Mark Kasprzyk, referred to often as Kaz, is a Canadian musician whose work has ranged from
rap rock to
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band
Redlight King, best known for their song "Bullet in My Hand", which was aired regularly on
MuchMusic and
MTV Europe
MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network.
Initially, MTV serve ...
, played on
contemporary hit radio,
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
,
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
and mainstream
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
radio stations in Canada. He is also an
auto sports television personality.
History
Kasprzyk grew up in
Binbrook
Binbrook is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1203 road, and north-east from Market Rasen.
Previously a larger market town,Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' pp. 64 ...
, Ontario near
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
. At the age of 8, he began learning
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
and became part of the Canadian National Judo Team and was an alternate for the Canadian team in the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
.
Being relegated to alternate status for the Olympics inspired him to pursue a career in music. At 16 Kasprzyk began songwriting, and after discovering hip-hop, took up
breakdancing
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...
.
Around this time, Mark produced a demo which made it into the hands of
Epic Records (a subsidiary of
Sony BMG).
["Rock in self defence; Hamilton-area judo expert Mark Kasprzyk, (Kazzer) is rising fast on the hip-hop scene", '' The Record'', April 22, 2003]
Solo career
Under his stage name Kazzer, Kasprzyk was signed to Epic Records in NYC and released his 2002 debut album ''Go for Broke'' in Canada, (Germany), France and
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
. The energetic lead single, "Pedal to the Medal", was co-written with
Brian West,
Grammy-nominated producer for the likes of
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists.
She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...
. The song was featured on the soundtracks of the 2003
remake of ''The Italian Job'',
the 2004 film ''
Catch That Kid
''Catch That Kid'' is a 2004 family action comedy film directed by Bart Freundlich, written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, and starring Kristen Stewart, Corbin Bleu, Max Thieriot, Jennifer Beals, Sam Robards, John Carroll Lynch, and James ...
'' on the television series ''
Malcolm in the Middle,'' and in the Hotwheels Acceleracers movies. It was also featured in the opening "splash" animation and on the soundtrack of the
Midway Sports video game ''NHL HITZ PRO''. Additionally, his song "Fueled By Adrenaline" was featured on the Bugbear game ''
Flatout Ultimate Carnage'', as well as its
PSP Port ''Flatout: Head On''.
Kazzer was nominated for a
New Artist of the Year at the
2004 Juno Awards
The Juno Awards of 2004 were presented on April 4, 2004, at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and were hosted by Alanis Morissette.
Singer-songwriters Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, and Nickelback led the nominations with five nominat ...
.
[Rockingham, Graham (2004) "Hamilton all but shut out at Junos", '']The Hamilton Spectator
''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar.
History
''The Ham ...
'', April 5, 2004 He has toured Canada repeatedly including a 2003
MTV Campus Invasion tour which on some dates he headlined and on others opened for
Gob. He has performed at concerts and
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
in Europe, and opened for
The Roots in Chicago, and for a
New York Jets game.
''Go for Broke'' sold 25,000 copies worldwide in 2003. Epic Records went through an executive change and Kazzer found himself without representation, and he moved to
Linus Entertainment
Linus Entertainment is a music company operating as an independent record label, distributor and music publisher. While founded in Mississauga, Ontario, Linus spent many years in Burlington, Ontario before recently moving operations to Waterdown, O ...
, a leading Canadian
independent record label distributed by
Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
.
Kazzer's second record ''Broke'' was mostly recorded at Morph Productions and mixed at
EMAC Recording Studios and released on June 28, 2005, featuring the lead single "Ordinary".
Redlight King
Mark formed a new project called
Redlight King in 2009 with longtime collaborator Julian Tomarin, and signed to
Hollywood Records. Kasprzyk made news in 2011 for his success in securing permission from
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...
to allow him to sample Young's 1972 song, "
Old Man". The sample is included in the song "Old Man" (originally titled "Hardworking Hands") on his debut album ''Something for the Pain'', released on June 28, 2011. Old Man peaked at number 17 on the ''
Billboard''
Alternative Songs and Number 26 on the ''Billboard''
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
Redlight King's most successful song and second single off Something for the Pain, "Bullet in My Hand", peaked at numbers 3 and 28 on ''Billboards
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and
Alternative Songs charts, respectively. Redlight King was also a part of the
Rockstar
Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to:
Films
* ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg
* ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali
* ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...
Energy Drink Uproar Festival 2012.
Redlight King released its second studio album ''Irons in the Fire'' on September 10, 2013. On July 9, 2013, they released a single from the album entitled "Born to Rise". The track appears in the end title credits for the 2014 film "Draft Day," starring Kevin Costner.
"Born To Rise" has also been used as the pregame music for the NHL's Anaheim Ducks and their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, and was the title track for the Feature Film "Draft Day" starring Kevin Costner.
M. Rivers
In 2017, Mark signed with Parts + Labor Records and released "Champion", a single produced by Jimmy Messer (
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...
,
Kygo
Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track " I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 20 ...
,
Awolnation). The song was featured on the Redlight King 2020 album Moonshine.
Other media
He has appeared in film and television, including a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
as a
redneck
''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ' ...
in the 2004 MuchMusic comedy
road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienatio ...
''
Going the Distance''. He was also one of many collaborators on ''
Sports Car Revolution'', aired on the US-based specialty television channel
Speed Channel
Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...
in 2005 and 2006. He has owned a
1962 Ford Thunderbird, a
1949 Mercury and a
1930 Ford Model A. Mark currently hosts a live streaming show called "MuscleKingz Lounge" on
Facebook live
Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...
.
Discography
As Kazzer
Albums
*''Go for Broke'' (2002) (Epic Records)
*''Broke'' (2005) (Linus Entertainment)
Singles
As Redlight King
Albums
Singles
Music Videos
See also
*
Judo in Canada
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in Canada for over a century. The first long-term judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established by a Japanese immigrant named Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki in Vancouver in 1924. S ...
References
External links
Kazzer artist page Linus Entertainment
Linus Entertainment is a music company operating as an independent record label, distributor and music publisher. While founded in Mississauga, Ontario, Linus spent many years in Burlington, Ontario before recently moving operations to Waterdown, O ...
Kazzer artist page MuchMusic
*
Tuning Canada,
Speed Channel
Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...
article on channel personalities from Canada
Stylordz Hip-hop NetworkKazzer on cdbabyMusic Video for "Ordinary"on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, M
Year of birth missing (living people)
Canadian rock singers
Canadian male singers
Canadian television personalities
Canadian male judoka
Canadian people of Polish descent
Midwest hip hop musicians
Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario
Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario
Rap rock musicians
Living people
Hollywood Records artists
Place of birth missing (living people)