We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marcel Dear. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marcel below.
Marcel , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
You know I kind of knew I wanted to be an artist when I first started listening to R&B and rap at a young age. I grew up listening to Common, Kanye West, Michael and Janet Jackson, LL Cool J Jay-z, Kem and Kenny G, and when I heard these guys on the radio and watched there music videos I just knew this was something I was interested in and wanted to do. My parents weren’t really convinced at first though they thought it would just be a phase but over the years saw how serious I was taking my craft and saw that this was more than just a phase.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, I got into the industry right after my freshman year of college so in 2012 as a songwriter but it wasn’t until 2014, I would meet a promoter in Cleveland who owned a spot called Peabodys concert club that I would be granted an opportunity to finally display my talents. I opened for an artist named Steve Stone a Rapper from Columbia Missouri who was signed with Tech N9ne’s label strange music. I didn’t have the backing or the fans at the time, so I was basically independent doing this on my own and had a few friends that saw what I was trying to pursue so they decided to help out. Since that first show I would study my moves and constantly work on my writing and sound in order to find the audience, which took years and I feel is still happening now. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to open for different types of underground and mainstream artist, for example i’ve opened for artists such as Bone Thugs N Harmony, Saroc, Kosha Dillz, Yelawolf, Bubba sparks, the Yin Yang Twins, Yonas and many more. but also put on different showcases of my own inside and outside of the Cleveland Ohio area. I’ve also built a team called Champaigne gang and Podcast called Sip & Chill where we discover new artist and interview them for our platform.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding thing about being an artist is the fact that you endlessly get to create, perform and meet different types of people from all walks of life who feel that you can relate to you through your music.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
A time I feel I had to pivot was the beginning of the Pandemic in 2020 where most of my shows were being canceled and pushed back because the outbreak of the corona virus. I had to get creative because I had a EP I was debuting title Love, Hate & Winter Break and I was releasing the project that same week. I decided to have an EP release party on Instagram, but little did I know that I would be starting something that would change my life forever. I would send invitations out for this party via email, Facebook and Instagram and would have a great turn out but next thing you know after the live stream of the EP release party had people requesting to play their music and afterwards, I would start interviewing other artist from around the city and soon around the nation. Soon after my Podcast Sip & Chill was born! and when I think back 3 years later to now and how far ive come, I had the opportunity to do a lot of things with my podcast for example help work All Star Weekend events in Cleveland and even attend the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcel_dear/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-dear-aa2bb817b/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marcel_Wolfe
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjdhkkeRf-x6WHpuZo8hCQ
Image Credits
I want to credit my team Champaigne Gang/Viglante Era also my Sip & Chill podcast team