words Alexa Wang
YourCuzMarcus (aka Marcus Haugh) to me has something special about him. He’s not just another wannabe urban pop star. He’s not like the manicured pop product of recent years and neither a packaged rebel (you know all feigned anger and hype). He’s thoughtful and he has some humility too which is not in abundance in pop parts these days.
He hails from Dublin and had a minor hit a few years back with Obey and looked to be on the cusp but then the pandemic hit. He lost his job as a bar tender and had to move back in with his dad. His music career looked to be at a dead-end but strangely this helped him, acting as a reset. He bumped into fellow music traveller Jape in a pub and this led to an intense discussion about artistry and the creative protest and led him question what he wanted to be as an artist.
“I became quite disillusioned with music over the last couple of years. When I began making music, it was because I loved the process. I enjoyed getting lost in that creative state and I never really questioned how the songs might be received by a wider audience. When I began releasing music, that started to change. I became lost in a world where the metric of a song’s worth is quantified by likes and streams. It began to feel soulless and it was a game I didn’t like playing. When the music sector grinded to a halt in 2021, it was difficult for me. But when I picked it back up again, it was purely because I enjoyed doing so. I felt no pressure regarding my output and just wanted to start getting lost in that creative state again.”
‘I think I’m scum’ seems, on the surface to be a dark song about despair. But it’s more like grasping hope from the jaws of despair. It says to me that even in those bleakest of moments you need to believe that everything is going to be alright.
YourCuzMarcus is speaking from the heart, with wit and intelligence. I hope people listen.
‘I think I’m scum’ is out now.
https://www.facebook.com/yourcuzmarcus/
https://www.instagram.com/yourcuzmarcus/
