were my friends at school so I basically was just making the videos to show them and make them laugh. My intentions haven’t changed since then, I just like making videos for fun and for people to laugh and enjoy them.

But yes I’m trying to be the best Minecraft rapper in the world.

Speaking of being a Minecraft rapper… Can we talk about your raps? Are they pre-written, freestyled, a mix of both?

G: I always pre-write the songs before I record them.

What about your dances? Do you choreograph them ahead of time? Also where and how did you learn to dance the way you do?

G: I have a few signature moves that I’ve come up with but when I’m recording for a video I just do whatever moves come to my mind. I gotta feel the rhythm so you could say my dancing is more freestyle than choreographed. And I’ve spent many months training and sculpting my dance moves watching tutorials and more to get my dance moves to where they are today.

I know you’ve said KingDaddyDMAC inspired you to make Minecraft parodies and start playing Minecraft in general – What keeps you playing?

G: In a game like Minecraft with endless possibilities there is always something new to do so it’s hard to get bored. And also I enjoy the multiplayer gameplay whether you’re playing on a minigames server or just a survival server with your friends there is just so much potential to do stuff and that’s what keeps me playing. I plan to play Minecraft for many years to come. I even came up with a saying called MC4LIFE, “ Minecraft for life.”

What’s your favorite part about making these videos?

G: My favorite part about making the videos is just sharing them with everyone, seeing people’s reactions and seeing people making memes out of them. It’s all really fun.

What are your hopes for the future of your channel, the future of Minecraft parodies, and the future of Minecraft ?

G: I plan to keep making Minecraft music and parodies for a very long time, and hopefully be known as one of the best Minecraft rappers to go down in the rap hall of fame. As for the future of Minecraft i hope it continues to thrive and be known as the best game to ever exist. #MC4LIFE!