Aries Marquis And The Pursuit Of Timeless Hip-Hop Music

With soulful music and an iron grit, Aries Marquis has made a name for himself in the music industry. The Louisiana-based hip-hop artist recently released his latest album, “Experience”.

Musical Beginnings

Aries Marquis was born in 1987 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His love for music isn’t surprising, given the musical environment he grew up in. His father, Kenneth Johnson, was the favorite choir singer in his town’s churches. His mother, Jacki, was a choir director and singer. She was also a soloist in a band. Marquis, along with his brother, grew up singing in church choir ever since they were kids.

Marquis grew up listening to choir legends like the Hawkins Family and Daryl Coley. He was also a fan of soul singers like Anita Baker and Freddie Jackson. Growing up in the 90s, Marquis witness music from a vast range of genres. He jokingly remarks that he was even influenced by video game soundtracks!

First Tango With Destiny

Aries Marquis was singing in choir ever since he was 5. Despite this, he never tried to be a lead singer, thinking that he doesn’t have what it takes. It was only in his 12th grade that he gave his first lead performance. It was met with wild applause, confirming the talents that the young singer possessed.
However, Marquis still didn’t believe he could make a career in music. Thus, after completing his graduation, he enlisted in the US Army in 2006. During his serving days, he would occasionally sing for his fellow soldiers and draw applause. Marquis was ready to relegate his singing talents to a mere hobby, but destiny had other plans. One of his voice mails, which was a recording of him singing, went viral on the Internet. Soon, people started calling his home number just to listen to the song. When his dad found out, he realized that his son has the talent to become a successful singer.

Thus, in 2007, Aries Marquis marked his debut as a professional singer. Soon he met Renaldo Pryce, and the two made the band J2. In the next few years, J2 found rapid success in local circles. People in Louisiana were humming their songs, and local radio stations were playing their music every day.

Starting Afresh

However, things were too good to last forever. Disagreements between Pryce and the band management soon arose, and the duo decided to break up in 2010. Not the one to give up, Aries Marquis started to begin again from the start.

Over the next few years, Marquis toured across the country to give live performances. His music soon reclaimed its spot in radio stations across the country. In 2014, he released “Ole Scotlandville” featuring HeEro. The song was a big success and found a spot in the CMJ Hip-Hop charts. In the same year, he opened for the R&B legend Keith Sweat.

Marquis also continuously took part in various competitions and talent shows. With his talent, he frequently ranked among the top singers, often winning the shows. In 2013, he won the Breakout Artist award at the Independent Entertainment Summit. Since then, Marquis has been creating music that has accumulated thousands of streams on Spotify and Apple Music.

Creating Evergreen Music

As an artist, one thing remains more important for Marquis than anything else: creating timeless music. In the current times, music is reduced to a snack; it provides quick gratification, but the impact ends in a jiffy and you soon move to the next hot thing. Aries Marquis hopes to change that. His music is designed to be unique and new. In a music scene that is increasingly becoming generic, Marquis is like a fresh breeze of air.
Love and soul are prominent themes in the music of Aries Marquis. For Marquis, love is something as eternal as the music he wants to create. Thus, we get to see his beautiful renditions about timeless romance in numbers like “Drove Across the Ocean” and “Phases”. That being said, Marquis doesn’t want to be reduced to a singer who sings the same time of songs all the time. Thus, his music showcases excellent versatility, from slow jazz numbers to peppy pop songs. His latest album “Experience” displays the same passion and versatility.

“Experience” is Marquis’s first album since “Salvation: The Arrival”. Most of his music has been inspired by his life events. However, “Experience”, as the name suggests, is the culmination of all these experiences. The album is the most authentic work to understand the inner workings of Marquis’s mind.

Outlook Towards Life

It is worth noting that Marquis has been deeply influenced by the Christian faith. Growing up in a deeply religious family and singing in churches, Christian values were inculcated in him since the beginning. Even his first lead performance was the Gospel song “Blessed Assurance”. The values that Marquis drew from his faith have helped him move ahead in his career. Despite the temptations to stray from his chosen path and take the “shortcut” to success (creating generic hip-hop music), Marquis stood with his vision. The rewards were late to come, but patience was one of his strongest virtues. But slow and steady wins the race, and Marquis is definitely winning right now.

Aries Marquis wants to give the same message to other artists that he follows himself – humility. He believes that keeping your head down and focusing on your work will ultimately be more rewarding than any attention-seeking antics you could do. One of his motivations is to inspire future generations of artists. He wants to send the message that you don’t have to imitate others or chase a formula to become successful in hip-hop. Being true to yourself and having a passion for music is enough to create a name for yourself.

Currently, Aries Marquis is on a break from making music. He is taking time off to breathe and rejuvenate his creativity. But Marquis promises to return with more singles, collaborations, and even revamped versions of his previous works. His fans should be on the lookout.