HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marlon Craft is an American rapper and songwriter from
Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. He released his debut studio album, ''Funhouse Mirror'', in June 2019. He had also previously released numerous
EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
and
mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
s.


Early life and education

Marlon Craft was born in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. His father is a jazz drummer and his mother is a producer for an
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
theater company. He grew up in Manhattan Plaza, a Mitchell-Lama residential complex in Hell's Kitchen. He attended The Beacon School, a selective college-preparatory high school also in Hell's Kitchen. He also played AAU basketball in the
South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
. After high school, Craft attended
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
in Washington, D.C. where he designed his own major, Urban Education and Social Justice.


Career

After college, Craft moved back to Manhattan Plaza and began making freestyle videos and posting them to
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. His first collection of songs came in the form of the March 2015 mixtape, ''Pieces''. That project featured a freestyle in which Craft rapped over the beat from " Shook Ones" by
Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...
. He followed that with two EPs in 2016: ''So, What Are You Doing?'' and ''he looked like nothing''. The latter project featured the single, "Workin'". In March 2017, Craft released a short film that was also called ''he looked like nothing''. The month prior, he was featured in a cypher at Audiomack Studios with Radamiz and Angelo Mota. In August 2017, Craft released his second mixtape, ''The Tunnel's End'', which featured the singles "The Feels" and "New York Shit" (featuring Radamiz). The album was briefly number 2 on the
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
Hip-Hop chart behind
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
's '' 4:44''. He also continued releasing freestyles including one that mentioned every NBA team, another on Statik Selektah's Shade 45 radio show, and one that mentioned every member of the 2016 and 2017 '' XXL''
Freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...
classes. In 2018, Craft opened for Dizzy Wright on his "Golden State of Mind Tour". He also released a series of EPs entitled ''A Dollar in Quarters''. ''25c'' came out in February, ''50c'' in March, and ''75c'' in May. Later in 2018, Craft partnered with Same Plate Entertainment (a joint venture with Sony Music). One of the first singles he released after signing to Same Plate was "NY Baby" featuring Bodega Bamz. In November 2018, he was featured on the
Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), better known by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. A lead member of Mr. Magic's hip hop collective Juice Crew, he is best known for his guest appearance alo ...
and
Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
album, ''A Breukelen Story'', on the track "Wanna Be". In 2019, Craft and his team formed an art collective, movement, and lifestyle brand called "OUR.S". The organization helped coordinate "WORKWEEK", a series of public events in March and April 2019 that highlighted various non-profit organizations. Craft released the single "Do The Work" in support of the WORKWEEK events. In May 2019, Craft released another single, "Shallow", featuring Dizzy Wright. As part of OUR.S, fans could access the song two days before its wide release. In June 2019, Craft released the single "Gang Shit". The song and its accompanying music video depicted Craft taking on three roles: a racist white police officer, a member of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
, and a black man serving prison time for an armed robbery. The song served as the lead single to his debut studio album, ''Funhouse Mirror'', which was released later that month by Same Plate and Sony. The album featured guest appearances from Dizzy Wright, Nyck Caution, Ricky Motion, and Evan Crommett. It reached number one on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
' Top Hip-Hop Albums chart the week it was released. It also received praise from artists and activists like Killer Mike, T.I., Shaun King, and La La Anthony. Shortly after the album's release, Craft sold out his first show headlining at SOB's in New York. The following month, he held a listening party at The Halal Guys food carts on 53rd Street in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. In July 2019, he appeared on '' Sway in the Morning'' and performed a "5 Fingers of Death" freestyle. In 2020 Craft left his record deal with Same Plate Entertainment/
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
and went back fully independent, launching The Center - an exclusive online subscription community of supporters. For $7 a month, fans can directly fund the creation of Craft's content, and in return receive exclusive access in the forms of hidden songs, weekly Zoom sessions, and more. In early 2021, Craft announced that his second album, ''How We Intended'' would release in February. On January 19, a day before
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
's inauguration as president, Craft released "State of the Union",  a scathing rebuke of the state of affairs in America and in culture. On January 22, he appeared on '' The Beat with Ari Melber'' on
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
to break down the video and song with Ari Melber and Michael Steele.


Discography


Studio albums


Mixtapes


EPs


Singles


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craft, Marlon 1993 births 21st-century American singers Songwriters from New York (state) Sony Music artists Living people Rappers from Manhattan People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan 21st-century American musicians