Mark Battles

Mark Battles

Battles performing in Before The Deal tour
Background information
Birth name Mark Anthony Battles
Born (1991-09-02) September 2, 1991
Origin Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Genres Hip hop, Rap
Occupation(s)
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2012–present
Labels Fly America, Def Jam, ARTium Recordings, Universal Music Group
Associated acts No I.D., Los, Wale, French Montana, Joe Budden, Curren$y, Futuristic, Ab-Soul, Dizzy Wright, Kid Ink Dave McIntyre
Website weareflyamerica.com

Mark Anthony Battles (born September 2, 1991), is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur and record producer from Indianapolis, Indiana.[1] He is the founder and CEO of independent record label Fly America. Battles has since released several singles which has accumulated millions of views on YouTube.[1] In 2016, Battles announced a partnership deal with iconic music producer and Def Jam Recordings executive No I.D.[2][3]

In 2012, Battles released his first mixtape Walking Distance and gained online recognition for his song "Last Night", which placed second on MTVu.[4][5] He has worked closely with various notable rappers including Kid Ink, Wale and French Montana. Battles has, in total, released a dozen mixtapes including collaborations with Dizzy Wright and King Los, surpassing a million digital downloads.[6][7][8] On October 2, 2015, Battles released his debut independent album Numb, which peaked at #39 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts.[9]

Early life

Pike High School, where Battles attended high school.

Mark Anthony Battles was born on September 2, 1991 in surburban Indianapolis, Indiana. His mother is Chiffonda Ducking. He has 2 brothers named Anthony and Carl, and 1 sister.[10] Battles began rapping under a different stage name before using his current rap name. He graduated as Class of 2009 from Pike High School located in northern Indianapolis. His inspiration for music originated from hip hop icons such as Big Pun, Drake, Eminem and 2Pac.

On August 31, 2006, his brother Carl Battles was riding the backseat of his sister Aishareika's car to school. In the morning hours, Aishareika's car collided with a pick up truck on Northwestern Side near 71st street near their school Pike High School.[10] Carl, Aishareika and Mark were rushed to the hospital, however shortly after arriving at the hospital, Carl was pronounced dead.[11] Local media reports state that both cars were speeding on a yellow light, and as a result of the accident prompted the roads near the school to be enforced with speed cameras.[12]

In several songs performed by Battles, including "One For The Money", he mentions and pays tribute to his brother Carl. His brother Carl was, according to Battles, the reason for his motivation to pursue a music career.

Musical career

2011—2012: Career beginnings

Mark started rapping officially at age 15. Mark started his own independent record label called Fly America in 2011, which is a brand that is heard throughout his music. In 2012, Mark released his first mixtape called Walking Distance with appearances by Kid Ink, Lola Monroe and King Los. Walking Distance went on to be certified gold on DatPiff, having over 100,000 digital downloads. Mark's music video single Last Night was remixed by Kid Ink and was released without a music video. Most of the material in the mixtape was produced by Mark's DJ & producer, DJ Yung 1. Mark's most famous singles were "Ugh Oh" featuring Los, and Last Night, which was featured on MTVu Freshman and hit second place for air time on MTV.[4][13] Mark has remixed numerous famous hip hop songs which have appeared on his mixtapes. On November 2012, Mark released the first part of his mixtape series Saturday School.

2013-2015: Mixtape Series & Numb

In 2013, Battles released his 3 part Saturday School mixtape series, along with a national tour that included a sold out show alongside Bad Boy rapper MGK. On December 27, 2013, he released his collaboration mixtape with King Los. The mixtape Broken Silence was released in 2013 and artists featured include Wale, Curren$y, Ab-Soul, French Montana, Dizzy Wright, Cyhi Da Prynce and Chevy Woods.[14] The first single was released titled "Got A Feeling" which featured Wale and former Fly America rapper Derek Luh.[15][16] On August 12, 2014 Battles released another mixtape titled "Preseason".[17]

On October 2, 2015, Battles released his debut studio album "Numb", which was released independently on iTunes. The album peaked at #25 on the U.S. Billboard Heatseekers charts and reached #39 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts.[9]

2016-present: Before The Deal & Def Jam Recordings

On May 13, 2016, Battles announced on his Twitter account a partnership deal with iconic music producer No ID's record label ARTium Recordings, a division of Def Jam Records.[1] The deal came after the release of a dozen musical projects and national tours, respectively. Shortly after, Battles announced his latest musical project "Before The Deal" and released a music video for the single "No Love" featuring Futuristic and King Los.[18]

On May 31, 2016, Battles released his second studio album "Before the Deal", for digital release.[19] Within a couple of hours after its release, Before the Deal topped at #8 on the Top Rap album iTunes charts. On the week of June 18, 2016, Before the Deal debuted on Billboard's Top Heatseekers charts at #15. A nationwide tour was announced called "The Before The Deal Tour", which began in June 2016. Throughout 2016, Battles has collaborated with several recording artists including Dizzy Wright, Audio Push and Locksmith.[20][21]

Fly America

Fly America
Status Active
Distributor(s) ARTium Recordings, Def Jam Records, Universal Music Group
Genre Hip Hop
Location Los Angeles, California

Fly America (FA) is an American record label founded by hip hop artist and producer Mark Battles. In 2016, Battles announced a partnership deal with No ID's imprint ARTium Recordings, a part of Def Jam Records and distributed by Universal Music Group.[1] Since its creation, in 2011, former hip hop recording artist Derek Luh, Jace Houston and DJ Yung 1 have been signed to the label.

Current artists

Former artists

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures
Title Album details Peak chart positions
Top Heatseekers
[22]		 US
R&B
[23]
Numb 25 39
Title Album details Peak chart positions
Top Heatseekers
[24]		 US
R&B
Before The Deal 15 --

Mixtapes

Tours

Year Tour Name
2016 Indy Homecoming Show[25][1]
2016 The Before The Deal Tour
2015 The Numb Tour
2014 The Dreams 2 Reality Tour

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lindquist, David (2016-09-14). "Meet Mark Battles, the rapper who's ready to come home". Indy Star.
  2. ↑ "5 Influential Rappers That Broke The Mental Health Stigma". The Huffington Post. 2016-07-27.
  3. ↑ Meara, Paul (2015-03-03). "Rap Release Dates: Kanye West, Death Grips, Mark Battles & Dizzy Wright". HipHopDX.
  4. 1 2 "You Pick The Video That Gets On Air". MTV. 2012-10-08.
  5. ↑ "Mark Battles "Last Night"". MTV. 2012-07-26.
  6. ↑ Baker, Soren (2013-12-30). "King Los & Mark Battles "Broken Silence" Release Date, Cover Art, Download & Mixtape Stream". HipHopDX.
  7. ↑ "Premiere: Mark Battles Feat. French Montana And Derek Luh 'Cant Stand Us". Vibe. 2013-10-17.
  8. ↑ Griffen, Sam (2013-12-30). "New Mixtape: King Los & Mark Battles – Broken Silence". Respect. Magazine.
  9. 1 2 "Mark Battles: Billboard Chart History". Billboard. 2016-05-17.
  10. 1 2 Davis, Linsey (2006-09-01). "Family mourns Pike student's death". NBC.
  11. ↑ "Counselors Help Pike Students Deal With Fatal Crash". ABC News. 2006-09-01.
  12. ↑ Spehler, Dan (2013-05-16). "Speed enforcement cameras in Indiana school zones?". FOX.
  13. ↑ "Mark Battles - Ugh Oh (ft. Los)". VEVO (YouTube). 2013-11-27.
  14. ↑ Fall, Kyle (2013-12-27). "King Los & Mark Battles – Broken Silence (Mixtape)". Rapdose.
  15. ↑ Shipley, Al (2014-01-02). "Los Collaborates With Mark Battles and Wale On New Mixtape". CityPaper.
  16. ↑ Lilah, Rose (2014-01-28). "Mark Battles Announces Black Einstein". HotNewHipHop.
  17. ↑ "Mark Battles Preseason Datpiff". Datpiff. 2014-01-28.
  18. ↑ ""No Love" Video: Mark Battles Feat Futuristic and King Los". HotNewHipHop. 2016-05-24.
  19. ↑ Beam, Scottie (2016-05-23). "Hot 97: Who's Next Playlist". Hot 97.
  20. ↑ Hunte, Justin (2016-08-15). "Dizzy Wright Announces Still Movin Tour With Audio Push, Demrick & Mark Battles". HipHopDX.
  21. ↑ Ivey, Justin (2016-09-12). "Locksmith Unleashes the "Grime"". XXL Mag.
  22. ↑ "Top Heatseekers - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Top Heatseekers - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "Hot 96.3 - Indy Homecoming Show, Mark Battles". Hot 96.3. 2016-09-16.

External links

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