Before the Juice Crew, before "The Symphony," before LL Cool J's comeback, Marley Marl was a skinny kid in Queensbridge blasting beats out his window. If strangers on the way to the subway didn't two-step, the beat got scrapped. If they did, it became a record.
Jeffrey Sledge sits down with the legendary DJ and producer for a conversation that moves from accident to empire. Marley explains how Arthur Baker heard a fraction of a second of Dimples D and handed him his first rap deal, how he won over a skeptical Mr. Magic and went live on WBLS, and how a teenage Roxanne Shanté cut "Roxanne's Revenge" in one take while her laundry was in the spin cycle. Three weeks later, they were on private jets.
He opens up about MC Shan and "The Bridge," Biz Markie's last visit to make amends, the demo that became Kool G Rap's career, the first Eric B. & Rakim session, Big Daddy Kane knocking on his door looking for Biz, and the day the Juice Crew cut "The Symphony" straight off a photo shoot. Then the real flex: a quiet life with a mountain view, Sunday bowling with his daughter, and his Cold Chillin' catalog coming home.
This is Mixed and Mastered with Marley Marl.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Follow @mixedandmasteredpod to join the conversation.
