The Cleveland Daily Banner Sunday, January 10, 2016 | Page 57

www.clevelandbanner.com Cleveland Daily Banner—Sunday, January 10, 2016—57 SUNDAY PeoPle Gwen Swiger Associate Editor Phone [phone] or fax [phone] [email protected] ‘Unknown Reality’ Sheriff’s Office Eric Watson Bradley County Sheriff HIstoric pictures of public servants Marquise Tibbs sharing dream, music By CHET GUTHRIE Banner Intern From a basement in the Cleveland suburbs came a man with a dream of writing and singing music and a dream to share what came from his heart and soul. Marquise Tibbs, who has lived in Cleveland his entire life, said God, art and people are what makes his upcoming mixtape, “Unknown Reality,” a promising success. The precursor to Tibbs’ song writing began when he was in the second grade writing poetry, which further developed into lyrics and eventually music. “I refuse to be put in a box, I don’t want anybody to label me as a rapper. I want to be known as an artist,” Tibbs said. At first, Tibbs was not successful at his work. “I was horrible, but my mom one day helped me write one about my sister who had passed. I still wasn’t really good. I had stuttering problems, but then in seventh grade I wrote a poem and I read it and I realized, ‘Wow this is pretty good,’” Tibbs said. “So, after that I just kept writing and writing. I ended up with a bunch of stuff like this over the years.” Tibbs has a box full of song lyrics going back several years. As he is developing his own music career, Tibbs is planning to invest in a studio and help other music artist achieve their dreams. Tibbs said he draws inspiration for his music from his life experiences and his relationship with God. “Everyone I’ve met they’ve pretty much influenced me to become more structured and actually talk about something that matters,” Tibbs said. “My main drive is God. God definitely plays a part in my life. It’s weird because once I started studying His Word things started to get easier for me.” Tibbs described his upcoming mixtape as a self-portrait. “I’m giving you some personal details. I’m giving you some true facts about my self. I have one song called ‘Selfish Soul’ which is the song I’m going to work on next. I have the lyrics. I’m just going over it so I can match the emotion,” Tibbs said. According to Tibbs, the song is about his brother always getting in trouble and going in and out of the court system. “My goal with the mixtape is to remind people of what’s important — to remind people what they have and what they should build off,” he said. Tibbs’ mixtape. which is set to release Feb. 22, will feature 10-12 songs. He has completed five tracks so fa