Our Interview with Hip-Hop Duo, the Social Club Misfits
This past week I had the pleasure of getting on a phone call with the South Florida based Hip-Hop duo, the Social Club Misfits. In what was a great conversation about music, inspiration, and following your aspirations, I learned a lot about the two.
The duo, consisting of Marty and Fern, a pair of Miami raised artists previously known as the Social Club gained traction with their Rejects EP once they’d reached commercial success as they charted on the Billboard Gospel Albums Chart at number 9, and the Billboard Christian Albums at 32.
“We want to be the voice for the culture. We want to make the songs for the generation to sing.” -Marty of the Social Club Misfits
In 2013, they released two albums including Misfits and Summer of George. Their junior LP, Misfits 2, charted at 59 on the Billboard 200 chart, as well as making its rank upon the Christian, Gospel, and Rap categories. Their most recent album, the 2015 release Us, charted at 9 on the Rap Album charts.
They recently revealed their brand new EP with Capitol CMG The Misfit Generation and it debuted on Billboard’s Rap Album’s Chart at #8 this past May!
Read on to find out more about the duo’s accolades and goals in our exclusive interview the Social Club Misfits.
Parlé Mag: Growing up in a place like Miami, how do you guys feel about the whole basketball situation you have going on right now?
Fern: These last few days have been crazy man. I gotta say, I don’t feel bad about D. Wade leaving, I respect that Pat Riley didn’t handcuff the team and decided to not have Dwyane hold down all of our young guys. We love D. Wade no matter what, he gave us a great 13 years.
Parlé Mag: I never really thought of it that way, that’s a nice way to think of it. When did you guys originally start making music together?
Marty: It was a couple years ago, we originally met at a radio station. We recorded our first song and it was fun. Needless to say it just worked, and still works. That’s what’s great about our connection.
Parlé Mag: Why did you guys decide to call yourselves the Social Club Misfits?
Marty: The Social Club was the place where everyone used to meet up in the Bronx. It was a place where everyone can go talk about their struggles in the form of an open conversation. There’s a difference between people who preach at you and people who have a real conversation with you and talk about their problems. We’ve had people come to us and tell us that they’ve related to the exact things we’ve talked about in our songs. Our music is a conversation piece. We don’t have all the answers. We want to be the voice for the culture. We want to make the songs for the generation to sing.
Parlé Mag: Who are your biggest musical inspirations?
Fern: Well, I grew up in the era when the East Coast was just taking over. There were guys like Biggie, Jay-Z, Cam’ron and the Diplomats, The Lox, producers like Just Blaze and DJ Premier.
Parlé Mag: Well, in that case, Jay-Z or Nas?
Fern: I’ma need you to repeat that question just to make sure I heard you right, hahahaha. Wow man, that’s a rough one, but I have to go with Jay-Z because he had the production, he had that sound everyone wanted to hear and knew how to promote it and get it out there. You look at all the summertime hits, starting from anything on The Blueprint to “Big Pimpin”, the list just goes on and on. That’s nothing to take away from Nas at all, he was incredible in his very own way, and if you know how to decipher the differences in their music you can tell they’re both legends in their own right.
Parlé Mag: Definitely man. You mention The Blueprint, I gotta ask what’s your favorite album of all time?
Marty: I’d have to say The Blueprint by Jay-Z. Every song is just so notable, I can name 5 tracks off the top of my head that everyone knows. “Girls, Girls, Girls”, “The Ruler’s Back”, endless smash hits man.
Fern: Ready to Die by Notorious B.I.G. The way he was able to paint a picture with his words was just so vivid, even though he had a short catalog, you can tell today how much his message has truly resonated.
Parlé Mag: Who are your biggest inspirations outside of music?
Marty: Wow, that’s a great question. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked before. I think I’d have to go with someone who makes a career for themselves post their music career. A guy like Will Smith for example, he had so many catchy hits but he also was in Independence Day. You know what I mean?
Parlé Mag: Of course man, don’t forget “Fresh Prince”! As musicians, how would you respond to people always asking “what’s your back up plan?”
Marty: There is no back up plan. You need to put 100 percent in to this. We chased our dream as independent artists investing in ourselves, and we achieved. Now look, I’m not saying quit your job and pursue a music career. You have to go about it in a smart way. If you worry about it, you just make it worse, you have to let it grow organically.
Parlé Mag: That’s the dream man, through and through. Being that you guys used to be aspiring musicians, what advice would you give to other artists looking on Craigslist for open gigs right now?
Fern: You just have to believe in yourself and what you do. Believe that you are good enough, and then you put your whole heart into it and not hold anything back.
Parlé Mag: That’s beautiful. One last question for you guys, what does it feel like to receive the accolade of “Billboard charting”?
Marty and Fern: Wow, wow, wow.
Marty: It’s amazing. Me and Fern were even Billboard charters independently, everything we’ve put out has charted. I feel like signing with Capitol was a big step of course, but no matter whether we were independent or with Capitol, it’s a beautiful thing to achieve.
Connect with the Social Club Misfits online:
www.socialclubmisfits.com
https://www.facebook.com/socialclubmisfits/
Twitter: @SocialClubMSFTS
Instagram: @socialclubmisfits
