Meet Rob “Margis” | Emcee, Actor, Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rob “Margis” and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rob, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

I didn’t pursue a creative career as much as it pursued me. Don’t get me wrong, I was artistic; I’d perform Hip Hop shows with my cousins who were musicians and producers, I experimented with graffiti style cartoons and illustrations, I was even writing comedy sketches, but for the most part, I still didn’t view the arts as a career. I was just focused on being a college student crushing Chinese food and cramming for his finals.

Everything changed when I turned 21. I went to the doctor to have an abnormality checked and my world flipped upside down. It was my worst fear; Cancer. Hours after being diagnosed, I was on a surgery table, and a short time after that, was receiving chemotherapy. I, all of a sudden, found myself in this very serious situation. I was in the ICU battling septic shock, no longer in a safe college classroom, and the only thing I could think to myself was… “I need to get back out on stage. I need to share my story.” At that point I just decided to throw caution to the wind. The only thing that has mattered to me since has been getting out as many creative ideas as possible, whether they came in the form of songs, or comedy sketches, or illustrations; I didn’t care what they looked like.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

At my core, I am a writer. That is the nucleus of all my creative work. For the last eight years it has primarily taken the form of a song. After releasing well over sixty Hip Hop songs, performing them all over, and even landing some of them in film, I decided to do something scary and allow my writing to take new forms. That’s when I really began to gain traction in the world of sketch comedy. Once I allowed myself to act out and produce all the sketches I was writing, my following really began to take off and brands began reaching out for collaboration. That is now my main hustle, and any extra time I have is devoted to being a student at “The Groundlings.”

The ability to wear so many hats has been the main reason I’ve been able to do what I do. I’ve spent the better half of a decade playing the artist, the actor, the director, the film editor, the musical engineer, and the artistic illustrator. When you have knowledge in every role of the production process, whether it’s film or music, you create with a more developed understanding of the big picture which makes you very efficient. It allows you to get out ideas faster and for a fraction of the cost.

I’ve encountered numerous artistic obstacles during my journey; power going out at sold out shows, not being paid by promoters or agencies I was contracted by, artists not showing up, self doubt… and the pandemic of course; it definitely hasn’t been an easy road. I think the one practice that’s gotten me through is learning to detach from my work. It’s hard to do as artists, but learning to execute and then let the cards fall where they may, is big. It takes the pressure off of being perfect. It also means that our self esteem isn’t so wrapped up in our art. In my experience, the more quickly I disconnect, the more quickly new ideas flood in as well and that’s what I really love.

As far as my story, I hope people respect my commitment and willingness  “to go there,” creatively. End of the day, if they saw me as someone who put an abundance of love into his craft, and into the people around him, I would be happy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I would pick up my friend from LAX and immediately take them to breakfast at The Coffee Company in Westchester, which is three minutes away. I would order us a breakfast skillet with potatoes, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and two eggs, then engage in post flight talk and general reunion introductions. Then I’d imagine we’d box up the leftovers, and take our oat milk Vanilla latte’s out to Venice to hit the canals and walk Abbot Kinney.

If they were into art, I would make it a point to take them to The Broad museum in DTLA. We would probably take trendy photos for the gram and act like high brow art connoisseurs detailing the magnificence of each piece. If they wanted to see live music, I would take them to my favorite jam in the city; “Tha Juice Joint,” which is the most wildly talented open mic night in town. It’s located at The Study Hollywood. They play Soul, RnB, Hip Hop…. you name it. And lastly, if they were into comedy, I would of course take them to see a show at “The Groundlings,” because well, it’s unbelievably hilarious.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my incredible family- My Mom and Dad, and my sisters, Allie and Kacie Margis. Shoutout to my beautiful and supportive girlfriend, Makyra Alexander. Artistically I’ve got to shout out Travis Margis and Dan Daigneault for pouring in the time and effort to help me develop my craft over the years. And lastly, thank you to Brian Cousins, and Darrick and Lindsay Williams for all of the amazing mentorship. Love y’all!

Website: http://justmargis.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just_margis/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMBwn8V2n6Z2tIdBiPwICw/featured

Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@just_margis?lang=en