M.Will
is the son of legendary producer Marley Marl, one of rap’s greatest beat-makers,
and he’s been entrenched in hip-hop since birth. When Marlon Williams Jr
visited his dad’s house on weekends, it was a hive of musical energy, with
rappers showing up constantly. Whether to record in the House of Hits home
studio or to do a show on Future Flavas, which was broadcast on Hot 97 and one
of the first internet radio shows.
If
you’re picturing legendary artists snatching pieces of toast out of M.Will’s
hand or drinking milk straight from the bottle, you’re probably not far from
the truth. Craig G, Common, Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, Evil Dee, J Dilla, Jay-Z,
Black Thought, Raekwon, A Tribe Called Quest and many more recorded in the
house. Despite being surrounded by famed artists and a multitude of talent, M.Will
says his upbringing was balanced and it didn’t scare him away from making his
own music. The 20 year old has recorded at least half a dozen beat tapes
including 2012’s As Above So Below and definitely has his own sound with
influences from Alan Parsons, Dexter Wansel, Kanye West, the esoteric and golden
age hip-hop.
We
talked for almost an hour and M.Will gave thoughtful answers about growing up
around music, living with his dad’s legacy, cultivating his own sound, his
first production credit with LL Cool J, turning down working with Joey Bada$$,
and too much more to list.
You started playing piano at five years old?
Yeah, that’s
about correct. My school was an elementary school as well as a graded music
school. It was really cool, I liked it a lot.
You use a lot of piano loops in your music?
Oh yeah, I
think piano and keyboards in general are one of the greatest inventions or
instruments that humans have ever done.
You’re also classically trained, but didn’t enjoy
the music at first?
Initially when
I was really young, you always rebel like “oh this stuff sucks,” but it gave me
the integrity that I needed to understand the full spectrum of music and it’s just
really something I enjoy to this day and I have a great appreciation for it. I
didn’t know as much about hip-hop or popular music or anything else besides
what was immediately in front of me.
Who enrolled you in the music classes?
I think
essentially it was my mum’s idea, but my dad saw that I was pretty interested
in music at a really young age and just being around the House of Hits and
around keyboards, I was always really fascinated by them.
How was it being in a family where hip-hop was such
a large part of your life? What was your childhood like?
It was really
balanced. There was a time for everything. There was a time for hip-hop, but
there was a time for practicing and just doing different activities, so it was
pretty structured. There would be a time to enjoy good music or when music was
going on, and that was something I really appreciated and admired about my
upbringing that I guess it was very balanced and structured. The premise of
course was hip-hop that was something that would never go away so it was just
like what else do we have to take care of?
What are your earliest memories of growing up with
rap music?
I grew up in
Flushing, Queens and that’s when I was old enough to understand everything.
Around elementary school I remember just cool cars and loud music – BMWs and
just hearing some good music like Biggie Smalls or something. Like okay,
there’s something going on, there’s a powerful force here, just something way
beyond my comprehension. I never really even quite understood what my dad did
until I was like seven or eight years old, it was just something we were so
submerged in. It was like, this is life and we are just living before it gained
some sort of definition.
You were growing up while Future Flavas, the first
ever online rap radio show was being recorded in your house. There must have
been a lot of energy in the air, at the time.
Oh my gosh, I
was so fascinated but I never knew how powerful what was going on was, it’s the
ripple effect of the things that would go on from there. The topics that were
being discussed, it was always up to date, always on the money, on everything
that was going on. It was fascinating just to know so many people were
connected at the point. I could never fathom the concept during that time
period, it was way before everything is now like how the internet, you can’t
live without your computer. This was during that transition and it helped
propel the understanding that we have now with music and the internet. It was
totally ahead of its freaking time. It was so sick.
I’m sure you saw all these famous artists that were
always at your dad’s house, but they seemed more like extended family or uncles
rather than big celebrity musicians.
Exactly, we
were all living simultaneously - I was just the young one growing up. We would
share the same food, hang out and pass around homemade cooking. It was just the
real deal, the human side of everything behind the mystique and behind
everything else. It was just a real normal human experience – emotions,
frustrations and happiness. It was really cool.
Were there any artists that your dad was
particularly close to or who were always around the house just hanging out?
Yeah
definitely, Pete Rock lived just a couple of miles out and he would be over all
the time, like forever. That was always really really great, that was someone
who I saw literally as an uncle. It was always them two just hanging out all
the time that was a really great friendship and companionship to witness at a
young age. Aside from that, Craig G was around a lot, a bunch of different
artists. You know just constantly, so many I can’t even name, people would be
around the time. Callie Ban he’s the man, Aisle 12, these
were just some of the familiar faces I remember seeing all the time.
Do you still see these people around or not so much
anymore?
My dad has such
a wide social circle you know. Occasionally yeah, you’ll see them all the time
at certain areas and at events. Just recently they did a really cool reunion
with Pete Rock and I up was there and got to hang out. That was really cool,
see how it was when they were doing their thing together. My dad’s always doing
something, he’s a freakin superstar, it’s ridiculous this guy just runs around
and does shows forever and he’s damn near pushing half a century. He’s always just
out there [laughs] it’s awesome. It’s really cool.
J Dilla came through to the station once didn’t he?
From my
understanding, yeah. Him and Pete Rock were really tight. That was the first
time ever Pete Rock was breaking Slum Village records and Busta Rhymes records
and Tribe records, and the station was just a real taste of where you could
find the goods.
Big L’s number was also written on the wall at the
studio?
It’s so crazy,
the House of Hits itself is so remarkable with all the relics and just everything
that’s ever come through there. It was right above the vocal booth, I think they
were scheduling Big L to come through a couple weeks before he actually got
killed. It was in the works, about to happen because I think Lord Finesse had
made the call because he was on Future Flavas for a short time before it
occurred and it was in the motion. At that time period, man there was so much hip-hop
coming in and out of the crib.
Did Wu Tang ever come through? Because I know GZA
was affiliated with the Juice Crew for a while.
Everytime we
see Wu Tang they show mad love. I’ve seen Raekwon, I’ve met him a couple of
times. He just shows mad love, he’s so embracive. I know that Raekwon, RZA and
the GZA have been on Future Flavas before. They’ve definitely passed through a
couple of times. I know that ODB has definitely been in the House of Hits. I
recently met his son and we kicked it for a bit and that was mad chill. I love
the new generation because they’re carrying on the legacy. I’m really good
friends with TJ Mizell as well. (Jam Master Jay’s Son)
Rock music respects its legends and a big part of
the culture is playing homage to them, but rap tends to pay less respect
because it’s a young people’s game. How do you feel about that, being a young
dude but growing up around all these veterans?
I just think
that it’s just a natural thing that comes with time, we’ll hold onto certain
records and things because they become the soundtracks to our lives. I just
think that’s how rock has been able to maintain because it has such a resonance
to its fans, I think hip-hop will get there, for the past 20 years it’s
definitely gaining in prestige. I really see hip-hop getting the prestige that
jazz music did, when it gets older I will become something really monumental a
lot more than we can even fathom because it has touched so many lives.
You starting producing when you were around 12 or
11 years old?
Well, yeah I
guess. For fun I made loads of little tapes and stuff, here and there when I
was really young. Sometimes my dad would just record me fucking around on a
keyboard or something. I’d go up on weekends and that’s what we would do, that
would be our bonding time because I was always really into music. By the time I
started really cultivating sounds and doing things like that, it would probably
be around 11 or 12, I think I was like 13 or 12, I had an iBook or something
and I was just fucking around with GarageBand.
I heard that your dad told you early on not too
mess with hip-hop too much. Why was he less encouraging early on?
You know, just
as a parent it’s always one of those things like “I did all of this so you
don’t have to replicate it.” Just as a parent it’s their perspective that
they’re busting their ass to make you not do what they had to do, because they
want you to have it whatever way. It’s just like a parent’s concern. I hear
about my friends telling me things like that all the time in different
situations and that’s just how it was with me. My dad was like “I want you to
be a doctor, or lawyer or a surgeon” when I was really young and I was like
“screw that, I want to be the man!” But I’ve grown up and matured, and
definitely seen all the different revenue streams that come from hip-hop. My
dad was just very much like “nah you don’t want to be in the spotlight, you
want to do it up right and have it wholesome.”
Listening to your music, you’re definitely trying
to do something different than what your father did. You can hear the odd
sample or influence, but you’re definitely trying to carve your own path.
Oh yeah, for
sure. There’s definitely I feel, a certain perspective or edge that comes from
my understanding of music because in any way possible I like to do a little
tweak or whatever it ends up being, just a creative tangent from a song I
already love. I love sampling so much, I appreciate the art. It’s essentially a
musical collage, and if you’re able to really execute it well, it’s totally
just reinforcing the original song. What more as a music lover can you do?
Your first production credit was “You Better Watch
Me” on LL Cool J’s album Exit 13 that you made with your dad. You guys were
actually just having fun and its placement was a surprise?
Initially that’s
how it came about. I wasn’t actually in the studio with LL while it was
happening. But the beat itself me and Dad made together, really one of my first
new trials when I think Reason 4 came out. I was using Reason 3. We were just
fucking around like “this is so cool, look at all these new things.” We were
like little kids in a candy shop just going crazy over this new stuff and we
just ended up making one of those beats and next thing I knew, dad was like
“yo, check it out.”
You also have a production credit on the joint
album between your dad and KRS-ONE. For those who don’t know, tell us why their
collaboration was such a special moment and what it was like being around in
that process.
It was a big
deal, even just for my dad’s life story and everything that it incorporates. It
was a really really monumental period, I remember that really vividly. I was
turning 14 at the time, becoming of age and really grasping bigger concepts. It
was a really important monumental thing just because you know, my dad jokes around
about it all the time but that whole “Bridge War.” I still get pissed off when
I hear “The Bridge Is Over” just because he’s talking about my dad. It’s huge.
It’s a big thing and something we’ve always appreciated and celebrated. It’s so
funny, one of the first things that from ear I taught myself to play was the
“Bridge it Over” before I knew what it was and my dad was laughing like it was real
real funny and I was like five and he’d be like “Don’t ever play that in
Queensbridge.” It’s engrained in our collective story so to see that come
together was like really awesome. They were always friends outside of the whole
shit, but it’s a big deal because there’s always resentment that can exist after
you put some shit on wax like that. So there’s always something but it was
awesome. I know they did a couple of sessions upstate and a couple of sessions
in LA but they really did it up nice.
You’re also quite a big fan of progressive rock?
How did you get into it?
That’s for
sure. I’m a big fan of music in general so I like classic or prog rock a lot
because of its depth in music and inclusion of themes that are so much better,
I don’t know. I’ve always really appreciated progressive rock or progressive
anything for that matter. I’ve always grown up around the classics in
elementary school, there were a lot of The Beatles and The Beach Boys going
around. There was a really eclectic bunch of adults that were teaching my
school so I’ve known about The Rolling Stones. I’d say I got into it myself
after I went to high school.
Do you feel these different influences make your
music more interesting?
Definitely,
it’s like a microcosm to life. You have so many different flavours going
around, taking little gems here and there and making something new is really
fun.
What made you focus on the esoteric for As Above So
Below?
Oh man, I’ve
always been into that kind of stuff just given my life and things that I have
experienced. It’s just really really fucking cool, it fascinates the shit out
of me. I love history and I’d love to be a professor of hip-hop or some shit
one day and I just think the stronger you understand the power of certain knowledge
you can time travel kind of. You’re reaching the same thoughts and the same
frequencies that were thought of not too long ago, you go back into time and
look into how amazing certain buildings or structures were and it really wasn’t
that different. I think that’s why I’m interested in older music too, these
guys were geniuses and we just need to remind ourselves of that all the time,
of Frank Zappa or my man Alan Parsons. I think it all correlates in that
regard.
You also dedicate an album to Dexter Wansel?
That’s one of
the funkiest keyboarders, dude is just the man.
I just really really took to his music when I came across certain songs.
Hip-hop is a lense for me, I see a lot of my favourite songs and I see what
they sample and look into the original songs. I think how I got into the Dexter
Wansel stuff was The Cool by Lupe Fiasco, which was a song that I really like
and it was produced by Kanye West and I just found the original sample from
that. I started listening to a lot of untouched gems and stuff that was on the
internet or YouTube like “oh my god, this is some of the most potent shit I’ve
ever heard.” I just love it, the whole Philidelphia sound and everything that
came out of that era was just so righteous, they were playing their asses off
and I love it.
Tell us about your Supreme Team DJ mixes on
Soundcloud.
It’s homage to
the 1980s radio of Mr Magic, the world famous Supreme Team of Newark, WHBI as
well as Kiss Fm and the whole radio rivalries. How blogs essentially became
what radio was in terms of breaking records was really what I wanted to allude
to and just never forget how powerful someone like a Frankie Crocker or some of
these really awesome DJs were.
Because your dad is so renowned and he’s a
pioneering musician, is he also one of your harshest critics at times?
I’d definitely
say he’s one of my toughest critics by far, by absolute far. Especially more recently,
in the past couple of years. It’s good though, I know he’s involved and I know
he gives a shit and I know he’s really really listening which is great. Like
hyper listening and I know he likes it which is cool. We go back and forth
making beats sometimes, but I know there’s things I’m able to do that are an
extension of what he wants to do.
Does he still listen to a lot of new music? You
know there’s a stereotype about hip-hop legends as grumpy old heads who hate
everything new.
That’s so
funny. I think somewhat because my dad, he’s in his own kind of world in that
regard only in terms of the music that he plays and the stuff he’s around. He
knows what works, he knows what the classic “make you want to get up and dance
records” are and he holds tight to that. He’s definitely really open to new
things, but he’s always recultivating things and remixing songs that have been
out for eons. Doing his own thing. I guess I can see that, but I always put him
onto new things and he doesn’t quite get it until it gets a big nod from a
record company or aside from that, but he’s pretty open with new stuff.
I’m sure he can appreciate the more lyrical guys like
Kendrick Lamar or even Nas is still making great records.
Yeah, of course
he’s up on that, but even Kendrick now has a huge nod from Interscope. I was
talking about Kendrick when he was K.dot when we both had our music put up on
Kevin Nottingham at the same time. It was just one of those things where I
would have loved to have been like “yo, dad let’s bring this new guy from
Compton, I hear he’s really dope, bring him to the studio.”
I read a Tweet where you said “I think it’s corny when some people’s parents have
vendettas against my dad and they use their kids to try set up traps in the
music business.” Is this something that you encounter, people are that petty?
Yes,
all the time. There will be something that pre-dates me but I’m the one that
has to deal with it or some sort of “oh well your dad was a jerk to me.”
Something stupid and it’s like whatever, holding onto a grudge of one little
small nothing that really wasn’t that big of a deal. They look for any kind of
reason to see you in a negative light. I encounter that sometimes. There are
people who still work in the industry to this day that hold their grudges, they
could still be at Def Jam or anywhere.
You’re trying to stand on your own as
an artist, but your dad is a legend in the game. Do you ever get tired of
talking about him, where you want to be known as yourself rather than as Marley
Marl’s son?
Yeah
for the most part, that’s every angle or selling point that’s ever used.
Everybody who I’ve ever worked with like that, it’s always the huge huge sell
point. Initially, no one is supposed to know, my early releases I’d just drop
them on my own and not even really care. But it’s not something I can escape
like alright I’ll take it for what it is and still try to do my own thing, it’s
always going to be there because it’s in my name, I can’t do anything about it.
What’s next for you?
Well,
I always have my hand in a lot of projects. I’ve been really tied up with a lot
of different things. We put together shows in the city, I’ve been doing that a
lot, just throwing parties or shows at Webster Hall or somewhere downtown with
some of friends just really doing some cool stuff. I’m trying to get into the
technology world with music and help cultivate some cool things with enhancing
the music experience.
I’ll
always have three, four, five projects lined up, I’m definitely dropping
something really soon, a beat tape that is just a by-product of all of these
other great activities. That’s really how my music comes to be, As Above So
Below is a perfect example as all of that stuff is a by-product of my life
experiences at that time so I’ve got to make it tangible in some way.
Who would you love to work with?
It
would be really cool to work with Q-Tip, if I had to pick a favourite producer
without a bias I’d say in terms of the hiphop aesthetic that I really
appreciate the most it would definitely be Q-Tip. God bless the dead, if I
could bring Dilla back I’d love to work with him. Pete Rock I still haven’t
worked with and would love to. Another rapper that has unfortunately passed on,
Charizma from Peanut Butter Wolf and Charizma. That’s like the dopest swag
right there. And of course Nas. Large Pro. My friends Ratking. I’d love to work
with Stevie Wonder or some shit. I’m a big fan of Robert Glasper, Thundercat,
Flying Lotus I love that shit. I really really really like Thundercat and
Robert Glasper.
Joey
Bada$$ is pretty cool, but I turned down being a member of Pro Era because they
didn’t want to set me up right. They wanted me to do like five gigs for free on
some real sucker shit and I wasn’t really bout it. But you know, that’s still a
homie. We still hang out aside from music and shit. We got a close circle.
Is there something you’re trying to achieve with
your music in particular?
I’m not sure, I guess it’s a little ambiguous but I think as long as you’re able to get something from it. I mean, I’m putting so much stuff into it. Everything from knowledge to just some cool sounds but as long as you like something that’s what I’m cool with. I think I just want to preserve and teach what I know as the truth or what I know as reality from my perspective and hopefully I can help create and cultivate an enlightened culture through hip-hop or music in general. Sun Ra is my dude and I really love what he stands for and I feel like him and I are on the exact same frequency in that regard. I know we have the same birthday but just in terms of the power of music and what it can do for humanity. It’s a great, great tool and I want to help cultivate, refine and make it as best as possible.