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Monday, February 25, 2019

Marcel P. Black "Principles & Standards" (Produced by M Slago)



After a year and a half, I'm finally releasing new music!!! "Principles & Standards" is from my new EP "4ThaCLTR" produced entirely by Dallas beatsmith M Slago a few days before it's official release on February 25th. "Principles & Standards" is my return to underground boom bap production, with battle style rhymes challenging emcees to step their bars up, as well as speaking to importance of maintaining integrity as an artist.




Click here to stream on Spotify.

Click here to Stream on Apple Music/Buy on iTunes


Saturday, February 23, 2019

Marcel P. Black #RapRecap #5 (2.7.19 in San Francisco, California)


YAY AREA PART 2

I pretty much got off the plane, ate, changed clothes, went straight to the venue, rapped, came home, and crashed. Not to mention, there was so much weed smoke everywhere, I was definitely jet lagged, and most likely high af off contact. I stayed in this dope crib with all the Louisiana guys on the trip at a very friendly and talented woman named Taylor a.k.a. Tolula's crib. The guys gave me the big room on the bottom level because I'm too wide for the couches, and plus it was kinda the non-smoker space in the house. 

Respect. 

NO INDEED!!!


I wake up hungry af (prolly got the munchies from a contact high), and I asked the fellas what they were doing for food. All these guys are in the early twenties, and slim, so of course they say they gonna walk and find some food...

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttt....

I'm in my mid 30's and 400 lbs. I'm not walkin' nowhere!!! And it's not even because I'm too lazy, because if ya'll have been following my weightloss/workout posts, you know my cardio game is crazy lit right now. I didn't wanna walk nowhere beacuse I was legit afraid of my fat ass falling and rolling down them steep as street hill thingys. IDK if you can tell by the picture, by them streets is steep af mane, and I'm from the flat part of the country. Fat niggas and steep ass hill streets don't mix, and I'm not gonna force the issue. So I ordered some Filipno food via Uber Eats (BBQ chicken skewers and pancit) and it was lit. I actually ordered a burger just in case my country ass palette didn't like what I ordered, but didn't need it because I was satisfied af. Threw that bih in the fridge, and took me a nap like a mf.

EPIPHANY

Brianna picks me up, to head to the venue early so we can chop it up about working together in the future. Really good conversation with a really great person. What people don't know about artists is that even with our egos, we're extremely self conscious. To build with a person who believes in your talent and appreciates your work ethic means so much, so I knew tonight was gonna be a dope night.

We pull up to Lennon Studios, which was a huge wharehouse type of building that has several rehearsal type spaces that can be rented, places where musicians that can buy anything you can think of, and stages. I meet the owner of the building, an older lady who opened up the studios originally for her songs because they had dreams of being musicians. She had an accent, may have been British, I couldn't tell. 

We were some of the first people there, so I get the premium spot to set up merch. The room is about 300 capacity, and everythign about the night felt right. Doors open, and people pour in. Leon's crew set up next to me, and next to him Mani Draper, another dope emcee with a full band from the Bay Area. Clear Soul Forces come in and they set up across the way. We dap up, and get ready for the show. The doors open and room fills up immediately. We almost at the capacity, and the doors stays shut. Oh, and you can smoke all the weed you want in theis room. Hot boxin' like a mf. I eat some Peruvian food, Lomo Saltado to be exact, from the vendor in the room, and I was right right. 

The show starts, and the energy is perfect. I realized that since weed is legal and the racial demographics are more than just Black folks, white folks, and light skinned niggas dealing with serious ass racial tension like it is in the south that I should hit em with a lighter set. I also noticed noone was really doing call & response, while as a southern emcee, especially perfomring in South Louisiana, if the crowd hands ain't in the air singing your hook with you, than you ain't give work. I'm like smack dab in the middle of the line up, the crowd is primed and ready, at capacity, it's time.

The host calls me up, I hit em with the "my daddy sang gospel" acapella. I need to name that verse and publish so I can get my performance royalties (*makes mental note). They liked it. Then I go into "BR7MC," which goes over well. I'd beenn laying low the whole night very quiet and lowkey. Plus we on the westcoast and all the music is laid back af because everyone is high. So now I transform in to this grizzly bear ass rapper wearing all Polo on stage, loud and country af, Black af, and the crowd seems taken aback, but they were there for it. 

"Once I'm in, game begins/"- Christopher Latore Wallace

Next I go to "Live My Love," and the bass hits so hard the crowd had no choice but to move. I haven't done this song in 4 years, so I forget the last 5 bars of the verse, but kicked a freestyle and it worked. When I told Alfred I had to freestyle, he knows I'm not a freestyler and asked me how did I do it. 

Me: The Lord led me.

What happens next is prolly my fav part of the whole night. I kick the second verse acapella and in mid verse I have a bar where I say "I'm seeing thru that smoke you blowing," and when this happens Brianna's boyfriend Chilly Will blows a big ass cloud of smoke at the exact same time at the front of the stage as I said it. Mid verse I stop and point it out, and everybody cracks up laughing. 

At this point I have this epiphany, I'm really fucking good at what I do. I'm from Ardmore, Oklahoma, spent the majority of my adult life in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Here I am in San Francisco, California, in front of 300 ppl rockin' tf out. I deserve to be here, and these ppl are treating me as such. I always feel like I have to prove myself everynight on stage, but at this moment, I felt like I belonged.

MIC STAND KILLER


I fnished the verse, then go into "Black God Fresh." Issa bop. Now It's time for "Hallelujah," and I have a few mic stand issues. People in the Bay do NOT fuck with Trump. Then now it's time for "#FreeBLKPPL," and during the first verse, the mic stand comes off the base completely!!! I keep rapping and the crowd is rocking with me hardbody!!! Now I know I'm really supposed to be here, because though my set hasn't been flawless, the crowd was live af and was really into it the whole time. 

This is where my #TrainingToBeTheBestRapper workouts coming in. I'm like 25 mins in on a super high energy set, and somewhere in there, I enhaled a huge cloud of weed smoke from this hot boxed ass room. My head is a li'l light, and my throat is burning, but my wind is still A-1, nowhere near close to being tired or in need of a second wind. I finally find a legit mic stand, and try to give them everything I could on "Cry Freedom," and we went to church. A church full of that loud, but church never the less.

WANNA COOKIE?

I get off the stage and I'm bombarded with daps and hugs, and good jobs. As I'm tryinna get to my table, and older white lady tells me she loved my set and she hands me ziplock bag of cookies. I ask her do they have weed in them she says no. I go to my table wondering is this white woman tryinna kill me because:

1. I'ma diabetic.

2. I don't do drugs.

But I'm also a fat ass who loves cookies. I check the app on my phone to see if I have any points left to eat the cookies, and the answer is yes. Again, I've never smoked weed or did any other type of drugs in my life, and I'm really not tryinna start a habit at age 35, so I ask Brianna what does she think. Mind you, her mom gave everybody edibles the day before, and apparently this his how mom's rock out in the Bay.

She looks at me like, "mane bruh....," until I point out who gave them to me, and she assured me that she's just a nice lady comes to all her son's shows and hands out non weed cookies to artists she likes. I decide to eat one, and them hoes was delicious. The flavor was immaculate, and I felt great. At this point I didn't know if I was high from the all the contact in this hot box (which I prolly was), or were these really edibles, but NDC. I wasn't gonna pass no drug test either way.

#YOLO.

Leon Goes up, kills it. Mani Draper goes up, kills. Got damn Clear Soul Forces go up and demolish shit. Great night to be Marcel P. Black.

(Leon The God x Marcel P. Black)

(Marcel P. Black x Clear Soul Forces)

(Marce P. Black x San Francisco Bridge)


RATINGS:

Venue: 5/5. No complaints at all, everything was dope.

Crowd: 5/5. They effed with me hard body from door to door. I had a blast.

Merch Sales: 3.5/5. Mane them niggas know they coulda shopped more lol. Ya'll not broke like we is in the south lol.

Sound: 5/5. Bangin'. Top 5 sound systems I've ever performed on.

SET LIST:

1. "BR7MC" (from "Seven")
2. "Live My Love" (from "Black Collar")
3. "Black God Fresh" (Unreleased)
4. "Hallelujah" (from "Seven")
5. "#FreeBLKPPL" (From "Seven")
6. "Cry Freedom" (From "Cry Freedom)"

NEXT SHOW

2/11/19 in New Orleans, Louisiana




Monday, February 18, 2019

#BlackThoughtsRadio Podcast S2:E6 "How to Get Booked For Shows Locally" By Marcel P. Black


On this weeks episode I discuss how to properly get booked for shows in your local market.

I touch on things such as:

How to network
The importance of having an EPK
How to book you own shows

And much more.








marcelpblack.com
Twitter: @marcelpblack
Facebook: Marcel P. Black
Instagram: @marcelpblack

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Marcel P. Black #RapRecap #4 (2.6.19 in Santa Cruz, California)


YAY AREA!!!!

5.5 years ago, Locksmith and I are on the same stage at A3C. I was so drunk after my set, I barely remember meeting him, I didn't see him perform. 2 years ago, he comes to New Orleans on tour, Justin Ivey, Mark Dub (Part Mane/Part Thug), and I pull up on him. I'm sober, we reconnect. That November, he texts me and says that he wants to come to BR the next time on tour, and his guy will hit me up, enter J. Lately.

Jay is booking the tour, extremley easy to work with and an extremely nice guy. Also, the tour has a young cat I'd rocked with before, Leon the God, from New Orleans, but we met in Pensacola. I end up booking the tour for 2 stops, in Baton Rouge, as well as Mobile, Alabama. Both shows were great shows, neither were packed out crowds, but I busted my ass as a promoter. So much as to both Jay and Leon told the lady who produced the tour, Miss Brianna, that I did good business, that I'm a hard worker, and that I also whip ass on the microphone. She and I built a relationship, so when she said she had a couple of shows in the Bay she wanted to come out to, it was a no brainer. I went to perform in the Cali for the first time last summer, Oakland to be exact, and was very well recieved, damn skippy I'm gonna take this opportunity. 

COLD AF, HIGH AS HELL...

When I get on the plane in NoLa, it's 75 degrees. I have a layover in Denver, and it's snowing like a mf, 11 degrees, eff all that. Finally we get to San Francisco, and it's like 45 degrees. Cali hard down cappin on that warm sunny weather all year around. They shut down schools for temperatures below 40 in South Louisana, I'm not with this at all. So we go to her mom's house, and as soon as I come it, I smell the gas. And I ain't talkin' bout flatulence or petro either. I knew weed was legal in Cali, but this shit was LEGAL LEGAL. After we had a rap family dinner, several edible cookies, gummies, sugar with THC, and other baked goods were passed out, and I don't do drugs, and I had to keep reminding people that I don't partake. Like constantly. Noone could remember I kept saying no, because THC lol.

POLITE THUGGIN'

Fast forward, we head to the venue in Santa Cruz, literally on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. I'm a country nigga, so I love to see shit like that. Finally we pull up to the venue, seems pretty dope. I set my merch up, and as I'm settin up, to heavy set Hispanic brothers came to introduced themselves. One guy kinda stood in the cut and didn't say the much, while I think I got banged on by the other guy who told us he just got out of doing an 8 year stretch in Pelican Bay for acts of Thuggery. He told us he loved Boosie and that's all he listen to in the pen when I told him I came there from Baton Rouge, and he told us that this city is for the Nortenos, and that it's all love and respect, but just know where we were, and that it would behoove us not to get it fucked up. I was confused, becuase I've been banged on several times, but never this politely. He then tells up that he wanted to go "find some hoes," no misogyny, but if I'm home from a 8.5 year joce, I'm tryinna see where they at too. I go ask the homie AlterEgo what happened, and he breaks down Hispanic gangs for me. Aight.

EASY WORK

My #1 objective was to impress Brianna, and give everybody this work. As you know, I've been in the gym hard and eating healthy, to the point I've lost right about 40 lbs since September. I want this, but now it's time to show & prove. My #2 objective was to impress the brothers with Clear Soul Forces, because guys are dope af, and I want them to think I am too.

I go up second. No acapella, straight in to "Bad Man." The homie before me kinda did that laid back Currensy style flow, so I came with all this down south, urgent, country ass, baptist church miltant energy, and everyone was taken aback. from there I go into "Black God Fresh," and all my call & responses went really well. I knew CSF are boom bap guys, I hit em with "Henry Clay," to show I'm layered. From there I tell my story of how Lafayette played me last year, and go into "Hallelujah." Folk in the bay don't fuck with Trump, so I fuck with them. Then I end by going back to the swamps church services, and hit em with all the southern soul revolutionary gospel rap they can handle with "Stare & Whisper." That song always works, because it's a sped up soul sample like the old Kanye when he was dating Alexis and Donda (God bless the dead) was still alive, but it's still country rap tunes, and the stories I tell are very real and jarring if you're not a southerner and having to deal with these white folks like we do. I have a pretty good set, not clean as I wanted too, but I gave work, so NDC.

I get off the stage to mad daps. One guy tells me he's from Louisana, moved to Cali after Katrina, and was homeless for years untill he started a glass blowing business where he makes custom fancy ass glass pipes to smoke dope from. Buddy shake his life back to the point of being able to cop a crib in the mountains where he traps pipes out of his crib and makes a solid living. He does all this talking for 20 mins, and don't buy shit.

Bruh...

He was a nice guy tho. The rest of the night goes on, and Clear Soul Forces rock, and damn was I impressed. I had heard of them in passing but never know how dope they were. I'm a fan fan. Me and their manager get to running it, and let's just say we friends now.

*Stevie J hand rub...

Shows over, and the kind thug Mexican gangbanger comes back and is mad he missed the show. He politely set trips on us again, all while saying he respects us. And then dips. We head back to San Fran, so we can begin part 2 of this story. 

RATINGS:

Venue: 4/5. Perfect spot for an underground Hip-Hop show. Really friendly and accomating staff. I'd def peform again.

Crowd: 3.75/5. No cap, it was a 300 cap room, with maybe 60 ppl. The ppl who were there enjoyed the show, just woulda been better with more people

Merch Sales: 4/5. Did pretty good moving product off the table. Coulda sold more but the glass pipe guy kept talking, and he was lowkey annoying so people didn't want to come over.

Sound: 3/5. No monitors for playback, so I felt I had to yell to be heard. The bartender was running back and forth from the bar to the soundbooth, and I kinda got the short end of the stick, but everyone said they can hear me find, so again, NDC.

SET LIST:

"Bad Man" (from "Black Collar")
"Black God Fresh" (Unreleased)
"Henry Clay" (from "Black Soul")
"Hallelujah" (from "Seven")
"Stare & Whisper" (from "Cry Freedom")

NEXT SHOW

2/7/19 in San Francisco, CA


Monday, February 11, 2019

#BlackThoughtsRadio Podcast S2:E5 "How to Get Out of Town Shows (Part 1)" By Marcel P. Black


This weeks Episode is me dropping #FreeGame on the basic steps needed to begin getting shows out of town. I also give a short recap on my recent Bay Area trip, as well as why moving to Atlanta won't save your career.
You can also watch the VLOG at youtube.com/maroonmusic1, or stream the podcast at mixcloud.com/BlackThoughtsRadio.



marcelpblack.com
Twitter: @marcelpblack
Facebook: Marcel P. Black
Instagram: @marcelpblack

Monday, February 4, 2019

#BlackThoughtsRadio S2:E4 "The 3 R's: Relationships, Reputation, & Resume" by Marcel P. Black (VLOG and Podcast)


Marcel P. Black discusses the "3 R's: Relationships, Reputation, and Resume," and why all three are important positives for up & coming artists to have. Marcel also takes time out to slander the NFL, as well as ICE. #Free21.

You can watch the VLOG on YouTube.com/MaroonMusic1, or click here.


You can stream the podcast at mixcloud.com/blackthoughtsradio, or mixcloud.com/BlackThoughtsRadio




marcelpblack.com
Twitter: @marcelpblack
Facebook: Marcel P. Black
Instagram: @marcelpblack