In an age where hip-hop has been reduced to a stereotype and the term "artist" is used loosely, the culture is obviously in need of direction. Although so many rappers claim "it's a movement" or that it's "bigger than the music", for Marcel Cartier, it really is. Cartier is a 21-year old emcee, but as a founding member of the People's Revolutionary Socialist Movement, his social awareness and committment to revolutionary politics is impressive for his age. As a U.S. citizen who was born in Germany and raised across Europe, he is also able to bring an internationalist perspective to the masses through his music. His debut album "Revolutionary Minded" is slated for a 2007 release.

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PEACE to my Universal Family:

Good news starts off this month of March. I'm fresh off three weeks in the United States, now back in Germany for a short-stint before returning to New York City to hold down the Universal Apocalyptic Figures. In major news, the album is done!! That's right, Revolutionary Minded has been completed and will be released shortly via the newly formed UAF Music Group (shit, who doesn't wanna be independent nowadays??). It's popping on uafmusic.com, so don't sleep!!!

MARCEL CARTIER - BIO

Born in Heildelberg, Germany on October 4, 1984 to an
American father and a Finnish mother, it is only
fitting that the artist known as Marcel Cartier would
be part of a group that considers itself to be
Universal -- that is, the Universal Apocalyptic
Figures.

"I get bored easily," says the 22-year old artist who
now splits his time between New York and
Mannheim, Germany. "Growing up, I always felt like the
world was moving in slow motion. But, you know, being
too far ahead of the game is both a gift and a curse.
You gotta know how to use your gift at the opportune
moment and contain it when it would be too far over
people's heads."

It's that mentality that has seen Cartier push back
his official debut disc several times over the last
three years. Entitled "Revolutionary Minded", his
album is certainly a breath of fresh air in a hip-hop
industry that has become so one-dimensional in recent
years. "I was always influenced by revolutionaries,"
he says without hesitation. "Not just the artists such
as Tupac Shakur or Mos Def, but the true soldiers who
are out there fighting against oppression in the
streets -- the Huey P. Newtons, the Bobby Seales." A
listen to his album will likely give the listener
somewhat of a recollection of the days when political
rap reigned supreme -- when revolutionary messages were the order of the day.

Perhaps it's Cartier's worldwide travels that have
helped to form such a worldview. Or, perhaps it's the
fact that he has spent the majority of his life around
the U.S. military and now wants nothing to do with it.
However, he has another view on the subject. "I never
really lived in the United States before. But out here
in Europe, I grew up going to American schools on base
in both Germany and England. I saw how much more
peaceful society seemed to be over here and how things
just seemed to function better as a whole. The crime
element isn't really blown up like that. I understand
that the pure capitalistic nature of the United States
is what creates the situation America is in today."

It's that overseas experience, combined with his
introduction to hip-hop at a young age, that initially
helped to mould his worldview. "I moved to England
from Germany with my family when I was 13. I got a
look at the music scene in London, and it was over. A
few of us at my high school put our heads together and
started rhyming. Since then, it's been on." After
graduating from high school in England, Cartier
decided to venture back to Germany for college. It
wasn't long before he hooked up with another crew, the
Universal Apocalyptic Figures (UAF), with whom he
still records and is searching for a label home with.
Along with the group, he has had the pleasure of
opening shows for such notable acts as Wordsworth, El
Da Sensei, A.G., and the God MC himself, Jay-Z. "Time
and time again I've heard artists say how much more
they feel appreciated in Europe than back home. I
don't know what it is, but out in Germany they really
seem to love the culture in every form."

Longevity in hip-hop is a topic that comes up again
and again, and Cartier is not adverse to addressing
it. "I'm gonna be here for a long time. You know how I
know that? Because I got an important message to give.
No matter what's happening in the world, I'll be able
to flip that into a record you can relate to. On top
of that, I know I can display a level of versatility
your average so-called artist can only dream about. I
don't boast much, but I know that's the reality of the
situation." With such confidence, knowledge, and a
persistent drive to achieve his goals, it's clear that
Marcel Cartier will be a household name very shortly.