Credit: Courtesy of Marcus Smith
Local rapper Marcus Smith spent the last 15 years as a member of the alternative hip-hop group Black & Broke and the hip-hop trio Sankuro.

Now, he’s just completed his first solo album, Nilla. He wrote most of the material in March of this year after he was laid off from his day job, and songs such as the autobiographical “Jalapeño Cheese” and “In My Soul” find Smith rapping over somber beats. The tracks recall influences such as Bruno Mars, Childish Gambino and Lenny Kravitz. The album includes guest appearances by local rappers such as Vigatron, Mayor Wertz, Dave Zup and Jean Kong.

Nilla will be available on all music streaming sites starting on Thursday, and Smith will issue a limited quantity of physical CDs. He’ll play an album release party on Thursday, Aug. 1, at Touch Supper Club.

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This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2019.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.

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