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,
Madlib, 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 c ...
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
Producer Madlib stated in an interview that Marley was the first producer who inspired him to make beats. ''
Vibe'' 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 ...
.
As a young intern at
Unique Recording Studios in the early 1980s, he had an opportunity to experiment with very expensive samplers like the
Fairlight CMI.
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
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provo ...
'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 al ...
, leading to Marley becoming his DJ.
They eventually started the hip-hop collective the
Juice Crew together in 1983. 1986 saw the foundation of
Cold Chillin' Records, 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's hit "
Roxanne's Revenge
"Roxanne's Revenge" is the debut single by American rapper Roxanne Shante. It was produced by a then unknown Marley Marl and released in 1984 through the independent label Pop Art Records. In the song, a 14-year-old Roxanne Shante, whose real nam ...
". 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
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patte ...
drum machine. On
MC Shan'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 ...
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'' (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 ...
's ''
Long Live The Kane'' (1988)'',''
Biz Markie's ''
Goin' Off'' (1988),
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's ''
Road to the Riches'' (1989),
MC Shan's
''Down By Law'' (1987) and ''
Born to Be Wild'' (1988), and
Roxanne Shante'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 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 Recording ...
'' 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'' (1988)
* ''
In Control Volume II (For Your Steering Pleasure)'' (1991)
* ''Hip-Hop Dictionary'' (2000)
* ''
Re-Entry'' (2001)
Collaboration albums
* ''
Hip-Hop Lives'' (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' track "
Juicy" as being one of Smalls' early influences.
References
External links
*
AllMusic biographyFacebook 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