In December of 2016, Marcelo sometimes struggled to hit high notes over Ginseng’s colorful piano beats; an artist with an indomitable work ethic trying to make a name for himself following an extensive period of uploading trap beats to SoundCloud. Flash forward two years, and while he may now be marketing to a larger audience on a much larger platform, two things haven’t changed: his eagerness to succeed and the very work ethic which helped propel him to where he stands today.
That very same work ethic landed him a position in SoundCloud legend Xavier Wulf’s coveted Hollow Squad as a producer three months ago. Coming off the strong support of his first project Outta Luck and his production on Wulf’s “The Real Folk Blues,” Marcelo’s growth continues to skyrocket at an unprecedented rate, both statistically and personally. His newest track, “Stardust” featuring the Hollow Squad head honcho himself serves not only as a self-introduction of sorts to SHWB fans, but also as a reminder to his passionate, day-one followers that his vocal prowess won’t be undermined by his recent success as a producer.
Neither Marcelo nor Xavier Wulf ever actually utter the word that stands as the title of the track, though the beat certainly reaches in that direction. The abundance of dreamy synths and galactic-sounding sequences give way to glossy two-step hi-hats and claps before Xavier takes over for the first verse. Harnessing a relaxed, almost entirely carefree type of flow, Wulf cleverly crafts funny, typical one-liners about blunts and the squad itself, all while sounding like an even higher version of Afroman as the subtle 808s gradually transition into punchy kicks.
Marcelo takes over and elegantly floats over his own instrumental for a short second verse that discusses his choices to keep his mouth shut and work hard in silence, with every word directly matching an enthralling kick pattern that gives the track an extra boost. However, it’s his short, repeating chorus that highlights the song and totally encapsulates his two years of hard work into four lines:
“Doin’ what I want, doin’ what you can’t
This is really it, some can’t understand
If I called the shots, it might never end
Lot of things changed, I didn’t intend”
Marcelo has grown to the point where he can claim his superiority over others in his lane without having to back it up, and his actions and achievements attest to that. He notes that while not everyone can comprehend the gravity of his situation, he ensures that if he were in charge of it all, there wouldn’t be any way of stopping him. As the last line of the song claims, Marcelo is moving faster than anyone could’ve expected; so fast that he’s leaving even stardust in his wake.