What’s the origin behind your name? Where are you from?
I was born in Queens, NY, lived in Philadelphia, PA between the ages of 4-10, and the majority of my life grew up in Bridgeport, CT. The story of my name goes like this. My brother Saint Luey and I created our brand Deadrose after he and I were in a car accident in 2017. Lucky to make it out alive, we graciously took the second chance God gave us to live and decided to take the music more seriously to the point where we can find success and give our families better lives. Martell is my legal last name, and Martell is what people call me outside of my family. I used to come up with different names for myself as an artist and one day decided to take a more genuine approach and just go with my real name. Martell Frm Deadrose.
What moment in hip hop has stood out to you the most?
I fell in love with hip hop at a young age. I can’t really think of a specific moment that stood out necessarily, however I do recall the time period where I was really drawn into music. I was only 10 years old when Lil Wayne release Tha Carter III, and at this point Wayne was in his prime. Wayne had a certain charisma to him, and a certain style in his music that I was intrigued by. To me there was nobody in the game that was better than Weezy (debatable but I was a naïve 10 year old kid, I didn’t care what anybody thought), and it was that album that made me want to be a rapper in the future.
If you weren’t doing hip hop what would you be doing ?
That’s easy. I would be a wrestler. I got a suplex for anybody that want to come get it.
If you could work with anyone in the industry who would it be?
I need a verse from Wayne for sure, that’s on my bucket list.
What is your creative process? Do you write or freestyle your rhymes?
I never freestyle. I write and structure every song I do. That’s just my artistry.
What do you have going on right now? (Merch, Music, Events, Collabs, etc)
December 18th is the slated release date for my first official full-length project, Live By The Rose executively produced by Ditty Broker. I got some heavy-hitters on the album all from CT, like Showly and Krayze White, and I already got summer on lock with a banger featuring Lex Bubble. I also got a few videos on the way, and working with people outside my city like Joshua Blu from New Haven.
What’s one thing you wish someone told you about the music industry which would have drastically changed your career?
I wish someone had put me on about music business early on. I was very young when I started writing music, and I never cared to profit off music I always just did it for fun and it was all I was ever good at. As I grew older, I learned more and more, and now that I have a daughter in the picture I think now was a good time to take it more seriously. If only I knew then what I knew now.
Superhero or Villain?
Villain for sure. Without the bad guys, there is no story to be told.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In five years, I’ll be settled down living comfortably providing for my family and at the same time evolving into an artist that is undeniable to the masses.
Where can people connect with you?
People can follow me @savemartell on Instagram and Twitter.