Perhaps the saying ‘made it’ should be redefined; because Black Cobain may not be extremely well known just yet, but through his lyrical skills and his connection with Wale, he came up from a struggling member of a rap group to the first rapper to be signed to Wale’s independent label ‘The Board of Administration’. Repping the DMV with his controversial name, Black Cobain’s story of come up possibly begins when he decided to quit his job at The Boys and Girls Club and pursue rapping full time. But it wasn’t until his manager, and marketing executive Le’Greg O Harrison, who happened to be Wale’s road manager, unintentionally got Wale’s attention by listening to his music around Wale. Conceivably, the wisdom here could be that Black Cobain beginnings stresses the importance of making strong connections in this industry, even if you don’t realize where that connection might lead you.
- Marcus Gloster, aka Black Cobain was born April 29, 1986 in Alexandria, Virginia.
- Black Cobain graduated from Virginia State University and soon after started working a full time job at the Boys and Girls Club.
- He started out rapping with a local group until he was encouraged to go solo.
- Black performed throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia at local venues and Open Mic’s.
- In 2009 he released his first mixtape called Now or Never.
- He met Wale through his friend and manager Le’Greg Harrison, a marketing executive, and Wale’s road manager.
- Black came up with the name Black Cobain because as a child, his nick name was ‘Black’ and he wanted to pay tribute to Kurt Cobain because he was a fan from listening to Nirvana with his Uncle.
- He also states that Black Cobain is also a very marketable name.
- In 2009, Black was signed to ‘The Board of Administration’.
- The Board of Administration is an independent label and marketing company founded by Wale and Le’Greg.
- Black is officially the first rapper to be signed to the label.
- After being signed, he quit his job at The Boys and Girls Club to pursue rapping full time.
- In 2010, Black released his second mixtape called Now.
- His Now mixtape features Wale, Wiz Khalifa, J Holiday, and Raheem Devaughn.
- Black has been featured in the Rocksmith Tokyo Fall/Winter clothing campaign with Wale.
- In 2011, he released his third mixtape called Young, Gifted, Black, hosted by Rocksmith Tokyo.
- Black is currently opening for Wale on the ‘Ambition’ tour.
- Black Cobain is a XXL 2012 Freshman Class nominee.
- His fourth mixtape titled Cheers, is set to be released in 2012.
Here is what Black Cobain says he learned from working with Wale: “I learned a lot about the business and how you have to be patient and pace yourself. Things that I’ve learned from Wale are different rhyme schemes, different thought processes on songs, and just being an artist and what comes with it.”
Post by: Rosie J – music marketer
@StudioDiva
