Greek-American musician and entrepreneur Marko Hurtt was born in Columbia, South Carolina where he also grew up. His mother’s side of the family came from Greece and his family always had strong ties with the homeland.
At the young age of 20 years old Marko is already the CEO of Adelfi Music Group, a rap and hip hop label in SC founded in September 2013, which was nominated for the Best Record Label of the Year category in the 2015 SC Music Awards. He also double-majors in Business Management and Public Relations at University of South Carolina. The young businessman is currently taking a break from college to spend 3 months in Greece in order to learn the language, do some soul-searching, spend time with his family, and share his music with the country he’s never been able to be a part of up until now.
“My mother is a piano teacher, so we always had a piano in the house. To this day, it’s still my favorite instrument to play, but from the age of 15, I found writing rap as an outlet for getting my thoughts and emotions out. For 2 years, it was a simple hobby until one day I saw DhD at my school rapping at lunch. I talked to him after and there was instant chemistry. The hobby had turned to a passion. I finished high school, with still little success or feedback from my peers,” he said.
“In September 2013, I decided to brand my passion, and officially started Adelfi Music Group, at the time, consisting of 4 artists and a producer. April 2015, I was notified that Adelfi Music Group now consisting of 10 artists, 3 producers, 2 DJs, and a drummer had been nominated for the 2015 South Carolina Music Awards as ‘Record Label of the Year,’ and ‘Marko Hurtt & DhD’ had been nominated as the ‘Duo of the Year.’ The South Carolina Music Awards filters out all the people who are making a difference in the state-wide industry from the people claiming they’re involved but aren’t making any real steps forward. I was ecstatic when I received this news. Finally, after 5 years, I had been given some public, state-wide recognition,” he added.
Still celebrating his success, Marko decided to visit Greece his mother’s homeland, where he plans on networking with local hip hop and rap artists and promote his latest project, entitled “That’s a Rap.” He also wishes to open for shows in Athens and surrounding areas.
“Although Greece is in this tragic crisis, music is a gateway for a universal community, and you don’t need any euros to appreciate that,” he said.
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