Mark Brown (born March 8, 1962), better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician, bassist and record producer.

Life and career

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States, Brown's early fame came when he was the bass guitarist of The Revolution, musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's original touring (and later also his recording) band. BrownMark started working for Prince in 1981, one year out of high school. Noted for his unique,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

-based style of musicianship, he became a record producer and recording artist himself after parting company with Prince in 1986. His early influences on bass are

Larry Graham Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bass guitar, bassist and baritone singer, with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. In 1980, he released the si ...

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

, Louis Johnson, Mark Adams from

SLAVE Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

, Verdine White, Nate Phillips ( Dazz Band) and

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himse ...

. Brown joined Prince's band in 1981 for the ''

Controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

'' album recordings. One of his earliest shows with Prince was opening for

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. He remained with Prince and was a member of The Revolution band for the '' Purple Rain'', '' Around the World in a Day'', and ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' albums, contributing bass and backing vocals. Additionally, Brown contributed to the music for the aborted Dream Factory album that later became a significant part of '' Sign o' the Times''. Brown created the funk-rock outfit

Mazarati Mazarati was an American R&B, rock and funk band, formed in the mid-1980s and was active until 1989. The band had seven members and was produced by the former Prince (musician), Prince and The Revolution (band), The Revolution bassist Brownmar ...

that were signed to the Paisley Park label in 1986. One infamous story was when Prince gave Brown a demo with melody and lyrics of a song that became "

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

." Brown, along with frequent Prince collaborator David Z, worked on a version, intended for the Mazarati album. Prince liked the unique, funky rhythm and background vocals but felt he needed to keep this funky creation for himself. Removing the bass line, and adding signature guitar and falsetto vocal elements; Mazarati's background vocals were retained. The finished, minimalist song was a hard sell to Warner Bros., but Prince insisted and the song was released. Mazarati went on to release their self-titled debut album on Paisley Park, and although the album was not a major seller, it subsequently became a cult classic and has grown in reputation as a hallmark of the Minneapolis sound. Brown achieved minor success after leaving The Revolution. BrownMark later produced musicians including Stacy Lattislaw,

Chico DeBarge Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge (born June 23, 1966) is an American R&B singer and musician. DeBarge was formally a member of the DeBarge family musical group DeBarge. As a solo artist, he scored a 1986 US Top Forty hit with the song "Talk to ...

, and Lakeside. After a lengthy absence from the music business, he returned with a new project entitled Cryptic. After the release of the Cryptic CD entitled ''It's Been Awhile'' the group disbanded in 2002. Brown moved on to a new project out of Tampa Florida with his newly formed group Syx Mil Breach. The CD was released late 2010 and was titled ''Syx mil Breach'', but was immediately pulled off the market by Brown because of contract dispute with his distributors. The Revolution was reformed in 2016 following Prince's death and went on a world healing tour to help fans mourn the loss of their mentor. BrownMark along with

Wendy & Lisa Wendy & Lisa (briefly known as Girl Bros.) is a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasi ...

and

Stokley Williams Stokley Williams (born July 15, 1967), also known simply as Stokley, is an American musician from St. Paul, Minnesota, best known as the lead singer and studio drummer of the R&B band Mint Condition. Career In 2011, Williams was featured on ...

from the group

Mint Condition Mint Condition is an American R&B band from St. Paul, Minnesota. The band is focused on diverse genres such as jazz, hip hop, funk and dance. Mint Condition has also been nominated for one Grammy and three Soul Train Awards. The group is cr ...

share in the singing. These days, BrownMark is making music in his own studio; jamming, recording, and performing with inspiring musicians; and encouraging younger artists who have been influenced by his career. BrownMark's memoir was due from

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...

in late 2020.

Discography

Albums

*''Mazarati'' (1986),

Paisley Park Paisley Park is a 65,000 square foot estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States, once owned by American musician Prince. It was opened to the public as a museum in October 2016. History Construction of the $10 million complex began in Jan ...

*''Kiss Serious''

(1987),

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

*''Personal Attention''

Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States. Career When she was 11 years old, singer/songwriter Frederick Knight attempted to sign Lattisaw to his production ...

(1988),

*''Just Like That'' (1988),

*''Good Feeling'' (1989), Motown *''It's Been A While'' Cryptic Album (2002) *''Syx Mil Breach'' (2010)

Singles

*"Players Ball"

*"Toy" Teen Dream (1987), Motown *"Puppy Love" Teen Dream, Motown *"Happy Relationship"

Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

(1987),

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

*"Watching You"

(1987), Motown *"Relationship" LakeSide (1987),

Solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

*"Personal Attention"

(1988), Motown *"Next Time" (1988) *"Bang Bang" (1989), Motown *"Loverboy" Sheila E. Sex Cymbal Album *"It's Been A While" Cryptic Album (2002) *"Truth Not Lies" (2010) Syx Mill Breach Album *"So Happy Together" Golden Gram Cereal commercial (General Mills) *"Big On Taste"

Pepsi Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry ...

commercial *"Skeletons In My Closet" (2019)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1962 births Living people Musicians from Minneapolis African-American rock musicians American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists The Revolution (band) members American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American rock bass guitarists Motown artists Record producers from Minnesota Guitarists from Minnesota 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Prince associates