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Mark Battles

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Mark Battles
Birth nameMark Anthony Battles
Born (1991-09-02) September 2, 1991 (age 33)
Indianapolis, Indiana
OriginIndianapolis, Indiana, United States
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper, producer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, Producer
Years active2012–present
LabelsFly America
Websitewww.markbattlesmusic.com

Mark Anthony Battles (born September 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Mark Battles, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the CEO & Founder of his own record label Fly America. Battles first received recognition for his 2012 hip hop single "Last Night" which placed second on MTVu. Battles has released several mixtapes since 2011 of both original and remix tracks including his most recent collaboration album with Bad Boy recording artist King Los.[1] The collaboration mixtape with Los called "Broken Silence" was covered by rap news outlets and was premiered on Vibe Magazine & New York's Respect. Magazine.[2][3]

Early life

Battles was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana to his mother Chiffonda Ducking. Battles has three siblings, 2 brothers, named Anthony and Carl battles and 1 sister.[4] Mark started rapping under a different stage name before using his current rap name. Mark graduated as Class of 2009 from Pike High School located in northern Indianapolis. Mark's inspiration comes from hip hop legends like Big Pun, Eminem and 2Pac.

Death of Carl Battles

On August 31, 2006, Mark's brother Carl Battles was riding the backseat seat and Mark was in the front seat while being driven by his sister Aishareika to school. In the morning hours, Aishareika's car crashes with a pick up truck on Northwestern Side near 71st street near their school Pike High School.[4] Carl, Aishareika and Mark were both sent to the hospital from the crash scene.[5] Carl was shortly pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. Reports say both cars were speeding on a yellow light and the incident had prompted the roads near the school to be enforced with speed enforcement cameras.[6] In one of Mark's songs titled "One For The Money", he mentions and pays tribute to his brother at the end of the track.

Musical career

2005-2012: Career beginnings

Mark started rapping officially at age 15. Inspired mostly of rappers like Big Pun, DMX, Jay-Z and Drake. Mark started his own independent record label and movement called Fly America which is his brand that is seen and heard through his music.[7] In 2012, Mark released his first major mixtape called Walking Distance with appearances from Kid Ink, Lola Monroe and King Los. Mark's marketer who brought Last Night to fame was Joey, a notorious Miami-based music marketer and producer.[8] Mark's music video single Last Night was remixed by Kid Ink and was released without a music video. Most of the material in the mixtape was produced by Mark's DJ & producer, DJ Yung 1. Mark's 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.[9][8] Mark has remixed numerous famous hip hop songs which have appeared on his mixtapes.[7] On November 2012, Mark released the first part of his mixtape series Saturday School.

2013-present: Broken Silence mixtape

In 2013, Mark signed his first recording artist Derek Luh to his record label Fly America.[7] On March 15, 2014, Derek was ranked #9 by Fox Weekly as an 'artist to watch.'[10] During 2013, Mark has released Part 2 & 3 of his Saturday School mixtape series and has been touring. Mark has performed alongside MGK in a sold out show in 2013. On October 17, 2013, Vibe Magazine premiered the first single titled "Can't Stand Us" off of Mark's collaboration mixtape. The single featured both French Montana & Derek Luh. On December 27, 2013, Mark released his collaboration mixtape with King Los. The mixtape featured hip hop artists Wale, Curren$y, Ab-Soul, French Montana, Dizzy Wright, Cyhi Da Prynce and Chevy Woods.[11] The first single was released titled "Got A Feeling" and featured King Los & Wale.

On January 28, 2014, Mark Battles announced a release date for his new mixtape Black Einstein. The free tape drops on HotNewHipHop.Com on February 20, 2014. He also revealed that the project would feature Dizzy Wright, Joe Budden, Curren$y, French Montana, Euroz and more.[12]

The music video for the first single off of Black Einstein mixtape was released on January 30, 2014. The video didn't pick up steam until days later, where it racked up millions of Worldstarhiphop views. The video features Wale and Derek Luh.[13] On February 20 Mark Battles released his mixtape "Black Einstein" for free download.[14]

Discography

  • Good Morning America mixtape (2011)
  • Walking Distance mixtape (2012)
  • Saturday School mixtape Pt. 1, 2 & 3 (2012)
  • Broken Silence mixtape (2013)
  • Black Einstein mixtape (2014)
  • Untitled Studio Album (TBA)

References

  1. ^ Baker, Soren (2013-12-30). "King Los & Mark Battles "Broken Silence" Release Date, Cover Art, Download & Mixtape Stream". HipHopDX.
  2. ^ "Premiere: Mark Battles Feat. French Montana And Derek Luh 'Cant Stand Us". Vibe Magazine. 2013-10-17.
  3. ^ Griffen, Sam (2013-12-30). "New Mixtape: King Los & Mark Battles – Broken Silence". Respect-Mag (NY).
  4. ^ a b Davis, Linsey (2006-09-01). "Family mourns Pike student's death". NBC Wthr 13.
  5. ^ "Counselors Help Pike Students Deal With Fatal Crash". ABC (Rtv6). 2006-09-01.
  6. ^ Spehler, Dan (2013-05-16). "Speed enforcement cameras in Indiana school zones?". FOX 59.
  7. ^ a b c Clay, Jasmine (2013-12-29). "New Music Alert: Derek Luh Releases "L.A. Confidential" Featuring Mark Battles & Lola Monroe". Hip Hop Enquirer.
  8. ^ a b Rogers, Danny (2014-02-15). "Behind Rising Indianapolis Rapper Mark Battles". Fox Weekly. Cite error: The named reference "mtvu" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Mark Battles - Ugh Oh (ft. Los)". VEVO (YouTube). 2013-11-27.
  10. ^ "#9. [artist to watch.]". Fox Weekly. 2014-03-15.
  11. ^ Fall, Kyle (2013-12-27). "King Los & Mark Battles – Broken Silence (Mixtape)". Rapdose.
  12. ^ http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/mark-battles-announces-new-mixtape-black-einstein-with-cover-art-and-release-date-news.9103.html
  13. ^ Betancourt, Joey (2014-02-15). "Mark Battles new music video 'Got A Feeling' featuring Wale & Derek Luh". Fox Weekly.
  14. ^ "Mark Battles "Black Einstein". Orange Mixtapes. 2014-02-20.

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