By Gabriella Chapman 

MANY may have heard the name Marlon Jacobs, or the alias he goes by, ‘Freedom Boss’, after having successfully executed several events locally, regionally, and internationally.
In an interview with ‘The Buzz’, the local celebrity shared his story on his rise to stardom.
The 26-year-old said that he had always been notorious in school, both locally and in the US. But he made well of his school popularity.

“I grew up on the East Coast, in BV with granny, and then I migrated to the US when I was 14… In school, I was very well known as either the class clown, or the guy that’s always in trouble; the bad guy, or the guy that always gets the blame for things, even when I’m not there,” Jacobs said.

However, the idea of getting into promotion sprung from his popularity, and his need for a source of income in college.

“I didn’t envision myself being a promoter. In fact, my mother wouldn’t send me to school, if I had told her I wanted to be a promoter. But I wanted to be an electrical engineer. When I was in Guyana, I was in the ‘Tech’ stream at St. Joseph High. So when I migrated, I continued along that path, and I went to get my degree in that,” Jacobs said.

Promotion just came by mistake, he added. “Surviving college was tough for me, because I didn’t get the support from mommy and daddy. So I just had to make ends meet while I was in school. So, being popular, I just felt like I could have kept some parties and raise funds to go to school. And that’s exactly what I did. I made a lot of money, and that put me through school. So, the burden on my mom at that time, because she had five kids, she didn’t feel that with me, ‘cause I was supporting myself through school.”
Jacobs said he started doing events while he was in College in the US, and then his events grew so big that he started doing events at other schools in the area.
“I kept doing it, and it was profitable for me,” he said.

Even though he adopted the promotion business, Jacobs completed his Upstate New York College years, and graduated with his degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

HIS GUYANA DEBUT 
Even though Jacobs is Guyanese, because he was residing in the US, all his events were done there. However, in 2014, he decided, with the help of some of his local St. Joseph High friends, to host an event in Guyana.

“When I was in college, I did the events by myself, or sometimes with my roommates who were Jamaicans. And my friend here in Guyana, Allistair, called me and said that I have to do some events here. So we teamed up and got the venture, and threw our first party; ‘Freedom’ at Club Monaco in May 2014. And then we formed the promotion company. It was named after the party: ‘Freedom Family’, Jacobs said.

Since 2014, the team, as well as Marlon as an individual, would host events throughout the year for local patrons. He then went on to hosting the events in other Caribbean countries, and of course, continued in the US, where he first started.

When asked what it is about him that attracts much support at his events, the young promoter said that he believes it is because he is down to earth and approachable.
“I treat people like people, so they naturally gravitate to me. People just love me, and I feel like it’s because I’m very charismatic. And that draws people to me. Also, if I promise you gold, I will give you gold; not silver. So people feel secure and happy to support me, because I always come through with my promises at my events,” he told ‘The Buzz’.

THE CHALLENGES
Although Jacobs’ business has been viewed as a quite successful one, he said that he’s faced a lot of challenges.

“At one point, I couldn’t get a sponsor in Guyana, and that was a major challenge. Also, friends, family and people who I would expect to support me weren’t supporting me. But one that really got to me was when I create strategies and invest in promotion and persons sabotaging by pulling down my banners and not playing my ‘ad’ on the radio. But that really pushed him to create even more creative strategies, and find ways to get the word out by himself. “I started his own radio show on 6 Vibes radio in New York called ‘Spill the Tea’, and I got really popular from that. And I think that’s where my international support got bigger,” he shared.

Additionally, he said that he tries to ensure that his events are unique, and appeal to the people, to attract a large attendance.

“When I was going to school, I got a lot of zeros for plagiarism. I had a lot of papers I had to write over. So I learnt my lesson since then. So I believe in being original, being creative, brainstorming. I go with what’s trending, and what people like. I’m inspired by what the people want, because they’re the ones who have to support. So all my events, I always want it to be out of the box,” Jacobs said.

ADVICE TO YOUTHS
The young promoter said that a lot of youths run away with the wrong idea of how to get by in life, especially when they are from a poor background. Many fall through the school system and come out of school with nothing.

But, he said, while he, too, was not rich, and didn’t get the monetary support from his family, his homework and assignments were always on time. His grandmother’s advice, he said, has always stuck with him. And he believes that persons should have the same mindset.

“One [bit of] advice my grandma gave me was you don’t have anything to inherit from your mom and dad, so you gotta work for yours. So I always take that with me wherever I go, and I do what I have to do for me,” he said.

To this end, his advice to youths is “First, you have to work on your mindset. Second, you got to be yourself. Third, you can’t be easily influenced by friends; you gotta learn to make your own decisions. When you figure that part out, you figure yourself on a whole. But when it comes to going out there and creating the opportunities for yourself, you have to have a strategy, and you have to know exactly what you want to do, and what you’re going out there to do. Over time, you have to get to know yourself and what you want; and you have to be willing to make sacrifices and take risks. Don’t make anything break you. I started with zero, and now I’m living comfortably. Also, you can’t be afraid to start over. Many times you may fail, but always try again. Pride kills. Sometimes you have to put your pride aside, and do what you have to do to get what you want. And when you get there, celebrate.”

PLANS FOR 2020
With his popularity and many success stories in several countries, Jacobs said that he believes that he can work on the Guyanese music industry, and that is his new plan for 2020.

His events throughout the year, he said, will remain the same, but he would like to incorporate Guyanese artistes and take them to other countries where he has his events so that they can help to promote Guyana.

However, he said that for that to happen, the artistes have to be original and they must have a Guyanese sound.

“I think with our local artistes, most of them lack originality. And some of them are singing other people’s songs proudly. But you don’t go to Jamaica and hear a Jamaican singing Guyanese songs, or hear a Jamaican trying to talk like a Guyanese. So, in 2020, I’d like to give more artistes exposure, but they have to walk Guyanese, talk Guyanese and showcase our country wherever they are,” he said.