Groovyie Explores Growth, Vulnerability, and the Weight of His Roots on ‘MARCUS 2’

Inland Empire hip-hop artist Groovyie continues carving out his place in independent rap with MARCUS 2, an eight-track project blending jazz rap, soulful R&B, and deeply personal storytelling. Building on his previous album, MARCUS, the release explores romantic uncertainty, masculinity, financial independence, and the complicated realities of personal growth.

There's something refreshing about an artist who isn't interested in pretending he has everything figured out. Throughout MARCUS 2, Groovyie embraces vulnerability without sacrificing confidence, pairing honest lyricism with warm melodies, jazz-influenced production, and laid-back grooves.

Opening track “On Me” introduces listeners to the project before “Need You” explores romantic longing and the frustration of wanting a connection that isn't always reciprocated. “Cutless Supreme” digs deeper into Groovyie's upbringing, reflecting on a time when financial limitations meant borrowing clothes to maintain his personal style.

The album continues with “My Dawg,” “You Never Know,” and “I'm Good,” before closing with “Son in Jail” and “Desiree.” Together, the eight tracks create a personal listening experience rooted in the relationships, experiences, and circumstances that shape Groovyie's perspective.

What makes MARCUS 2 compelling is its refusal to present success as a finish line. Instead, Groovyie recognizes that moving forward doesn't mean forgetting where you came from. Following a sold-out performance at The Airliner in Los Angeles, Groovyie continues building momentum as an independent artist.

MARCUS 2 continues the story you started with MARCUS. Looking back at who you were when you created the first album, what has changed most about your perspective on yourself and the world around you? 

The first MARCUS album came from a lot of pain. You can kinda hear it in my vocal tone and the type of beats I picked. It's all very dramatic - either hardcore beats with super extra lyrical storytelling or very somber sounds to encompass resentment I didn't deal with, which was the whole point. I wanted to poke my chest out a lot in the first 'MARCUS ' album.

'MARCUS 2' I calmed down. I started teaching creative writing in juvenile halls when I wasn't making music and realized that my story isn't monolithic - a lot of kids share my story too. That brought empathy, and that made me revisit some of the same stories from the first 'MARCUS' album, and pretty much rewrite them. A lot less pointing the finger, and a lot more showing compassion and understanding. Never realized how privileged I was to actually be able to even tell these stories.

“Cutless Supreme” revisits a time when financial limitations shaped your everyday experiences. Now that you’re in a different position, how has your relationship with money, success, and personal identity evolved?

ANSWER: To be honest, growing up I was obsessed with things like jewelry; I even still always wear a watch, bracelet, necklace, ring, and earrings any time you see me. But I think now I've realized that my deepest joys come from shit/stuff that's free. Lying in the park looking up at the leaves, 21 questions with a friend at a cafe, reading on my couch, time with my lil sister in The Bay. I don't really concern myself with much else in my personal life. I just bought my mom her first LV bag, though, and that made me happy that she was happy.

There’s an interesting contrast between the laid-back, soulful atmosphere of your music and the heavier emotional subjects you’re addressing. How intentional is that balance, and what draws you toward jazz rap and R&B as vehicles for your storytelling?

It was very intentional. Just from the response of the online crowd who just play the music on their phones to the people who came to a show to see me play with a full jazz band, it was pretty evident that my message comes across better when people can vibe with the music and digest the soulful melodic tones more easily. But it makes sense; I'm no hardcore tough guy anyways. I thought me loving hardcore street rappers like Pusha-T, Freddie Gibbs, Jeezy, or Jadakiss would mean that I should go the same route - but it didn't really work out. I'm naturally a chill, wavy, lover boy at heart anyways. So I think just living that truth in the music helps it be received better. As long as the message gets across, it's not really about the messenger.

You’ve spoken about survivor’s guilt and the complicated reality of finding success while people from your hometown continue facing challenges. How do you navigate that responsibility without allowing it to overshadow your own accomplishments? I actually just reached out to a few of those people the week of me doing this interview, so that's funny you ask. I think I've just been feeling this guilt for so long and wasn't ready to address this topic with people face to face until now. I even hit up my friend that I got arrested with back in 2009; I haven't talked to him since. At this point I'm just open to whatever my homie's responses are; whether it's resentment, praise, laughs, tears, awkward silence, whatever. I don't really think these things overshadow anything in my life, though; my accomplishments don't really make me feel any different about these types of things that actually keep me up at night, so they're pretty mutually exclusive in my head. Some of my homies said they've been peepin and they're proud of me, though.

With a sold-out Los Angeles performance behind you and MARCUS 2 marking another chapter in your development, what parts of your artistry are you most interested in pushing further, whether musically, visually, or personally?

I'm really leaning into my Brown Skin Baby LLC; collaborating with a few groups on college campuses and sponsoring some of their community events, selling and vending the merch, collaborating with other artists, and really building out the infrastructure of BSB. I think this will be something that even outgrows my personal musicianship. I'm actually in talks about curating shows that would be a BSB production, so I think that speaks volumes to the potential that could come. At the end of the day, the goal was never to be the next Nas. I wanna be the next Babyface, or LA Reid, or Pharrell Williams - I really want to build infrastructure for artists to grow and hopefully have an ongoing impact for communities of color in the arts. I think the rollout and reception of these last 2 albums really have shown me my greatest strength - connection. So I just wanna connect the dots. 'MARCUS 3' is on the way, though, in case that was the expected answer.