Ones To Watch #Croydon is a series created to showcase all the up and coming talents throughout the borough!
With 3 million streams on Spotify, radio plays on stations such as Capital Xtra and a spot on Croydon's Future Stage at The Ends Festival in 2019, we caught up with the next star on the rise, Croydon born rapper Marc Jones to talk ‘No Gravity’ and what‘s planned for the future!
SDS: How have you been?
Marc: I’ve been good, man! I feel like my life was one big cycle - Monday to Sunday, and then it just started again. So I think this whole period has been a time for me to just rest, enjoy some time with my wife and just think about my future. I know for some people it's been difficult, but for me I've really enjoyed it so far.
SDS: For those people that are just starting to get to know Marc Jones or haven't heard of Marc Jones yet, tell us who you are, give us a bit of a backstory.
Marc: Born and raised in Croydon,lived here all my life (except when I went to University of Canterbury for a bit). I think my reason for doing music is to just show reality and what it looks like to be a person from where I am from in the current time. A lot of people make music that's maybe more aspirational, talking about wealth but I view my music as an output to talk about where I am. Hopefully other people can identify with that, resonate with similar things that they've gone through or what they're going through and just be encouraged! I just try to make music that is gonna bring a change hopefully in the scene.
SDS: Talk us through your new single ‘No Gravity’ and tell us what it's about.
Marc: ‘No Gravity’ was like a reintroduction, it was my first release of 2020 so it’s kind of a comeback tune! I wanted to come with a really hard hitting sonic and I feel quite comfortable on Drill with the tempo and the cadence. It's just a song really saying I've got my own lane and not worrying about any sort of limitations or expectations that people are trying to put on you. What made sense was to equate that to gravity - gravity is pulling you down and pulling us back down to earth but for me, I don't want any of that I just want to be able to break through and do what I need to do. That's ‘No Gravity’ in a nutshell and I'm hoping that people are able to identify with that..
SDS: We love the video that you dropped for ‘No Gravity’, but we were just wondering why Iceland? We saw your Instagram posts too - was the supermarket really your inspiration?
Marc: Haha yeah, I really wanted to do something that would shock people who have been following my music so far. Because this was a comeback tune, I really wanted to step up everything! The production value, the sonic, just a whole package of everything that I was putting together. Iceland was just an idea that was thrown out there and as time went on I thought actually yeah, this could work! Getting all of the beautiful landscapes and the plane crash which is on a beach, was key. I thought that it was kind of like a juxtaposition that would complement the theme of gravity because obviously that plane was brought down and fell to the ground and also gravity brings it down. So we thought the plane would just be a nice illustration against what I'm saying about not being hindered by gravity, by seeing something that was almost destroyed by it. It was a really short trip, we only went there for two days but it was nice! It is very expensive though, so if you want to go there you gotta have a lot of pees! Haha the picture of Iceland, that was just a little joke after.
SDS: We've seen so much progression from you at the moment, for example Capital Xtra and more Spotify plays! How's the response been so far?
Marc: It feels like a succes! You always think with music that you want people to enjoy it on an individual level first. Obviously Spotify, radio and all those places offer an avenue for people to actually access your music, which you wouldn't get otherwise. But I think for me, it's just when people send me individual messages, share on their Instagram story or when you get that from people who don't even know you, I think it just shows that something's building - that's the best feeling!
SDS: How did it feel when you hit 3 million streams on Spotify?
Marc: Yeah the amount of streams on Spotify is just crazy! Some of these songs I made just in my friend's bedroom, so for us to see this sort of progression in such a short space of time is nothing short of amazing! I can only give thanks and be grateful for that. But yeah, it's good man! When you get on Spotify playlists and people around the world are hearing your music, people in Kazakhstan and all these other countries is mad, but it’s also just mad humbling and gives you more passion to want to drive on and keep making good music for people to enjoy. Ultimately, that's why I do it.
SDS: Random question - If you have to eat one thing over and over again for a month, what would it be and why?
Marc: That's very easy - Shreddies! I've been eating Shreddies everyday for the last eight years, no last 10 years, so I can't live without Shreddies man! They’re actually my favourite things on earth... Don't tell my wife!
SDS: What is next for you and what should we be looking out for?
Marc: Well I've got a lot of music ready to go out but I’m also just thinking of ways that I can really be as creative as possible with my music. Trying to improve on the artistry, whether that's the videos or whether that's the songs themselves and just try and create something that people are going to enjoy and really want to look out for. At the moment, a lot of people make music so it’s very easy to put songs out, but I think to be an artist, you've got to go that extra step, so I'm just looking to take that extra step now. Hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be able to do some shows and share the music that I've been making with people. There's a lot to come. I'm really excited to put it all together and God willing, it will be something that I can be proud of.
SDS: Can you sum up Croydon in three words?
Marc: Yeah, that's easy. London's Creative Hub. That's actually sick haha!