Marcus Harvey sets the tone to reveal his true self in his new sophomore album ‘Now You Know Me’ released on 5 July 2024. When he describes the album says “this journey has not only been one where I have introduced myself to the world, but one where I have also discovered who I am”.
The album comes after his EP ‘You Still Don’t Know Me’ released in 2021, through which he dived intricately into a heartening love story. This new album, however, focuses on Marcus’ identity and individuality. He explores various elements of music whilst sticking to his usual smooth, rhythmic flow and dialect of mixing English and his home language Setswana in his lyricism.
Marcus Harvey is a South African singer-songwriter, rapper and producer from Alexandra, Johannesburg. His passion for music began in his teenage years when he started out with the stage name “Hipnautik”. His journey as an up-and-coming musician saw him entering open mic sessions where he began gaining attention from his local neighbourhood and he further signed a record deal with Tales Of The Cool Music, which he also now co-owns. He credits his musical inspirations and influences as Brenda Fassie, Dolly Parton and Michael Jackson, having grown up listening to those artists.
In 2020, He released his debut album ‘I Am Marcus Harvey’ which charted at number three on the Apple Music Alternative Charts. The album dissects the topic of love and loss and the trials and adversities that young people face. In 2021, he released his debut EP ‘You Still Don’t Know Me’ which dives into the theme of love. He has extended his musical horizons in musical features having collaborated with South African rappers A-Reece and Jay Jody and South African producer 031 Choppa.
‘Now You Know Me’ consists of ten uniquely different songs. The alternation of tempo and rhythm within the songs is so meticulously curated to create a pleasurable sound. There is a great balance between the lyricism in English and vernacular, whereby his songs titled with Tswana names and words such as ‘Sechaba’, ‘Mosadi’ and ‘Lerato’ are strictly in Setswana, whilst the other singles have minimal elements of vernacular.
Marcus’ soothing vocals create a sense of serenity blended in the captivating beats. His music implements components of jazz, R&B and hip hop, his versatility is unmatched within the storytelling of his songs and his experimental taste in his music whereby he creates his own unique sound and style of music.
He shares about the relatable path of the life of a young person discussing work life, heartbreak, love and success yet his jazzy instrumentals can co-relate to the sounds of early 90’s music , further reaching a wider gap of old school music lovers and touching base on the timeless genre of jazz. His album is mostly a solo project with only one single ‘Legendary Living’ having features from South African rappers Maglera Doe Boy and 25K.
‘Now You Know Me’ is available on all music streaming platforms and the two singles ‘Malume’ and ‘Lerato’ have pre-released music videos available on YouTube.
