Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus Foster.
Hi Marcus, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve loved music since I was a child; I grew up in church, so I would sing church songs randomly and sometimes still do. Started listening to hip hop/rap the other I got and loved how different artists could play on words with double entendres and things of that nature. Where I’m from, there’s basically a certain type of sound with the rappers that are most popular, but I don’t rap like that, so I originally never wanted to rap because I didn’t want to be labeled a “Baltimore Rapper.” When I was a senior in high school, I wrote and recorded my first song just to let people know I could do it, too, and after that, I took it more and more seriously every year. In the first couple of years, I thought I was really doing something, but now I know that I wasn’t good at all, at least in my opinion. When I was 18, in college at DSU, I went to NY by myself and recorded at Quad Studios for the first time, but I’m no engineer and didn’t have one, so I recorded myself. I went back a year or two and had their in-house engineer record me, and he said I gave J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar vibes, which at the time felt good, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure if he was just saying that just to say it. I’ve taken multiple breaks from music because I ran into financial troubles and couldn’t pay for studios or mixes. I now have my own set up at home, so I’m a lot more consistent even though I still run into financial issues, which kind of brings me down where I’m not in the mood to do anything, not even record, but I always end up going back to the music. The better I get, the more difficult it is for me to drop music because I don’t want to waste money on putting out a song that I later don’t like, or it could just simply be I record something the day before and listen to it the next and don’t like it so I scrap it. I think a lot of good artists go through that, though. For instance, I have an album that I finished a few years ago but went back to listen to the whole thing and scrapped half the album, so I’m recording or adding new songs to it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get the album out this year, but I’m not going to rush the process. I think I messed up enough throughout life trying to rush things. Other than that, I’m also trying to find the best ways to grow my supporters. I believe my purpose is to show the truth and struggles I may have or might’ve had to those who can relate through my music and be that beacon of light to let them know if I can make it out of those situations, then so can they.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The particular lessons I’ve learned are that this definitely isn’t an easy road, and it’ll be a long journey. I know a lot of artists deal with this, but the feeling of it being worth it anymore, especially with a very small support system when you expected family and friends to be your number one supporters. I’m kind of getting over that now since I’m starting to understand that they most likely don’t know how to since it’s something they’ve never had to do before. I’ve also learned that you’re going to put a lot of money into yourself trying to build your brand without seeing the ROI for a long time. One of the challenges I face even now is releasing more music since I may like a song one day and want to make it better the next or might not even like it. I also face challenges with releasing new music because I want to make sure my songs have meaning behind them, but I also don’t want to talk about the struggle too much, even though I know a lot of people can relate. It hasn’t been easy at all, but I’m aware that it’s just part of my journey.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a recording artist who has been recording since I was 16 or 17, but I started taking it seriously when I turned 18 and went to college at DSU for music. When I first started, I wasn’t good, but I didn’t know I wasn’t good until I kept growing and getting better. When I was in high school, I listened to different types of rappers, from drill to lyrical to melodic, and some 90s. This kind of makes up my artistry today because I like to be lyrical and have a message in my songs, but I also will have some gangsta rap thrown in. Even when I was at DSU, I did just enough schoolwork so I could use the studio at the school. Meanwhile, I hadn’t even learned how to mix or do any form of audio engineering, but I still went and asked who I needed to ask about how to record myself. It still wasn’t the best quality sound-wise, not even lyrical, but the intent was there, and you could see where I was going with it. While I was there, I also made my own beats on GarageBand, which weren’t terrible but definitely not the beats I really like, for example, 9th Wonder, Kanye, J. Cole, The Alchemist, Dr. Dre, and that’s a few to give an example. I tried to start getting really good and use fruity loops that go by FL Studios now. It was me and my cousin, who’s a couple of years younger than me, but he knew how to play the piano a lot better than me, and we both have an ear for music, but it didn’t go anywhere. I ended up using YouTube Beats mainly, and I still do. Once, I was at DSU for one whole semester, and one of my professors told me that everything I wanted to do/learn I could do online for free instead of wasting my mom’s money, so of course, I was done with school. I made sure to get on academic probation by skipping most classes, and that’s exactly what happened, so I was only in college for a year. It was a disappointment for my parents and grandma, but I didn’t really care that much because I knew what I wanted to do and honestly felt like this was my purpose. I continue to make music, but there are times when I go on a break for months because my finances weren’t the best, and I didn’t have my own studio or was close enough to someone who had one. Later, my mom helped me get my first MacBook Pro, which was the start of me having my own in-home studio setup. I brought the interface, mic, and studio monitors and started recording even more from there. The better I get at my craft, the more I hesitate to put out new music, which is a challenge for me, as I stated before. I’m working on getting better with that, but at the same time, I just want to put out my best work rather than try to make a quick buck off of music just because a song is popular. I have nothing against those who are mainly looking to make money off of music, and that’s it. I agree that you should be paid for your work, but I personally have to have purpose and meaning behind the art that I put out. My music is for those who may feel like nothing ever goes right for them no matter how much right they do even when they’ve accepted their mistakes and flaws because I’ve been there and I’m still going through it, so it’s to let them know they’re not alone even when it feels that way.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
What I’ve learned doing Covid is that most of the time, we take things seriously or see the importance of things when it’s too late. For instance, the lockdown affected the time you spent around people, especially loved ones. Even in the music space there weren’t any concerts or shows happening with the social distancing. People had to adapt and do live concerts on the Internet, which worked for some, but it still wasn’t the same experience as being at a concert in person. Because I’m still growing my audience, I didn’t think I had any opportunities to grow my audience during Covid. The more I think about it, the more I probably could have a freestyle Friday on Instagram Live, snippet Thursdays, or something. I haven’t done any of that yet, but since I mentioned it, I may have started. I think the biggest takeaway from Covid is that no matter the circumstance, as long as you have breath in your body, then you have to work. Life keeps going, and so should we, especially when life doesn’t get any easier; we just have to learn how to handle difficult situations better.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcusthename
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcusthename
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Marcusthename
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@marcusthenamemusic
Image Credits
Jaylin Green
Jaaron Green
