It's hard to believe what people can accomplish given the right surroundings. J Marc is at a level most of us will only dream of. He broke into the recording industry as a songwriter, penning the hit "Nothin’ On You" for Bruno Mars. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between J. Marc and Jive/Zomba’s label head, and signing a recording contract but he had to refuse the deal because of complications with his mother falling ill at the time. He continued writing songs, and singing demos for popular artists and Island Records then signed him a year later.The Jam caught up with the J Marc over the past month, and had a small chat with him about his upcoming projects. Having penned, and still writing hits for some of today's biggest musical names, the man is concentrating on applying the finishing touches to his own debut which has reportedly had over 100 songs recorded for it. J Marc is currently on tour with American Grammy-Award winning singer-songwriter and record producer, The Dream and will be releasing his debut "State of Mind" at the end of July.
The Jam: Hey, J Marc. Welcome back to London, welcome home!
J. Marc: Thank you! It’s just been so hectic in the States. London seems so much more relaxing, it’s great to be back. It’s quite relieving actually.
The Jam: But you can’t get away from the limelight! We’re all really psyched for you, congratulations on getting to the Top 5 in the US Charts!
J. Marc: (laughs) I appreciate all the support from all the fans, and I know everyone says this but I really couldn’t have done it without you guys. It’s so surreal, seriously. This time two years ago, I was just a normal guy, writing lyrics in my spare time. It’s absolutely unbelievable. I’m always starstruck when I collaborate with artists I’ve always looked up to, always seen on TV and admired you know?
The Jam: We’ve watched your progress; it’s like seeing a kid grow up to be a genius, we’ve always known you had potential! Speaking of working with big artists, You recently collaborated with rapper Shad K – can you tell us about how that came about and how it went?
J. Marc: He’s always been one of my favourite rappers. I’m not exactly sure how we got hooked up, it was through his people and my people. We were moving around a lot in New York and the name is getting out there. I’ve always listened to his stuff, even since he was still underground. But he’s a real cool dude, he’s an amazing artist aswell. He’s truly inspirational.
The Jam: After the first deal didn't work out was there ever a time when you thought about pursuing another career or did you always know music was for you?
J. Marc: Until I was about 15, I'd always wanted to be a doctor. And then one day, in an English lesson, the teacher told me I had talent. Poetry, and writing were things I did for fun, for entertainment in my spare time. So when the first deal with Zomba didn't work out, I was always on the fence about the music industry. I wanted to stay around it. I just didn't know what capacity I could stay around it and the opportunity to write for Chris Brown just presented itself. But yeah, as I said, writing is something I do anyway. With or without a deal.
The Jam: How often do you write? Is it forced, or is it mainly taken from previously written material after emotional intense moments?
J. Marc: I write pretty much every single day. It’s like a daily routine. Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. As long as I’m breathing, as long as there’s people on this earth, there’s always gonna be somethin’ to write about. I’ve never had to recycle songs or topics, but the English language is so vast, there’s so many different ways to say the same thing – so there’s always a song to be written.
The Jam: What advice he would give to songwriters and artists who are trying to break into the music business?
J. Marc: For songwriters, I would say to continue to work on your melodies, and tell the best stories you can. Get with talented producers who can create the tracks and who are already working on projects. For artists, stay persistent and don’t quit. It can be a long journey trying to make it as an artist. When it happens, it happens.
The Jam: How do you feel about having other people that you’ve written for being more credited and recognised for your words that you?
J. Marc: I don’t mind at all to be honest, I wrote the song and the artists know I wrote the song, it’s just that the world doesn’t know yet. It doesn’t bother me. As long as the world hears the song, and likes it, it’s just like it’s me up there, accepting that award or whatever. It’s the same thing to me. I've written over one hundred or so songs, so it really doesn't matter. I'm concentrating on my album now.
The Jam: We are looking forward to the release of your debut. Could you tell us who’s going to be featured on your album?
RL: The concept of the album was to be self contained, and I was going to put out the album with no features at all and it just so happens that just a couple of weeks ago, we were playing with some ideas in the studio and we came up with a song called “Move Along”. That represents the only feature on my album and I figured if we are going to do features we are going to go all the way with it. That's when I called my good friend and collaborator Chris Brown. I played the record for him in the studio and he responded to it really positively, he went in and did his thing and now thats the only track to have a feature ... and it has a double feature, featuring Chris Brown and Fabolous.
The Jam: Thanks for the interview, before we end is there anything you would like to tell our readers?
J. Marc: I think we touched on everything. But I would like to thank you for featuring me. I hope that I continue to, as an artist, to provide and create material that is trustworthy and from an artistic standpoint.
J. Marc's album "State of Mind" is out on the 25th of July.
