Money Mark Biography
Mark Ramos-Nishita, USA. Money Mark first rose to prominence as keyboard player in the Beastie Boys' powerful stage show of the late 80s and early 90s. However, from his base in Los Angeles, California, he maintained a desire to write and perform his own material. Rather than use the Beastie Boys' own imprint, Grand Royal Records, Nishita was recruited by England's Mo' Wax Records, whose proprietor, James Lavelle, travelled to California to persuade him to sign. His debut Mark's Keyboard Repair was recorded with Lavelle's help, and followed the Mo' Wax house-style of mellow, deep hip-hop with jazz flourishes, over which Nishita added keyboard motifs and laconic narratives. He repeated the process on 1996's Third Version EP, but broadened the range for the follow-up album. Push The Button took in hip-hop, dub, funk, soul, art-rock and pop-styles and shaped them into an endlessly inventive and dazzling 18-track epic.
Nishita subsequently signed a new label recording contract with the Los Angeles-based Emperor Norton Records, releasing the instrumental Change Is Coming in 2001. Another label change saw the artist teaming up with electronica imprint Chocolate Industries, for which he released the eclectic mini-album Demo? Or Demolition?
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
|
