Marčelo

Marčelo

Marčelo 2008
Background information
Birth name Marko Šelić
Born January 22, 1983 (1983-01-22) (age 29)
Paraćin, SFR Yugoslavia
Origin Belgrade, Serbia
Genres Fusion , Hip-hop , Rap Rock
Occupations Writer
Years active 1997–present
Labels Multimedia Records
Bassivity
Associated acts Filter Crew
Wikluh Sky

For a basketball player nicknamed "Marčelo", see Šarūnas Marčiulionis

Marčelo (Serbian: Марчело), born Marko Šelić (Марко Шелић) on January 22, 1983 in Paraćin, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, and is a Serbian rapper, known for his socially conscious lyrics and eclectic approach to musical arrangements. From Paraćin, he moved to Belgrade, where he has had great success over the years, and became one of the most prominent Serbian hip hop artists. He is also a student of Serbian language and literature at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology and a novelist.

Contents

Musical career

Rise

Marčelo started making hip hop music in 1997, though his first significant contributions came out in 1999, with a demo band called Rhyme Animal. In order to pursue his solo career, Marčelo stepped out of Rhyme Animal in 2001, and started to work with Oneya, the founder of Bassivity Music and one of the leading producers on the Serbian hip hop scene. Oneya recognized his full potential and Marčelo signed with Bassivity in 2002. The first opportunity for a wider audience to hear and recognize his work came with 2003's Bassivity Mixtape Vol.1, to which he contributed two tracks, Definicija (feat. Šorti) and Snovidjenje.

Debut album (De Facto)

His debut album, De Facto, also released in 2003 on the Bassivity label, came out to both public and critical acclaim, and he was branded as the voice of a generation. The album was full of criticism of Serbian society at the dawn of the new millennium and personal themes, which were delivered in a very sincere manner. In his single and video Kuća Na Promaji (A House On A Range), he deals with the assassination of Serbia's prime minister in 2003, police brutality, corruption and alienation amongst young people in the country. It was the best-selling hip hop album that year in Serbia-Montenegro and the first post-war record that included collaborations between the new generation of music acts from former Yugoslavia [ Edo Maajka (Bosnia-Herzegovina/Croatia), Elemental (Croatia), Škabo (Serbia), Shorty (Croatia) and Disciplinska Komisija (Bosnia-Herzegovina).

Puzzle Shock!

Despite the success of his debut album, Marčelo was unable to settle his differences with the record company, so he transferred from Bassivity to Multimedia Records (Universal Music licensee in Serbia-Montenegro) in early 2005. In December the same year, Marčelo released his second album Puzzle Shock! (Multimedia Records), which featured the singles "Šarada" (Masquerade), "Otkucaji" (Heartbeats), "Pozerište" and "Novi Vavilon" (New Babylon). It topped the charts upon its release. This time his main collaborator was Dragoljub Marković alias Dr. Dra (ex-member of rock-bands such as Ništa ali logopedi, Block Out, X-Centar), who added some vocal parts, played various instruments and produced the album. Marčelo also did some co-producing and arrangement work. The resulting sound was a hip hop with strong rock, jazz and funk influences, which estranged a minority of fans who loved what they considered to be the pure hip hop sound of De Facto, but it gained the admiration of many people unfamiliar with rap and hip hop. Marčelo toured the country to promote the new album with a backing band Shock! Orchestra, taking part along the way in the EXIT 06 tour of the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and sold out a venue Serbia's capital, Belgrade. At his gigs, he is supported by several big names on the Serbian hip hop scene: Wikluh Sky, Ministar Lingvista (Real Skllz) and Nancy. With the addition of DJ Raid, a talented DJ based in Switzerland, this is the line-up of The Filter Crew. His first novel "Zajedno Sami" (Together Alone) was published during February 2008.

Treća Strana Medalje

His third album, Treća strana medalje (album) (The Third Side Of The Medal), was released in December 2008.

Deca i Sunce

His fourth album, Deca i Sunce (album) (Children and the Sun) was released in November 2010., under the moniker "Marčelo & Filteri".

Discography

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result
2008 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Adriatic Act Nominated

See also

Serbian hip hop

External links