Pittsburgh rapper Mars Jackson is ready for his biggest year

2024 is “the year of Mars.” That’s straight from the source, Mars Jackson, rapper and longtime fixture on the local music scene. 

“I’m looking forward to it,” says Mars, who has a new release, “Growth Has No Deadline,” coming out in the spring. 

“It’s more of an experience than an album. It’s experimental. It’s talking about me going to therapy and becoming more vulnerable.” 

Once the album is out, Mars will be lining up local and out-of-town gigs. 

“The stage is therapeutic for me,” he says.

The Hill District native, who lives on the North Side, comes from a family of music fans and performers. His grandfather, Joe “Daddy Cool” Beck, was a soul singer and recording artist who entertained at the famed Crawford Grill. Growing up, Mars heard MC Lyte, Jay Z and the Fat Boys, along with West Coast jazz – “you name it,” he says.  

By his senior year at Slippery Rock University, he says, “I knew I could make music on my own.” Before he graduated in 2011, he released his first mixtape, “B.A.M.D.I.C.T. (But Ask Me Do I Care Tho).”

In the years since, Mars says, “I’ve been working the scene, getting the love from a lot of the OGs like Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa.” 

He has opened shows for Wiz and Lupe Fiasco, as well as Gary Clark Jr. at Stage AE. Mars’ music has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network series, “Queen Sugar.” He recently released “Mount Rushmore,” a collaboration with Beedie and Big Jerm, and he’s featured on DJ Bonic’s latest, “Standing on Business.” 

A big smiling portrait of Mars is featured, along with shots of Jim Carrey and the cast of “Friends,” in “Picturing Joy,” photographer George Lange’s new book.

Though he once considered moving to New York, Mars has stayed in his hometown and is happy he did. Pittsburgh’s a great city for creatives, he says. 

“I want to open doors to collaborate with people outside of the (hip-hop) genre.”

In addition, Mars says, as opposed to being a little fish in a big pond, “Here I can be a semi-big fish in a semi-big pond.”  

Coming in January

As we wait for Mars’ new release, there are a variety of shows on tap to get us through January, Dry, Damp or otherwise. 

Jan. 5: Local nu-metal band Guides, which released its first EP, “When Everything Reverses,” in September, plays the Abominable Snow Jam at Club Cafe on Jan. 5. The band will be joined by Josh Jams, Dnapps, Jamuel L. Smackson and Hey Gurl.

Jan. 13: The Thunderbird Music Hall hosts “Soon As I Get Home” on Jan. 13, presented by BLKNVMBR, which supports local R&B artists.  Singers, including Anqwenique, INEZ, Erika Denae J., and Simone, will create “a warm live music experience.” The show’s musical director is Jerome Kirkland.

Jan. 15: Anqwenique is part of a Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 15. She’ll be a soloist with The Heritage Justice Chorale and MLK Festival Choir, as part of the theater’s 17th annual Let Freedom Sing concert. Earlier that day, Jacquea Mae from the band NASH.V.ILL, along with performers from the Hill Dance Academy Theater and others, present Justice In Action, a theater work honoring King’s legacy. 

Jan. 19: The Drunken Hillbillies from Claysville are making a rare trip north to play the 31 Sports Bar and Grille in Bridgeville on Jan. 19. They used to be the Davis Family Band, according to band leader Jimmie Davis, but after his father passed in 2019, Davis, his brother Eddie and friends Tom Duranko and Ron Sprowls Jr. re-formed as the Drunken Hillbillies. Their specialty is southern rock, as well as classic country tunes like Jerry Reed’s Eastbound and Down. They also play some originals. 

That same night, alt-rockers Lylyth host the second annual Axel Fest at the Forge Urban Winery. A fundraiser for the family of their friend Axel Markle, who died by suicide in 2022, the show also features Bala Rise and the Uprising, Tempered and other bands to be announced.  

Also on the 19th, the Neverweres, Paging Doctor Moon and Hot Numbers share the stage at Club Cafe. 

And folk favorites Buffalo Rose, along with Fireside Collective, play the Thunderbird on the 19th. Buffalo Rose also will be at Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley on Feb. 16. On March 1, the band sails from Miami to perform on the Cayamo music cruise, along with Lyle Lovett, Lake Street Dive and other national acts. A short tour, including stops in Asheville and suburban Atlanta, follows.  

Jan. 20: Local reggae/ska/punk rockers FUBAR headline Snowed In! at the Hard Rock Cafe on Jan. 20  along with more ska punk from Daze Ago, The Biscuits and The Sneaky Heat Missiles (who have a pretty cute social media presence). 

Jan. 28: This (seemingly) longest of all months winds down on Jan. 28 with the monthly Unplugged Brunch, also at the Hard Rock. Pitt Floyd, a Pink Floyd tribute band, is the featured act. Keyboardist and vocalist Michael Petyak says the most requested song is “Comfortably Numb,” which is one way to get through January.