Marlon G. Fletcher (July 29, 1971 – May 22, 2003), better known under his stage name Big DS, was an American hardcore rapper and record producer from Queens, New York. He was co-founder of the hardcore rap group Onyx. As a part of Onyx Big DS released one album "

Bacdafucup ''Bacdafucup'' is the debut album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on March 30, 1993 by JMJ Records, Rush Associated Labels and Chaos Recordings. The album was produced by Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay and Kool Tee. ''Bacdafucup'' peaked at ...

" and 8 singles on

JMJ Records JMJ Records is an American record label which was founded in 1989 by Jason Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay from Run-D.M.C. The label was relaunched in 2017 by Jam Master J'Son, the oldest son of the legendary Jam Master Jay. The label rele ...

and featured on 1993's

Judgment Night (soundtrack) ''Judgment Night'' is the soundtrack to the 1993 film of the same name. It was released on September 14, 1993 through Immortal Records and Epic Soundtrax and was produced by many of the album's performers. Every song on the soundtrack was a colla ...

. As a part of Onyx Big DS was nominated as "Rap/Hip-Hop New Artist" on

American Music Awards of 1994 The 21st Annual American Music Awards were held on February 7, 1994, at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles, California. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from the year 1993. Whitney Houston was the big winner of the nigh ...

and won "Best Rap Album" on

1994 Soul Train Music Awards The 1994 Soul Train Music Awards were held on Tuesday, March 15, 1994, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Johnny Gill. Special awards Heritage Award for Career Achievement ...

Early life

Fletcher was born in South Ozone Park, Queens, New York City,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He studied at John Adams High School (Queens). In 1988, after graduating from school at the age of 17,

Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay of ...

created the rap group Onyx along with his schoolmates Big DS and Suavé (also known as

Sonny Seeza Tyrone Taylor (born November 13, 1970), better known by his stage name Sonny Seeza, or previously as Suavé and Sonsee, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, DJ, actor, best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. ...

). Big DS came up with the name for the group, he named it after the black stone Onyx. They began to make the first demos in the basement of B-Wiz with drum machine beats from an SP-12.

Career

In 1989, Onyx signed Jeffrey Harris as their manager, who helped them secure a contract with the label Profile Records. In 1990, at York Studio in Brooklyn, they recorded their first single, "Ah, And We Do It Like This", which was released to low sales on April 25, 1990 on Profile. Big DS and Suave first met Jam Master Jay at Rev Run's wedding in 1990. They met again in a traffic jam at The Jones Beach GreekFest Festival on July 13, 1991. Jay give them about two months to get a demo, but Suave and Big DS couldn't make it to the studio to record the demo. They were replaced on the demo by

's cousin,

Sticky Fingaz Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam ...

, who at that time was pursuing a solo career under the name Trop. Fredro and Jones recorded two records for the demo, "Stik 'N' Muve" and "Exercise", which Jam Master Jay liked enough to sign the group to his label,

. Big DS left the group in 1994 to start a solo career. Big DS founded his own label Illyotic Music and started producing music. After recording a few demos, Big DS sent them to Jimmy Iovine, co-owner of

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

, in the hope of signing a contract with his label for the release of the album.

Death

On May 22, 2003, Big DS died in a hospital in Queens after receiving chemotherapy as a result of lymphatic cancer at 31 years old.

Discography

;With Onyx *1993: ''

'' ;Solo albums *1994: ''Demo Tape''

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Video game appearances

* '' Rap Jam: Volume One'' (1995) as Big DS

References

External links

Marlon Fletcher at Discogs
*
Big DS at RapGenius
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big DS African-American male rappers Musicians from Queens, New York Rappers from New York City Hardcore hip hop artists 1971 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people Deaths from cancer in New York (state)