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

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. In 2011, Battles released his first project ''Good Morning America'' and gained recognition for his single ''Last Night'', after placing second on MTVu and being remixed by

Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper and singer from Los Angeles, California. His debut studio album, ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' (2012), was released independently and peake ...

. In 2015, Battles released his debut studio album ''Numb'', which peaked in Billboard's Top Hip-Hop/R&B charts followed by a second album in 2016 called ''Before The Deal'', peaking at #15 on the Heatseekers chart. Battles has released numerous projects and collaborations with

Dizzy Wright La'Reonte Wright (born November 26, 1990), known professionally as Dizzy Wright, is an American rapper and record producer. In December 2011, Wright signed to rapper Hopsin's independent record label, Funk Volume. After signing, he released his ...

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...

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Curren$y Shante Scott Franklin (born April 4, 1981), better known by his stage name Currensy (stylized as Curren$y), is an American rapper. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he signed with the local record labels Cash Money Records and Young Mo ...

, and

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. First discovered by Sean Kingston, he received initial recognition for his mixtape ''Conflicts of My S ...

. Since 2017, Battles has been mentored and managed as an independent artist by music executive Coach K of

Quality Control Music Quality Control Music, LLC (also known as Quality Control or QC) is an American hip hop record label founded by Kevin "Coach K" Lee ( COO) and Pierre "P" Thomas (CEO) in March 2013. The label's releases were distributed through Universal Music Gr ...

. Collectively, Battles has amassed more than 50 million streams on digital platforms such as Spotify and YouTube Music, touring periodically across America, making him one of the most commercially successful rappers from Indianapolis.

Early life

Battles was born on September 2, 1991, in

. His mother is Chiffonda Ducking. He grew up with two brothers named Anthony and Carl as well as one sister. Battles and his siblings were raised in an urban, marginalized community of Indianapolis, having lived in several homeless shelters during the early part of his childhood. Battles began rapping under a different stage name. He graduated from

Pike High School Pike High School is a public high school on the northwest side of Indianapolis, Indiana. Athletics Conference History Varsity Sports * Baseball (boys) * Basketball (girls and boys) * Cross country (girls and boys) * Football (boys) * Golf (g ...

as part of Class of 2009 in northern

. His inspiration for music is said to originate from industry icons such as

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discover ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

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, and

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

. On August 31, 2006, his brother Carl was riding the backseat of his sibling's car to school. In the morning hours, his sibling's car collided with a pick up truck near

. Mark and his siblings were rushed to the hospital. However, shortly after arriving at the hospital, Mark's brother, Carl, was pronounced dead. Local media in Indiana reported speeding incidents in the area and prompted officials to enforce speed cameras in the roads near the school. In songs performed by Battles, including ''One For The Money'', he pays tribute to his brother Carl.

Musical career

2011–2012: Career beginnings

Battles started rapping officially at age 15. Mark started his own independent

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

labeled Fly America in 2011, a brand that is heard throughout his music. In 2011, Mark released his first mixtape called ''Good Morning America'' earning airplay in local radio. In 2012, Battles released ''Walking Distance'' with appearances by

, Lola Monroe and

King Los Carlos Coleman, better known by his stage name King Los or simply Los, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his affiliation with American rapper Puff Daddy, having frequently served as his ghostwrit ...

. ''Walking Distance'' went on to be certified gold on DatPiff. Battles' single Last Night was remixed by Kid Ink. Most of his mixtape was produced by DJ and music producer DJ Yung 1. Battles' most famous singles were "Ugh Oh" featuring Los and ''Last Night'', which was featured on MTVu Freshman and hit second place for air time on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Battles has remixed numerous famous hip hop songs which have appeared on his mixtapes. In November 2012, he released the first part of his mixtape series ''Saturday School''. Mark Battles also went on tour with MMG recording artist Rockie Fresh.

2013–2015: Mixtape Series & ''Numb''

In 2013, Battles released his three-part Saturday School mixtape series, along with a national tour that included a sold-out show alongside Bad Boy rapper MGK. On December 27, 2013, he released his collaboration mixtape with King Los. The mixtape Broken Silence was released in 2013 and artists featured include

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, Cyhi Da Prynce and

Chevy Woods Kevin Lee "Chevy" Woods (born May 13, 1981) is an American rapper and songwriter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his affiliation with hometown native rapper Wiz Khalifa, having signed to his Taylor Gang record label as among ...

. The first single was released titled "Got A Feeling" which featured

and Derek Luh. On August 12, 2014, Battles released another mixtape titled ''Preseason''. On October 2, 2015, Battles released his debut studio album ''Numb'', which was released independently. The album peaked at #25 on the U.S.

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hip-Hop/R&B charts.

2016-2017: ''Before The Deal'' & ''Day 2''

On May 13, 2016, Battles announced on his Twitter account a partnership with iconic music producer No ID's record label

ARTium Recordings Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), known professionally as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well a ...

. The deal came after the release of a dozen musical projects and national tours, respectively. Shortly after, Battles announced his latest musical project ''Before The Deal'' and released a music video for the single "No Love" featuring Futuristic and King Los. On May 31, 2016, Battles released his second studio album ''Before the Deal'', for digital release. Within a couple of hours after its release, the album peaked at #8 on the Top Rap album charts on Apple's iTunes store. On the week of June 18, 2016, ''Before the Deal'' debuted on Billboard's Top Heatseekers charts at #15. A nationwide tour was announced called "The Before The Deal Tour," which began in June 2016. Throughout 2016, Battles has collaborated with several recording artists including Dizzy Wright, Audio Push and Locksmith. In Summer of 2016, Mark Battles became one of three artists as part of Dizzy Wright's "Still Movin" tour with Audio Push. In September 2016, Battles collaborated with fellow Indianapolis native Dorian for the official remix of Dorian's hit single ''Don't Sleep''. In November 2016, Battles was interviewed by XXL magazine, in which he stated he described his relationship with producer NO I.D. as "the new kid on the block." After the radio interview, several hip hop artists including Nebraska rapper HAKIM, expressed their inspiration for Battles' rise. On May 26, 2017, in collaboration with Quality Control Music executive Coach K, Battles released a studio album with Tory Lanez called ''Day 2,'' which received mainstream radio airplay in the US.

2018-present: ''Vasi World EP'', ''Paramount'' & ''Do Not Disturb''

On February 9, 2018, Battles released his ''Vasi World EP'' in affiliation with Quality Control Music. The following month, he announced the Vasi World Spring Tour featuring DJ Yung 1, T.Fitz, 12Fifteen, and King Kap. In June 2023, Battles discussed gun violence, mental health, and popular culture with Joey Florez on a podcast hosted by

Bizzy Bone Bryon Anthony McCane II (born September 12, 1976),Whitburn, Joel (2008) ''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2006'', Record Research, , p. 97 better known by his stage name Bizzy Bone, is an American rapper, singer and the youngest member o ...

's colleague Demetrius Reynolds, stating he has been mentored by Kevin Lee, or Coach K, of

. In May 2024, Battles released an album titled ''Do Not Disturb'', garnering millions of digital streams within 24 hours of release.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''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

and Euroz) * ''Shelter Food'' (2015) * ''Until September'' (2015) * ''Vasi World'' (2018) * ''Foturnate'' (2018) * ''Fortunate2'' (2019)

Tours

References

External links

Instagram

YouTube

X

Facebook

IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battles, Mark 1991 births Living people Record producers from Indiana Musicians from Indianapolis Businesspeople from Indianapolis Songwriters from Indiana African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers Rappers from Indiana Pike High School alumni 21st-century American businesspeople American hip-hop singers Midwest hip-hop musicians African-American record producers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters