We were lucky to catch up with Marquis Hardy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Marquis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on would be the one I’m working on right now. I’m writing an album called ‘Things People Feel’ and it’s been so fun, and in some ways has actually been easy. When writing, a lot of people will direct you to write what you know, and this is a lot of that. We feel a lot of things, whether it’s adoration, joy, excitement or even sadness and it’s okay that we do! The feelings that we otherwise wish we could avoid make all of the ones we hope for that much better! So, ‘Things People Feel’ is going to be an album that in a lot of ways is the bearing of my heart. The first single to that album recently released and is available on all streaming sites!

Marquis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I remember when I was in honor choir as a senior in High School, and we were working with Dr. Redding from Florida State University. Before we went on stage to perform he turned the lights low, mixed us all up so we weren’t standing next to our parts, had us all hold hands, close our eyes, and sing our parts. There was something so magical about being in that space, with people I didn’t know that made me feel like we had known each other forever. It didn’t matter if we had spoken before, if we knew each other’s names, or if we would ever see each other again. We were together as pieces to a puzzle making magic together. That was one of the moments that solidified that I wanted this forever.

I studied jazz performance at the University of West Georgia with Dr. John Bleuel and Dr. Daniel Bakos, and went to full time music in 2017. I began playing jazz standards, and then more popular covers, until finally I became 10:20 in 2020.

I think my sound can best be described as ‘genre binding’, including the best parts of Jazz, Pop, and Hip-Hop in the music I call Trap Jazz.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want everyone to feel love. I’ve been loved, so much in fact that I have been blessed with the talent, gift, drive, and opportunity to make music and travel the world performing it. My slogan is “Sending you my love in the sound”, and that’s what I seek to do. Through music I’m able to reach people I never would have been able to otherwise, and I don’t want to take that for granted.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Whenever I get to perform my music in a room full of people that are eager to listen everything feels worth it. It never gets old watching people vibe with you from a stage to the songs that you created and are vibing to yourself. It’s not easy writing songs or embracing the feelings that come up when you’re in the process of writing them. So it’s incredibly validating and rewarding in the grand aspect that we’re not alone in the things that we feel. It’s really easy to feel like we are going through life alone but I think music is a perfect example of just how together we actually are. When I’m performing it feels like anything that exists outside of the music ceases to for the time being, and I like to think that whoever is listening is feeling the same way.

Contact Info:

• Website: 1020music.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/themarquishardy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1020music

Image Credits
Andrew Agresta