Marcel P. Black Travel Blog #3

FromBatonRougeToJerusalem

A Marcel P. Black Travel Blog

Date: Saturday January 26th, 2018

City: Tallahassee, Florida

Venue: 621 Gallery (Annex)

Show: 3 – City: 3 – State: 3

            In 2018, I’m moving different. I chosen not to state chase, but instead knock items off my bucket list, all while looking for new opportunities to take part in. I was booked for a college gig in Pensacola February 17^th, so I was tryinna get either a Panama City, Fort Walton Beach, or Tallahassee show to fill out that weekend. Last year I did a lot of one offs, this year, I wanna do at least 2-3 shows a weekend instead. It helps save money and time.

            Well that’s not what happened this weekend lol. I should the trees and nothing came out that weekend. And the Pensacola show ended up getting canceled anyway. Alas, my girl Fika from Tally linked me with some other folk, and this show in Tallahassee did present itself, a Hip-Hop show case called Submersive Sounds put on by local Hip-Hop artists and a Sociology teach at Florida State named Dr. Lisa (she teaches a dope Hip-Hop course I plan to lecture at someday).

            Since Mark Dub aka Extra Large Debarge couldn’t make it due to him spending the last 2 weekends on the road with me, I chose to catch this slab for dolo. I drop my kids off at school, fun by the office to check in, and caught the slab by 9 am. Before I hit the highway, I got what my Dad calls “keep awakes.” Scooped a bag of Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles, sour candies, 2 Redbulls, a liter of dat Ozarka ya heard me, & some Gatorade ya dig. I’m tryinna go as far as a I can before noon when I do staffing the owner of my company, so there’s no time for stopping. I pull up in Mobile right about 11:45 am, do my thing at 12 pm, got a like bite from Arby’s and I’m back on the slab to Tallyho.

“Say Big Dog….”- Big Nigga Upstairs

            So I pull up to my hotel, get my keys, & the sister done knocked off about $10 of my room. Room was already cheap, so this was love. I grab all my stuff, go in the room, eat my Steak & Shake, then hop in the bed for bout an hour before I head towards the venue. Watching HGTV of course. Fast forward, I get up get dressed, head to the car. I walk outside I smell some loud ass weed coming from upstairs, and I hear, “Say Big Dog, what you getting into tonight?” Buddy looked to be about my size dressed in all Black, and the way we rocked his fitted let me know he was with the shits.

            I replied, “But go pull up on my homies, what you got up?”

            Big Nigga was like, “Mane IDK what’s shakin, I ain’t from here.”

            Me, “Same. It’s sad because it ain’t no strip clubs out here…”

            Big Nigga, “Mane if you lookin for dem hoes I gotcha my nigga.” Then 2 white women walk out the room smoking cigarettes. Mane these niggas trappin girls out the Baymont… Lawd.

 

            I tell buddy I’m scraight and I gwan bout mi bidness. Pull up to the venue to see my homie Fika riding a Moped in a dress. Lit AF. I park then go in & peep the scene, it looks like a well kept storage unit with a checkered dance floor and a make shift DJ booth. I go holla at the DJ, then go set up my merch. The crowd is mostly college aged Black males & females, and older Black and White educators (I’m assuming they’re Dr. Lisa’s colleagues). In 2016 I did a show in Tampa with the main Hip-Hop crew in Tallahassee, Cap6, but I really ain’t recognize they faces or know their names, so I just played it lowkey, manning my merch table.

First act goes up, young guy from Miami. Next a young lady from St. Louis who strangely chose to do a Neo Soul set at a rap show. She was dope so NDC. Next was a brother who had a really good performance, & solid lyrical Panda raps. Dr. Lisa told me to go up.

The beauty of not going first is the opportunity to take notes on the crowd and see what the other artists are doing well, what they’re neglecting, and what you need to pull out the bag to go up. First thing I do when they call me is set the mic stand up before I rap. I got into my acapella, and get some lite love. Then it’s “Stare & Whisper,” with the call & response, which well again. My “5 Things” got wild house, then I go into “Where I Stay,” which went very well. Being that there were college professors in the room, as well as “woke” college kids the Michelle Alexander reference at the end of the 2^nd verse got oohs & ah’s like a Daylyt punchline.

            Next is def the highlight of the night. I start “Hallelujah” & the mic goes out, I swap it out & run it back from jump. They are with the “Fuck Donald Trump” actions in Tallahassee!!! I kill the first verse, hit the FDT call & response again, then start the next verse where the mic starts goin out AGAIN. So what do I do? I put the mic on the stand and rap the verse to the top of my lungs, and boy was it lit. The crowd was super impressed and hyped that I didn’t miss a beat and they rocked with me even harder!!! After the verse someone tries to hand me a new working mic, and I wave him off because yall bout to get this no mic work right now. Go back into the last hook and the crowd is eating out my palms… A true Hip-Hop moment that I gotta thank the Lawd for all these shows that gave me the experience to keep the show going and not fumble.

The energy was so high, and I didn’t wanna risk bringing it down or drain my own wave, I decided to skip with “Cry Freedom” instead of doing “Freedom Music” or “#FreeBLKPPL” (I need to either figure those songs out or take them out my live set, because thought they’re a great listen, they don’t translate live well at all). I went full small congregation Missionary Baptist deacon mode on em, and it proved to be the best usage of my energy. Finish my set, then headed back to the merch table where I had several great convo’s with both older heads and young boys alike. Only the older heads bought stuff though, young college kids never have money.

No Zola for me!!!

Buddy from Cap 6 kills it, show is over, I break down and head home. I see Guthrie’s, and I wanna check it out so order the box combo. For those who don’t know, Guthrie’s is who they claim my dog Todd Graves stole the idea for Canes from, and I call blasphemy. I pull up to my room, and I see Big Nigga still outside smokin weed. I look behind me and I see two Black women who were both visibly fine AF standing outside a car parked behind me, dressed in sweats & Uggs. The two white women I saw smoking earlier go talk to them, and they all walk back towards the hotel, right past my van.

I don’t want them to see what room I’m in, so I let them go ahead of me, then once they were up the stairs, I waited till Big Nigga wasn’t looking and go to my room. Before I shut the door I hear Big Nigga say:

“Say Big Dog, wassup with that Guthrie’s tho…”

I’m like WTF? I went & waited for a second to see if anyone was gonna knock on my door, once I thought it was chill, I took pics for the Gram, and ate. I’m in the bed looking at my Facebook “On This Day” posts, I get an email from an 813 number that says, “Say bruh, what that Guthrie’s talkin’ bout?”

“They got me noid… But I ain’t paranoid.”- Silkk The Shocker

WHAT. IN. THE. HELL. IS. GOING. ON!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Why am I getting an EMAIL FROM A TAMPA CELL PHONE!!!! I google the area code & see that it’s a Tampa number, and my mind starts racing, “Did Big Nigga find my promo card that doesn’t have my phone number, but does have my email on it, and is him asking me for Guthrie’s mean they bout to run up in my room and rob me?”

Ya’ll remember that viral twitter story about Zola and the white girl trappin out the hotel in Tampa, and the wild Florida niggas? That’s all I can think of. I get fully dressed pack my bags, and now I’m ready for whatever. Thinking of calling the police, wishing I had a gun. Then I decide to email the back, to see what was really good…

So I do, and it turns out it’s my boy A.J. from Tampa who plays with the Grid in New Orleans. He saw my post on the Gram and decided to mess with me about it…

MAAAAANNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEE LOOK… He didn’t have my new number, so when he texted “Marcel P. Black” it went to my maroonmusic @ gmail.com account. Crazy af right? Finally go to sleep, get up, and head back to BR, laughing at how I was ready to go out in a blaze of glory behind some chicken fingers & hard ass toast that’s not seeing Raising Canes, any day of the week.

Venue: 4/5 (Wide open DIY space)

Crowd Response: 4.5/5

Merch: 3/5 (Wish I coulda sold more, but the people who did shop bought a min of 2 things)

Sound: 2/5 (No no monitors on floor for artists, gotta subtract for the mics going out too)

Set List: Stare & Whisper, Where I Stay, Hallelujah, Cry Freedom

Marcel P. Black Travel Blog #2

#FromBatonRougeToJerusalem

A Marcel P. Black Travel Blog

Date: Saturday January 20th, 2018

City: Houston, Texas

Venue: The Secret Group

Show: 2 – City: 2 – State: 2

            Mane hol’ up… The last time I did a show in Houston was May of 2017. I did my “Hip-Hop Is Alive” concert there and booked all Houston acts that I either went to college with, or made friends with in my years of doing shows in Houston. One of them being Kyle Hubbard, an incredible emcee, and really good guy. He’s been tryinna bring me to Houston for a long time, the time was finally right, and he made it happen.

            Originally, I was supposed to do San Antonio too, but I got the call to come begin the process of moving back into my apartment that day, so I opted to cancel the San Antonio show so I can move back in. Though I hate cancelling, the show wasn’t gonna pay as much as I normally get aaaaannnndddd it was an 8 ½ hour trip. My wife wanted to go because her sister who we haven’t seen in like 7 yrs was lives there, and even though I had my main mane Mark Dub riding with me, it just ain’t really make sense to not adult and move back in to do that show. Bad timing, hopefully they don’t think I’m a flake and they’ll book a real nigga again.

            Update: We’re moved back in!!!

            However I didn’t cancel the Houston show. HTX is only 4 ½ hours away, a pretty easy slab. We pick up Part Man/Part Thug and head to Houston, pull up at my wife’s soror’s crib in Katy, a big ase suburb of Houston. We’re kinda late, so I hurry up & change then head on back into the city, an hour drive from where we are.

Avoid TF Out That Lava…

            Though I was a special guest, I was really there to open for my man Casey aka Full Metal for the release of his stellar LP “Avoid The Lava.” This dude can really rap, as well as Kyle and my guy Virgil Wolfe. DJ Discipline is on the tables spinnin’ real ass Hip-Hop, I realize I can’t play with these boys tonight. While I’m at the table, Mark tells me my boy David aka Dirty of Dirty & Nasty along with his wife Dara. D tells me that since that he had to come because he didn’t wanna fail the #PullUPChallange, which I found hilarious with all the respect in the world. Long story short, I had a lot of people who say they fool with me tough or wanna work with me not pull up when I came to they city last year. I told folk this year, if you don’t pull up when I’m in town, we ain’t got nothing to talk about. Well D accepted the challenge & pulled up, so we gonna build. 

            Virgil goes up first, and rhymes his ass off. Good energy, good productions, really good raps. Next up is Kyle, who is the scenes local hero, and he’s going for it too. I’m like shit, I can’t come outchea and get washed like that. Another note, my guy D-Risha is supposed to come, and I haven’t seen him in like 3 years, and I know he wants me to put on a dope show, so I can’t afford to even have a mediocre tonight.

            Kyle finishes and D-Risha comes in. You can tell this nigga ain’t been out in a minute since fatherhood/family life has him working hard af to provide the wonderful life for his daughter and fiancé. He was lit af, and I mad at him one bit. I start off with “BR7MC,” and Risha is screaming “talk yo shit Black” at the top of his lungs, in the front of the stage, and it’s giving me all the like. Then I hit em with an acapella, going straight into “Stare & Whisper” adding a li’l crowd participation to it, which I normally don’t do, but it’s working tonight.

            Next is my 5 things, and into “Where I Stay,” which has a Pimp C sample on the hook, so I was hoping it would go well, and it did. More really good call & response. None better than “Hallelujah” though, a song in which I have a room of roughly 60 mostly white Texans screaming “Fuck Donald Trump” at the top of their lungs. Mark told me one guy was looking mad uncomfortable, but he ain’t wanna fight, so NDC.

            I hit em with “FreeBLKPPL” next, one of my all time favorite songs that I still haven’t figured out how to perform yet. I manage through it and before I’m bout to “Freedom Music,” they tell me I only have time for one my song. I chose “Cry Freedom” for 2 reasons:

1.      It has a Journey sample and crowd is mostly all white.

2.      On “Freedom Music” I profess the Black Woman is God, but there’s no Black women in the room (#Wypipo wins again… smh).

Lemme Find Out You Racist Against Jesus & God

“Cry Freedom” goes over well, another mostly white crowd in the South I converted with these Black ase raps. I then go to my table and sell tf out some merch. One the way to the table, a white guy stops me and says, “I’m a Christian too, I didn’t understand anything else you were saying because of our different experiences, but I support rappers who are Christians.” I tell him I believe Jesus was Black and that God is a Black woman. He looks puzzled, I dap him and tell him to come to the table, he never shows up. Lemme find out you racist against Jesus & God lol…

“After the show It’s the After Party…”- Jay Z

After Casey kills it I sell more cd’s & shirts, then head over to the big side of The Secret Group for their “90’s Dance Party” which didn’t play all 90’s music, but they played nothing but dance hits from all genres, and it was lit. Mostly Mexicans and White folks, but mane they knew every song that played, and we cut up.

3 Dope things me & Mark witnessed:

1.      A small Black dude dressed like Ini Kamoze whom we called the “Hot Stepper” who came in for dolo literally vibed with every type of MF in the club including Black’s, Whites, Gays, Latinos, Asians… That nigga was intersectional af.

2.      A tall Asian lady tryinna make her booty clap to some ignorant rap song. She failed miserably, but what she lacked in booty she made up with in heart.

3.      I had no idea Daft Punk’s “One More Time” is White People’s GOAT club banger. That bih came on and White folks lost they mind. Which led me on a journey to figure out what touches White peoples’ souls… Stay tuned for my findings.

At the end of the night we had a great time, got some fire Whataburger, and headed on back Sunday afternoon. Another successful show in the books, def felt like I shook that monkey off my back with this show.

Venue: 4.5/5 (Small, but perfect for an underground Hip-Hop show)

Crowd Response: 4/5

Sound: 4/5

Merch Sales: 4/5

Set List: BR7MC, Stare & Whisper, Where I Stay, Hallelujah, Cry Freedom

Marcel P. Black Secret Stages Festival 8/4/17 (Birmingham, AL)

This summer, I finally got that long awaited call from Rashid from Lobotomix to come to BHam, but this rip for Secret Stages, a dope multi genre music festival that took place August 4-6, 2017. I was blessed to have Go DJ Automatik & KP Soul backing me up live and I believe we put on a really good set, even with the technical difficulties. 

Here's 3 songs from my set, "PPL 1st," "By Any Means," and "Henry Clay."

Filmed by Jerry W. Henry by AlabamaMusicOffice.com at Pale Eddie's.

My Latest Travel Blog

#FromBatonRougeToJerusalem

A Marcel P. Black Travel Blog

Date: Friday January 12^th, 2018

City: Jackson, MS

Venue: Hal & Mal’s (Red Room)

Show: 1 – City:1 – State: 1

Happy New Year ya’ll? First off shout to my man Thrilla from Defmatic.com for housing the #15StatesOrBust Tour Blog last year. For some reason, I’m not really sure why, but we didn’t finish what we started, probably because we’re bother insanely busy with both our personal & professional lives. No hard feelings at all, but in true only child/indie rapper fashion, I don’t like waiting for others to do for me what I can do forself.

So welcome to marcelpblack.com, this is the “#FromBatonRougeToJerusalem Travel Blog” (it’s a Jay Electronica reference, #FreePalistine), a space where I write about the life of an indie/underground/non-traditional conscious Hip-Hop artist.

And oh yeah, I DID COMPLETE 15 STATES!!! Maxed out on 17 to be exact. Hooray Black!!!

            

            “I need a new nigga for this black cloud to follow

‘Cause while it's over me it's too dark to see tomorrow”- Nas

Bruhhhh…. I been goin’ thru the scruggle mane. Long story short, I musta been trash in ’17, cuz Santa gave me the flu for Christmas. I stayed at my parents’ house and missed all the Xmas activities while home in Oklahoma, feeling terrible. Once I get back to BR I realize my water heater busted and had consequentially flooded my dining room, and all three bedrooms. In fact, I’ve been staying at my wife’s coworker’s (read my wife’s Baton Rouge mama) house since we got back. I actually write this blog from her living room, as I STILL have not been able to move back in my crib yet.

2018 & I been beefin’, & I was looking to blow off wild steam in my second rap home, JAfrica, JUSA, bka Jackson, MS for their 3 annual Jackson Indie Music Week Festival, which I’ve been a part of since it’s inception. If anybody knows me, they know JXN hold a special place in my heart, for it’s the first city on the road I went to and built a buzz in on my own. Since 2011, I’ve been going to JXN about 5-7 times a year to perform, record, shoot videos, podcast interviews, go to concerts, and got to strip clubs (more on this later). I have so many friends out there and I pull up so often, that folk don’t even be surprised to see me now. I’m an honorary Ju.

I bring my right hand/Director of Function Mark Dubb with me, so you know it’s about to be lit because he’s just lit period. We pull up in JXN about 5:30 PM & decide go straight to the venue where soundcheck is at 6:30 pm. At 6 pm, we’re the first people there, so in true Oklahoma Sooner fashion, I take this opportunity to find the prime spot to set up my merch table. The other rappers fall in later, including James Crow, Alfred Banks, & Coke Bumaye. DJ Sean Mac, fellow alum of my Alma Mater Souther University, comes in we do soundcheck. Ya’ll know I hate sound checking, I’m very superstitious behind, it, because I’m afraid some rappers’ gonna hear what I’m doing and try to use it against me. Paranoid, but hey, stranger things have happened. But I go ahead and do it for the culture. Finish soundchecking, hang around for a bit, then my bro 5^th Child hops in the van with Mark & I as we go to his crib, where we always stay, to change clothes.

“You can catch the bus if you run, but oh no, the game don’t wait”- Nate Dogg

           

           As I pull back up to the venue at 8:30 pm, I get a call from all asking me where I was. He tells me James Crow is done and I go up next. Apparently I missed the memo when set times change, I thought I was to go on at 9:05 pm, but apparently it was 9:05 pm. Aight bet, 8:35 it is. Donyale asks do I want an introduction, I say yes, and them the instrumental to “BR7MC” plays. So much for an introduction I guess lol. I go up there, and get a pretty decent response. I see a few of my rapper friends, some #FadeTheFlowAlumni who’ve know I’m that guy in BR, but have only seen me in a facilitator role, and other folk that I’ve gotten to know in JXN pretty well. Kick an acapella, then go into “Stare & Whisper,” which always goes over well in Black ass cities I call “Soul Cities” like Jackson. Places where people enjoy stories about the struggle, and tryinna get up out that bih. Then I do my “5 things” segue way into “Where I Stay,” and they vibing with me. Jackson is THE Dirty South, so a Pimp C sample over some southern ass production is always gonna get their attention.

            Now we get to “Seven.” Though JXN is my second home, I wasn’t able to able to route any dates thru JAfrica last fall after “Seven” dropped, so this is the first time I’m performing these records here. I start with “Hallelujah,” which employs my infamous “Fuck Donald Trump” hook, which is always a crap shoot, but it semi-worked. For a mostly Black crowd who is always pretty woke they weren’t scared, but did seem hesitant to say #FDT. When I finished the song, I asked did I scare any white people, and they were like, “No, we’re right here bro!!!.” Thanks D’Wight Mane.

            Next I rock “#FreeBLKPPL,” & kinda lost the crowd. That song is so heavy, and it doesn’t sound like anything out right now, so I gotta find a better place to put the song in my setlist, or just take it out all together. It really slows the night down for me, and makes me over rap to get the crowd back the next song. Mind you this is the first time I’ve performed since 12/16/17 in Asheville, NC, I’ve been battling flu, sinus infections, colds etc. I was coughing all the way up to JXN, worried would I even be able to get a bar off when was rhyming or not. And because I sweat a lot, I cramp on stage.

            Sho’nuff, last song “Freedom Music” is on deck, I feel the cramps in my side begin pinching my lungs, and the phlegm in my throat wants perform too. The sister that sings the hook on the project is named Victoria Cross, and is actually the new bride of the house DJ Sean Mac. I was hoping she would pull up and sing with me, but she had mommy duties to tend to, so it’s just me DJ Side Cramps & MC Fila Phlegm on this rip. I slur a couple words on the first verse, but get thru it and the hook. I cut the beat & kick the second verse acapella, because I knew I wasn’t gonna get thru it unscathed, because Fila Phlegm was dying to make a cameo. I ask Donny can I do one more so I can leave on a strong note, she said yes. My muscle memory kicks in, and I somewhat redeem myself with “Cry Freedom.”

            I actually feel I had a good set, but the crowd was only like 67% into the show. Like they did my call & responses, they put their hands up, but they put they did the call & responses kinda unenthusiastically, and ain’t extend they arms fully when I told them to put they fists up. Chizzle later told me that that was more of them being burned out due to hearing live music for a smooth 5 days, with the crowd often going to 3-5 venues a night. Oh, ok.

            The other side of being a traveling emcee is the extracurriculars we engage in when we pull up in your city. Everyone knows I like to do three things: Eat local, sneaker shop, & go to strip clubs. I go so many friends in JXN & I come up there so much, that I feel mad comfortable parlaying in the city. Don’t get it twisted, it’s still “JACK-Town,” but I speak Ju fluently, I know the ledge.

“If you tip, tippin, you’z a lame & that’s that”- Li’l Bow Wow

            Mark & I leave the venue looking for an ATM downtown. After having trouble finding one, we decide to head towards the venue hoping to find an ATM along the way, and there is. Mind you, it’s payday, I’ve been having a rough go at it as of late, we in my fav city with my #1 road dawg, and I’ve had my best strip club memories in JXN previously. Nigga it’s lit.

Mane, picture why the MF ATM machine ATE MY DEBIT CARD!!!

After trying to get my shit out the machine with some tweezers, I start laughing to keep from crying. This some’oll BULLSHIT. Fuck it. We go to KOD JXN anways. We go in, it’s a nice spot. We was apprehensive about going in so early, because that’s when you food to these young lades attack you and try go get they nights off to a good start. We for once I wish we was food. We sat in a STRIP CLUB FOR AN HOUR AND SAW 0 STRIPPERS… The waitress, who was quite fine, said that since they close at 6, ppl normally don’t pull till around 2 AM. It’s nearly 1 AM and we’d been there since 11:45 PM. So we bounced. Got some IHOP, went to 5^th’s house & laid it down. Thanks a lot Obama….

Venue Rating: 4/5

Crowd Response: 3.5/5

Sound: 3/5

Merch Sales: 4/5

Setlist: BR7MC, Stare & Whisper, Where IStay, Hallelujah, #FreeBLKPPL, Freedom Music, Cry Freedom.

Next Show: January 19^th, San Antonio, TX @ The Limelight

The 7 Session: Marcel P. Black Listening Party/Live Interview Sunday 10/1 @ UpperCuts

ThaAntidote.com & Sole Lab Radio Present:

The "Seven" Session: A listening session/live interview for Marcel P. Black's new EP "Seven" with Justin Ivey of HipHopDX.com.

Come listen to Marcel P. Black's latest EP "Seven," and be there live in person as he's interviewed by Justin Ivey of HipHopDX.com.

Sunday October 1, 2017, 7-10 PM. 
Free Food by DJ Slice Dat
Free Cover
BYOB
Music by Sole Lab BR

RSVP Online Here

My first Interview about "Seven" with ThaAntidote.com

I sat down with Tubbi of The Nerdy Bird Site to talk about my upcoming EP "Seven." It was one of the best interviews I've ever done, as she asked excellent questions that kept me on the toes. Shout out to the good people at ThaAntidote.com for being the first to reach out for the interview.

You can watch the interview on on ThaAntidote.com right here.

"Seven" drops on all digital retailers on 9/24/17. You can pre-order "Seven" here. 

Pre-Order Marcel P. Black's "Seven" EP on Bandcamp Now!!!

On Sunday September 24th, I will release my new EP, "Seven," my interpretation of what it is to be a Black man in Trump's AmeriKKKa. 

You can pre-order 7 here.