Two of the brightest rising stars in the hip-hop scene are a pair of rappers, Marty and Fern, better known as Social Club. Hailing from Miami, they released their first album, "Misfits," in 2012. Their most recent album, "Misfits 2," debuted in the top 10 on the rap charts and features the breakout hit "Cops." I sat down with Marty and Fern to discuss their music, comic books and time travel.
Q: Before we talk about the music, let's talk about your personal beginnings.
Fern: I was born in Puerto Rico and raised in church as a pastor's kid but, unfortunately, went my own way. I'm thankful for that upbringing because it guided me back to where I knew I was supposed to be, like a GPS. I had the knowledge of right and wrong, but I wanted to go my own way and landed in prison before I came back to Christ.
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Marty: I was born in New York, and I was always kind of a loner. A pretty girl invited me to church, and I went because she was pretty. Don't judge me, at least I was there. If I hadn't gone to church because of that girl, who knows what would have happened. Use your powers for good, ladies.
Q: How did the two of you meet to form Social Club?
Fern: There are about six versions of how it happened.
Marty: I was in a rap group called M.O.G., and Fern was spamming me on Twitter, sending me his demo. I had just gone through a messy church situation, and we started doing stuff just to vent our frustrations. One thing led to another, and here we are.
Q: If you could go back in time, what would you tell the 14-year-old you?
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Fern: A lot of crazy things went down when I was 15, so I would say to stay the course and follow God. It would save a lot of mistakes and heartache.
Marty: I would tell myself that the people that I think matter, really don't. All those people in high school that I tried to impress and fit in with are gone. The only friend I have from those days is Gawvi, and he's now a producer for Reach Records.
Q: While we are in the time machine, who from the past would you like to talk to?
Marty: My uncle Bobby. He knew that family was important. He did crazy stuff, lived life to the fullest and didn't care what people thought.
Fern: Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. used to chill together a lot, and I would go to them and share the gospel. That might have turned things around. I believe they could be great leaders today if things had been different.
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Q: Marty, you have been holding a comic book for this entire interview, are you a big fan of comics?
Marty: I've always loved comic books. I actually read the stories. I love (graphic) novels and boring things like that I guess. I loved Batman as a kid, and he's still my favorite superhero. My mom used to tell me that Batman and the Ninja Turtles would protect us, so I loved those comic books. For the record, I like Jim Henson's Ninja Turtles the best.
Q: Let's talk about your hit song "Cops." What's it about?
Marty: First of all, we love police officers. I want to say that right off the bat. We were playing a Haitian Independence Day festival in Florida, and the promoter told us that we weren't allowed to talk about God or the cops were going to shut us down. So we played the show, and we still did what we always do and shared our faith … and nothing happened. We called their bluff. So, that's where the line " 'til the cops shut the party down" comes from. We are going to talk about Jesus until the cops shut it down.
