Marlon Williams was born on the 30th September 1962, in New York City, USA, and under the name of Marley Marl is best known as one of the most influential DJs in the Hip-Hop genre, as well as a record producer and record label owner. He is most famous for his hit beats and works such as “Around the Way Girl”, “Nobody Beats the Biz”, “The Symphony” and “Eric B. Is President”.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth this rap and hip-hop DJ pioneer has accumulated so far? How rich Marley Marl is? According to sources, it is estimated that the total amount of Marley Marl’s net worth, as of early 2017, is over $5 million, acquired through his career in the music industry which has been active since 1983.
Marley Marl Net Worth $5 million
Marley was born and raised in Queens Borough’s Queensbridge housing project. His interest in music and hip-hop in particular, dates back to his teenage years when he was involved in various local talent shows. Some of his first engagements as a DJ included mixing and later producing singles for old-school hip-hop record labels Tuff City Records and Uptown Records, which provided the basis for Marl’s net worth.
Through the next several years, Marl crafted his mixing skills to perfection, and was soon able to make his own drum loops as well as to produce sharp and unique beats – he revolutionized the way that beats were sampled which led to creating more “affordable” hip-hop by eliminating the need for drum-machines and giving the music a whole new dimension. His fame and popularity began to rise after he produced Roxanne Shanté’s “Roxanne’s Revenge” in 1984, so in 1986 Marl founded his own record label named Cold Chillin’ Records, which he started from his sister’s apartment. All these ventures helped Marley to significantly boost his net worth.
Under his Cold Chillin’ Records label, Marl gathered some of the young and prominent hip-hop talents of NY City and united them in the Juice Crew, which included Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shanté, Masta Ace, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo as well as Biz Markie and MC Shan. By producing MC Shan’s “The Bridge” which became an unofficial Queensbridge anthem, Marl got himself in a spirited “feud” with Bronx’s KRS-One. Besides all these, Marl also collaborated with Lords of the Underground, LL Cool J as well as Heavy D & the Boyz and Eric B. & Rakim, whose single “Eric B. Is President” was a huge commercial success. It is certain that these accomplishments dramatically increased Marley Marl’s wealth by a large margin.
Although in 1985 he released the single “DJ Cuttin'”, under his own name, Marley’s first studio album hit the charts in 1988, named “In Control, Vol. 1” – a compilation of the Juice Crew’s affiliates and their singles, all produced and arranged by Marl, including the, now cult song, “The Symphony”. A huge commercial success Marl scored in 1990 after releasing LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”. In 1992, he worked on TLC’s debut studio album ” Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip”, while in 1995 he released “House of Hits”, a retrospective album including his biggest hits and best production works. Doubtlessly, all these ventures further increased Marley Marl’s popularity as well as his net worth.
After splitting from his own record label and spending the next several years in legal battles over ownership rights and money, Marley Marl returned to the music scene and began collaborating with Capone-N-Noreaga and Fat Joe. In 2001, he released another compilation named “Re-Entry” while in 2007, a collaboration album with once “fierce” rival KRS-One, “Hip Hop Lives” hit the charts. Needless to say that all these works have helped Marley Marl to increase the total amount of his revenues and provide a significant boost of his net worth.
When it comes to his personal life, there are no any relevant data neither any rumors about Marley Marl, although it has been publically acknowledged by him in one interview that he was married.
