Walking to the Rock on a chaotic Sunday afternoon, one would not notice Marvin “Marvelous” Henderson in the middle of the crowd at first glance. But sit down and have a conversation with Henderson and his unforgettable alter ego GoMaRvelous emerges.
“Ninety-five percent of the day, I’m GoMaRvelous,” he said. “You never really balance it; it balances itself. You can’t mix one character with another.”
That is the unique thing about the artist GoMaRvelous and Marvin Henderson: they coexist in the same person. GoMaRvelous is a man full of bravado and a self-confidence that verges on arrogance. He doesn’t want to get tethered to the University of Miami fraternity, but he gained his national recognition with a song centered around UM. He does not want to be classified or concern himself with the mainstream, but he wants to win a Grammy.
To some, the name Marvelous may sound familiar. In fact, it should jump out to those who have ever heard, thought about listening to, or been told about the 7th Floor Crew. They made an eponymous, bawdy rap song about the sexual exploits of various Miami football players. The song, never meant for release, was leaked on campus and eventually drew national attention. GoMaRvelous was the producer, co-writer and one of the artists on the record.
“That was such a long time ago,” GoMaRvelous said. “It’s 2009…as for my career I’m really serious now, it’s for real now.”
Recently, GoMaRvelous created a record label, TheEmpire Records and has one artist signed to his label, UpFIRst. He has his own Web site www.gomarvelous.com and an upcoming single called “ThatGirl.” He is no longer just a producer who makes music just for fun and that is what spurred him to start his own record label.
Music was not always what GoMaRvelous wanted, though. Football was his first love, and he asserts that the music chose him. He felt that he was destined to play football and cites his mother as the driving force behind his music.
GoMaRvelous has a unique sound, and he has no formal musical training. Urban rock may be the closest applicable genre, but even the artist himself doesn’t want to describe his sound.
“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to classify myself, I was hoping I could let iTunes do that,” he said.
He draws inspiration from everything around him and his life experiences.
“I think everything that we know is from something else that we know or something else that we experienced, and that’s the way I feel about music. Everything influences me, it’s not just one thing. Being around music point blank, that’s how I’m moved,” he said.
Call him selfish, but GoMaRvelous makes music for himself, not for any fans.
“I don’t worry about what people say,” he asserts. “My music is a direct download and that’s why it’s always on point. Songs back in the day were popular because they were real, and all of my songs are real…and there’s always a market for real.”