Marley Marl

USA, 1983–now

American producer Marlon Williams (b. 1962), who discovered by accident that a sampler could capture a drum hit and changed hip-hop with it. His Juice Crew records and the posse cut 'The Symphony' established the chopped-break, hard-drum method every East Coast producer after him worked from.

MusicRoots documents 1 artist who influenced Marley Marl and 3 artists Marley Marl influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Marley Marl?

• James Brown — Marley Marl built his revolution on James Brown records - the breaks he sampled into the first modern hip-hop drum sound.

Which artists did Marley Marl influence?

• DJ Premier — Premier ranks Marley Marl the greatest producer of all time - the sampling and drum programming that defined golden-age East Coast rap is the method he built on.
• Pete Rock — Marley Marl mentored Pete Rock directly, handing on the sampled-drum craft that Rock then softened with jazz and soul.
• RZA — The producer who made sampled drums the basis of a record, and whom RZA is named among the inheritors of.