In this episode of Testimony: A Musician’s Story I interview AOYNOM (All of You None of Me) rapper, Marc Stevens. Stevens was born in San Jose, CA. His Assyrian parents migrated from the war-torn Middle East and settled with other Assyrian immigrants in Northern California to raise a family. Stevens grew up in a culturally diverse area, and is very appreciative of that fact, “I know black, Asian, and Hispanic people. I grew up around every different kind of looking person. You realize they are just as human as you. I’m so grateful for that because people don’t get that experience in different states.”

He and his older sister attended his parent’s Eastern Orthodox church. The church members were mainly other Assyrian immigrants, so for young Stevens church attendance was mainly to get a dose of his culture. His relationship with Christ wasn’t established there, however, seeds were planted. In fact, Stevens says that it was a combination of seeds over his young life that ultimately brought him to Christ. 

The two most impactful moments happened once he graduated from high school. The summer before college he met a freestyle rapping beast, that happened to be a Christian Hip Hop rapper. The rapper’s lyricism, his dedication to Christ, and the world he introduced Stevens to blew his mind. “He started to take me out to his concerts. Bring me to his studio sessions with other Christian men of God that were so lit. And they were in the culture too. I was like how do these worlds collide? It blew my mind and opened up my heart…we did the sinner’s prayer and he led me to Jesus,” said Stevens.  

Marc Stevens accepted the Lord into his heart and then went off to UC Davis. The problem was, he didn’t know how to walk out his faith-walk. So, like most college students, he hit the campus and was searching for parties, but was intercepted by a group of college ministry students. The fact that they were kind, and really were going after Jesus on their own, and not because of the nudging of their parents struck accord with Stevens. Stevens says it was there that he really encountered Jesus for himself and He became real to him. He participated in that ministry for the remainder of his college experience and now works for that ministry on the campus of Pacific University. 

Stevens is a classically trained pianist. He hated that his parents forced him to play piano as a kid, but now he is grateful for that foundation. Once he met that Christian rapper that led him to Christ, he encouraged Stevens to rap. Stevens rapped for fun. One day he and a friend wrote an anthem for their national college ministry, and it ended up getting played heavily by other chapters across the nation. A mutual pastor friend of his and Mission ( AOYNOM founder) thought they could do something cool together and linked them up. Over time, Mission saw his growth as an artist and asked him to join AOYNOM.

One would think that since Stevens was gaining local success and paired up with solid and well-known Nor Cal CHH rappers and producers, that he would be loving making music, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. 

Marc was battling feelings of inadequacy and not belonging. He truly didn’t believe in himself to be recognized in the CHH space. In 2020 Marc didn’t want to make music anymore. He thought he would be content making music in his bedroom for fun in his spare time. Then the 2021 Rapzilla Freshman list was announced, and Marc Stevens was listed! 

In July of 2021, the first-ever Rapzilla Freshman concert took place in Atlanta, GA. Marc performed and got to represent for eight minutes on that stage who he is as a CHH rapper. Those eight minutes put a revival in his heart for making music, “I realized I was born to express myself this way and to make an impact. It was one of the best moments of my life.”

Key Points In Interview:

1:26 -  Marc Stevens shares his First Music Memory - Ludacris “Area Codes”.

3:50 - His Assyrian parents migrated from the war-torn Middle East to San Jose, CA. 

5:00 - Why he appreciates the cultural diversity of the Bay Area. “I know black, Asian, Hispanic people. I grew up around every different kind of looking person. You realize they are just as human as you. I’m so grateful for that because people don’t get that experience in different states.”

11:40 - Marc shares his Christian Testimony. How a former heroin-addicted Christian rapper led him to Christ, and how college ministry kept him in Christ.  

18: 00 - Meeting his wife during college ministry

18:51 - God’s presence in his life personally. 

20:00 -  Trending on Twitter - DVSN and Ty Dollar Sign’s joint album, and the popularity of joint albums. “People need a little bit more diversity. Have different textures of verses. Great melody of having multi-artist on tracks. Shows we are made for relationships. Bible has been coming out with joint projects. Two are greater than one. A triple-braided cord is not aslant broken. Bible has been on that hype,” said Stevens.

23:30 - Mar shares his music start. He talks about being classically trained on the piano, making a national anthem for his college ministry, and signing to Mission’s AOYNOM. 

31:45 - Marc shares how the 2021 Rapzilla Freshman concert experience put a revival in his heart for music. 

38:15 - He talks about how actor Kel Mitchell (All That, Good Burger) showed Instagram love for his song “Say That Then”. 

56:08 - 4-Song-Break-Down: “Yeah Right” “Say That” feat. Porsha Love, “Run Up”, and “We the Wave” feat. Mission  

References Mentioned In This Interview By Marc Stevens:

• AOYNOM

• UC Davis

• Pacific University

• Ludacris

• The Breakfast Club

• Rapzilla Freshman

Suggested Artists Testimonies Mentioned By Marc Stevens:

• Elijah Jaron

• Zdiorx

Connect with Marc Stevens

Instagram: @marc.stevie