Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.
Hey what’s good, this is ya homie Nomad Mr. Murk City. I’m an independent rap artist from Sumter, SC aka “Merk City” by way of Washington, DC. I’ve been making music since 2011 and professionally since 2014. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon or a trust fund and for a long time, my family struggled just like most families tend to do when they first branch out on their own. My parents have always been workers and wanted the best for us. So, I definitely get my work ethic from them. Music was an outlet for me as a form of therapy. My father died when I was about eleven years old and so I was forced to grow up faster than my peers. I learned early on that life ain’t always fair and just. And most importantly if I wanted something out of life I had to make it happen for myself.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
I was born and bred in the country until my family moved to the city and in doing so it helped mold my style and subject matter. Over the years I’ve also learned how to design and market myself and I’ve created 90% of my own marketing and promotional items independently. I pretty much do everything in-house except record myself and make beats. For things that I wasn’t too savvy with on the promotional end, my PR Tasha Shebloggin gets done effectively. S/o to my homegirl Tasha. She’s been with me since Day 1 and is a major contributor to my successes.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you wanted to do what you do now. Who did you tell first? What has it been like since that moment?
When I was doing promo work on the other side of music I would tell my big homie Big Ish I could rap and was thinking about it. He would try and get me to show and prove, but it just never felt like the right time or so I used to believe. Around that time I was around a lot of SC legends and music industry legends and was unsure if I had what it took. I was still dealing with depression at the time. Despite all that I finally decided to start recording and just kept pushin and here we are now.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?
Just establishing myself as a professional artist. There are millions of rappers so separating myself and standing out was really a hurdle until I started figuring out how the industry really worked. It takes time to build a solid brand and I always understood that branding is an essential element for success.
My mindset had to be different. I couldn’t operate in all the same ways I use to move when I was in the streets. I had to learn the business side of music as well as be an artist. I had to become the CEO of myself and operate as a business. This industry is 95% business and 5% talent. So you have to stay on top of the business side. That is if you ever want to make money off your music, brand, image, and name.
The indie route is hard, but in the end, it can be more lucrative for us as artists to stay indie. I came a long way from the streets needless to say. Thanks for chopping it up with me LA Note much love. I appreciate y’all. And if you’re reading this be interview sure and get my album Trap Bible, it’s on all major platforms and follow me on social media to stay up to date. Bless up.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
Jay Z, Elon Musk & Mark Zuckerberg
List the direct links/URL to your social media profiles so people can follow you:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nomadmrmurkcity/
- YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/NomadMrMurkCity
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NomadMrMurkCity
- Official Website: www.NomadMrMurkCity.com