Interview: Marksman Lloyd

Perth rapper Marksman Lloyd has come a long way since his humble beginnings in 2012! After winning the WAM Hip Hop Song of the Year award for his single Pause and selling out his Single Laps single launch earlier this year, Lloyd is now touring the nation with Australian hip hop heavyweights Drapht! We were lucky enough to chat with Lloyd between shows.

First off, we just want to congratulate you on the success of your recent single Seven Laps! What was the inspiration behind the song?

I guess I just wanted to write something really honest and lay myself bare. I struggled for ages to get it down, I think I rewrote it about 10 times, but it was just nailing down that second verse that was difficult. Some of the things I talk about on Seven Laps are quite personal and express some full on things that I’ve been through, so when I finally had that verse right I was pretty happy, so that was the path I took. A guy named JiaLih did the production, he’s an amazing producer who’s originally from Perth as well but he’s now based in Melbourne.

We also love the music video for Seven Laps! What was the creative process behind making the clip like?

I’d seen a bunch of really cool one-take videos and I’ve always wanted to do something similar. We wanted to use the single launch to shoot it so it started by just throwing around ideas of how we might be able to do that. We ended up hitting up everyone on the event page on Facebook and asked everyone to be a part of the video, everyone was super stoked with the idea! And the fact that the launch sold out and we were able to shoot in front of that crowd was a massive blessing!

You’re currently on tour with Drapht and fellow supporting artist Dylan Joel. What has been your favourite on tour memory so far? 

Sydney was pretty wild and Brisbane was killer! The night we were at The Triffid it felt like there were just some really good vibes in the room. But now we’re travelling around Tasmania, and it’s beautiful! It’s been awesome just seeing the sights and the countryside, it’s an amazing place!

Your EP ‘Portals’ is set for release soon, what’s the process been like putting it together? 

Yeah, we’re in the final stages of putting it together now. I would say it’s about 98 per cent finished, but it’s always that final 2 per cent that’s the hardest to finish off. So we’re just locking that down now and getting it ready for release early next year I think!

What can fans expect to hear on the ‘Portals’ EP?

I think it’s different to what I’ve released before. Listening to it and gauging the vibe, I think it’s more celebratory than a lot of my older stuff, whereas in the past I think I’ve been a bit more introspective with the lyrics. But this time around I think it’s a different vibe.

Happy songs aren’t always easy to write and they end up sounding cheesy a lot of the time, so to write the songs well has been a really big challenge, and I think it all comes back to honesty…just being honest with what you write. I think we’ve achieved that this time so I’m really excited to put the EP out!

Being an Australian hip hop artist you obviously get a bit of inspiration from other artists in the country. What are some overseas artists you admire or are inspired by? 

At the moment, I’m really feeling guys like Chance the Rapper, J. Cole, and Anderson .Paak. Bon Iver’s new album is amazing so I’ve also been vibing that lately. In terms of all time influences, I got into hip hop when I was younger listening to Tupac, and then kind of moved from gangster rap to more underground stuff like Mos Def and Jurassic 5. That’s where I kind of honed in on my craft and found who I was as an MC, during that era…

So far you’ve been able to perform in some pretty cool places across the world, where would you most love to perform?

That’s a good question! I would love to do a show in the home of hip hop, New York! I think performing at a show like that would be incredible. But I also love performing in random places as well, like I love playing those really small, obscure shows that not many people would go to just to get there…to meet the people, and catch their vibe!

One of the things I love most about making music is it allows you to travel and see places while you’re working, so that’s one of the biggest attractions to me for making music. Anywhere music takes me, I’m willing to go!

Drapht ‘Seven Mirrors’ Album Tour
With Special Guests Dylan Joel & Marksman Lloyd

THURS 13 OCT
Granada Tavern, Hobart
Fri 14 OCT
170 Russell, Melbourne
SAT 15 OCT
The Gov, Adelaide
FRI 21 OCT
Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
SAT 22 OCT
Capitol, Perth

Get Tickets HERE