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Transcript
4 clock ticks
“It’s past time to broaden the narrative” (said by Sequana Murray)
Intro Music
Introduction: Hello and welcome to another episode of Broadening the Narrative. This is a podcast where I talk to some of my favorite people who have broadened the narrative for me. I'm your host, Nicki Pappas, and I'm so glad you're here.
Transition Music
First Segment
Nicki: On today's episode of Broadening the Narrative, I am joined by my friend Marquis Love. We will be discussing life as an artist and the Grave Robbers community. I just want to say that Marquis is one of my favorite people because he reminds me so much of Jesus. Marquis radiates kindness and brings together an eclectic group of people who feel seen and safe with him. So, thank you, Marquis, for welcoming me into the Grave Robbers community and providing encouragement as I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone.
Marquis: Thank you. Oh man, that was beautiful. Oh my God. I’m sorry.
Nicki: Well, I mean it. Yes. Thank you so much.
Marquis: Oh wow, yeah, I’ve never heard anybody say that I reminded them of Jesus in that sense, you know. I’ve heard people say that I’m kind and so on and so forth, but man, that, wow, that, wow, I don’t even, I’m at a loss for words now.
Nicki: Aw, well, no, from the first time that I came onto an Open Mic night for the Grave Robbers community, I was just crying as I saw the people that just seemed to come to you, and it just reminds me of all the people who came to Christ, and so.
Marquis: Wow, that is, wow, man, what a responsibility I have.
(laughter)
Nicki: No pressure, no pressure.
Marquis: Right.
(laughter)
Nicki: Well let’s jump in. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Marquis: Sure, ok, so my name is Marquis Love, and I’m an artist, poet, rapper, singer, et cetera, and I come from a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia called Lithia Springs. I’m the only poet and artist in my family. Creative expression wasn’t really a thing in my household, unless it was done in church, and even that was restricted to like singing gospel hymns, and liturgical dance, and so on. So I wouldn’t say that I was raised in the church, but my family went to church every Sunday out of religious obligation, but we were very much worldly six days out of the week. So I guess I could say I was raised by people that believed in Jesus and lottery tickets. Like, the presence of both in my upbringing kind of helped me to understand that faith itself is a gamble, so like, we believe in God with the hope of heaven, and we believe in ourselves in the hope of disabling our internal doubts. And those elements, including religion, remain a central part of my work to this day.
Nicki: Thank you for sharing that.
Marquis: No problem.
Nicki: Yeah, so you mentioned about creative expression, so that might kind of lead into the narrative about being an artist and creating art. What was the narrative were you taught about artists and creating art?
Marquis: Oooh, so I was given a very, a very narrow-minded, ill-informed narrative. I was taught that art and creating art should be done only one way. Like there was no room for freedom. I was taught that there is no variation in creativity, and oddly enough I was taught that there should be no creativity in creation, if that makes sense. And so, for a long time, I connected art with the same conveyor belt mentality that our education system functions with, that if it doesn’t look or sound like this, then it’s not right. But this perspective, or narrative, was taught to me by people who didn’t understand creativity or what it means to step outside the box. And these people lacked the freedom to create and be themselves. So I guess I had to go against the grain to understand what the true narrative of an artist, of art or creativity should be, you know, and kind of finding my own narrative or defining it for myself, you know what I mean?
Nicki: Yeah, so what prompted you to start creating art?
Marquis: So, ok, what’s funny about that is that, like when you’re a kid you don’t really know that you’re doing anything artistic. Like it’s usually I guess the adults that kind of pinpoint those things, like, “Ok, oh, he draws well” or “Oh, you’re artsy,” they put the label on it for you, but as a child, you’re just enjoying what it is you’re doing. So I guess I would say my earliest memories of even wanting to do anything artistic, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I remember this. I was about 3 or 4, and I would sit in front of my mom’s boombox. I had a young mother. And I would listen to the radio like every evening, and in Atlanta that had DJs that would come on in the evening, like 6:00 or whatever, and they would put on this mix, and a lot of it included artists from Atlanta, and this particular day I was listening to this song called “Hear What I Hear,” and it was by an Atlanta artist called Kilo Ali. He was a rapper from Atlanta, and I remember the song being so sample heavy and having so many moving parts that I actually began to see what I was hearing, like I could visualize the sound, and that’s how I’ve perceived sound since then, as like pictures and images. So when I started writing songs and poems of my own, my verses would always be filled with imagery and being that I could actually see the things that I was hearing, it helped me to be more descriptive in my lyrics and what made me want to create was this desire to bring people into that world that existed in my mind. I wanted them to see the images that I was seeing. I wanted to almost share that with them, if that makes sense.
Nicki: Yeah, that’s really cool and really beautiful and to be able to bring people into that, I love that.
Marquis: Thank you.
Nicki: So what type of art do you create?
Marquis: Ooh, so I dabble in everything. My first intro to art was through music, so rap music in particular, which I love dearly. So, through rap music, I discovered poetry and particularly spoken word. Rap also introduced me to visual art. When I was younger, I would record, I would record my little rap mixtapes or whatever and try to hand them out in Atlanta.
(laughter)
Nicki: Yes.
Marquis: What was funny about it, I didn’t have any idea about, I didn’t have any graphic design background or nothing like that, I’m just a kid like recording songs, burning them to a CD, and then I would hit the streets and hand them out to people. And I remember I was using the little label maker machine, and when, I remember like I started, I was getting laughed at like every time I walked up to somebody, and they’d be like, I’d tell them all about myself and then I’d be like, “Yeah, so check out my music,” and I would hand them this CD with these labels on it, it’s like they would laugh at me.
(laughter)
Marquis: So one of my buddies was like, “Yeah, I got this thing called Photoshop, you know. I’m gonna teach you how to use it,” you know, and he taught me like a few little basic things and from then I began to create my own album art. Like a lot of it in the beginning was horrible, but it's just, I kept at it and from there I started experimenting with different forms of like digital art, line art, digital collage, photo editing and manipulation, and most recently I’ve been experimenting with digital collage art, and I’m a fan of this art form and those that do it, and I’ve been having so much fun doing it. I think mostly because digital collage or just collage art in general reminds me so much of rap music. It reminds me of hip-hop because it’s taking things that existed, you know, that already exist, you know, and finding a deeper beauty within those things and creating something brand new, almost unrecognizable, you know, to people that may be familiar with what existed before, and to me that’s what rap music is. It’s something that literally comes out of things that have been forgotten, you know what I mean. And because of the two being so similar, that’s what’s drawn me most recently.
Nicki: Yeah, and I got to see some of your digital collage on the last Open Mic, right?
Marquis: Oh yeah, yeah.
Nicki: Yeah, and just the commentary of those pieces, very striking to sit with and behold that. And that’s still pretty new for you?
Marquis: Very new. Well, I would say this. The, this particular, the artform, yeah, is very new to me; however, once I started creating these pictures and this art or whatever, I noticed how familiar it was as well. It reminded me so much, like I said, it reminded me so much of hip-hop, but it also reminded me of everything I had learned leading up to digital collage. It was like, you know, I feel like I’ve done this before, but it’s just, it’s its own thing, so it’s fairly new to say the least.
Nicki: Yeah, so I guess in addition to music and rap, who or what has inspired you as an artist and how?
Marquis: Ooh, so, it’s so many different things and so many different people. Like I’m inspired by thinkers, I’m inspired by those who create to enlighten or draw attention to a particular cause, and I’m also inspired by those that create because they have, they’ve acknowledged that creativity is a privilege and a freedom for everyone. And to me when I hear them talk or when I hear those people speak or when I’m experiencing those different things, it almost gives me permission, you know, to create from my true self, and that’s inspiration within itself. But as far as people, I’ve been inspired by Saul Williams, who is a poet, writer, and actor, André 3000, a rapper, poet, musician, just he’s an extraordinary visual artist as well, and Janelle Monáe, who is an artist, actress, and singer, just to name a few. One thing that binds these artists together, the reason why they inspire me, is they use this element of Afrofuturism in their art, which I absolutely love. So I’m a fan of sci-fi, and I absolutely love Black history, Black culture, Black people, so the two combined is perfect. So, quick backstory, she, Janelle Monáe, her, because of her music, it almost got me fired from the store I used to work at. I used to work at -
Nicki: Really.
Marquis: Yes, because, alright this is what we used to do. I used to work at this CD store in Atlanta, we used to sell music and just entertainment stuff, and we would get these, corporate would send these sample discs like, you know, from new artists that were coming out, they would send these sample discs and everything. And they would, how can I put it? If, a lot of the times we were supposed to be playing that stuff in the store, you know, but the managers that I had didn’t want to play it. So I remember rummaging through the CDs that corporate had sent, and I saw this thing called Metropolis: Suite, and I was like, “What in the world is this?” So I played it, and oh my God, the intro is, you know, it’s her project is her pretty much making an announcement for all the hunters within Metropolis that are tracking down, you know, androids, and one of the androids, her name is Cindi Mayweather, which is, you know, Janelle Monáe. And it was so cold, the way that she introed the whole experience is like she brings you into Metropolis, she lets you know what’s happening to the androids in Metropolis, and immediately you know that it’s a double meaning, like she’s actually not talking about robots, but she’s actually talking about people, and with more of the things that she’s come out with recently, it’s letting you know that she’s talking about marginalized people, she’s talking about the LGBTQ community, she’s talking about everybody that is being literally physically hunted, you know what I mean, by the higher ups. And just to hear even in Metropolis that there’s a resistance going on and how much it looks like America, and I fell in love. And the reason I said it almost got me fired is because I think it was a customer that came in and heard us playing it and wanted to buy the CD from us, and I told her that we didn’t have it, that it was just something that was being played in all the stores.
Nicki: Oh
Marquis: And my manager was so upset with me, but I refused to let that CD go. I actually ended up taking it home, so sorry.
(laughter)
Nicki: So how would you say creating art has shaped your life personally?
Marquis: So personally, let’s see. I come from a people, I guess I could say this, I come from a people that never truly searched for an outlet as it pertains to coping with life, the traumas that we deal with, pains, joys, et cetera, and the way that I coped, I found music, poetry, and art, and all of this in my formative years. And I thank God for that because if I hadn’t, you know, crime would’ve found me, violence would’ve found me, and addiction was almost indefinite. But as a kid, I found this outlet, which that’s exactly what it was then. It wasn’t meant to be more than that. It was just me writing because I didn’t want to get in trouble, I didn’t want to fight, I didn’t want to be in the streets, but I needed to get this aggression out, I needed to get this anger out, I needed to figure out a way to get it out in a healthy way, so I started writing. And I had a way of expressing my feelings and angers and frustrations without it being censored or dictated because of how intimate and personal art was, so I guess you could say that art shaped my life by saving my life. And since then, just, I’ve had more opportunities than I’ve ever dreamed. I’ve been awarded for my art. I’ve been invited to speak in front of audiences with artists and writers whose careers have lapped my like three times over, and all of this from a decision to simply pick up a pen, you know, to try to do something different with my life. So for me, that’s how creating art has shaped my life.
Nicki: I just want to say, I wish I had known younger you to get your CDs that you were burning and distributing with your homemade designs and then Photoshop designs. I just, I wish I had those. But I also had no idea you’ve won some awards, so can we talk about that?
Marquis: Yeah. Let’s see. So one of my favorite stories that I love to tell. I didn’t really start winning anything until I moved to North Carolina, South Carolina. But one of my favorite stories to tell is when I won the 2015 York County Art Society Literary Award.
Nicki: Wow.
Marquis: Yeah, for poetry. It was so cool. So I had just found out about it, I think a few days before the deadline, and I remember I had taken my, to register it was like $15, and I had taken my last 15 bucks, and I was like, “Ok, I’m gonna go up here, and I’m gonna hand it in” or whatever along with this poem that I had written. A little bit before that, before I went to this place, I had gone downtown Charlotte, I mean uptown Charlotte, to what is the name of that park? Romare Bearden. And I was walking around the park, and I remember I had given this guy some change, and I was so moved by his expression when I gave him the change, it was almost like, we were both kind of just staring at each other, he was looking for what he could do to let me know that he was grateful for what I gave him. And I was also semi expecting that, like, you know, I just gave you some change, where’s my reward now. I just paid you for your expression. I just paid you for your thank you. And that day, I think I was kind of convicted about the way that I reacted to that man that I wrote this poem called “The Giver’s Remorse,” and when I wrote it, fast forward a couple days, I went and I find out about the literary competition, I printed out the poem, had my 15 bucks, went into the York County Arts Society, gave one of the guys who was there my entry fee, my information, and my poem, and I think it was a few weeks later, either somebody called or somebody emailed me, “Congratulations, one of your poems was selected to receive recognition” or whatever, they didn’t really go into detail about like whether I won or nothing. They just invited me to come hear the poetry, hear the art or whatever, and so I went, myself and my wife, we went, and they started calling out names honorable mentions, first place, second place for all of the categories, so they got to my category, which was adult poetry within the adults. And so we’re sitting there, and I remember they called out the honorable mentions, they called out third place, they called out second place, and when they got to first place, I looked at my wife and I said, “Babe, I think we’re in the wrong place,” because they never called my name. I’m so close to getting up and walking out, like I’m lookin at her like, “Ok, whoever they call, let’s get up and go so we don’t look silly sitting here.” And so they’re like, “First place, Marquis Love, “The Giver’s Remorse,” and I flipped. I was like, yo, and when I got up there, I think I even told them, I was like, “I thought y’all made a mistake.”
(laughter)
Marquis: I had never won anything like that before. But outside of that, it’s just been you know smaller competitions, you know, some online, some that have been, that I’ve actually just walked into places, signed up, and have won competitions, not necessarily slams, you know what I mean, because I don’t consider myself a slam poet. I rarely consider myself a poet at all, but I’ve, as far as recognition, I’ve collaborated with artists within the Charlotte area. One of the most memorable collaborations I had was with this thing called South End Verses, and it’s something that the C3 Lab in Charlotte was doing where they would take a visual artist from Charlotte and a poet or writer, and what they would do is they would collab on a particular topic, and they would create a piece from it. And when they completed the piece, the piece would be on the side of the C3 Lab kind of like a billboard, so if you’re in the South Boulevard area you would see it, and I think if you go up there today, to this day they still have it where you can go and see it. And what it was, what we did our piece on was a poem I wrote about Angela Davis, which spoke about natural hair in the workplace, mainly for Black women and also women of color, but it, my wife had just dealt with something like that at this place she was working where they were kind of giving her issue about her hair as they had before at her previous jobs, and hearing her you know express her frustrations with it, I wrote a piece with kind of a sarcastic tone using one of the most prominent figures to me in you know Black history, you know, Angela Davis. And I don’t know if you have ever seen anything as it pertains to Angela Davis, but her hair is such a figure, I guess, if I could say that, and the way that she, when she was locked up or whatever, and she walked into the courtroom holding up her fist and rocking this huge Afro, and that’s kind of like, it says so much, it had so much power behind it that I wrote a poem. And in that piece, it was a very short poem, and it was, I basically said, “Angela Davis is not welcome in corporate America. We do not have room for the revolution taking place on her head.” And we created this piece, this beautiful piece, and I forget word for word what the judges or the people or the committee that got to ok your piece, I forget what they said verbatim about the piece, but one thing I do remember is that they said that it was one of the most, not necessarily controversial, but it was in a sense one of the most outspoken pieces, which made them want to put it, especially in that area, which is heavily gentrified, you know. They wanted the people within that area to see what was being said because a lot of those corporate heads live in that area, you know, and they wanted them to be able to see like this is not cool, you know, this is not ok, you know, for you guys to continue to, you know, to separate or misunderstand this culture because you have your own, you get what I’m saying?
Nicki: Yeah. Yeah.
Marquis: Yeah, so, long story short.
Nicki: Well, I had no idea that each time I’ve been in your presence, I’ve been in the presence of such creative genius and greatness. I mean, I know what I’ve heard from you and just been blown away, but to know awards you’ve won and that you’ve created this piece that I can literally go see is just so cool. Because you’re just so humble, and I would never know if I hadn’t asked you.
(laughter)
Marquis: Thank you.
Nicki: And I also want to say, just the way that you speak about women, and particularly about Black women, is always so beautiful to me. I think it’s Ekemini Uwan who was wearing a shirt that said “The future is Black and female,” but when I hear you specifically seeking out Black women to support financially for their businesses or for you to have, you know, Angela Davis and express the impact she’s had on you, it’s just such an example for everyone to follow to give the esteem that Black women deserve.
Marquis: Definitely. I think it’s, it’s so important because being married to a Black woman, being raised by Black women, it’s so much as a Black man, and I will say this, speaking for myself as a Black man, we’ve taken for granted. It’s like, the, oh man, the worry that my wife endures, you know, with everything that’s going on within society with Black people being targeted by police or people that just feel like expressing their inner racism today, you know what I mean. It’s just, it’s a burden to her. And I’ve literally experienced her breaking down, you know, if I said, “Hey babe, I know it’s late, but I think I want to run to Walmart,” and she’s nervous, she’s a nervous wreck, you know what I mean, or if I leave the house while she’s sleeping and it’s dark outside, you never know, she never knows what’s happening or what could happen. So I’m thinking, as a Black woman, you have to deal with that on top of what you deal with within society, even something like people dictating your position or keeping you in a certain place because they feel like you’re not smart enough or they don’t like the way your hair looks or they don’t like your cultural background or they don’t like your attitude. That’s the biggest thing, they don’t think that you should speak that way or you come off a little aggressive, and I’m like man, Black women have to deal with all this stuff, they have endure all of these things, only to come home to, you know, a husband or boyfriend or whatever that is experiencing what he’s experiencing as a Black man, and to take all of that anger, take all of that aggression, and to pour it on her, because he can’t say anything to his bosses because if he does, that’s taking food out of his kids’ mouths, you know what I mean, or taking food away from his family. So Black women should be appreciated, they should be singled out in that sense, they should be put on this throne because they are Queens, and it’s not just because of what they've endured or because they should be thrown some type of pity party. It’s not that at all. It’s just that they deserve it. Period. It’s just, that’s why I’ve been, especially in this time, and not to talk so much about it, but I think that within this time Black women have made it clear, they’ve said it to us, “We don’t feel appreciated. Period.” They have said it, and that was one of the things that was least trending. Everything else that’s been going on right now. Starbucks is trending more than Black women are, you know what I mean. The fact that these Black women have literally let you know, “We don’t feel appreciated, and they were like, “Well, ok, let’s post a few things. Let’s say that we support you, we love you Black women, and then let’s keep it moving.” And I’m like, that’s a mouthful within itself. They just told you, “We don’t feel appreciated,” and your answer was, “Oh, I’m sorry, let’s keep it moving.” Like, nah. So, I think that’s why I’ve been so intentional, not just with my art, but just who I am as a person. Like, ok, how can I make sure that I’m doing something opposite than what I’ve done all these years by ignoring what you’re saying, ignoring what you’re expressing to me, like how can I show you that I appreciate you, how can I show you that you mean the world to me, how can I show you that I wouldn’t be here without you?
Transition Music
Nicki: Stick around until the very end to hear Marquis Love perform his poem “American Misery.”
Transition Music
Second Segment
Nicki: Well, as we were talking about your art, have you seen any evolutions to your art over the years?
Marquis: Oh man, so many. So many evolutions, so many changes, so much growth. Let’s see, so when, like I’ve always rapped, I’ve always loved words, I’ve always loved music. And there came a time, actually about, about 7 years ago when I would, and this is what’s funny about these transitions, this evolution, is that it’s like literal seasons. You can’t wear a jacket, like a trench coat, during the summer, you know what I mean, you’re going to burn up. And you can’t wear short sleeves and shorts during the winter, you’re going to freeze. So, my transitions, my evolutions, always come in seasons. So, within particular seasons, like I said, about 7 years ago, I was trying to, you know, stick with the music thing. Like I kept trying to push the music thing so hard, but nothing was coming. It was almost like it just dried up. It was almost non-existent. You would swear that I had never written a verse in my life or I had never sang a song. It was just nothing was there, and so I was like, ok, maybe I just need to travel a little bit, maybe I need to go out of town, maybe I need to hang around different people, maybe I need to see something to try to pull inspiration from there, but it wasn’t coming out in song, it was coming out in verse. That’s when I started really focusing on spoken word and poetry and so on and so forth because it was, that was the time for it, that was the season for it, which it had never been up until that point. And it’s the same thing with, you know, this year, well actually, about a year or so ago, before Grave Robbers, when I was struggling to write poetry, I didn’t even want to perform anymore. I would go into open mics that my friends were having, and I would literally hide in the back so they wouldn’t point me out or call me on stage. Because I had nothing to say. I hadn’t written any poetry. I couldn’t. Nothing was coming from me, and I was so frustrated by it that there was nothing there until I tapped into visual art, and I’m like, oh ok, so this is the season for that. And coming up, I’ve always, I was always taught to look at forms of art as if God was speaking through you, like I was talking earlier about them singing hymns and liturgical dance, and I would always hear the older people say, “Let God use you,” and so on and so forth while they’re boosting the people up. So I was taught that this is God’s way of speaking through you when you’re writing songs or when you’re singing or when you’re doing all those things, and I realized that the language, God’s voice never changes, you know what I mean, it’s the language that often does and so the way, or the way that He’s speaking, or the way that God is speaking is not necessarily bound to this particular art form or this particular style, and I’ve even taken it so far as to say this is my language to God, you know what I man. Like when I’m creating, it’s not about what type of message I can convey to people, but it’s more so about, it’s my prayer, and the language always changes, the voice never does, but the language constantly does, so it’s like I can be speaking in poetry, I can be speaking in rap music or just music in general, I can be speaking in visual art, and next month I can be speaking in dance, you never know what could happen. The language constantly changes. So that evolution within itself, I guess, I don’t even know if I can call it an evolution, I think I’ve become bilingual. My prayer life, my speaking, is different now.
Nicki: Yeah, I like how you called it growth when you were first talking, and so acknowledging the ways that you’re just growing in your abilities to use those gifts and to have God speak through you and work through you.
Marquis: Definitely. I hope all that makes sense because I can get really like, I can talk in circles.
Nicki: Yeah. No. I loved it. I loved it all. Well you have a community called Grave Robbers, and I want to know about the origin story of Grave Robbers?
Marquis: Ok cool. So, Grave Robbers. Well, so last year, I’ll say this, last year, the summer of 2019, we started, my wife and I, well, she was already getting up in the morning like early in the morning throughout the week like about 4 or 5 in the morning, and she would go work out with a group of women that she knows, and I decided alright, well, it’s time to try to get in shape a little bit, so I started waking up at about 5 in the morning, and I would walk, you know, every morning, and in the mornings I would always listen to these little sermon jams. Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call them that because it’s not just sermons, it’s also inspirational messages from people like Steve Harvey and Muhammad Ali, so on and so forth. So I would listen to this Youtube channel called Inspiring Habits where they had these inspiring little jams where they would be put over the top of music, these speeches and song, and this particular morning I was listening to one of these jams, and Myles Munroe, Dr. Myles Munroe, which is a pastor from I think, he’s, I can’t remember if it’s Barbados or the Bahamas, but he was preaching about how the grave is the wealthiest place on earth because he was saying that is where the most untapped potential is buried, and he was saying every book you never wrote, every song you never sang, every business you never started, is in that graveyard. When you die, those dreams and those ambitions die with you, and when he said it, he was like, “Our goal is to rob the grave of its potential. Our goal is to rob the grave of its wealth,” and man, when he said that it struck a chord and I swear I feel like God spoke to me that day and was like, “Start Grave Robbers.” And I went straight home. I don’t think I’ve ever moved so fast in my life. I went straight home, got on my computer, typed up this whole little group or whatever, I made a Facebook group, it was just a Facebook group, and I typed up what had just happened, I typed it up, and I put in within the group, and I just started requesting everybody, like anybody that wanted, that I knew with, on my friends list, I just started requesting them, and from that point on, it’s like I was just given different things to do with the group, because Grave Robbers, even though it’s only been a year, it has gone through so many transitions. So many different things. Started off as me just deciding I was going to inspire people, so I got a bunch of people together, and I started posting Ted talks, and then I stopped doing that, and then I was like, ok, well, maybe I need to go back to the initial plan, and I was like, alright, well let me start posting art tutorials, and then I stopped doing that, and then like more recently I’ve kind of found my rhythm as far as what I want to do and giving people the opportunity to learn from other artists. Like what I believe about Grave Robbers is that somebody, the reason I use it as a community or I say it’s a community, because somebody within your community, even your personal community, has exactly what you need to fulfill your dreams, they do. And I know this from experience. If you’re looking to learn how to paint, you know somebody that knows somebody that knows how to paint and is willing to teach you, and that’s what I believe Grave Robbers is, and I think that everybody has, or somebody within your community, has the key to help you fulfill your dreams, to help you achieve your purpose, to help you rob the grave of its wealth, so that’s my goal for Grave Robbers and that’s the direction I’m working toward now is to help people get there.
Nicki: Nice. Yeah. What narrative do you want Grave Robbers to help tell about artists and creating art?
Marquis: That artists are always learning and in need of education and I think that people assume that once an artist reaches a particular level of notoriety that they stop learning or are no longer in need of education and also that artists need community. I forget who it was. I can’t remember, but since starting Grave Robbers, my perspective or my view of celebrities, particularly ones that I follow and like a lot, has changed. I forget who it was that I was listening to, but it was an interview, and I felt like they were saying, they were saying, “I wish I had someone to reach out to,” and man, it broke my heart because I didn’t look at them as somebody that, you know, lik oh, this is a celebrity, they should have access to xyz, it wasn’t any of that. It’s like, this person, as an artist, or as a human being, just told me that they felt alone, and it broke my heart to where I was like, ok it’s clear that artists, or just people in general, but for the sake of this conversation, artists need community. You need people around you to read a poem to, you need people around you to just talk to even if we’re talking about art, even if we’re drawing or painting or sculpting or building or dancing, whatever it is that we do, if we’re doing it together, you know what I mean, if you have somebody that can read over your work and not just see it for what it is but see what exactly you're saying because I think that’s the purpose of art in the first place is not just to be seen for the sake of fame but to be seen as a human being and sometimes the only time people will actually see you is if something is visually or audibly attractive to them. Like you literally have to perform your pain in order to get people to connect with you, and I think that’s unfortunate, but it’s true, and I think that narrative definitely needs to change because sometimes artists don’t want to perform, they just want to be heard, and I hope that I can do that with Grave Robbers, you know, to where it’s like, you know I know that it’s, it’s about creating art, but I always want to get down to the why, why did you make that, you know, what were you really trying to say? You know? But, yeah.
Nicki: Yeah, and I think you do such a good job of that just from the Open Mic nights I’ve been a part of, of just seeing and hearing people. You’re just doing such an amazing job leading by example in that, so I really appreciate that.
Marquis: Thank you so much.
Nicki: Yeah. Well, how can people find Grave Robbers on social media and then join and support the community?
Marquis: Ok. So, disclaimer. I’m trying to be as consistent as I can with Grave Robbers because there are so many things going on on the backend that I’m trying to build, so it may seem that I’m inactive as it pertains to the website, but I promise you there’s things going on that you can’t see yet. So I will say that, but how you find us, you can go to beagraverobber.com, and what that’s going to do when you go to that website it’s going to send you to our Facebook page. Just like the page, and if you want to be a part of the actual, the community, where I’ll be posting the videos, the videos for the Master Classes that we hold monthly, if you want to be a part of that community and even if you want to teach a class, all of that information will be on that webpage. There’s a sign up list, there will be a sign up list, if you would like to teach a Master Class, which I don’t think I touched on either.
Nicki: Yeah, do you want to talk about the Master Classes?
Marquis: Oh, sure. As I was saying before, with Grave Robbers I believe that everything that you need is within your community, so everybody that is within Grave Robbers or supports Grave Robbers, I’ve given them, even my closest friends, I’ve given them an opportunity to share their gifts in the form of teaching. So my first Master Class was with a buddy of mine who is a music producer, who actually produces for, I think this is the way you say his name, Blanco Brown, and he’s a country artist who’s doing fairly well. I don’t listen to country a lot, but my buddy was telling me about him.
Nicki: Oh, cool.
Marquis: Yeah, he’s, my buddy is a touring DJ, a producer, and I asked him if he would do the Master Class, and of course he said yes, and that was my first Master Class was music production. The one that followed that was an acting Master Class led by another one of my friends who is an actor, and has been on a couple TV shows as far as I remember. Then the third one, which is one that will be toward the end of the month, will be a class led by myself, but basically the Master Classes are an opportunity for people within the Grave Robbers community to share their gifts in the form of teaching, you know, so just basically giving free information, free game to anybody that is within the community, and it’s free. You don’t have to pay anything. All I ask is that you, if you could, give a donation to Grave Robbers to give to the artists that are actually taking their time out to teach, that’s big to me because their time is worth something, so we want to at least give them something for what they’re doing.
Nicki: Yeah. And you also do, you’ve started a monthly artist donation fund for an artist within the community, not connected to the Master Class, something different as well, right?
Marquis: Right, yes, yes, yes. So the Artist Fund was something that was, it was created post-COVID, you know, after people started losing opportunities. I saw within my personal community, I saw within my immediate community, that a lot of artists were losing opportunities, they were losing commissions, they were losing teaching gigs, they were losing performance gigs, and it was really cutting into them being able to pay bills, so I was like, I’m technically losing a little bit over here, too, because I lost, I think, two or three opportunities, which it’s funny, they actually came back to me, but that’s a whole other story. But I noticed that, and I was trying to figure out how I could give those artists, or at least help them out financially, so all I did was I just posted on Instagram, which you can follow us there, too, @beagraverobber on Instagram, but I posted on Instagram, you know, that I was accepting donations for artists, and that every month we would give, we would select from artists within the community, and give them whatever we collected that month, and so every bit of money, every bit of the funds we collect through the Artist Fund go to the artist, we don’t keep any of it. The only time we actually hold on to any funds is when you send us, well, it’s through CashApp, but when you send us the funds, let us know that it is for the support of Grave Robbers, that’s the only time we hold onto it, but other than that, anything that goes to the Artist Fund is for the artists. But yeah, so that’s pretty much what motivated me to start it was COVID, the losing opportunities, and me just trying to figure out a way to help.
Nicki: I love that so much, just your heart for people and just desire to be able to give to people when you see a loss of income during this time, so it’s a really beautiful thing you’re doing. What is your hope as this narrative about artists and creating art is broadened?
Marquis: I hope that people begin to ask questions, ask more questions. Don’t just look at the art or the thing that you’re experiencing as something that only holds entertainment value. I think that it’s a person, an artist, a creative, is a person that has literally decided to be vulnerable by exposing their art to you and sharing their heart, sharing their truth with you, in hopes, not necessarily that you would understand it, but more so that they could be heard, you know. And I think that that’s one of things that I hope changes the narrative about artists, that you stop looking at them as something that’s so distant and separate from what you are, but to understand that these artists are exactly like you, they’re not over-emotional, they’re not overreacting, they’re not, there’s nothing weird or strange about them, you know what I mean. These are people that are creating to, and this may not be the same for everybody, but it’s the same for me, and it’s the same for people that I know, they’re creating to live, not just financially, but to literally stay alive because if they keep this stuff bottled up on the inside, it could do more damage, you know, than I’m sure they can even express, so I just want artists to be seen or viewed as people, you know, to just to look at their work as more than just something that looks pretty, but ask questions, start talking to the artists, you know what I mean. If you notice that may be off a particular piece or if you notice something that may be off about a particular poem, if they invite you into that space to talk to them, talk to them, you know, because they’re not just saying this stuff to woo the crowd. They’re actually letting you know something.
Nicki: Yeah, so what is one action that people listening right now could commit to to bring this hope to fruition?
Marquis: Just that, Just basically doing exactly what the artist is doing for you. If they’re sharing their art with you, if they’re being transparent and they’re being vulnerable with you, start some dialogue, get into convo with them. If it’s about, you could start talking to them about the art, but also talk to them about who they are, get to know them as a person. Not to get away from that. One thing that I remember telling my wife that my hope has always been, even since I was younger, was that I could actually have a relationship with a person that, and it wasn't always based on what I could do or provide artistically. To add more clarity to that, every, most of the relationships or bonds I’ve had have been with people that have a particular goal that they’re trying to accomplish in music or poetry or whatever, so I play a part in their lives simply because of what I can bring talentwise. So, I would literally have to write exactly how I’m feeling, you know, in a verse, in order for them to start asking questions, like “Oh man, I didn’t know you felt that way.” Well, I tried to say it to you, you know what I mean, but you wouldn’t hear it, so I literally had to decorate it with flowers and throw paint on it for you to even look my way. And I think that if I’m saying this, then I can’t be the only one who has felt that way. They just, I think people just want to talk, people just want to be heard, people just want to be experienced as a person, and not just through their art, and I hope that people start dialogue, you know what I mean. Stop celebritizing, you know, artists, and just let them say what they need to say, you know, let them speak what they need to speak and ask the right questions to start dialogue. So that’s what I hope comes to fruition, that artists get what they need.
Nicki: Yeah. Well, speaking of artists saying what they need to say, I can’t wait to get a clip of one of your pieces so that I can put it on the end of this episode so that people can hear straight from you and get to sit with all that you’ve said and hear a piece from you. So, this has just been such an amazing conversation for me, and I am super grateful that you took the time to come onto the show and to share about your life as an artist and your background, and I learned so much, but to also open up about the Grave Robbers community and your vision. And I’m just so grateful for you and so appreciative.
Marquis: I want to say this as well about you now that I’m on your platform. For everybody listening, Nicki is one of the most sincere people that I have ever met. She, if she says that she’s gonna do it, she’s gonna do it, she sticks to her word, she sticks to her guns. She’s very, she’s compassionate. She’s extremely understanding, and the support that she deserves, I hope that we all give in turn because if she’s invited you to this podcast, that means that you are something special to someone that is extremely special. So, I had to say that about you, Nicki, because you are an incredible individual.
Nicki: That is very kind, and I’m not crying.
(laughter)
Transition Music
Closing: I want to thank Sequana Murray for the voice clip she sent to me for the episode intro. You can purchase her music on Bandcamp at bandy17.bandcamp.com. Her music is available on most streaming services under the name Bandy. I also want to thank Jordan Lukens for his help with editing and Danielle Bolin for creating the episode graphic. Please subscribe and review the show, but only if you’re planning on leaving a 5-star review. Otherwise, you can just skip this part. You can access the Broadening the Narrative blog by visiting broadeningthenarrative.blogspot.com, and you can find the Broadening the Narrative page on Instagram by searching for @broadeningthenarrative and on Twitter by searching for @broadnarrative. I hope that if you know and love me you can engage with the Broadening the Narrative blog, social media accounts, and podcast, as well as any recommended resources. Then, you can share with people who know and love you, and little by little, person by person, we can broaden the narrative. Grace and peace, friends.
Outro Music
A live recording of “American Misery” by Marquis Love closes out the episode.
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