Painter, fashion designer, radio show host, event producer and poet are some of the many hats Marcus Blake, aka Sosa Black, wears in his never ending quest for creative expression. Constantly stepping out of line and encouraging others to do the same, he is a rebel with and without a cause.

With the start of the new year, Marcus Blake will be releasing his fourth spoken word album, Welcome to the Renaissance, under the alias Sosa Black.

Music

Blake’s many roles have opened the gates of his imagination allowing him to express himself via several different mediums.  His colorful journey of creativity and self-expression comes full circle with the start of 2012 when he will be releasing a new album and unveiling a new art collection as The Vagabond’s Artist of the Month.

We caught up with Blake and asked him a few questions on the upcoming album…

As the host of Stone Groove, you get on the mic every Tuesday. Now that you are releasing an album, what can we expect? When can we expect it? 

Being on the mic every Tuesday night at Stone Groove sets me free. I am in the moment, so whatever and however the words come out is what it is. But producing an album requires more focus. This being my fourth spoken word album, my experience has allowed me to have it sound the way I’ve always wanted it to.

I feel like this album is my best work yet. Since the album has been finished I listen to it every day and to me it sounds worthy of classic. I think an album is beyond what anyone expects a spoken word album to be, with a unique sound and style. The album is titled Sosa Black, Welcome to the Renaissance and the release date is set for Tuesday, January 10th, 2012, at my weekly open mic,  Stone Groove, at The Vagabond.

Who is Sosa Black? How did he come about?

Sosa Black is “boarder rhymer” coming out of the RebelMpire camp. This is his first solo album. He has always been on the local Miami scene, but now it’s time to take him to the global.

Any collaborations or guest artist on the album?

Well, as far as guest artist, there aren’t any on this album maybe the next one. There some artist that I would like to collaborate with but right now the focus is on Sosa Black. All the beats for this album were produced and recorded by Fudakochi of Rocsoulfully Studio.

Which song is your favorite and why?

Its really hard to say what is my favorite song because every song on the album is so captivating. This is an album that you can listen straight through without skipping any tracks. But if I had to pick one it would be track 6, The City Is Mine, the way the track is put together just touches my soul every time I hear it. Don’t get me wrong I also feel that way about track 1,2,3,7…the whole album is banging!

Would you like to share any of your tracks with our readers on tropicult.com?

Yes! Anything for Tropicult,  you can blast the cyber world with the first track off the new album,  I Changed My Name!

And here it is…

Art

In 2011, he presented The Art of Making Love, at Wynwood Lofts during Second Saturdays Art Walk.  The collection featured Marcus Blake’s work from the last five years made with acrylic on canvas and collage.

Blake hadn’t intended on having an art show, he just so happened to have enough work and was given an opportunity to showcase it to the world.

“I am insired to create just by being alive, its something I can’t help but do. Create or Die, its all I know. I really don’t separate art and music, it all comes from the same place, art is music for the eyes and music is art for the ears. And I am an artist so I create.”

Once again, driven by his hunger to create, he is now presenting a new series of works that were inspired, as he so eloquently describes, by being alive.

Artist of the Month

Marcus Blake’s new work will be displayed at The Vagabond as the January Featured Artist of the Month. The opening reception will be held on January 14th, 2012. Complimentary cocktails will be served from 10-11pm. RSVP.