“You Might Not Be Able To Handle The Things I’ve Been Through” – An MM Exclusive With Marnz Malone

Marnz Malone is leading the charge for a new generation of Real Rap in the UK. Despite being incarcerated back in 2021, Double M has displayed a talent beyond his years for elite lyricism and storytelling. Having already worked with the likes of Nines, Potter Payper, and Clavish amongst others, there is no doubting this artist’s impact in UK Rap over the last few years, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that he is doing this behind bars.

In the build up to the release of his latest project, ‘Sabr’, I sat down with Marnz to discuss his influences, the surreality of his career taking off whilst in prison, and the harsh truths of his life in jail:

Going back to the start, you were brought up between Jamaica and Birmingham. What impact do you think that has had on your music?

With Jamaica being the country of culture that it is, I grew up around music and listened to it my whole life. When I got to England it was similar because there were people rapping in my community. One of my friends, Minnie, actually inspired me to start rapping in the alleyway by the side of my house. I wanted to make sure I had bars when my friends were rapping and that’s kind of how it started. 

In terms of inspirations and influences, who from those areas inspired your style?

It’s kind of weird because I’m Jamaican but I don’t really like Bashment music. It has to be a bit more melodic for me. People like Vybz (Kartel) and Popcaan definitely inspired me as a kid, still. When I came over people like Stardom were making noise in my area and elsewhere people like Giggs and Nines. They were probably my biggest inspirations. I wanted to be like them when I was younger.

From starting in the alley next to your house, when did you begin to take rapping seriously?

In prison. When I was on road, obviously I would go to the studio and stuff as a hobby because it was something to do. I didn’t think I was going to blow off Rap but coming to jail and seeing how it’s taken off since then is what made me start to take it seriously.

That must be an odd feeling being in prison and seeing your career take off…

It’s surreal. Definitely a bittersweet feeling. Obviously I’m happy and excited to know that people are tapping in. For me, my career hasn’t started. In my mind it starts when I get out, but seeing what I’ve been able to do from inside has definitely shaped my mind to think differently. 

What’s your day to day like? How often are you writing?

I’m a bit of a weirdo when it comes to writing. I don’t write to a beat at first, so I make sure I capture what I’m feeling. When you write to a beat it can influence what you’re going to say, but when I write without one it means I can focus and hone in on what I want to say. 

In this month of February I’ve written once in the whole month but at that time I wrote two or three songs. I don’t force anything so I write more whenever I feel like it. I have to feel it and be in the mood, especially the pockets that I’m tapping into where I’m allowing myself to be vulnerable and think about the things that I block out in day to day life. I have to capitalise on those moments where I can feel like that.

What are you reading at the moment?

At the moment I’m reading a book called Simply Philosophy. I’m halfway through that, and before I was reading Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter by 50 Cent. In between the two of them I was reading The Richest Man In Babylon. 

I feel like the day you stop learning is the day you die so I always try to take something from a book and refer back to it. With The Alchemist for example, that’s the book that gave me the word ‘Maktub’ (translates to ‘it is written’ from Arabic), which then inspired the whole mixtape. The reading and writing all go hand in hand when it comes to my music.

What do you think is your greatest strength when it comes to your music?

I feel like from my experience, if I can make you feel what I’m feeling, I know that I’ve done what I’ve wanted to do. If you’ve followed, understood, or captured the story that I’m telling – even if it’s not a story, then I’ve done my job. 

It’s about clarity but not just sonically. I don’t dumb down my music and I say what I want to say. I’d say my punchlines as well. That’s where I’ve taken inspiration from Nines; he’s the punchline king. 

Obviously you’ve said Nines is one of your favourite artists and you’ve gone on to work with him, as well as another UK Rap great in Potter Payper. How does that make you feel and what do you take from those experiences?

I appreciate them because they didn’t have to work with me. They don’t know me from anywhere so for these people who I grew up listening to to give me an opportunity to express myself is crazy. Shout out to them. Nines is my favourite UK artist but my favourite of all time is Lil Durk so that would be someone I’d like to work with at that level too.

Your new project, ‘Sabr’ is coming up soon. What does that title mean to you?

Sabr is ‘Maktub 2’, innit? It means ‘patience’, so obviously that means a lot of things to me. My last project was over a year ago so fans have had to have patience for that and for me. Being in the scenario and situation that I’m in, I’va had to have patience full stop. The actual Arabic meaning refers to having patience and belief that God has you. 

Patience comes into all aspects of my life. Patiently waiting to come out, patiently waiting for my tape to drop. I had to wait years even to get where I’m at now. We still have a long way to go.

How does that affect you? Would you say you’re a patient person or does that take a toll on you mentally?

I’m not a patient guy, but I’ve had to learn patience. It goes hand in hand. I don’t have a choice but to be patient.

I want to talk about a couple of the singles that have already come out. Firstly, ‘I Hate January’. Can you talk about where that song came from?

I Hate January is a story that’s deeper than Rap for me because I’m actually describing my life. Whilst me and KayMuni were sharing a cell, our next door neighbour killed himself – rest his soul. It traumatised everybody. It wasn’t the first time we’d seen it and it probably won’t be the last time but it was very memorable to us because of the trauma and I wanted to make sure I told that story.

It’s very easy for people to look at me because of how I’m portrayed and think that jail’s nice or easy but I wanted to show people that jail is not a joke. It’s not nice here and this is the reality of what goes on and how they make me feel. You might not be able to handle the things I’ve been through. 

The reality of this place is that it’s very dark so it’s important to make sure you’re telling that truth and not glamourising rubbish. It’s so easy to do that. I always pick clarity over clout so I wanted to show what actually goes on in the system. 

The statistics are there and in the video. Someone takes their life inside every four days. This isn’t on the news but I’m seeing it as my reality. Unless I tell these stories, who’s going to tell them? I have to be the voice of the trenches, man.

And that kind of ties into ‘Free Minnie’, someone who you already mentioned inspired you to Rap…

Exactly, bro. That song has a deeper meaning for me. It’s a recurring theme on all the projects – my second track is always ‘Free’ somebody. So far I’ve done ‘Free Muni’, ‘Free Dior’, and now ‘Free Minnie’. If you do the maths you should know there’s a lot of ‘Free’ songs to come. 

Minnie played a massive part in my whole musical vision. I wasn’t even taking it seriously but he influenced me to start rapping and put me on this journey. Now he’s in jail for life so it’s a deeper meaning, and I’m telling the stories of people who can’t tell theirs. The ones with their names on headstones and the ones who don’t have a voice.

The music video as well covers the repetitive cycle of prison life. What was the vision behind that?

The video was my idea but my team went and executed it. For anyone listening to this, make sure your team is correct or you’re already losing. The visualiser is meant to essentially show a Groundhog Day, doing the same thing every day. That’s what life consists of. 

In the streets they say to you that if you carry on, you’re going to end up dead or in jail. Either option, the stories are similar. People come from similar places, similar backgrounds. It’s important to me to tell these people’s stories and give my perspective.

What can people expect from this project?

Blood, sweat and tears. That’s what I’ve put into this. 

Finally, where would you like to see yourself at the end of this year and in the next 5 years?

That’s a good question. In the short term, I would say that I’m always my own competition. I never look at anyone as a contest. As long as I’m outversing myself and doing better this year than last year, I’m winning in my eyes. 

Long term, if you know me I plan way ahead. What I will say though, is that nothing will ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained to us. It says that in the Quran and it’s another way of saying Maktub. What I see myself might not be where whatever was written for me takes me. 

I hate being asked what I’m going to do when I first come out because from what I’ve experienced, whatever you think you will do doesn’t go as planned. My answer will always be Maktub█

‘Sabr’ is out now across all platforms.