Marcus Smith
...is a rapper, singer, and songwriter born and raised in Cleveland, OH. After 15 years in hip-hop bands Black & Broke and SANKURO, Smith is now navigating the music scene as a solo artist.
Smith is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist. Starting with piano when he was 14, he learned a new instrument each summer for five years, including guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums. His major influences range from Weird Al Yankovic and Lenny Kravitz to Childish Gambino and Bruno Mars.
“I want to be the first name that comes to mind when you think of rapping guitarists”. After a musician residency at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a feature on multi platinum artist Asher Roth’s album in 2021, Marcus is currently working on his sophomore solo album ‘Unique Mélange’ set to release in 2023. With his backing band The Rapscallions, Marcus is known to put on a hell of a live performance!
Who is Marcus Smith and what were your first steps in music?
Who am I? I don’t know why I always struggle to answer this. It should be easy to answer. I don’t like to put myself into a box so I just like to say I’m a musician. Self taught multi-instrumentalist, rapper, singer, songwriter who bounces fluidly between genres. I like to make the music that I would listen to.
I decided pretty early on that I wanted to do music. Middle school English class and creative writing courses freshman year of high school are where I fell in love with the art of words.
Weird Al was my favorite and I began by writing my own parodies. That’s probably where I learned the mechanics or songwriting. From there I started writing my own songs. I remember telling myself “This is what I want to do.” And now, I don’t know if I know how to do anything else.
"Day after day" is a great piece of Alternative Pop, what was your inspiration, what's the story behind?
Thank you so much. This song is about not dwelling on the past and looking forward to the future. To me it was a way to break out of my rut as well. It felt like a way to leave my past behind me. When it came to writing Day After Day, I was in a state of songwriter’s block and had really been focusing on writing a feature film. I got the hook from my youngest brother who writes and sings under the name KAS. He was working on the song with our dad and sent it to me to give feedback. My feedback was “this is my song now.” I heard the composition in my head almost instantly and got to work writing. I recruited my touring band, The Rapscallions, to hit the studio with me and the rest is history!
It’s got a great message and at shows I always dedicate the song to my father who battled prostate cancer. It feels like a great way to honor him and spread awareness at the same time.
The song is the 2nd single from your upcoming album, what can listeners expect from?
The album is called Unique Mélange which literally means “an interesting mix”. This is the best way to describe this collection of songs. From Hip-Hop and UK Garage to Alternative Pop and Rock guitar solos. But what’s cool is how well everything fits together. Nothing is jarringly out of place and that’s what I’m most excited about.
I have seen you are active on Social Media, what's your fav channel and do you think that facebook & co influenced the music biz?
I probably spend the most time on YouTube and TikTok. People are so creative and I think they really inspire me to create new and exciting things. I studied Culinary Arts in college so I love the cooking channels on YouTube. One of my favorites is the Babish Culinary Network. I hope to someday guest star on an episode.
How would you describe the Indie scene in Cleveland?
There are so many talented artists here. My hope for the future is that we support all of the talent that’s here so that they don’t have to leave the city in order to make it big.
Any chance to see you somewhere live on stage?
I’ll be playing a release show for Day After Day Friday January 27th at CODA in Cleveland, OH. I’ll also be in Kent, OH
at the Burnt Pickle on Feb 25th. Akron, OH
at the Vortex on March 3rd. And back
at CODA in Cleveland on March 25th for my annual local talent showcase
where I book a few of my current favorite local acts and bring them together for a night of dope music.
... and what's next?
My sophomore album UNIQUE MÉLANGE is going to drop this year so I’m putting the finishing touches on that. Its a body of work that I’ve been working on since 2020. I’m super proud of it and I can’t wait for the world to hear that soon! Long term, I just want to continue making the music I enjoy, working with talented artists from around the world, working with more of my musical heroes, and getting better at my craft everyday.
To you and all of your readers thank you so much for listening to the single and I hope you enjoy everything I’ve got coming up!
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