With anticipation building for Grand Theft Auto VI, Italian producer Lord Conrad has gone ahead and made his own soundtrack for Vice City. His new single, “Rising Empire,” is all neon lights and late-night ambition, and it lands somewhere between an 80s action film score and a trap record.
Lord Conrad is the stage name of Corrado Garibaldi, a producer whose roots are in electronic music. He’s built an international following through tracks like “Touch The Sky,” whose official video has passed 1.5 million views on YouTube, and “Only You,” which caught on in the global shuffle-dance community. Gaming has been part of his story for a while. His track “I Minute” generated thousands of user-created videos on TikTok, and a collaboration with YouTuber PEPO3393, whose channel has more than 500,000 subscribers, produced “VIDEOGAMES,” a song that’s been widely used in gameplay content.
On “Rising Empire,” he takes that a step further. Synthwave runs over heavy 808s and distorted guitars, and modern hip-hop production keeps the whole thing from tipping into pure nostalgia. The synths give it the retro feel. The trap elements keep it current. The mood is midnight drives, luxury cars and champagne-soaked nightlife, which is exactly the GTA 6 world the track was built around.
The official music video goes all in on the look, with neon city shots, a high-end lifestyle and visuals referencing the financial markets. Lord Conrad ties it to an empire-building mindset that he says goes beyond the game and into the business of interactive entertainment. The video also carries a disclaimer that its market visuals are fictional and meant purely for entertainment.
For the record, “Rising Empire” is an independent, fan-inspired project and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Rockstar Games. That’s kind of the point. It’s one artist’s take on a game that has people excited before it’s even out.
The single is part of a broader shift for Lord Conrad in 2026, as he moves past conventional EDM toward a mix of synthwave, progressive house, hip-hop, R&B and trap. More is on the way, including a modern hip-hop remix of “Push It to the Limit” from Scarface and another synthwave and hip-hop project about trading.
For now, anyone counting down to Vice City has something to play on the drive there. You can listen to “Rising Empire” on all platforms and find more from Lord Conrad on his official website.
