Cleveland Rapper Marcus Smith Preps for a Busy Summer

Local rapper Marcus Smith likes to keep busy. In 2021, he became one of the first Artists in Residence at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The program gives local musicians a chance to develop their chops by performing regularly on the Rock Hall plaza and attending seminars about how to manage the business side of their careers.

“That was really cool,” Smith says of the experience in a recent phone interview. Smith has just announced a slew of summer dates that commences with a June 28 show at Brothers Lounge. “I’ve been making music since 2004. It was the first time that I felt like I had all the tools to really do it. People gave seminars on how to do PR and merch and set up the live shows. It was more of the business end of it. We all had the creative end of it. It was a good trial run, and the program is still running strong today. During the summer, we were on the small stage at least once a week, and then, we did a huge showcase at the end of the summer.”

That same year, he was featured on multi-platinum rapper Asher Roth’s The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 3 , an album that found Roth collaborating with artists from all over the world.

“That was a dream,” Smith says of working with Roth and making connections with other artists who share his love for hip-hop. “I have been following him since I was in high school really. The last time I had seen him perform in town was in 2014. I told him I thought we would work together one day.”

Seven years later, Roth put out a call for collaborators through his Discord channel. Smith submitted materials, and the wheels were set in motion.

“It’s an amazing community,” Smith says. “I just worked with someone from Germany. I have friends I made through this in Rochester and Vegas and Ireland. [Working on The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 3 ] was a 20-week process. He would submit something a cappella and producers would create music. We’d vote on which one was best. During week 10 or 11, [Roth] started calling for other rappers. We made this hip-hop opera. It’s a lot of fun. If it ever pops up on my Shuffle, I have to listen to the whole thing.”

Last year, Smith released his sophomore album, Unique Mélange , an album that draws from his wide range of influences, including Gym Class Heroes, Lenny Kravitz and Childish Gambino. The album’s singles include the UK Garage number “She Don’t Care,” the breezy pop tune “Storm,” and “Sandwiches” a “hip-hop/tock fusion ode to everyone’s favorite lunch food.” The playful songs recall the tunes on De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising. In last year’s Best Of, Scene readers crowned him one of the Best Male Vocalists and Best Singer/Songwriters.

“I think one or two of the songs on the album I had written already,” he says when asked about how the tunes came together.  "'Jalapeño Cheese’ was a song I did on one of my first EPs and ‘Sandwiches’ I did with my former band Black & Broke. Everything else was written for this album. I wanted to make the music that I enjoyed listening to. I wanted to make something that I could throw on and enjoy no matter how many times I’ve listened to it. That’s what I think I have accomplished. I love so many different types of music. It’s all my influences and likes evolved into one."

Smith recorded the album at Breakthrough Sounds in Valley View. He did a session for “She Don’t Care” with the owner Charles [Pratt] and “locked in” and thought he could do a whole project. One of the things that Smith did differently on this outing was add live instrumentation.

“On my last album, NILLA , I did 70 percent of the production on LogicPro,” says Smith. “I used some live instruments, but it was mostly midi instruments. For this one, I wanted to utilize the live band. For songs like ‘Coppertone’ and ‘Day after Day,’ we recorded the demos at my drummer’s house. We then just took them to the studio to be mixed.”

The cover art, a playful photo of Smith with a few different instruments, reflects the album’s eclectic nature.

“‘Unique mélange’ means an interesting mix,” says Smith. “On the cover [which features a photo taken by local photographer Amber Patrick], you see everything that makes me me.”

Smith says he put together his versatile backing band, the Rapscallions, when he was performing at the Rock Hall. They’ll back him for the summer’s shows.

“This lineup was put together for my artist-in-residence showcase,” he says. “[The Rock Hall] said I could bring in other musicians. I love the guys from my old group Black & Broke, and I got some of those guys to play with me, and I was playing in a pop-punk cover band and our drummer Jeff Larch came in. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better group of musicians. I’ll send them something, and they’ll just get it.”

In addition to the June 28 show at Brothers Lounge, Smith and his band will headline Larchmere Porchfest on June 29. The group then heads to Columbus on July 20 to play Rehab Tavern and will return to Northeast Ohio to play the Grog Shop on July 21, Trellis Rooftop Bar in Lakewood on July 27 and Lock 3 in Akron on Aug. 2.

“We’ve got some fall dates scheduled already, and on Oct. 3, I’ll be playing with the Canton Symphony Orchestra,” Smith says when asked about what the rest of 2024 will look like for him. “They’re going to arrange 40 minutes of my music. It’s the week right before my birthday, so I’m really excited.”

Tickets for all Marcus Smith dates are available now and can be purchased through the band’s official website .

Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed