Machete Marcus: Marq Spekt

Philly born, Atlanta based emcee, Marq Spekt is probably the nicest mic holder you never heard of. Funny thing is, all of your favorite linguists (and Cunninlynguists) either know of him or have bodied beats longside the Broady Champ and School of Sharks frontman.

In the early 90's, hip-hop may have witnessed it's last era of raw, pure, street hop. The era where you could be fly without selling out. P Wing Polo pullovers and Lexus GS300 were the norm. In Philly the rap battlegrounds were reminiscent of the Raekwon lyric "sit back, relax, fake niggaz don't get turns". It took more than just being nice, this was the era where you could get punched in the mouth for being wack or saying the wrong thing. Before the internet and videos, before cats even had access to studios. When you had to be in the street, ready to battle a cat on the spot, at open mics ready to put money up for your freestyle. These freestyle (as in, non written raps) cyphers were where you could find, then unknown emcees, Vinnie Paz, Lost Children of Babylon, Cheif Kamachi, Black Thought and Dice Raw, as well as a young Marq Spekt. These were the proverbial proving grounds for any would be poet with a penchant for improvisational prose and a poisonous pen.

Spekt would eventually trade in the harsh winter warlands for the burgeoning battle fields of the dirty south. Mid 90's saw Atlanta as the new mecca for hip-hop. Spekt would eventually land a record deal with Subverse, the label founded and run by Big Juss of Company Flow. His label mates were the likes of MF Doom and the Micranots as well as a young kid from NY named C Rayz Walz. He would release The Shoplifter/Liquid Smoke single on vinyl before the label folded.

Never one to be stifled, Spekt formed the Broady Champs, and Atlanta hit squad made up of mic murderers from NY, Philly and the West Coast, including the Hipster Jesus himself, Mr. Buddy Leezle. The Champs went on to flood the underground hip hop scenes from the top of the east coast to the bottom of the dirty dirty and all states in between got thumbtacked on GP. Releasing many mixtapes and the label backed, Breakfast of Champions, the crew moved into iconic territory then split so the members could record collaborative solo efforts.

After a breif hiatus, Spekt would move on to record a collaborative effort with New York underground, heavy spitter Karniege.  Released on Backwoodz Studioz in 08, Invizzibl Men "the Unveiling" would re-confirm his slot as one of the nicest spitters in the game. He would then follow up the success of this release with his solo LP's, Guilty Party and Bloodlust 2 as well as spearhead his own branding based website, Grilchyface.com and solidy himself as a staple in todays music and lifestyles.

This last year saw the ever evolving emcee, turn business man, hit the booth and spit murder over exclusive tracks provided by KNO of Cunninlynguist. The collabo effort, entitled Machete Vision, is an instant hip-hop classic, recieving 4 out of 5 stars from HipHopDx. The LP displays the best of Spekts multi dimensional quality's. The emcee inspired by comic books, vintage Lo wears and hard to find Kung Fu flix from back in the day, gets to showcase his many interests over worthy beats and production. The album has features and appearances from mic giants but the standout emcee is definitely Spekt. 

From the hard body Machete Visions, to the bone breaking, grissle grinding of Roadhouse, featuring Action Bronson, Spekt delivers the raw. Standouts on this album include All Smiles, an inside look at the hate and fake friendships that the game creates and the timberland stomping anthem, Danger which features Outdoorsmen and Lo Life, Meyhem Lauren. Besides the 10 tracks of uncut dope, the cover art has to be the illest of the year. Definitely a must have in the CD collection.

2012 can only hold great things for the brother Marcus. With a hip hop classic under his belt and an extenxive catalog, his name will surely be in the books this year and for many more to come. Hard at work pushing his crew School Of Sharks and his new Everything Crisp website, the 90's brainchild seems unstoppable. I know that this has to be a lot to digest, considering you may never have heard of this dude before but, you may want to question, who and what have you been listening to since the mid 90's? He's got songs with your favorite emcees and even a new project with new beats by Mf Doom...I know, I know, I know...waayyyyy too much to digest...for YOU. but not for a shark. Spekt is eating this year like he has every year in the past but you're still on your first plate. So until next time, click the links, do the knowledge, seek the truth but most of all...watch ya body fam! There's sharks in these waters!