Marley Marl facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marley Marl
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Marley Marl in 1999
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marlon Lu'Ree Williams |
| Born | September 30, 1962 Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day |
| Genres | East Coast hip hop |
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| Years active | 1983–present |
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Marlon Lu'Ree Williams (born September 30, 1962), known as Marley Marl, is an American DJ, music producer, rapper, and record label founder. He is famous for his work in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in the Queensbridge area of Queens, New York. He loved performing in local talent shows when rap music was just starting.
Marley Marl also appeared on the song "Paid in Full" by Eric B. & Rakim. This song was recorded in his studio. Many famous hip hop artists look up to him. These include Biggie Smalls, RZA, DJ Premier, Madlib, and Pete Rock. Producer Madlib said that Marley Marl was the first person who inspired him to create music beats. Vibe magazine wrote that he "forever changed the sound of hip-hop."
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Marley Marl's Early Career
Marley Marl's journey in music began with his interest in electronica. In the early 1980s, he worked as an intern at Unique Recording Studios. This gave him the chance to try out expensive music machines called samplers, like the Fairlight CMI.
One day, while working with an artist named Captain Rock, he accidentally discovered how to sample music. He was trying to get a sound from a record. He made a mistake and got a drum sound (a snare) mixed in with the main sound. This accident made the snare sound even better than the one he had from his drum machine.
Soon after, a well-known hip-hop radio DJ named Mr. Magic heard Marley Marl's remix of "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm McLaren. This led to Marley becoming Mr. Magic's DJ. In 1983, they started a hip-hop group called the Juice Crew.
Founding Cold Chillin' Records
In 1986, Marley Marl helped start Cold Chillin' Records. He became the main producer for many projects at this label. He was paid a good amount for his production work. Many artists from the Juice Crew also signed with Cold Chillin' Records.
Marley's big break came in 1984 with Roxanne Shante's hit song "Roxanne's Revenge". Roxanne Shante remembered how serious he was about recording, even with simple equipment. She said they would record in his living room using basic machines. Even though she wanted to finish quickly, Marley always made her do it again until it was perfect.
Another important early song was "Marley Marl Scratch" from 1985, featuring MC Shan. This song was recorded on a simple four-track cassette recorder. MC Shan even used a microphone that was missing a part to record his lyrics.
Using the Roland TR-808
Many of Marley Marl's early songs showed his creative use of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. On MC Shan's 1986 song "The Bridge," Marley used the 808 to trigger different samplers. This song later appeared on MC Shan's 1987 album Down By Law.
According to Biz Markie, a button on Marley's 808 got stuck while recording Biz's hit "Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz." This created the unique sound heard on the record today. Big Daddy Kane, another Juice Crew member, praised Marley's skill. He said Marley could make sampled drums sound gritty and warm by adding the 808.
In the late 1980s, the Juice Crew became more famous. Spin magazine wrote that they made some of the toughest hip-hop music. At this time, Marley started producing entire albums for several Juice Crew members. He produced all the songs on:
- Craig G's The Kingpin (1989)
- Big Daddy Kane'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)
- Roxanne Shante's Bad Sister (1989)
In 1988, he produced the Juice Crew's group song "The Symphony." He used a record from the WBLS radio station's music library as a sample source for this track.
Later Career and Collaborations
In 2007, Marley Marl produced the entire Hip Hop Lives album for KRS-One. This was notable because KRS-One had been a rival in the past.
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
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)
See also
In Spanish: Marley Marl para niños
