From the womb of a seamstress- Marcus John, was born with flowing rhythms sewn into his veins. His Dad’s extensive record collection would be the catalyst for his unique blend of Soul, Jazz, Rock, & Blues. Oozing out funkiness since his childhood- the beats began to form on his Muppet’s drum-set at the age of three. By five, it was “Hip Hop ya’ don’t stop” as he began to B-Boi at local Roller Skating rinks with the older kids from his neighborhood. It was during this time that he fell in love with Hip-Hop music. At age nine he wrote a rhyme for a school talent show, thus beginning his never ending quest for dope beatz.
What began with an old turntable and multiple cassette decks; would by age thirteen become a disco mixer, a Technics 1100A turntable, a BOSS digital delay foot-pedal, and a used Roland TR 606 drum machine. He was amazed at what he could do once he upgraded his drum machine to a Casio RZ-1 (with its four cutting edge sampling pads- that each had a whopping 0.4 seconds of sampling time!). Quickly hooked on gear to make beats with, he worked and saved his money. At age fifteen he was able to purchase a Roland W-30 sampling workstation.
Heavily influenced by hearing what innovators such as Marley Marl, The Bomb Squad, Busy Bee, DJ Pooh, Prince Paul, & DJ Premier where doing with samples- he began to frequent local studios to lay down tracks of his own. He would soon become frustrated by the engineers’ usual lack of understanding in terms of recording and mixing Hip-Hop music. Rather than continue to spend money on studio time, he began to rent 4- and 8-track recorders and record it himself. Linking up with various San Diego based emcee’s, his bedroom studio would be referred to as tha LaB. It was here that he would become tha MaDD Sientist.
These first tastes of recording inspired tha MaDD Sientist to leave California and attend the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in Tempe, Arizona. He thoroughly enjoyed learning the technical side of the audio recording process. Upon graduating from the Conservatory he was hired on as a staff engineer at Aaztec Studio’s in Phoenix. During his time at Aaztec, he was able to master the art of digital editing while compiling an extensive list of credits in a variety of genres and mediums. All the while he has applied his vast studio knowledge- to mastering his love for creating fresh Hip-Hop beatz.
Since his time at Aaztec, tha MaDD Sientist has been engineering and producing underground Hip-Hop music in various studios throughout Southern California and Arizona. A lover of technology, he is always learning about the latest recording trends and tools. You can now find him designing sounds and concocting maGicaL beatz throughout the Southwest, using his studio wizardry (and a whole lot of Satellite Pro) in veiled secrecy- while creating potent Hip-Hop tracks. Whether it’s gritty, neck-nodding drums or earth rattling bass lines, tha MaDD Sientist brings the perfect potion to get emcee’s hyped up and ready to spit rhymes.
