Marius DC just turned 18 years old this year, but in the Faroe Islands he is already a household name. The young rapper has been collecting local awards and nominations since he was 16, played a solid amount of club shows and festivals, and this year he made it all the way to the top of the podium at Sement, the Faroese talent contest.

We had a quick chat with Marius after his first ever show outside of the Faroe Islands. And this wasn’t just any show. Marius got to be the first Faroese artist ever to play at the New Skool Rules, a showcase festival in Rotterdam that claims to be the biggest and most important one for the urban scene outside the US.

So, Marius. Welcome back! The obvious question first. How did it go?!

Really, really good. I’m actually surprised everything worked out as well as it did, considering the fact that it was my first international gig, and in a country I’ve never been to at all.

How many days where you there for, and what did you do over there?

I arrived on Thursday (Oct 6th), performed on Friday, and spent the rest of the weekend networking, jamming with the other artists, and taking part in a few of the masterclasses that New Skool Rules had to offer.

Did you meet any interesting people?

I think it’d be easier to name the uninteresting people I met. Not a single artist disappointed me with their performance. Dozens of unique, driven people all working towards a shared goal of building up hip hop culture. Aside from the performers, there were a couple of industry heavy hitters in attendance during the festival as well. I was lucky enough to get in contact with legendary producer Troy Taylor (Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin) and Focus… (Dr Dre, Eminem) both of whom gave incredibly positive feedback. Performing was amazing, but the networking was really the highlight of the weekend for me.

What did you learn from the experience? Anything you should have done differently?

My biggest takeaway was the importance of visuals. Everyone with experience in the music business was very serious about hammering home the importance of a strong image, and the role that music videos and social media play in that. As far as things I would’ve done differently, there were a couple of masterclasses I was interested in attending that I wasn’t able to make, so I’ll try to be more punctual next time.

New Skool Rules is obviously just a first step since it´s your first showcase festival and first show abroad, but what do you hope to gain from it?

Following up with some of the artists and promoters I met is of course a perk, but the experience I got with regard to organizing and planning a trip like this was priceless. I’m really looking forward to future international shows, and taking some of the knowledge I got from this trip into account.

What are the next steps for Marius DC?

Two major steps are coming very soon, firstly the release of my two sided single “Flex - Fleks”, which will be my first attempt at releasing a song in two languages at the same time. I’m really excited to see the response for that track. On top of that I have what might be my biggest opportunity ever coming up, performing at Iceland Airwaves in November. For this gig I’m bringing my full live band with me, and I cannot wait to take the stage in Reykjavik.

Thanks, Marius! And good luck at Iceland Airwaves!

Follow Marius DC on https://www.facebook.com/mariusdcofficial / https://www.instagram.com/mariusdamchr/

Photo is borrowed from Marius´ instagram.