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ThatdudeMCFLY Interview
RnB/Hip Hop | Sunday 15th September 2013 | Natasha
‘‘Music has always been a form of therapy just as much as laughter’’
-Marlon Palmer-
You may know him as ThatdudeMCFLY, or maybe you know him by his real name, Marlon Palmer or perhaps as the ghetto fabulous, ‘Marleesha.’ However you know him it is more than likely this Canadian based comedian has been responsible for your endless hours and late nights on YouTube. However or wherever you’ve heard of him he has probably had you laughing until your jaw hurts or at some point, had you singing along with ‘Girls Love Instagram’.
Marlon’s YouTube channel has nearly 14 million views and over 90,000 subscribers. The channel shows no signs of slowing down as Marlon proves that laughter is highly contagious. Spreading from country to country, laughter can be heard from all corners of the world as his YouTube channel, ‘ThatdudeMCFLY’ goes from strength to strength. Watching a variety of Marlon’s videos it’s clear that there is an abundance of appreciation for hip-hop, so we caught up with him to talk favourite artists, verses and all things hip-hop related.
We have seen comedians connect comedy and music closely in the past and continue to see this mix more frequently. In Kings of Comedy, Steve Harvey referred to a selection of love songs and played them to his audience. Kevin Hart has introduced himself as rapper, ‘Chocolate Droppa’ and responded to Kendrick Lamar’s verse on ‘Control’. When it comes to music and comedy Marlon says, ‘‘I feel like everyone is influenced and connected by music in their own way. Comedians go through a lot of personal stuff just like everyone else and music has always been a form of therapy just as much as laughter.’’
Marlon has a number of parody songs and videos including, ‘Girls Love Instagram’ and ‘Rob Ford’. Cleverly constructed these videos will leave you laughing for more and with Drakes album, Nothing Was the Same about to drop we asked if we could expect another parody video? ‘‘No doubt. I’m already working on something’’ Marlon assured us as we patiently wait for September, 24th.
Marlon’s earliest memory of hip-hop was the track, ‘La Di Da Di’ released in 1985 by Slick Rick, ‘‘I loved it!’’ claimed Marlon. The first hip-hop album he went on to buy was Jay Z’s Blueprint 2 which was released in 2002. It’s no surprise then, when we asked Marlon who his top 3 hip-hop artists of all time were Jay Z made it on the list along with Biggie and Eminem, two undeniably significant artists in hip-hop.
In the ‘MTV VMA 2013 Review’ Marlon stated, ‘‘Justin Timberlake gave the best performance that he has ever seen.’’ Not so popular though was an award moment that has since haunted Marlon, ‘‘unfortunately I’m still scarred with the memory of the Lil Mama/Jay Z incident.’’ Although ‘Lip Gloss’ by Lil Mama is Marleesha’s favourite hip-hop track it seems not even JT’s performance can erase this Lil Mama memory, ‘‘I can’t think past it, I may need therapy.’’
Marlon recently added another insightful video to an already impressive collection. In the video ‘John River’, Marlon talks about ‘good’ music. When we asked Marlon what constitutes ‘good’ hip-hop for him Marlon told us that, ‘‘good hip-hop is not only having the courage to try something new but to be successful at it at the same time.’’ Marlon continues to evolve and perfect his skills while having a unique style and approach to his work. So it is understandable that he talks about this same method being used in the equation for good hip-hop too. ‘‘Creating your own voice and style is very important, especially in a day and age where it seems like everyone is so copy pasted, it’s refreshing.’’
Lyrics from ‘Girls Love Instagram’ are featured on Rap Genius, but how important is the lyricist in hip-hop to Marlon? ‘‘The lyricist determines who I put on a higher level when it comes to artistry. I’ll listen to a lot of artists and dance to a lot of songs, but in hip-hop, there’s only few you can really call artists.’’ Marlon continued to describe these artists as, ‘‘people that continue to push the envelope and are continually working on their craft.’’ This thought process probably explains why he has previously referenced artists like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar as ‘good’ hip-hop artists.
We all have our own sometimes personal, most prominent and unforgettable moments in hip-hop. Whether it’s your favourite performance or instantly remembering a loved one or memorable time when a certain track plays. For Marlon one moment stands out in particular, ‘‘Em’s verse on ‘Renegade.’ I thought Jigga had just murdered the first verse but then Em came back in with the most disgustingly amazing flow. It was one of my most memorable hip-hop moments without a doubt.’’ This track may have easily given Jay Z and Eminem a fast-track pass to Marlon’s ‘top 3’.
Marlon’s fan base continues to grow in the UK and worldwide, and now we’re beginning to see more stand-up we asked if there was a chance he would be visiting the UK? ‘‘I hope so!’’ Marlon told us, ‘‘I want to be out there so bad, for at least a couple of months. Heard the UK is tun up, so we’ll see.’’
Keep up-to-date with ThatdudeMCFLY on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Natasha Artwell
@NatashaArtwell
