Marlon Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in
hip hop music.
Marlon grew up in
Queensbridge housing projects located in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York. He performed in local talent shows during the early days of rap music, further fueling his interest.
He was also featured on
Eric B. & Rakim's "
Paid in Full" from their
debut album, which was also recorded in his studio. As a producer, one notable project was
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
.
He is credited with influencing a number of hip hop icons such as
RZA,
DJ Premier
Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...
,
Madlib
Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), ...
, and
Pete Rock.
Biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
Producer Madlib stated in an interview that Marley was the first producer who inspired him to make beats. ''
Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'' magazine wrote that he, "forever changed the sound of hip-hop with his unique beat barrages."
Early career
Marley's career started with an interest in
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
.
As a young intern at
Unique Recording Studios
Unique Recording Studios was a five-room recording studio operating near Times Square in New York City from 1978 until 2004. Founders and co-owners Bobby Nathan and Joanne Georgio-Nathan installed the first Otari 24-track tape deck in New York. ...
in the early 1980s, he had an opportunity to experiment with very expensive samplers like the
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight.
— with links to some Fairlight history and photos
It was based on a commercial lic ...
.
One day during a studio session with an artist named Captain Rock he discovered sampling by accident.
"I was actually trying to get a riff off of a record. I made a mistake and got the snare in there before the sound came. I was truncating the vocal part but the snare was playing with the beat — we was truncating while the beat was playing. Thank God the beat was playing, because it probably wouldn't have happened if the beat wasn't playing. So I was playing it and the snare sounded better than the snare that I had from the drum machine when I was popping it."
A short time later pioneering hip-hop radio DJ
Mr. Magic
John "Mr. Magic" Rivas, (March 15, 1956 – October 2, 2009) was a prominent hip hop radio DJ.
Career
Mr. Magic debuted in 1979 on WHBI in New York City with “Disco Showcase” on the pay-for-time FM station. It was a far cry from the prime ...
heard Marley Marl's remix of
Malcolm McLaren's
Buffalo Gals
"Buffalo Gals" is a traditional American song, written and published as "Lubly Fan" in 1844 by the blackface minstrel John Hodges, who performed as "Cool White". The song was widely popular throughout the United States, where minstrels often ...
, leading to Marley becoming his DJ.
They eventually started the hip-hop collective the
Juice Crew
The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York-based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Cre ...
together in 1983. 1986 saw the foundation of
Cold Chillin' Records
Cold Chillin' Records was a record label that released music during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. A producer-and-crew label founded by manager Tyrone Williams and run by Len Fichtelberg (d. November 4, 2010), ...
, where Marley served as in-house producer for many projects. He earned $250,000 per year for his production work. The label was also home to many Juice Crew artists.
Marley caught his big break in 1984, with artist
Roxanne Shante
Lolita Shante Gooden (born March 8, 1970), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and w ...
's hit "
Roxanne's Revenge". In a 2008 interview Shante noted how seriously he took recording despite his limited setup. "We'd be recording in his living room on a reel-to-reel and four-tracks. I really just wanted to go to the mall after one take, but Marley always made me do it again."
Another significant early record was 1985's "Marley Marl Scratch" featuring MC Shan. The song was recorded on a four-track cassette recorder and Shan used a mic with a missing ball to record his lyrics.
Several of his early record feature inventive use of the
Roland TR-808 drum machine. On
MC Shan
Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist.
He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with Snow on " Informe ...
's 1986 Pop Art single "The Bridge', which later appeared on his 1987 album ''
Down By Law'', Marley used the 808 pulse to trigger different samplers.
According to Biz Markie, the button on Marley's 808 stuck during the recording of his hit "Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz", leading to sound heard on the record today. Juice Crew member
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...
praised his ability to pair 808 drum sounds with sampled drums. "Regardless of how clean or brand-new the record was that he was sampling, or light the production may have been, he always gave it a really gritty feel when he sampled it. He always put the 808 to it and gave it a heavy bottom and warm feel."
In the late 1980s, the Juice Crew gained increased attention from mainstream publications.
''Spin'' magazine wrote, "they've produced some of the genre's toughest, most uncompromising music." At the time Marley began a streak of producing entire albums for several Juice Crew members. He produced all of the tracks on
Craig G
Craig Curry (born March 24, 1973),Hess, Mickey (2009) ''Hip Hop in America: a Regional Guide: Volume 1 - East Coast and West Coast'', Greenwood Publishing Group, , p. 55Bry, David (2001) "Something in the Water", ''Vibe'', March 2001, p. 80 bette ...
's ''
The Kingpin
The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July ...
'' (1989),
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hi ...
's ''
Long Live The Kane
''Long Live the Kane'' is the debut album by American rapper Big Daddy Kane, released by Cold Chillin' Records on June 21, 1988. It was produced by Marley Marl and established both as premier artists during hip hop's golden age. Kane displayed h ...
'' (1988)'',''
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...
's ''
Goin' Off
''Goin' Off'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop musician Biz Markie. The album was released by Cold Chillin' Records, and produced by Marley Marl. Big Daddy Kane wrote the lyrics of the album's first five songs. The album also showcas ...
'' (1988),
Kool G Rap
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as ...
& DJ Polo's ''
Road to the Riches
''Road to the Riches'' is the debut album by Hip hop music, hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, which was released in 1989 on then-prominent hip hop label Cold Chillin' Records. The album is notable in that it set off the mafioso rap trend with the ...
'' (1989),
MC Shan
Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist.
He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with Snow on " Informe ...
's
''Down By Law'' (1987) and ''
Born to Be Wild
"Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 fi ...
'' (1988), and
Roxanne Shante
Lolita Shante Gooden (born March 8, 1970), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and w ...
's ''
Bad Sister''
(1989).
In 1988, he produced the Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony" by using a
Hal Jackson
Harold Baron Jackson (3 November 1915 – 23 May 2012) was an American disc jockey and radio personality who broke a number of color barriers in American radio broadcasting.
Biography
Early years
Jackson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, ...
record from the
WBLS
WBLS (107.5 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary formatted FM radio station, licensed to New York City. It is currently owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared services agreement, along with sister station ...
record library as a sample source.
Post-Juice Crew and Cold Chillin'
In 1996, Marley filed a suit against Cold Chillin' for unpaid royalties.
In 2007 he produced the entire ''
Hip Hop Lives
''Hip Hop Lives'' is the collaborative studio album by American rapper KRS-One and record producer Marley Marl. It was released on May 22, 2007 via Koch Records. Recording sessions took place at House Of Hits in New York and at Westlake Recordi ...
'' album for former rival
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
In Control, Volume 1
''In Control, Volume 1'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop record producer Marley Marl of the Juice Crew. It was released on September 20, 1988 through Cold Chillin' Records with distribution via Warner Records, Warner Bros. Records.
...
'' (1988)
* ''
In Control Volume II (For Your Steering Pleasure)'' (1991)
* ''Hip-Hop Dictionary'' (2000)
* ''
Re-Entry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...
'' (2001)
Collaboration albums
* ''
Hip-Hop Lives
''Hip Hop Lives'' is the collaborative studio album by American rapper KRS-One and record producer Marley Marl. It was released on May 22, 2007 via Koch Records. Recording sessions took place at House Of Hits in New York and at Westlake Recording ...
'' (with
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
) (2007)
* ''Operation Take Back Hip-Hop'' (with
Craig G
Craig Curry (born March 24, 1973),Hess, Mickey (2009) ''Hip Hop in America: a Regional Guide: Volume 1 - East Coast and West Coast'', Greenwood Publishing Group, , p. 55Bry, David (2001) "Something in the Water", ''Vibe'', March 2001, p. 80 bette ...
) (2008)
Compilations
* ''House of Hits'' (1995)
* ''Best of Cold Chillin'' (2001)
* ''Marley Marl's House of Hits'' (released 2007)
* ''Hip Hop's Hero w/ Nikal Fieldz'' (released 2010)
Popular culture
Marl was referenced on
Biggie Smalls
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
' track "
Juicy" as being one of Smalls' early influences.
References
External links
*
AllMusic biography
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
Facebook page*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marl, Marley
1962 births
Living people
African-American male rappers
Rappers from New York City
People from Long Island City, Queens
American hip hop record producers
Cold Chillin' Records artists
African-American record producers
American hip hop DJs
East Coast hip hop musicians
21st-century American rappers
Record producers from New York (state)
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people
Juice Crew members
Barely Breaking Even artists
Def Jam Recordings artists