Could you introduce yourself please for the people who've been under a rock and still don't know you?
Marco Polo, producer. I'm from Toronto but live in Brooklyn. Check for "Do It Man" on Masta Ace's last album.

What's the history of MARCO POLO?
In late 1999 I went to an audio/engineering school in Toronto. Bought my first mpc with my student loan money. My man Shylow (dope MC from Toronto) showed me how to use the mpc when I got it and kind of schooled me on programming drums. When I was done school I didn't want to stick around in Toronto because the scene there is only so big so I headed to NY to camp out in my boy's basement in Queens while I looked for studio work. Got an internship at a well known studio called The Cutting Room which ended up leading to a full time management position there. Working at The Cutting Room allowed me too meet everyone from Mos Def, Inspectah Deck to Pharoah Monche. It's also where I met Masta Ace for the first time and gave him a beat cd which lead to our first collabo. Right now I just do production full time. The Cutting Room days were dope though, it helped spread my name out there a little.

How did you get into the producing game? How long have you been producing?
I got into producing because I reached a point where just listening to Hip Hop records and being a fan wasn't enough, wanted to get involved. I 've been producing for about 5 years now.

What other producers do you have the most respect for? Who inspired you?
Growing up in Toronto local cats like Frankenstein, Saukrates and Da Grassroots inspired me a lot. Then the usual suspects like Premo, Dilla, Pete Rock & Rza.



How would you describe your production style? Straight loops? Chops? How would you describe your sound?
To be honest I 'm all the over the place stylistically but recently I've been making deathly/kill your family type beats. I chop and loop. But I feel looping overall is still where it's at. My sound is whatever I feel like the day I get in front of the mpc.


What artists have you worked with? Of all the projects you've done, which are you most proud of?
Masta Ace, OC, Jean Grae, Pumpkinhead, Skoob of Das Efx, Rocky Marciano of The UN, Supernatural, Big Noyd, Supastition, Rasco, Wordsworth too name a few. I'm proud of all the collabo's I’ve done but working with legends like Skoob and Ace definitely stand out. I'd also give honorable mention to Pumpkinhead's new album "Orange Moon Over Brooklyn" which was my first fully produced project minus one song Moss did.

Rasco-What Happened To The Game