MC Magic

Marcus Cardenas, better known by his stage name MC Magic, is a Mexican rapper, songwriter and record producer, known for rapping and singing, both in English and Spanish.^[1]

Background

Early life

MC Magic was born Marco Cardenas in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. At the age of five, his family immigrated to the United States and Cardenas grew up in Phoenix, Arizona.^[2] At the age of thirteen, his friend Rob taught him to play the drum machine and Cardenas began working as a Dj.^[3] He graduated from Agua Fria High School in 1985.

Early career

MC Magic grew up in Avondale, Arizona. From breakdancing to sponsoring teen dances at the community center, MC Magic eventually made a name for himself by recording personalized songs at the local Phoenix park and swap.

In 1991 he formed an independent record label, Nastyboy Records, scoring regional notoriety with the sultry track "Lost in Love", later including the song in his 1995 debut album "Don't Worry". "Lost in Love". The single did very well considering local radio stations only gave it minimal airplay in the evenings.

In 1995, he released his first full-length album, Don't Worry, which enabled him to recruit other artists to form the group Nastyboy Klick. 
In 1997 MC Magic formed Nastyboy Klick, initially with six members: Magic, DOS, Ziggy, Sly, Mischief (Magic's 10-year-old son) and Bookie. Bookie soon left the group to pursue a solo project before NBK became successful. NBK released a number of regional hits, particularly "Down for Yours" featuring Roger Troutman, which peaked at number ten on the billboard Rap charts. After appearing on the front page of Phoenix newspaper, The Arizona Republic in 1997, MC Magic started to receive calls to tour nationally, placing him far ahead of many other Phoenix-based artists in terms of popularity. By the beginning of the new millennium, his group had been trimmed down to just three members and renamed themselves the NB Ridaz.

Magic City

Having been the drive behind Nastyboy's undertakings, MC Magic was primed to release his second solo album in 2006. The May release, Magic City, peaked at number one on the Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and at number 60 for Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums. But in the end the song was criticized as, " not that good The critics were later proven wrong by his upcoming hits. He brought in much money from the later albums but none were ever are as popular and greatly loved as "Magic City".

Magic City Part 2

Magic City's success opened up many new opportunities for him but mostly it established MC Magic as a solo act. MC Magic's newfound success as a solo artist motivated him to continue his successful run, with his follow-up album Magic City Part II which was released in June 2008. Magic City Part II featured some of the hottest artists in the game with guest appearances from Baby Bash, Too Short, Chingo Bling, Big Gemini, and DJ Kane of the Kumbia Kings. Magic City Part II peaked at number 6 on the Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and contained hit songs such as "Princesa", "Girl I Love You" and "The Only 1".^[1] As MC Magic's career started to take off rapidly, he started to tour continuously all over the States; the shows ranged from small venues to huge arenas.

The Rewire

MC Magic decided to continue to expand his solo music catalog and started to record songs for his new album The Rewire. Eventually he released the album's first single "Mrs. Delicious". The record was uptempo, completely different from his usual R&B style but it seemed to work. Even though The Rewire was completed by late December, it was set to be released on Valentine's Day of 2011. MC Magic promoted his upcoming album repeatedly in his hometown of Phoenix, with huge billboards and bus benches throughout the city. Later he expanded his promotion on to one of his largest markets, California, also placing bus benches throughout the city of Los Angeles and surrounding areas. The release of MC Magic's highly anticipated album The Rewire was pushed to an earlier date and was released on February 8, 2011. All the heavy promotion for the album proved successful, as his release party for the album in his hometown at a local mall brought in an enormous crowd, so much so that the autograph line led all the way out of the store into the mall. This album contained several hits for MC Magic such the single "Diggin", which is an uptempo rap record featuring Twista and upcoming female rapper Snow Tha Product. The single took off quickly; several radio stations started to pick it up and had it in heavy rotation. As MC Magic released "Diggin", he also introduced his first all Spanish Rap Banda record called "Todos Mis Diaz" hoping to compete in the Spanish market.

Other work

He has also made personal appearances at Phoenix Valley elementary schools, such as Rose Linda Elementary School in the Roosevelt School District. MC Magic was the morning DJ on Power 98.3 Magic City Radio in Phoenix, Arizona and continues to inspire his fans. In Mexico, MC Magic has made appearances in Urban Fest 2 and collaborated with C-Kan to produce singles like "Quiero Que Sepas", "Loco", and "Mujer Bonita" (A Mexican remix of "Pretty Girl")

Discography

Studio albums

Other albums

• 1998: Desert Funk!
• 2008: Princess/Princesa

with Nastyboy Klick

• 1997: The First Chapter
• 1998: The Second Coming

with NB Ridaz

• 2001: Invasion (Nastyboy)
• 2001: Invasion (Upstairs)
• 2004: NB Ridaz.com
• 2008: Greatest Hits

Singles

• 1995: "Lost in Love
• 1998" "I Know You Want Me" (featuring CeCe Peniston)
• 2006: "All My Life" (featuring Nichole)
• 2006: "Sexy Lady" (featuring DJ Kane)
• 2006: "Lies" (featuring Krystal Melody)
• 2008: "Princess"
• 2008: "Princesa"
• 2008: "Dancer" (featuring Too $hort, C-Note and AZ Prince)
• 2008: "Dancer (Remix)" (featuring Too $hort, Kid Brown and AZ Prince)
• 2009: "Girl I Love You" (featuring Zig Zag)
• 2010: "Mrs. Delicious"
• 2011: "Reasons" (featuring Mrs. Krazie & D. Salas)
• 2011: "Diggin" (featuring Twista & Snow Tha Product)
• 2011: "Todo Mis Dias (Diaz)"
• 2013: "Eres Reina"
• 2014: "Venezuela" (featuring Dee Garcia & C-Kan)
• 2014: "Million Dollar Mexican" (featuring Big Gemini & GT Garza)
• 2014: "Missing You" (featuring Nichole)
• 2014: "No Me Importa Nada"

Note: Sophia Maria also sang "Te odio"

References

External links

• Official MySpace
• Nasty Boy Records Official Website
• MC Magic Official Fansite