An Interview With Rising New Jersey Artist Mark McCafferty

This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Mark McCafferty. A New Jersey based artist who has been making a splash across the world! We spoke to Mark about his inspirations, working with family, and his latest EP titled “Bluem”.

Q: What’s up Mark! How you been holding up during these crazy times?

Mark: I’ve been good generally. Lots of stuff is going on within my family so I’ve been taking my time to relax a bit & ease my mind because your mental process in these times is what’s most important. Although my thoughts are still focused around my dreams at all times. I’ve been really focused on pushing this work I’ve been holding onto out for all of my supporters who have been super patient.

Q: I can hear that old school New Jersey sound in your production and bars, who are some artists locally that may have inspired you growing up, and when did you start making music?

Mark: When I was growing up there weren’t many Jersey artists that I knew of that really sparked my interest other than Fetty Wap, but when it comes to inspiration in more of my recent years I have to give credit to Mir Fontane, Franky Hill, Ish Williams & Ant Beale. You can tell they put so much time into their craft, it motivated me to do the same. I started taking music seriously when I stepped into a professional studio for the first time during my freshman year of high school. Although, I’ve been writing lyrics with my older cousin & by myself for as long as I can remember.

Q: What’s it like working with your brother Brenden McCafferty? Perfect team, or do you find yourselves butting-heads sometimes like most siblings?

Mark: I don’t feel like we’re like most siblings, typically siblings are argumentative & short tempered with each other. It’s rather something close to a miracle. Growing up, he was the guy I always looked up to. So obviously when that’s the case it’s hard not to grow up with the same type of interests. We’ve always been a good team, we won our varsity ice hockey championship together our last two years together in high school. We butt heads very rarely, but it’s all apart of our process. Two brains is better than one. Never do we let it get to a point to where it will break the strong bond that we’ve always had. That’s my right hand right there, and we’ll most definitely be displaying more of our work sooner than later. Only then will you be able to see how well we truly work together.

Q: Do your parents support yours and your brother’s music career?

Mark: Of course. At first they were reluctant, like most parents would usually feel. The route we were always so confident in taking seemed a little too good to be true for them. They always believed in us, but as a parent you have to honestly question: how will you maintain yourself — financially and emotionally — while investing all of your money into becoming the next big rapper? It’s not an easy task for anyone I don’t think, but they’ve always had an honest form of trust in us. Eventually they began to see how we carried ourselves as young men pursuing a future in the music industry. They saw how serious we were taking our brand, our marketing, the music itself, the financial aspect, etc. so once we proved to them how bad we really wanted it they were right behind us supporting fully. Parents just want to put their kids in a position to succeed and make sure they have what they need for the real world. Our parents did that, we are forever grateful & in the process of returning the favor.

Q: Following the release of your highly anticipated EP “Bluem”, how do you feel the project was received by fans?

First and foremost, I have to thank everyone for even taking the time to listen to Bluem. Whether they enjoyed it or not. I appreciate anyone who gave me their ear & a half hour of their time. I believe the message was definitely received well, by the ones who truly were attempting to hear it thoroughly. The feedback I’ve been getting exceeded my expectations. I’m truly honoured to be able to bring this music to all my supporters. This project was written throughout a large span of time, before & in the middle of all of this COVID stuff, so emotions were flying all over the place. I was learning a lot about myself, my deeply rooted trust issues, people’s intentions, my family matters, life in itself, etc. It would be wrong of me if I didn’t release the songs I completely emptied my mind out on while going through some of the worst experiences of my lifetime so far. I know tons of people are going through really similar things. That’s the essence of why I make the music in the first place.

Q: What’s the long term goal for Mark McCafferty?

Mark: As of right now, the long term goal is to just keep my fans positive, open their minds up, hopefully give them something to look forward to during this dark time. I also wanna show that anybody can do what we’re doing, as long as you love it enough & are willing to put the time in.

Q: What can we expect from you next?

Mark: I want to serve up my next few pieces of work on a silver platter for my supporters who deserve it. I have a lot of music ready to go, now we just have to take the time to plan & execute it in the correct way. You’ll just have to wait and see, but there is no reasonable doubt in my mind that what is coming next will be special. We also have some features that I’m confident people will enjoy.

That wraps up the interview with Mark McCafferty, I would like to thank Mark himself for taking the time to chat with us! Also, a huge thank you to Jonathan Wigfall for lining us up with one of New Jersey’s hottest prospects! Don’t forget to check out some of Mark’s music below!

Interview By: Colton Kopacz!

Follow Mark McCafferty on Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/markmccafferty_/
https://twitter.com/MarkMcCafferty_

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