Funny Marco Names His Favorite Hip-Hop Albums of 2023
Hip-Hop Junkie
Awkward interviews with rappers are all the rage and Funny Marco is a master.
Comedic social media personalities are more popular than ever before. Enter Marco “Funny Marco” Summers, a Kansas City, Mo. native, known for his funny Instagram pranks and viral moments on social media.
Interview: Aleia Woods
Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Winter 2023 issue of XXL Magazine, on now.
With an awkwardly uncomfortable style of interviewing, Marco has gone viral with guests including DaBaby, Sexyy Red, Lil Yachty, G Herbo and Southside and more. Funny Marco’s humor has since transcended to his own show, titled Open Thoughts, on YouTube, where he can be deemed a trailblazer of the awkward and uncomfortable style of interviewing. Nonetheless, Marco ultimately strives to create lighthearted moments with all of his guests.
Marco, 30, recently spoke with XXL about rap’s impact on his style of comedy, Drake’s For All the Dogs album, virality and more.
XXL: Which rap album would you say best describes your style of comedy?
Funny Marco: Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
Why would you say that album in particular?
Because you get a mix of a lot of things. You get a mix of love songs, you get a mix of pain, you get a mix of thinking and you got a mix of just trying shit. You got “In Da Club,” “21 Questions” and the list goes on. That’s just my favorite album because it was different emotions and it showed us versatile 50 Cent.
Which artists are you currently listening to?
My top artists, I got Nipsey Hussle. I love Nipsey Hussle. I can listen to him over and over. Kodak Black is also one of my tops. I love Rod Wave as well. I love Doja Cat’s album. Fridayy. It just goes on. I like Young Thug’s Business Is Business, Drake. I like to listen to a lot of Don Toliver.
What do you think are the top albums that dropped this year?
You got Gunna [A Gift and a Curse]. You gotta throw Thug [Business Is Business] in there. You got Drake [For All the Dogs]. I really like the Drake album. We got Fridayy [self-titled album] in there.
For Drake’s album, some people weren’t happy with it. Some people loved it. Was it what you were expecting from him?
For one, the albums be for the artist, not us. But it’s just something that we tagged along and liked. I feel like Drake is making albums for him and what he’s used to. Even to make a dope song with Sexyy Red, that’s amazing. And with that being said, I really feel like he catered to R&B and he catered to dope beats. I feel like it was art. This is like painting art, a picture. I just want to be able to get in my feelings, get out my feelings, party.
When it comes to Drake, people have a certain expectation.
But we’re talking about people that ain’t never going to be able to touch the albums. So, how are you going to have expectations on something that you’re not close to? That’s like me going into Popeyes and telling them they need to work harder and leave. Like, muthaf**ka, you’re not in here with us. So, who am I to come in here and tell Drake he needs to work harder on more albums?
You recently interviewed G Herbo and Southside, and a lot of people thought that they were disrespectful to you. Anything you want to say about that?
No, because I feel like in our society, if I was to ever do something wrong, that clip would have came up or we would have had a guest speak out. So, the fact I didn’t sit down with a lot of people that they try to paint a picture to be the bad guy, where me and DaBaby had good moments and Boosie. And I sit down with real-life people that have been through things, and we walk away with good energy. It’s kinda like, some people don’t understand my narrative. At the end of the day, it’s respect on both sides and everybody have feelings.
I just want everybody to win and move on. Nobody’s perfect at the end of the day. It’s just all about forgiveness. We all have moments, and as a part of my career that I’m learning from, and for me to do this and still have a good heart, that’s all that really matters at the end.
Read Funny Marco’s interview in the Winter 2023 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now. The new issue also includes the cover story with Latto and conversations with Flo Milli, DD Osama, Maiya The Don, Monaleo, Mello Buckzz, Sexyy Red, BIgXThaPlug, plus more. Additionally, there’s an exclusive interview with Fetty Wap, Killer Mike, Quality Control Music’s Coach K and P discuss 10 years into the label’s growth, and in-depth stories on the popularity of sampling in hip-hop in 2023, the state of hip-hop touring and the best moments of hip-hop’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration.