Subtitle (rapper)

Subtitle (aka Giovanni Marks, born 10/2/1978) is a Los Angeles based rapper/producer who is known both for his solo work and his collaborations, both with other rappers and bands such as Islands and The Mars Volta.

Career

Subtitle released his debut solo EP entitled "I'm Always Recovering From Tomorrow" in 2003 and his debut full-length album entitled "Young Dangerous Heart" in 2005, both on the label GSL (Gold Standard Labs). His group Lab Waste (with Thavius Beck a.k.a. Adlib) released an album during the beginning of that year.October 2006 saw the release of "Terrain to Roam" and featured production from Madlib, Dntel (aka Jimmy Tamborello), Daedelus, Nobody, Daddy Kev, Paris Zax, Thavius Beck, Omid, dDamage, Crunc Tesla, and Small Is Beautiful (aka J'Aime Tambeur, formerly of Islands), among others.

Subtitle has toured with (among others) Islands (formerly The Unicorns) and The Mars Volta and played shows with Autechre, LCD Soundsystem, Beans, Dälek, and Nancy Sinatra (among others) in countries around the world. He featured alongside Busdriver (born Regan Farquhar) on 'Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone', a track on Islands' debut album Return to the Sea and subsequently toured with the band.

He is also a producer, remixing tracks and composing original work for artists such as 2Mex, Daedelus, Kill Me Tomorrow, From Monument To Masses, NoCanDo, Year Future, and others.

'Quitting' controversy

Early in 2007 Subtitle's myspace became an all black interface containing a picture of a skull and crossbones and the title 'Finished' cite web|url=http://pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/41812-subtitle-calls-it-quits|title=Subtitle calls it quits |accessdate=2007-04-05 |work=Pitchfork |publisher=pitchforkmedia.com ] . By highlighting the top right corner of the page, a link to a blog entry was made visible. The entry read as follows:

"nothing witty here but quitting yup I'm a quitter.after 4 months of struggling like madand hoping a tour would save my sorry flesh,said tour got cancelled, which means my money for thenext 2 months went with it. I hope whoever has my passportis dead. I can't make a living in another country and my supergrouprandomizers is really a social club at this point. I hit up labels tryingto submit a DEMO for chrissakes! I've fallen pretty fall from grace, so it'sa wrap. thanks to all the fans and thanks to all the people who likedmy music. If I can hold on to my laptop, I'll make music for fun, butotherwise fuck it, nothing is worth this much heartache. whatever happens to trunk bomb is news to me. I'm giving b.e.a.r. to nate and phil and..............."

Subtitle's myspace later reappeared, now titled 'Giovanni Marks', a name Subtitle had mentioned reverting to. The new page also featured new songs including one titled 'Where's my passport'. Marks' myspace quotes have included elusive comments such as 'Time to reload' and 'rich people do everything so much better.....'.

Subtitle has now confirmed that he will continue (at least for a time), under his birth name, Giovanni Marks. He has released several songs for free download from his MySpace page, is working on an album, and will play at All Tomorrow's Parties vs. The Fans music festival cite web|url=http://modernfix.com/?page_id=104|title=Subtitle interview on Modern Fix |accessdate=2007-05-22 |work=Modern Fix |publisher=modernfix.com ] cite web|url=http://www.atpfestival.com/events/vs-the-fans/line_up.php|title=ATP vs the Fans line up |accessdate=2007-05-22 |work=All Tomorrow's Parties |publisher=atpfestival.com ] .

Discography

Solo Discography

As Subtitle

How 2 beat the beat 1 &2 - 1998/2000
Weekend Science 1 & 2 (with Mum's The Word) - 1999/2001
I'm Always Recovering From Tomorrow (EP) - 2003

Lost Love Stays Lost - 2004
Young Dangerous Heart - 2005

Zwarte Achtegrond (with Thavius Beck as Lab Waste) - 2005
Terrain to Roam - 2006

As Giovanni Marks

Marks In Angles - 2007

Notes

External links

* [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/22356/Subtitle_Young_Dangerous_Heart Pitchforkmedia review of "Young Dangerous Heart"]
* [http://www.giovannimarks.com Home page for Subtitle/Giovanni Marks]
* [http://www.myspace.com/subtitle MySpace page for Subtitle/Giovanni Marks]
* [http://www.myspace.com/labwaste MySpace page for Subtitle's group Lab Waste]
* [http://www.alphapuprecords.com Website for Alpha Pup Records]