Mark Morrison
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| Mark Morrison | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 3 May 1972 |
| Origin | Hanover, Germany |
| Genre(s) | R&B |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Label(s) | Mack Life Records |
Mark Morrison (born 3 May 1972 in Hanover, Germany) is a British R&B singer who saw major success in the mid-1990s. He is one of the most successful British urban R&B singers of all time. His multi-platinum single, Return of the Mack became a #1 top ten hit across Europe in 1996, and opened the U.S. market for him the following year, where the record achieved platinum status, spending 25 weeks in the U.S. Billboard Charts. Subsequently, he is notably known for his criminal convictions, a one year sentence for getting someone else to do his community service for another offence and protesting his innocence onstage.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early career: "The Mack"
Following his arrest and placement on remand over an alleged stabbing at Krystals nightclub in Leicester, Morrison first recorded professionally in 1995 whilst held in Leicester Prison, following a three month stint during which he decided to become a vocalist.[1][2] His first release was "Crazy", in spring 1995; the single reached the Top 20 in the UK, with the minor hit "Let's Get Down" following in the autumn. "Return of the Mack" followed in spring 1996, and was the first single by a solo British black male artist to reach the number 1 spot in the UK Singles Chart in the 1990s. A reissue of "Crazy" hit the Top 10 in summer 1996, with further single releases "Trippin'", "Horny" and "Moan and Groan" also making the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. Morrison's first album, also titled Return of the Mack, was released in 1996 by Warner Bros/Atlantic Records, and reached number 4 in the UK Album Chart. As a result of these works, Morrison was nominated for four Brit Awards, though he won none, and received a MERCURY PRIZE nomination, an MTV EUROPE award nomination, and 5 MOBO nominations, of which he won BEST RnB ACT. He performed at the Brit Awards 97', like many of his TV appearances, he protested his innocence on stage by wearing a black long sleeve top stating "Only God Can Judge Me", and whipping out a gun with the "Not Guilty" message at an awards show and having female dancers dressed as scantily clad policewomen.[1]
The performance at the 97' Brit's influenced WEA and Morrison to release Only God Can Judge Me, a 9-track E.P. which contained live performances, interviews, prayers and 3 full-length songs including Who's The Mack, which reached #13 in the UK Singles Chart.
[edit] Controversy and "Death Row Records"
Despite his career success, Morrison continued to be accused of various crimes, and in 1997 he was convicted of attempting to bring a stun gun onto an aircraft.[1][2] He was jailed for three months for this offence in early 1997, at about the same time that the single "Return of the Mack" began its climb to the #2 slot in the US charts and later was banned from driving when he was caught driving unsupervised in his Mercedes whilst in his provisional license to not drive.[1] In 1998, Morrison was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for violating a community service order imposed in 1995. He had paid a double to complete the community work while he fled to Barbados.[1]
After numerous sentences, and run-ins with the law, Morrison was asked to return for the 99' Brit Awards, where he presented an award, introduced Whitney Houston and announced his return to music. He went on to sign a three-album deal with notorious U.S. rap label Death Row Records, worth around £1 million pounds (over $1.5m dollars).[1] Morrison was the first and only British artist to sign with Death Row, the label which was once home to top rappers such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and 2Pac Shakur. However due to the label owner Marion “Suge” Knight, the world’s most feared rap CEO, being incarcerated after the death of Tupac Shakur, Death Row, didn't make the comeback people expected, Morrison's album, titled "Innocent Man", (which included "Playa Hata", a record inspired by Snoop Doggy Dogg) was never released and everybody from the roster departed.
[edit] Return to music: "Innocent Man"
By 2004, Morrison was a free agent, and was later signed by former Everton, Arsenal and Leicester City footballer Kevin Campbell, who had started his own label called 2Wikid Records. The label soon became defunct, and eventually folded, despite pressing and illegally releasing a numerous unmastered and unfinished albums into the UK market without promotion. Morrison was then back in court in 2005, where he won a court judgement returning the masters to him. Morrison recently released a limited edition DVD/CD version of his comeback album Innocent Man in the UK, independently through his own imprint Macklife/Mona Records, and is due for an official marketed re-release in early 2008, featuring artists such as DMX, Alexander O'Neal, Elephant Man, Tanya Stephens, Terrell Owens and production from Jive artist, T-Pain.
Mark Morrison features on Cassidy's third studio album B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story with his lyrics from Innocent Man featuring on a track which features another artist to spend time in jail. It can be heard on the myspace account of Cassidy.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album information |
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Return of the Mack
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Only God Can Judge Me
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Innocent Man
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King of British R&B - The Best of Mark Morrison
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[edit] Singles
| Single information |
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Crazy
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Let's Get Down
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Return of the Mack
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Crazy (Re-mix)
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Trippin
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Horny
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Moan & Groan
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Who's The Mack
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Best Friend
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Just A Man / Backstabbers
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Innocent Man (featuring DMX)
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Dance 4 Me
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Innocent (Misunderstood) (Cassidy featuring Mark Morrison)
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[edit] References
- Rolling Stone discography for Mark Morrison
- Yahoo! discography for Mark Morrison
- Interviews on the Leicester Bands website
