Meet Eritrean American artist and activist Marzz
Written by Samira Farah
Eritrean American artist and activist Marzz sat down one day, in her home in Portland, Oregon, and painted the words “4 the culture.” Those words were the start of 4THEPEOPLE, “A grass root, Black led entity with a mission to uplift & highlight the contrasts between Black Excellence and Black History,” according to their Instagram profile. What started off as poetry turned into a reignited passion for expression through music. At 21 years old, Marzz connects us with her artistry, rap and activism.
Below, Marzz shared her journey with creating music and her own grassroots organization. You can listen to her releases on SoundCloud, Apple Music and watch her newest music video, “Callin Out,” on YouTube.
*Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.*
How did you get into music?
Growing up, I was around a lot of white people, but because I was in that area I was able to go to Meriwether Lewis Elementary School. The curriculum actually focuses a lot around music, and they have multiple plays throughout the year. They had a lot of band practices where they actually took the time to correctly teach us the notes to music, how to read music and how to set up and take down instruments and a lot of things that schools nowadays don’t get the opportunity to do because there isn’t that funding. I was lucky enough to experience that from kindergarten to fifth grade — really essential years. I ended up diving into music.
When I moved to the numbers or the outskirts of Portland, I realized even though I was in choir and I was still involved in the music programs, it definitely wasn't hands-on because it was very obvious that there wasn't funding for it. It definitely was a contrast of I might have not been in the tax bracket of the people around me, but I realized the importance of how when you are around proximity of people who come from wealth, the schools and the dynamics of the area are a lot different.
So, you’ve always wanted to make music?
I didn’t think I wanted to make music when I was younger. I didn’t really understand how music doesn’t have to be one-dimensional. Even though I did listen to Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott, I didn’t understand music was something that you could do and actually be successful in. There are not many Black people in Portland, so I didn’t really grow up seeing a lot of artists that looked like me because I grew up in a very white area and city.
Did you guide yourself or was there someone that you followed who has created music before? Or was it just like, “I’m just gonna dive right in and teach myself everything I can”?
Although my parents are not technically musicians, my outside family is. I have a couple of cousins that are in music, and my brother is also into music. So, I was able to kind of learn from them even if they weren’t directly teaching me. I was able to learn through being in the same spaces as them, being in the same room and just really watching them play. I remember being younger, watching my brother play the piano, and he sometimes didn’t know what he was doing. He would just play. And that’s when I realized, music and art in general are not one thing. You can have your own sort of art that you want to do and you don’t have to necessarily follow the steps of a certain artist, and you can just freely create.
How did you start making music?
I started out by doing poetry. My mom is a poet and, when I was younger, I didn’t really realize that. I just thought she was giving speeches all the time. Then, I got older and realized, this is actually a form of art.
Once I got into middle school, I started really studying poets, what poetry means and its impact. I started rapping in high school. I was in choir and then, because I was going to a majority white school, I got kicked out of choir. It set me back at the time because I really enjoyed it. That was part of my day that I really looked forward to, so I really despised music for a little bit.
I started doing poetry again my senior year once I got heavily involved with REAP, a leadership program where they focus on setting us up for college and after high school. I was finding myself in spaces, especially when I was a senior, where I was around other creatives. It felt sort of nostalgic because I felt that feeling when I was younger, and then I got kind of discouraged as I got older. REAP was majority Black, and it was literally most of the Black people that went to Centennial High School. I ended up being able to create because I was around people who understood me.
I started being vocal with my poetry and started rapping. At first I was just sort of messing around, but then I really realized and dove deep into how Kanye was able to go from poetry to rap — and people like Amanda Steeles who now is just an author and writer. She doesn’t do music as much, but she started off with music and she did poetry that turned into fun little raps. I just found myself doing that. The music I try to make, I try to get how I feel in there while simultaneously having it be relatable. It's a nice in-between where I’m able to say how I feel without it feeling too personal.
It seems like you do music because you love it, enjoy it and do it for yourself.
I’ve noticed, sometimes, the only times people really pay attention is when there’s music in the background. Obviously we live in a day and age where TikTok is as famous as it is because you don’t have to have a long attention span. You can just move on to the next thing. We live in a culture where we’re constantly moving on really quickly. I found myself, with my music, being more intentional with the music that I make because I realize that a lot of people listen. If you’re rapping about nothing, it’s not really doing anything. That’s not to say that conscious rap or rap in general is the only music worth listening to or noting, but there is a sense of importance in the words that are said and the way that it's said.
Are there specific stories that you’re focused on telling?
With music, when I’m in creative mode, it’s more so that I just write how I feel at that time. Sometimes I’ll just joke around and sing something, or freestyle something that turns into something a lot more serious (in the sense of actually becoming a song). There are times where I just wanna make a song about having a crush or something, but even then it can still be worth saying a lot.
What is 4THEPEOPLE and what inspired you to create it?
When we went to Detroit we stopped by this “community villa” almost, where they had a coffee shop, but within the coffee shop there were community spaces. All of these community resources, from laundromats to computers, were there for the community to use freely. There wasn’t this distrust, and that really inspired me to actually solidify this idea that I had.
It started off with the zine, and then I created the Instagram for the zine. I realized it could go deeper. Being in Portland, there’s been so many white people who have come out trying to support, but don’t really know how. They’re looking for all of this information and guidance, so I started the page. I started posting Black businesses that I knew of, movie nights and trying to just really have people sit down and learn. I named it 4THEPEOPLE by the people, because no one person is responsible for anything. If we really want the change, we all do it together. So I created that platform, started doing markets with other activists around me and we just basically created this space for Black people and brown people who weren’t given those opportunities to come together and network.
How long does it take you to create music?
Actually I wrote “All in Due Time” on the bus. I found myself being on the bus for two and a half hours, so I said, “Okay, I need to make use of this time.” I would just listen to music. I started listening to instrumentals and then I found myself being able to create during those two hours. With creating, sometimes it is just sporadic. If I’m feeling a way or anything, I’ll just pop my notebook out and write it out, or pop out my phone and write it on my phone.
Do you consider your music and activism to be two separate interests of yours?
Sometimes I literally don’t have the words to say how I feel, so I’ll change the tone. This is something that some artists do know but other artists don’t emphasize. I learned as of really recently the importance of tone — the way that you say things when you are performing them and the way you say the lyrics. With my music, I’ve been able to shift and sway the way I say things. “All in Due Time” is a happy song just in terms of the chords, but I’m able to cut the music and really say it as poetry and emphasize the words and what I'm saying. I didn’t really see my music being a part of my activism until I noticed — oh shit, I am able to intersect them and include my music in my activism just because I'm emphasizing different words that show what the message of the song is.
How has 4THEPEOPLE and music impacted your life?
I definitely can say I feel very content in my art for the first time in a long time. With 4THEPEOPLE, there are so many people around me who support that. Finding those people and being able to just really create foundations (and even planning to foundations) has changed my life; because an idea is an idea until it’s done, but when it’s done it feels really good, and it feels really good when you see yourself and the people around you actively working for the change that we’re saying we want.
Do you have any future goals for 4THEPEOPLE or for your music?
It’s fun to drop songs, but what I’ve noticed with projects is that it’s really a project. It is not just something you can pile together, which of course you can do. What I'm going for and the people I look up to, that’s not what they did. To me, a timeless album is “Sideline Story” by J. Cole. Even the way he was able to merge those interludes to be about what he was really going through and his life. I’m trying to embody that. Even people like Solange and Tierra Whack are able to do that with a lot shorter songs and interludes.
The first song I created was only two minutes and thirty seconds. I remember I had spent all my money to be in that studio. I remember hearing, “Your songs are not gonna do good unless it’s three minutes and blah blah blah seconds.” I was like, okay, obviously I’m still learning. As time went on I was like, no. People can get the message even if it’s a minute. If you make sure the message is clear, people will get it. So now I’m using that and I’m creating my EP just to be for me, something I wanna hear and will understand — also for listeners to understand and piece together.
