Marcus Smith

Marcus Smith is a rapper, singer, and songwriter born and raised in Cleveland, OH. After 15 years in hip-hop bands Black & Broke and SANKURO, Smith is now navigating the music scene as a solo artist.


Smith is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist. Starting with piano when he was 14, he learned a new instrument each summer for five years, including guitar, bass, ukulele, and drums. As a kid, Marcus Smith would sit in his room trying to imitate his favorite artists Weird Al Yankovic and Hanson and their influence comes through in his witty lyrics and affinity for harmonies.

“Music is such an important part of my family, with 7 of my 9 siblings involved in music in some shape or form. I love that I can make the music that I love while representing the Smith family name; specifically honoring my dad and older brother by way of our shared name Marcus.”

Marcus Smith released his first official EP, #Bananas in 2014, the follow up EP, #Pudding in 2016, and in 2019 his debut solo album, NILLA (an acronym for "Now, I'm Living Life Again.”) Taking care of 70% of the production himself, the album mixes some Childish Gambino inspired hip-hop with Bruno Mars inspired crooning and is 100% Marcus Smith.

In July 2020, Marcus released an EP titled Milky Way Lover and is currently working on his sophomore album (currently untitled) scheduled to release in the first half of 2022.

While Marcus Smith may not yet be a household name, he has been grinding in the Northeast Ohio music scene for 17 years and shows zero plans to stop.