Moss Da Beast (aka Marleyson) is a Chicago native and sometime Nashville resident with fifteen years of experience on all sides of the music industry. He has worked in artist management with his group The H.I.T. Squad as well as the gold and platinum producer, Honorable Cnote.
Throughout his tenure working on the business side of the music biz, Moss has also maintained a successful solo career as an artist. He dropped his first mixtape in August of 2010. From there he released several more (all available on Datpiff.com and Spinrilla.com and all streaming services). His music has appeared on DTLA records and he has worked with heavy-hitting producers like; 1Mind, Bandplay, Yella tha OG and Alabama’s own super production team The BlockBeattaz.
His time in Music City opened a number of doors. It allowed him to familiarize himself with Southern culture, and it gave him the opportunity to expand his knowledge of the music business. In 2014 he was nominated for “Hip-Hop Artist of the Year” and “Grinder of the Year” at the The Nashville Independent Music Awards. Then in 2015 and 2016 he was nominated for “Mixtape Artist of the Year” and “Mixtape of the Year” at the Southern Entertainment Awards.
For 2020, Moss Da Beast drops the brand new 5-song mixtape, “Born Leader” on SoundCloud. On the record he strikes an excellent balance between old-school cool new-school style. With the vibe of an elder Hip-hop statesman on the title track he lays out the premise, “I could have been the next president, but that wasn’t my calling.” Instead he is here to lead a hip-hop nation and he is embracing the role. He has the flow and technique of a man who knows his way around a breakbeat as he raps, “Couple grey hairs, I ain’t scared. I’m gonna let ’em show.”
“Get a Gun” is a violent gangsta fantasy built on a chaotic beat. The backing track is the perfect kind of creepy for the nightmare scene Moss paints with guest artists ATG and Dre’von Adonis. “Napoleon Hill” recaps the hard life growing up in his neighborhood. That song and “Street Talk” each incorporate some slick samples of 70’s R&B classics. The record closes with “Soldier Field,” a song of real world scenes of life in the projects.
Once our world returns to normal, Moss looks forward to getting back out on the road to support “Born Leader.” In the past he has seen the stages of major music festivals like SXSW and Kushstock. He was once told “I didn’t sell a million records until I met a million people” and that is the motto Moss now lives by as he travels and reaches out to his audience nationwide. Check out “Born Leader” on SoundCloud. Follow the links below to connect with Moss Da Beast.