To have endurance under hardship takes patience. In Arabic, this definition comes in the term of “sabr”. Understanding this meaning more than most is Newtown’s very own Marnz Malone.
He spent his childhood in Spanish Town, but his adolescence sees him hailing the flag high for Birmingham under troubled circumstances. Whilst his conditions of being behind bars can be demoralising, it’s not stopped Marnz’s route towards success and Sabr has been welcomed with open arms.
The latest body of work serves as storytelling at its finest. We’re invited into the cold world of Marnz Malone, who is persevering through his own struggles, whilst delivering infectious flows to showcase that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel.
With Sabr out everywhere now, GRM Daily exclusively speaks to Marnz Malone on the latest tape, evolving through music, working with Chip and much more.
Let’s begin with your new mixtape Sabr, what do you want your listeners to feel when they listen to the tape?
“I want them to feel me. The tape is just me. The whole having to have patience, the stories that I’m telling on this tape, I want them to feel it.”
For those that don’t know what Sabr means, could you explain the meaning and what was the reasoning for yourself to make this the project title?
“It’s Arabic for patience. Essentially, I was going to call the tape Maktub 2. The picture on the front cover is five years later from the Maktub cover. It was me saying that I had to be patient to get here. Not only that, it’s been a year since my last project, I’m having to be patient in the situation and scenario that I’m in now. I’m patiently waiting to come home. I feel like it was the perfect name for the tape. We’ve all had to have patience, we’ve all had to have sabr. It’s the one thing we’ve had in common in the year that’s gone by.”
Tina’s Boy peaked at 6 in the UK Hip-Hop Albums chart, can this tape go one step further?
“I’m my own competition. My goal is to do better than the last one each time. I’m very happy to run the marathon. As long as I’m my own competition and I keep doing better than I did the last time, that’s all I want bro.”
Going back to Sabr, the project has 12 tracks. How long was the recording process?
“You know what, I’ll be so real, I recorded half of Sabr before I dropped Tina’s Boy. The other half, I recorded last year. You know you live your life and you have different stories to tell? One half was how I was thinking in one prison. In between that time, I got shipped to maximum security and I wasn’t able to be as active as I was before. I was just recording but the other half was what I needed to complete the project.”
Sabr features the likes of Chip, KayMuni and NorthSideBenji. Why was it important to have these artists feature?
“Each artists brings their own flavour to the song. Of course, I grew up listening to Chip, that’s a feature I always wanted. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a song that they expected. I wanted it be something memorable and makes you feel something instead of just being a moment in time. With KayMuni and the “I Hate January” song. There’s a deeper meaning. We were both there and both experienced what we were talking about together. It felt perfect to have him on that song. With NorthSideBenji, I’m locked into Canada and I’ve got the link over there. They tapped in and it ended up on the tape.”
What is that feeling like to be inside, but knowing you’ve built these connections musically around the world?
“It’s mad init? I feel excited. It’s so surreal that sometimes I have to catch myself and just say sabr. It’s bittersweet, because I’m locked in with all these people, but I’ve not met them or experienced moments with them. If we were able to shoot videos or record in the studio, it would be a different experience, but I’m still grateful to have these people locked in, show support and support the trenches.”
If we reflect on your 2023 release Maktub, did you expect that the project would be so successful and how has Marnz Malone evolved in between these two tapes?
“That’s a brilliant question bro! When I made Maktub, I was in probably the most optimistic mind that I’ve been in so far. I remember going to the block, the segregation unit. Whilst I was down there, I read a book that KB gave me to read. In that book, was the word Maktub and I became fascinated with it. I done my own research and it meant “It was written”. The stories that I’m telling on the tape and the whole story of where I’ve got to so far, after getting stabbed, coming to prison, my friends getting life, my friend’s dying all in this short space of time. At that time, it was 3-4 years. Maktub felt like the perfect way to describe how I felt at the time. When everyone kept asking how I feel about being successful, it felt like this is what God had written for me. My story had to be written. My shawty’ always says to me “If you didn’t know you, half the stuff you say, you would think you got it out of a movie!” My life is really like a movie!”
You were born in Jamaica before moving to Birmingham. Was there anyone in your childhood years that inspired you to make music and can you recall your first time being involved with music?
I’m from Newtown, Aston area. People like Stardom, Zimbo, Sid Capone were the older people from my area and I looked up to them heavy as a kid. Their music influenced how I thought and dressed. The first time I ever actually rapped to anyone, my boy Muni, he was into rapping. Birmingham was very West Coast, heavy influenced. It was a thing. With Minnie, he used to rap whenever I was with him. I wanted to make sure I had bars to show him! I wrote some bars, spat them to the mandem and that’s my first memory of actually spitting bars.”
What currently is your go-to track from the tape?
“My go-to right now is “Dwight Manfredi”. My personal favourite is “Old News Pt. 2” with Sharna Bass. It’s a song for the girls really but that’s my personal favourite! “Even Cold Hearted World 4” lyrically. I can’t play either of them once as a consumer. I listen to my music as a consumer not as Marnz. When I’m listening to it, they’re the ones that get me gassed.”
What is your process when it comes to making a track and what would you say is the biggest difference in terms of creating music being behind bars?
“Firstly, I don’t write with the beat. That’s the difference with me. I’m not influenced on the beat, I’m telling my truth and then putting it on the beat. I’ll write whatever I’m feeling, then I’ll find the beat, put it on and then the recording process. I’m not in a studio setting, it’s a difference process.”
Finally, what advice do you have for those trying to pursue a career in music?
“My advice is to be authentic, be real to yourself. Be your own competition. Don’t try to run before you can even crawl. The best advice I could give you is to not look at other people’s journeys. Everyone has their own unique journey. It might take me 10 years where someone got there in 10 days. As I said in “Cold Hearted 1”, It’s not about who did it first, it’s about endurance. Make sure you’re true to yourself and consistency is also key.”
You can listen to Marnz Malone latest mixtape Sabr which is out now on all digital streaming platforms.