Marcey Yates has returned with his latest album, Vanilla Sky 2, another colorful chapter in the North Omaha native’s ever-evolving catalog. Clocking in at nine tracks, the project tackles a range of topics that encapsulate who Marcey Yates is.
From album opener “Basically Set” to “Hidden Gems” featuring Paris Jane to “Unscathed” and “4:14,” each song peels back the curtain to reveal the inner thoughts of a loving father, brother, nephew, award-winning MC, community activist and producer while showing off his fine-tuned ear for atmospheric, boom bap beats.
He expertly navigates grief on “Gift & Curse,” reflecting on the death of his mother at a young age, while touching on the struggles that come with being an independent artist. On the follow-up track, “Malnutrition,” Marcey flexes on the competition with lyrics like, “I’m the only one still making real hip-hop/They come and go/Now they look at me now, only one representing while these others is clowns.”
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As the album begins to wind down, the tempo picks up with “S.A.O.D.” featuring BCS. Marcey mentions his father, who he also lost as a kid, and both MCs explore the madness of the digital world. The last track, “The Work Hour” featuring Marrque Nunley, firmly solidifies his position: “I inspired a whole city/Push comes to shove, I know who will ride with me,” a reminder of his impact on the Omaha creative community.
It’s been a rough road for Marcey Yates to get to a place of peace, where publicly ruminating on complex topics with so much vulnerability has become second nature. Growing up without his parents forced him to learn how to be independent and fend for himself. After four years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he left for Arizona in the 2000s to study music production at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences. Upon his return, he began pumping out albums and mixtapes as Marcey Yates, with his group The Dilla Kids and under his producer alias, Op2mus. In 2018, founded the creative hub Culxr House in North Omaha, where Black culture thrives.
“I care about the reputation that Black culture has in this city,” he says. “And I care about the reputation that hip-hop has in this city, right? I care about how what I do reflects on that, and I want that to be in a positive light.”
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In 2025, Marcey joined Midtopia, a Wichita-based artist development nonprofit that provides him with label support, marketing and touring infrastructure. In November 2025, he dropped his first Midtopia project, a seven-track mixtape titled House Rules and a departure from what is heard on Vanilla Sky 2: “I’m talking s###, bruh.”
Both projects paint a vibrant picture of Marcey’s personality, allowing listeners to truly get to know the man behind the moniker. Vanilla Sky 2 is available all on DSPs. Vinyl copies are on sale here.
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