User:Nmarion33/sandbox

Biography:

Nicole Kelly Marion, (born January 10th, 1990) better known by his stage name C.K. Marion, is an American Rapper, Songwriter, Music Producer, Dancer, and Actress. C.K. Marion was born in Orlando, Florida and gained national attention at a young age 9 years old. She was first noticed on the television show Dooley and Pals playing the role of Kayla. At 9 years old she released her first single “Gonna Make U Dance.” At this time in her career she was known by the stage name Lil Cola. Marion’s second release was Ivory Tower in 2013 with the band Coalition of Lost Arts (C.O.L.A.). Band members included Marcus Henry (Lead Guitarist), Tracey Gibbs (Drummer), Matt Smith (Bass), later replaced by Ryan Russo (Bass and Saxophone), Cristal Texitor (Vocals), and C.K. Marion (Lead Vocals and Keys). Orlando’s Justin Beckler produced the band’s EP Ivory Tower. Marion’s third release was Phony Art in 2015. It was a solo project that C.K. Marion produced and recorded from a mobile device. The fourth released was Trance Hop in 2016. An EP produced by C.K. Marion with a Trance and Hip Hop infusion. In 2017 Marion released Recruitment, which is part one of a three-album concept and is scheduled to release the EP Boot Camp in 2018.

Career Marion’s first three songs were entitled “Get Ready,” “Gonna Make U Dance,” and a remake of Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch “Good Vibrations.” These three tracks were produced by sound engineer Ken Cortez. Marion’s first musical performance was at 8 years old during a bar mitzvah her father was DJing at. The performance was filmed and sent to local booking agents. Matt Biggers, director of marketing for Orlando Magic in 1998, obtained a copy of Lil Cola’s performance. Biggers booked her for a two-minute warning at a Miracle game. Marion rehearsed with two dancers for a performance with rap and dance choreography. It was at this performance Marion caught the attention of Model and Television personality Tyra Banks. Banks reached out to Lil Cola’s manager to ask how she could help with her career. She then sent Lil Cola a promo video that can be viewed on YouTube. Marion went on to perform half time for the Orlando Magic and Back to School Jam before turning 10 years old. Diamond Agency signed C.K. Marion and she landed the role of Kayla on the television series Dooley and Pals. While on the show she went to New York to participate in the Macy’s Day Parade and Los Angeles for the Jerry Lewis Telethon. She attended Lisa Maille’s Acting and Modeling School. She appeared on 102 Jamz, 95.3 Party, and 106.7 XL radio stations to interview and promote her music. While under contract as a charter on Dooley and Pals she auditioned for Next Big Star but was unable to compete due a conflict of interest with Victory Entertainment. After a couple national commercials Marion decided to give acting a break and focus on music. She studied British and American Literature to improve her writing and explored various genres of music to incorporate an original sound. C.K. Marion started Coalition of Lost Arts in 2010. The band gained a following for their old school Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine sound. The band appeared in the film Dayz End and received positive feedback from local newspapers. The single “Unsaid” from Ivory Tower became popular on iHeartReadio. However, the band split up in 2013 and Marion began a solo career. Without a team or financial backing Marion taught herself how to play piano and producing her own beats and mixing music. She created music for herself and for other artist she believed in. She started working on the Recruitment with producer Bubba James of Kickin’ It Records. Marion is featured on Bubba James I Love Luci EP. However, due to business disputes the two parted ways. C.K. Marion then released Phony Art in 2015 on Apple Music, Spotify, and Deezer. The album was also featured on Pure Break Charts in France. Marion’s vision on Phony Art was to show that artistry doesn’t have to be phony, commercialized, or overly produced in order to be considered good art. She strived for a raw sound to represent being a starving artist. The title Phony Art was a double entendre because she produced and recorded all her vocals on an iPhone 5s using the garage band app. The only exception was “Alone” which was produced by Joshua Flores from the band Shadow of Whales. Flores sang the vocals on the chorus for “Alone” and produced a track “CKM” that Marion only released on SoundCloud. In 2016 she released Trance Hop an EP that infused Trance and Hip Hop music. It is rumored that she will put out an EP that mixes a different genre with Hip Hop for every album release. Shortly after the release of Trance Hop there was a tragedy in her hometown; the Pulse shooting. C.K. Marion reached out to a local LGBTQ artist, Sixela, to collaborate on a song “Orlando Strong.” Since both Sixela and C.K. Marion were involved in the LGBTQ community they felt obliged to make a tribute song. Marion produced a reggae-like beat to represent “Keep Orlando Dancing,” a popular slogan with Orlando Strong. The tribute video “Orlando Strong” can be found on YouTube. Marion released the single “Listen. I’m Not” from the Recruitment on local radio station 102 Jamz/Indie Jamz. Elvy Natalia interview Marion about her artistry and creative process with the single. On April 2nd 2017 Marion release her first music video entitled “Killing Me.” She produced the edm-like beat, directed and edited the music video. The music video was on Music Choice, but only for a short amount of time. She then followed by releasing two more music videos “They Don’t Know,” produced by Penacho and “Electric Eel” produced by Marion. All the music released by Marion in 2017 were off her album Recruitment. The Recruitment can be broken up into three sections. The beginning is Rap about drugs and street life, the second part is upbeat and playful, and after the “Enter-Mission” the songs become more lyrically driven. The Recruitment is the first of a three album concept where the number 3 plays a significant role. Presently C.K. Marion dances for DTP Events (Dance Trax Productions) and is represented by Eden Talent Agency. Discography: Gonna Make U Dance (1999) Dooley and Pals (2000) Ivory Tower (2012) https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/coalition-of-lost-arts/id555529936 Phony Art (2015 rereleased in 2017) https://g.co/kgs/iHwYSk Orlando Strong (2016) https://www.amazon.com/Orlano-Strong-C-K-Marion-Sixela/dp/B01LG4B2I2 Trance Hop (2016) https://soundcloud.com/ckmarion/sets/trance-hop Killing Me (2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwW9GkbrgXw They Don’t Know (2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCfiaTgKFg0 Electric Eel (2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAXEjMB1dQ8 The Recruitment (2017) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/recruitment/id1288898760?app=itunes

References: 1.	Dooley and Pals (2000) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dooley_and_Pals_Show Episodes: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm8167125/

2.	Lil Cola (1999-2001) http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1999-12-31/entertainment/9912290317_1_cola-dooley-and-pals-lil

3.	Coalition of Lost Arts Ivory Tower https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/coalition-of-lost-arts/id555529936

4.	Band Members: Tracy Gibbs, Marcus Henry, Ryan Russo, Matt Smith, Cristal Texitor

5.	Justin Beckler http://www.orlandosentinel.com/79384876-157.html

6.	DPMGUNITED http://www.dpmgunited.com/

7.	Parents: Kelly Marion Carl Marion (Chill C. Capone) https://www.discogs.com/Chill-C-Capone-Featuring-N-Famous-Crew-Let-Me-Hit-It/release/7256955

8.	Miriam and Valerie School of Dance Arts (1993) https://www.dexknows.com/business_profiles/miriam_and_valerie_s_school_of_dance_arts-b29949

9.	I’ll Be Missing You (1997) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Be_Missing_You

10.	Ken Cortez sound engineer

11.	Matt Biggers marketing director (1999) https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-biggers-ba111b5/

12.	Tyra Banks video talking about Lil Cola (1999) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2HL8uoVh8A

13.	Two-Minute warning for Orlando Miracle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Orlando_Miracle_season

14.	Half time for Orlando Magic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Magic

15.	Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (2001) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy%27s_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade

16.	Jerry Lewis Telethon (2001) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jerry_Lewis_MDA_Labor_Day_Telethon

17.	Lisa Maille’s Acting and Modeling School (2001) http://www.lisamaile.com/

18.	Local radio stations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJMH https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXXL

19.	iHeartRadio single release (2012) https://www.iheart.com/artist/coalition-of-lost-arts-910375/songs/unsaid-22577457/

20.	Pure Break Charts in France: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.chartsinfrance.net/CK-Marion/albums-singles.html&prev=search

21.	Collaboration with Joshua Flores of Shadow of Whales (2013) https://whoissow.com/

22.	DTP Events Denver Dance Company (2017) http://www.dtpevents.com/

23.	Eden Talent Agency (2017) http://www.edentalent.com/