| MC 900 Ft. Jesus | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mark Griffin |
| Genres | Hip hop, jazz, experimental |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Years active | 1989–1995 |
| Labels | I.R.S. Records American Recordings Nettwerk |
MC 900 Ft. Jesus is the stage name of Mark Griffin, a classically trained musician turned rapper and experimental musician born in Dallas, Texas.
Griffin's stage name came from a sermon by Oral Roberts, in which the televangelist claimed that he had received a vision of a 900-foot-tall (270 m) Jesus, who commanded him to build a hospital on the campus of Oral Roberts University. Griffin's first album, Hell With The Lid Off (1989) was released under the name "MC 900 Ft. Jesus With DJ Zero", but the MC has sole billing on Welcome To My Dream (1991) and One Step Ahead of The Spider (1994). According to a Chicago Tribune article dated November 8, 1991, DJ Zero appears on Welcome To My Dream under his real name, Patrick Rollins, because of uncertainty about whether he would have been able to tour in support of the album. Rollins/Zero appears on One Step Ahead of The Spider but is not listed in the credits.
MC 900 Ft. Jesus' music is influenced by hip-hop, incorporating many samples. Hell With the Lid Off included the cult single "Truth is Out of Style". His next hit was "The City Sleeps", which explores the mind of a serial arsonist. His last cult hit, "If I Only Had A Brain", created a splash thanks to a whimsical music video directed by a young Spike Jonze as well as exposure on MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head and heavy national tour support.
Griffin eventually became disillusioned with the music industry, and following unproductive sessions for his fourth album, felt he had taken his style of music as far as he wanted to go. Record label interest waned. Needing a new direction, he gained his commercial pilot's license, hoping to become a flight instructor, but eventually took a job at a large bookstore.[1]
As of 2007, he began DJing weekly at a Dallas music venue, Lee Harvey's, located in the Cedars neighborhood near downtown. According to their calendar, December 19, 2009 may have been the last time he performed there.[2]
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