Bubblegum Club

Tag: MF DOOM

  • Detroit’s Marcus Marcus is a poet not a rapper

    Detroit’s Marcus Marcus is a poet not a rapper

    Detroit-based artist Marcus Marcus doesn’t describe himself as a rapper. “I’d describe myself as a poet who has a fairly good ear for music,” he states simplistically. While the earliest Marcus Marcus releases can be traced back about 7 years ago, he struggles to pin down when the artist was born, as Marcus Marcus is a true expression of who he is as a person. “I really think since birth because all of that has to do with how I approach music, what songs I pick, who is producing music.”

    Both the city of his birth and the family that raised him have had a marked impact on his journey as an artist. Musically this includes his older sister exposing him to the likes of Jay-Z and Master P, to him discovering homebred ghettotech from the likes of Blade Icewood & MC Reid, the pioneering work of Detroit techno producers, and the unique flows of Detroit rappers. “If I could name names it’s tough but rapping wise first MF Doom showed me the work it takes to write rap, Lil B showed me you can just be yourself and eventually the right people will catch up”. Marcus Marcus recalls adding that the groundbreaking work of composer and artists Julius Eastman has also had a major influence on him.

    Describing his approach to writing as instinctual, he traces his first encounters with poetry to middle school and an amazing English teacher helped spark his love for the language. “It’s this intuition, this beam of light from, I dunno, the universe, ancestors, and I just start writing. The moment I hit record usually doesn’t have a lot to do with what I’ve written, and what I’ve written may turn into something later or it just may never come up.” This approach is evident on 2012’s “THE NEW Audio Album” which he describes as a lyrically spontaneous album, with everything recorded as a 1-take freestyle rap.

    His latest release is a compilation of tracks created between 2013 – 2015 and is a collage of the music he was listening to at the time, and the words they inspired. “I spend hours really looking for new music or further researching, going into back catalogues of artists that I really admire, so people like Oneohtrix Point Never, there’s a James Blake thing on there, Thom Yorke had dropped this crazy, free album that you could torrent. So I chose to do that because I made it a point to listen to music that didn’t have words. Words come to me when I hear something that’s different and it just kinda connects with me”.

    ‘D I S S U A S I O N’, Marcus Marcus’ May 2017 release is one he views as his most cohesive to date. Rather than just a record, it is an art piece and a reflection of the moment in time in which it was created. “It’s not a comfortable record at all because we’re not living in comfortable times. At that moment when it came out, that’s how chaotic things seemed, that’s how peaceful things seemed, that’s how cohesive things seemed, that’s how disruptive things seemed,” explains Marcus Marcus. Purchase of the piece includes not only the digital release but also context around the piece. “You get all the lyrics, you get how I approached the music, you get my thought process, it’s me literally in the moment, typing, letting you know my thought process the whole time.”

    2018 sees Marcus Marcus focusing on bringing the physical representation of ‘D I S S U A S I O N’ to life with installations and performances planned. “I’m planning on doing installations, I feel like with such a wild record it needs something else to meet it. To make it make more sense. If you listen to it, it just sounds like a crazy guy maybe. Yelling and going crazy but also if you really listen to it, you feel it.”’

    “Self-discovery, self-knowledge & self-love,” says Marcus Marcus of what he is trying to convey with his music. “Those 3 are exactly what it is. A little bit cryptic if you listen to my music, but if you really listen and take your time that’s exactly what it is. Because I think it’s about bettering the world around you but it starts with yourself and just pushing the limits and having fun as well.”

     

  • DOOMSNITE // A new party for young people of colour in Cape Town

    “We are the future, for the kids by the kids,” states Antonio Druchen, one of the organisers of DOOMSNITE, a new party for young people in Cape Town. Antonio along with Qaanid Hassen, Naledi Holtman, Raeez Kilshaw and Likhona Camane created the event with the intention of gathering young people like themselves in one space for celebrating and connecting. Under the guidance of Crayons’ Ra-ees Saiet, they were able to host their first event on the 29th of January. Their hope is that this event will grow and become a space that represent creative freedom.

    Reflecting on the time that sparked the idea for the collective, Raeez expressed that, “I felt as though we [had] all met before, in a spiritual realm.” This is representative of the kind of collective connection they have already created through their time together since meeting at a project hosted by Corner Store called Summer Camp. This was an apprentice programme for young up-and-coming artists in Cape Town to show them that they can cultivate skills in creative practices such as DJing, styling, and photography, and be successful.

    The team refers to themselves as a kind of collective that also allows for each member to work on their individual practices independently too. This allows them to build a brand for their event, and offer each other support, without being completely absorbed by one project. Therefore, their collective is not exclusively about producing together, but also about providing each other with creative and emotional support. This is reflective of the direction that a number of people of colour from Cape Town are taking with regards to cultural production.

    Influenced by underground, English-born hip hop artists MF DOOM, the team curated their first event around this. “MF DOOM’s ability to use music to portray many different characters reflects how music came first for him and for us, it’s the same thing,” explains Naledi. “Inspired by MF DOOM, we find beauty in creating a whole new world of intricate personas, vivid visuals and detailed bodies of music, all behind a mask,” Likhona expressed. Ensuring that the space was representative of the energy that has brought them all together – freedom, creative pleasures and wholesome music – their first party was explosive. Expressive visuals, music and dance coloured the night, and this included performances by Garth Ross and Guillotine Squad.

    In addition to being a space for having a good time, the aim for the party is for it to be a platform that can facilitate networking between young people. This extends the party into an informal support structure.

    Be sure to check out their next event in February at The Living Room.