Mark Battles facts for kids

Mark Anthony Battles (born September 2, 1991) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mark Battles started his music journey in 2011. His first project was called Good Morning America. He became well-known for his song Last Night. This song was even remixed by famous artist Kid Ink.

In 2015, Mark released his first studio album, Numb. It reached the Top Hip-Hop/R&B charts on Billboard. His second album, Before The Deal, came out in 2016. It reached #15 on the Heatseekers chart. Mark has worked with many other artists like Dizzy Wright, French Montana, and Tory Lanez.

Since 2017, Mark Battles has been guided by music executive Coach K. Coach K is known for working with many successful artists. Mark is an independent artist, meaning he manages his own music career. He has over 50 million streams on music platforms like Spotify and YouTube. He also tours across America. This makes him one of the most successful rappers from Indianapolis.

Early life

Mark Battles was born in Indianapolis on September 2, 1991. His mother's name is Chiffonda Ducking. He grew up with two brothers, Anthony and Carl, and one sister. Mark and his siblings lived in different homeless shelters when he was very young. They grew up in a busy part of Indianapolis.

Mark started rapping when he was younger, using a different stage name. He went to Pike High School in northern Indianapolis and graduated in 2009. He says his music was inspired by famous artists like Big Pun, Drake, Eminem, and 2Pac.

On August 31, 2006, something very sad happened. Mark's brother, Carl, was in a car accident near Pike High School. Mark and his other siblings were also in the car. They were all taken to the hospital. Sadly, Carl passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. This event deeply affected Mark. He has paid tribute to his brother Carl in some of his songs, like One For The Money.

Musical career

2011–2012: Starting Out

Mark Battles officially began rapping at age 15. In 2011, he started his own independent record label called Fly America. You can often hear this brand mentioned in his songs.

In 2011, Mark released his first mixtape, Good Morning America. It was played on local radio stations. In 2012, he released another mixtape called Walking Distance. This mixtape featured artists like Kid Ink and King Los. Walking Distance became very popular and was certified gold on DatPiff.

Mark's song Last Night was remixed by Kid Ink. His most famous songs from this time were "Ugh Oh" featuring Los and Last Night. Last Night even got second place for air time on MTV. Mark also released the first part of his mixtape series Saturday School in November 2012. He also went on tour with artist Rockie Fresh.

2013–2015: Mixtapes and Numb

In 2013, Mark Battles released his three-part Saturday School mixtape series. He also went on a national tour. One of his shows was sold out when he performed with MGK.

On December 27, 2013, he released a mixtape called Broken Silence with King Los. This mixtape featured many artists like Wale, Curren$y, and French Montana. The first song from it was "Got A Feeling," featuring Wale. In August 2014, Mark released another mixtape called Preseason.

On October 2, 2015, Mark Battles released his first studio album, Numb. He released it independently. The album reached #25 on the U.S. Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B charts.

2016-2017: Before The Deal & Day 2

On May 13, 2016, Mark Battles announced a partnership with music producer No ID's record label, ARTium Recordings. This happened after he had released many music projects and gone on national tours. Soon after, he announced his new project, Before The Deal. He also released a music video for his song "No Love" featuring Futuristic and King Los.

On May 31, 2016, Mark released his second studio album, Before the Deal, for digital download. Within hours, the album reached #8 on the Top Rap album charts on Apple's iTunes store. On June 18, 2016, Before the Deal debuted at #15 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers charts. Mark then announced "The Before The Deal Tour," which started in June 2016.

Throughout 2016, Mark worked with artists like Dizzy Wright and Locksmith. In the summer of 2016, he joined Dizzy Wright's "Still Movin" tour. In September 2016, Mark worked with fellow Indianapolis artist Dorian on a remix of Dorian's song Don't Sleep.

In November 2016, Mark was interviewed by XXL magazine. He talked about his relationship with producer NO I.D. On May 26, 2017, Mark Battles released a studio album called Day 2 with Tory Lanez. This album was played on many radio stations in the US.

2018-present: Recent Projects

On February 9, 2018, Mark Battles released his Vasi World EP. He then announced the Vasi World Spring Tour. This tour featured DJ Yung 1 and other artists.

In June 2023, Mark talked about important topics like gun violence and mental health on a podcast. He mentioned that Kevin Lee, also known as Coach K, from Quality Control Music, has been his mentor.

In May 2024, Mark Battles released an album called Do Not Disturb. It quickly gained millions of digital streams in just 24 hours after its release.

Discography

Studio albums

• Numb (2015)
• Before The Deal (2016)
• Day 2 (2017)
• Metaphorically Speaking (2021)
• Paramount (2023)
• Do Not Disturb (2024)

Mixtapes

• Good Morning America (2011)
• Walking Distance (2012)
• Saturday School (2011)
• Saturday School 2 (2012)
• Saturday School 3 (2012)
• Broken Silence (2013)
• Black Einstein (2014)
• Preseason (2014)
• Lost In Reality (2015) (with Dizzy Wright and Euroz)
• Shelter Food (2015)
• Until September (2015)
• Vasi World (2018)
• Foturnate (2018)
• Fortunate2 (2019)

Tours

See also

• Hip hop music