On a quiet Saturday afternoon, Marcus took some time to share with me some ideas for the new album and where he is at this time in his life. The information was mind opening and will lead Marcus down a new road of discovery, in himself and in music. 

So I asked Marcus, "What is your inspiration for this album and what is running through your mind?"

Marcus had a look in his eyes of self discovery and intuition. He unloaded some information on me that changed my idea of what it means to be a person in this scene. 

"I really have been reading a lot lately, about the black male in America. The book I'm on now is 

The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson. 

I would have talks with my close friends about things that I am seeing. Like how, for example, guns for black males are tools for escape from truth and true mental freedom. It's like the gun IS their confidence tool or compensation for their lack of patience and identity. Also the financial slavery of the black collective. I walk my neighborhood every day. I see check cashing businesses and liquor stores, but I never see these things in the "higher class" neighborhoods. I also observed the black women's role in degrading the black male. Making him feel lesser of a man or subconsciously teasing him by relating with white males because of the scarce opportunities for him in America. I'm starting to understand that this subject matter is a road less traveled because of fear of backlash and or worse. I honestly am embracing the ignorance of my surroundings to see what simple truths I can find within it. I also will be more unified in the production side of the project. 

I'm working with all my friends who appreciate the soul of hip hop." 

This answer really hit the spot. I asked, "Marcus, how do you hope to use your music to change mindsets and our environment?"

Marcus replied, "I just honestly wanna push the boundaries of expressing what you've learned from music. It's the healthiest thing to do and it can save lives!"

"Tell me what you think music can do to change lives and if you could make one big change in your neighborhood what would it be?" asked Lettey. 

Marcus gazed like a man formulating a great plan and said "Music is the noise we hear everyday in perfect harmony, so if it's done right and with good intentions, it can subconsciously bring others together. And I can't name nothing I want to change off the top of my head. I love my neighborhood." 

Lettey takes a moment, pondering her next and final question. Wanting to know much more so choosing her words carefully. "Marcus, with knowledge comes power and responsibility. What do you recommend people do in regards to getting that knowledge and how they should use it. How can music help spread that freedom?" 

Marcus gives himself a moment to truly think this one over. Then replies, "People need to use it in an empathetic way. A helpful way. We know there's gonna be cruel things in the world and that's just there to decipher from. I personally don't wanna be one of those cruel outlets for the people. If you honestly believe in justice, then you need to do it and speak it."

The world we live in will influence our music and our mindset so much. It's good to see people open their mind to what is truly around them without worrying about how P.C. they have to be. I recommend everyone take the time to open your minds to something new today. Truth is Gold! 

Marcus Yates on 2014

Marcus Yates takes a moment to talk with Lettey about life, 2014, and what's ahead for his fans. 

Lettey: "How do you feel about reaching 1000 likes on your Facebook page? 

Marcus: "It's great. That's a 1000 people who pushed like! That's amazing. I hope it keeps growing and growing, and I'm growing. That's a thousand people who support and I'm excited about that."

Lettey: "What do you have planned for 2014?" 

Marcus: "What do I have planned? I'm so in the moment right now I don't know, but the things I've been working on are like, doing a video and helping around the community and stuff. I'm wanting to do more in the community." 

Lettey: "How will you be ringing in the New Year this year?"

Marcus: "With my cousin. We'll be having a good time. We are going to say goodbye to 2013 and Hello to 2014." 

Lettey: "Do you make any new years resolutions?" 

Marcus: "I don't really wanna make resolutions, I just wanna, like, continue and building upon what I already did and making that be great." 

Lettey: "Okay, tell us more about this show you having coming up with Krizz Kaliko in Denver on Jan 18th 2014." 

Marcus: "Yeah yeah! Krizz and I are going to be in Denver CO Jan 18th six days after my Birthday. We gonna go all out for turning 22. 21 was a great year." 

Lettey: " How are the sales of Dark Taupe Schemata doing?"

Marcus: "Dark Taupe Schemata sales are going well. Many friends have told me they really liked the album and played it all the way through, enjoying it all. I want it not to stop there but continuously grow." 

Lettey: "Will there be any possibility for merchandise that fans can purchase in 2014?" 

Marcus: "I've talked to some people who have deals to print shirts off. I'm got someone helping me work on that. So we are working on that." 

Lettey: "What are your thoughts on the Kansas City Chiefs this year?"

Marcus: "I think they are doing great. I really want them to do better on defense. As far as the Chiefs if they combine their hot offense with their hot defense, watch out!" 

Lettey: "Who do you see in the Super Bowl this year?"

Marcus: "I see nobody but the Chiefs, I don't even see another team just the Chiefs. If the Chiefs win the super bowl every body's gonna be wearing red." 

Lettey: "Do you have any words for your fans as we move into 2014?"

Marcus: "Hey, I know I haven't tweeted in a while and I have't been online in a while, but I'm still here and I'm still being faulty and hopefully I'm not faulty."

So stay tuned for more information, more shows, and more interviews after the New Year!

MARCUS'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ABOUT HIS NEW PROJECT AND MORE!

Welcome to the World of the new project. Marcus has had so many new avenues open up for him recently, like Reverbnation, Facebook,Twitter, Blogspot, and more to come. He has been working on another avenue for you and is getting ready to release it on the world. Its called his "project", formally the EP. As Marcus was working on the EP, it became so much more then that, turning it into the project. Marcus was gracious enough to give us an exclusive interview about the album and what is coming ahead for his fans and his work. 

Lettey: Tell us Marcus, how is the EP going so far? 

Marcus: It is going great .  I changed it from being an EP to just a project, because I’m in all aspects of it. I’m really like creating almost all of the aspects of putting this product out to people.

Lettey: So you are producing the project as well? 

Marcus: I'm doing production, engineering, and my homie John, he’s painting these 24x24 canvases for the album art. He's really dope. 

Lettey: Who will we be hearing on this album?

Marcus: You'll be hearing County Boi Frizz, Lena Chanel,Jessica Renee, and myself of course. 

Lettey: What has been your inspiration for making this album? 

Marcus: : I was trying to get away from the Internet. Anything not dealing with the Internet was my inspiration. I had to really dig deep into my thoughts and l really had to go out and look for answers. Like going outside and seeing things and taking adventures. Like when I’m going to work or something. That was my inspiration, just seeing everything around me and thinking about how I could make this better or how could I understand this better.

Lettey: Would you say this album was about getting back to the basics for you?

Marcus: Yes it is. I really had to be patient and just really go to the basics of everything. Like certain beats, I didn't want certain beats in the same key. I wanted features to be features  and  I wanted them to be on subject. I want to be sure that the songs fit the subject matter of the album. When I create something I know what I’m looking for.

Lettey: How will this project be available for fans to obtain? 

Marcus: Right now I am looking at getting some vinyl made. It will be a really exclusive deal. I'm only going to print like 100 and that's it. Then it will be available on Itunes for purchase. 

Lettey: Do you have any shows or events planned in the future? 

Marcus:: My home boy B reached out to me about a show on Sept 26^Th but all my focus has been on getting this  project done, cause I’ve been saying I’m been working on this project for a long time and I just have to get this done and then that will open up more shows possibly.

Lettey: Tell me what you think about your cousin's new album "Something Else" and about the song you were featured on "Feels Like Heaven." 

Marcus: Man, I love the whole process of "Something Else." He was working on "Something Else" when I had come back from college, I believe. He's been working on it for a long time. Ya, I love that whole album. The song "Feels Like Heaven" that I did with him, is like crazy you know? I think I just really love the verse that I wrote and the verse that Aaron (Tech) wrote. It was just like, amazing, and we just came together as Aaron Yates and Marcus Yates to just share our imagination with people. It was just all love on that track. It was like the theme of everything was perfect. It was perfect and I was really proud to be a Yates when that came out. 

Lettey: There will be a featured Fan Blog, were your fans can tell how your music has changed their lives. What do you think about that? 

Marcus: I think that's amazing. Cause when I create I'm only creating with my brain and my heart. It's just crazy how something that comes from me, like from my imagination, can effect other people. That is just mind boggling to me. I mean, I am thankful, but it's just mind boggling how it can touch somebody. 

 

Lettey: Did you watch the VMA's and hear about the controversy with an artist? Do you think that artists have a duty to act a certain way in public as role models to people? 

Marcus:I didn't even watch the VMA's. You can just follow your Twitter feed and see what happened and what Miley did and the pictures of her butt. All I got was Twitter quotes, messages, and Tweets about the VMA's. I didn't watch at all. What Miley did and what she wore, she wanted to do that. So she did what she did, and there will be backlash for anything you do. Especially when you are in the limelight like that. You can say you love God and people will still say you are bad or something. I don't know, I don't get into it. Especially being it seems like everyone is judging. Every one's gonna judge anyway so hey, what the heck. Turn the T.V. off! I could be creating instead of looking at the comments and opinions. 

Lettey: What is your plan after the alum release? 

Marcus: I’m taking everything a day at a time and creating deadlines and everything. I really don’t know. I know I will be creatively drained after everything goes out, because of my role and everything in the project. Cause a lot of people don’t mix their own project and create their own beats and write and record, a lot of people don’t do that. So ya I’ll take some time out and just promote this and probably get a couple of videos done. That will be an easy thing to do, sit in front of a camera and act. Be innovative. I’m trying to do something really hip and get people hip to the different dimensions of how people watch videos.

Lettey: Are you interesting in signing to a label, or are you staying independent? 

Marcus: The best thing to do is to stay independent. I have not gotten any offers from anybody yet, unfortunately. Would I sign? It depends. If they grant me money to get my imagination out more, then yes I would. If they wanted to loan me money to get my imagination out, then no. It looks good on the outside with their gold chains and such. But then you find out that is all they really have and it's different when you meet them. 

Lettey: When is the project set to release? 

Marcus: November 12th 2013

Lettey: All your Facebook fans are dying to know, are you single or off the market?

Marcus: I am dating. That's about it. 

 

Well I know I can speak for many of his fans when I say we are all anxiously awaiting the release of "the project". We will have more updates to come as we move closer to November and don't forget to post this blog and get the word out. Till next time this is Lettey saying Goodnight and don't forget to drink your oval-tine! haha.  

 

MARCUS'S FANS TELL ALL!

We hear lots of stories online about how a certain artist or musical genre changes a person's life.So we are going to take a little time and get the info straight from the fans. I asked Marcus's Facebook fans to tell me what inspired them about his music and how it has changed their lives. This is what they had to say.

Christopher Fulton

"Well I started listening to Marcus through Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko. Most notably the song "Gumbo".   I loved how he sounded. He fit right into the world of Strange Music. The music he wrote actually had meaning and depth and with him being so close to my age, it inspires me that this generation has talent instead of the popular trash on the radio.I would always send messages to my favorite artists on Facebook hoping to talk to them and tell them how much I respect them. Marcus was the first one to respond. Within a few days too. He seems so down to earth and I can not wait to see what he has in store for his album. I am a lifelong fan."

                                                                       Megan Pickens

"I remember when I first got a listen at Marcus Yates' style.  It was in "I Love Music" when he rapped "Music ain't a hobby, it's an organ, of my body, that the creator provided back in January of '92.  So don't you dare say that music skipped my generation."  His lines fit perfect and spoke against the crowds of people saying "Hip Hop is dead."  Hip Hop was never dead.  Too many clowns have been given the spot light leaving real artists in the dark.  I was excited to hear more.  Later, I fell in love with Krizz Kaliko's "Gumbo" and heard his familiar voice.  I ended up buying a ticket to the SOS tour and got to see Marcus live.  He really put on a show and his style goes unmatched.  He has this feel good/relaxed vibe that really gets you lost in his music.  I can't wait to hear more from this dude and definitely can't wait 'til the day one of his CD's is in a big box store."

                     Ben Beal
"I'll be looking out for your EP and buying it when it comes out."

These are just a few of the amazing fans that have had their lives touched in some way or another by Marcus's music. He is so humbled by this outreach of fans and will keep bringing great music to everyone til his last breath. When I asked Marcus what he thought of all this, he said "It's great. It's amazing. Just wow." He told me its a wonderful thing when you can make music for yourself and it moves over into another person's life and reaches out to them in the way it did to you. Check out more comments and fan dialogue at www.facebook.com/marcusiyates and stay tuned this weekend to an exclusive interview with Marcus about the new album, formally an EP. 

BETTER GET REVERB FEVER CONTEST!

So we have another contest coming your way for some amazing prices! 

Each day from now until 8/28/13 I will update my Reverbnation status post several times a day. The next day I'll ask you on my Facebook what the status was during a certain hour on a certain day and if you get it right, and you are a fan of the Reverbnation page, you win an autographed photo of me. Then you will be entered into the grand prize drawing (to be drawn on 9/8/13) to receive a free copy or download of the EP when it is released if you are the winner!

Keep checking Reverb and Facebook and be the first to respond.