Social Club has grown to prominence over the past few years thanks to one of Christian hip hop’s most devoted fan bases, the Misfits.
However, Marty and FERN did not intentionally start a movement, which then attracted fans. Their fans started the movement.
“Why do artists make a movement before they even make music?” FERN said. “No one knows you but your mom and dad.”
Early in Social Club’s career, Marty and FERN simply embraced what their fans were calling them, “misfits.”
“Fans would be like, ‘You guys are so different than everything coming out,’” Marty said. “For us, we never really care what anybody else is doing. We just want to make music for the misfits.”
Fast forward to 2014, and as Marty and FERN thought about how to approach their next album, their artistic instinct was to create a new sound. Their focus quickly shifted, though.
“Why are we trying to make up a new style of music when God’s already called us to do something different — to reach the misfits?” Marty said.
This is what US, Social Club’s album that will be released on March 24, is about — being who God called you to be.
Social Club has noticed many recent attempts to launch movements in Christian hip hop, and Marty said most resemble that of the Misfits, the 116, God Over Money, Humble Beast and WLAK. Rather than bringing a new mission to the table, he said, they do the same thing with a different name. These movements were successful, though, because they were organic and found specific lanes.
“You don’t need a movement to be dope,” Marty said. “Kendrick [Lamar], Sia and even someone like Beck don’t have movements. It’s about finding your lane and just sticking to it.”
Social Club became what Marty described as “laser focused” on its target audience. He hopes US will encourage artists and fans alike to be themselves, which he believes will result in a broader reach.
“That’s how the body [of Christ] works,” he said. “I think that there’s something beautiful about embracing who God’s called you to be, and that is what this album is about. If we don’t embrace diversity of people in the body of Christ, we’re going to fail because we’re not here to reach one people. We’re here to reach the world.”
On Tuesday, Social Club released the first two singles for US, “Heavy Hand” and “Sky Lanterns.” A third single, “Bad Advice,” will be available for download once pre-orders begin in late February.
