“Buzz’N” iNterview W/ @PositiveMarcus

The next artist we have the pleasure of interviewing in our “Buzz’N” iNterview series hails from Chicago, Illinois and has his goal set on raising positivity not only throughout Chicago but internationally. He got his start as a Christian artist and is set to release his debut project, a mixtape titled #ShareThePositivity on February 11th. Also to be noted is that he does voiceover acting and is an aspiring film actor. Buzzers, let’s give a warm welcome to our guest, Marcus Alexander.

Thanks for joining us today Marcus, we appreciate it. To start things off, could you provide us with some details pertaining to your background and musical influences? You’re from Chicago, how has that impacted your music?

Thanks for having me. Believe it or not, I didn’t come from a musical background. Later on in life I found out that many of my family members were musically inclined with rapping, DJ’ing and beatboxing. However, I wasn’t raised around that. Most of my musical influence came from listening to the radio. I definitely fell in love with Hip Hop because of the beats and production. As I grew older and matured, I started to appreciate lyrics, quality lyrics. Lyrics that have actual wordplay, that are creative and actually make you think. Being from Chicago is great for my music because Chicago, along with the rest of the Midwest, is a melting pot of musical influences. We’re in the middle of the country so we get influences from the West Coast, East Coast, South, all the while still creating our own sound and unique twist. I have an appreciation for all sides of Hip Hop. I love that one genre of music can have so many different sides to it. It’s a beautiful thing.

You got your start in creating music thru church as a Christian artist. How did that come to be exactly Marcus? What is your outlook on God and hip hop music, a topic not very much talked about in the major music market.

I had met a Christian Rapper at a church here in Chicago over 10 years ago. To be bluntly honest, I fell in love with the fact that this man was on stage, having fun, sharing his music and getting attention for it. After talking with him and giving him my demo, he saw the potential in me and took me under his wing. Although we parted ways, he set me on my musical path and I’m forever grateful for that. I have since parted ways with the Christian Church but have learned a lot during my experience there and it helped me to want to share positive music with people because we have a serious lack of positive music in comparison to the negative music that’s out there. There are many Hip Hop artists that include God in their music and some even completely focus on that topic in their music like I used to do. As long as people aren’t hurting, damaging or abusing others, I don’t see too much harm in it. The beauty of Hip Hop is that it’s an open platform to express one’s views and opinions. Obviously everyone has different views and opinions, so we need to do our best to understand and respect them. We don’t all have to agree but we all need to love and respect each other.

Although you’re an up and coming artist, you’ve been making some big noise locally with songs like “Hate That I Love You”, which features the crooning abilities of Joel and production from Blaq Noyz. The single very well sounds like something that should be in radio rotation. Please speak about the creation process of this song, the inspiration behind it and about Joel and Blaq Noyz.

When all 3 of us sat down in the studio to write this song, it was a beautiful process. Joel sings mostly love songs, so I knew I wanted to write something about a relationship since we were collaborating with each other. Blaq Noyz played a bunch of instrumentals for us until we all agreed on one. Whenever I write, I listen to the beat first and vibe off of it. I feel like each beat has its own feel and own story. As I listened to the beat, I felt like it had conflict. That’s what made me think about writing about a couple who’s relationship had conflict. Although many songs end with a happy ending, reality isn’t always like that, so I decided to write about a relationship that both parties wanted to work out, but needed to end. I wrote my verse and the bridge, Joel wrote his verse, and all 3 of us collectively wrote the chorus. We finished the song in about 3 hours and it came out wonderful. I agree that this song sounds like it should be in radio rotation and it will be! This song is about to be played on a regular basis on Jamie Foxx’s radio station “The Foxxhole” on Sirius XM. DJ MicahPhoneChecka runs the music for the show and he and I connected on Twitter a while ago. He is a big supporter of my music and he is the reason this song is going to get radio play and I couldn’t be more grateful and excited!

Congratulations on that achievement Marcus, that’s huge! Your current campaign mission is to #ShareThePositivity, which also happens to be the name of your upcoming debut mixtape. For those unfamiliar with the term & campaign, could you provide details pertaining to it?

#ShareThePositivity is all about focusing on the positive things in life and removing the negative to the best of our abilities. Both good and bad things happen to us in life but we give power to what we focus on. I’m not saying to ignore your problems but you’ll be surprised when you start to focus more time and energy on the positive in your life and the negative starts to both slowly diminish as well as have less of an effect on your peace. The songs on the mixtape all come from a positive mindset. I wanted to share positive concepts and challenge the listeners to live a positive life. We have enough negative things, not just in music, but in life in general, and we need times of encouraging and uplifting. I want this mixtape to be a breath of fresh air to Hip Hop.

We could all use some positivity in life. Speaking of the upcoming mixtape, you chose to jack beats from major artists and rework them to fit your criteria. One of those songs being a remix to Drake’s “0-100”. What other reworks can we expect from “Share The Positivity” when it drops? Will you be releasing any other tracks before its released?

I remixed a lot of popular Rap songs on the mixtape and put my positive twist on them. I also didn’t want to just be another rapper dropping another mixtape in an over-saturated market. So I decided to remix a bunch of Pop tracks as well. This mixtape is about half Rap and half Pop. There are many rappers on Pop tracks and I wanted to show that I could do it as well. Some of the artists included in this list are Schoolboy Q, Drake, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Maroon 5, Fallout Boy, Neyo, and a few others. I’m very excited about this project. My next single to be released will be my remix to “Centuries” by Fallout Boy.

Remixing a record from Fall Out Boy huh? That should be interesting to hear, looking forward to it. In celebration of the project’s release, you have an event scheduled to take place in Chicago at Tonic Room the day it drops, February 11th. What can we expect to transpire at the event? Do you have any surprises planned for the evening?

I really want this event to be an intimate event. I will be performing every song off of the mixtape as well as having a live DJ and a live drummer. I will be having an intermission between sets and I want to walk amongst the people, mingle with them, get to know them and vice versa. This will be more than just a concert, it will be a large therapy group session. I want to share my story of my trials & tribulations but most importantly, my victories. I want to be able to help people, let them know that they’re not alone, let them know it’s ok and that there is hope and a light at the end of the tunnel.

So we’ve heard your two most recent releases and now know you have the “Share The Positivity” mixtape dropping. Are you planning on releasing an album with original production or more singles such as “Hate That I Love You”? Do you have any collabs we should be on the lookout for or other shows planned for 2015?

Yes, I plan on releasing an album of original material later this year. The mixtape is just an introduction of myself to the world. I really just wanted to be able to rewrite current songs on the radio to show that I can and should be on the radio alongside these other artists. I may have even rewritten songs better than the original artist but I’ll let the people decide on that one (laughs). I will definitely be working with more production from Blaq Noyz and more collaborations with Joel. I’m very picky about what artists I work with, so as of now, I’m still looking for other collaborative artists.

Besides music, you are a voiceover and film actor. Could you give us details pertaining to that? Where can we hear/see your past works and are you currently working on anything you’d like the public to be aware of?

I’ve only done a few projects with voiceiver. I’d really like to change that. I have always been complimented on my voice and I would like to utilize it more. So if any of your Buzzers out there know of any projects I can be used in, please let me know! I’ve only acted in one film so far. It’s called “The Land” and it’s directed by Raul Colon. I play “Alderman Gonzalez”, a crooked politician mixed in with gangsters. That will will be released in summer of 2015. I am about to be on an episode of “Empire” as a rapper, which is quite fitting for me. I’m excited for that role and hope that it opens up other doors of opportunity for me. It will be my first time on TV, but definitely not my last.

Yet another big move for you in your careeer Marcus, we wish you continued success on all of your endeavors. For those Buzzers out there liking your music and wanting to stay in tuned with everything you have coming, where can they find you at online?

My website is currently under construction but will be found at www.MarcusAlexander.me. In the meantime, I can be reached at Facebook.com/OfficialMarcusAlexander and on Twitter @PositiveMarcus.

It was great having you join us today Marcus. Your positivity protrudes from your soul and rubs off on alot of the people you come into contact with. Before we bring this interview to a close, is there anyone you’d like to thank or shout out?

I want to thank my supporters. I love what I do, but without the people to enjoy and appreciate my talents, it would mean nothing. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to do this interview with you and thank you for having me.

They say one person’s smile or persona could have a positive affect on everyone around them. Marcus Alexander is one of those people. With his ability to provide quality music without all the added violence that one would expect from a Chicago artist, Marcus is poised to make a mark with his talents. We’d like to once again thank him for taking part in our “Buzz’N” iNterview series. Make sure to download #ShareThePositivity when it drops on 2-11-2015 and if you’re near or around the area that day, stop by Tonic Room for the mixtape release party.

Interview by: @blitzb_60505