DESCRIPTION:
Mark Morrison (born 3 May 1972) is a West German born British hip hop and R&B musical recording artist. His single, "Return of the Mack", became a number-one or Top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996. The song peaked at number 2 in the United States the following year.
Born in Hannover, West Germany, to Barbadian parents, he lived in Leicester, England and attended Rushey Mead School, before moving to Miami, Florida. At age 19, he moved back to England.
Early career:Mark Morrison's first official recording was the 1993 vinyl release, Where Is Our Love, pressed on his own private Joe'Mel label.
Main career: In mid-1995, Morrison released his debut single, "Crazy", which became a Top 20 hit in the UK, and was a club favorite.[1] The follow-up single, "Let's Get Down", also entered the Top 40. They were followed in the spring of 1996 by "Return of the Mack" which became a smash international hit, spending two weeks at No. 1 on the UK charts.
His debut album, also titled Return of the Mack, followed and became a multi-platinum success. It reached number four in the UK chart and sold 3 million albums worldwide. It spun off several more hit singles over the next year: "Crazy (Remix)", "Trippin'", "Horny", and "Moan & Groan" would all reach the UK Top 10, making him the first artist in British pop history to have five Top 10 hits from a debut album.
Although his career was going well, Morrison was constantly in trouble with the police. In 1997, he was imprisoned. The same year he received numerous nominations: four Brit Awards nominations, a Mercury Prize nomination, an MTV Europe Music Awards nomination, and five Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO) nominations. "Return of the Mack" began to climb its way to No. 2 on the American Billboard charts, receiving platinum status. It stayed on the Billboard charts for a lengthy 40 weeks. Morrison had one minor US hit, 1997's "Moan & Groan," which went to number 76.
Morrison performed at the 1997 Brit Awards. The performance influenced[citation needed] WEA and Morrison to release Only God Can Judge Me, a nine-track EP which contains live performances, interviews, prayers, and three full-length songs including "Who's The Mack!" which reached No. 13 in the UK.Return to music[edit]
Morrison appeared on the 1999 Brit Awards where he presented an award, introduced Whitney Houston and announced his return to music. In September 1999, a single titled "Best Friend" featuring Connor Reeves & Gabrielle became Morrison's ninth Top 40 hit single, reaching No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart.[13] The following year, it was announced by Billboard that Morrison had signed a five-year worldwide deal with Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight, making him the first, and only European (British) artist to be signed with Death Row Records.
He later signed to soccer player Kevin Campbell's 2 Wikid label in 2003. His only release for the label, a single entitled "Just a Man"/"Backstabbers", was a minor UK hit, reaching No. 48 in the UK Singles Chart in August 2004.
In May 2006, Morrison released the limited edition CD/DVD album entitled Innocent Man in the United Kingdom on his private label, Mack Life Records/Mona Records. The title track, "Innocent Man", featuring DMX was released in March 2006. It was well received and reached No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he was featured on hip-hop artist Cassidy's single titled "Innocent (Misunderstood)" from the B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story album. The track sampled Morrison's vocals from "Innocent Man", and charted on Billboard's Bubbling Under Singles chart.
On 29 January 2007, he released the single titled "Dance 4 Me" featuring Tanya Stephens. It was the fourth single to be released from his album Innocent Man. The official music video was directed by Ray Kay. For unknown reasons, to this date the single remains unreleased and was removed from purchase shortly after release.