Anthony Marshall

Genre: Hip-Hop

Passion, Dedication, Resourcefulness, Leadership - these are qualities which make an entrepreneur successful. At the young age of 16, Anthony Marshall had already proven all these things true by creating the Lyricist Lounge. What started out as five emcees hanging out in a rehearsal room soon turned into one of the most respected showcases for new underground talent, and a blueprint for discovering emerging hip-hop emcees. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Notorious B.I.G., Mos Def, Eminem, Foxy Brown, Talib Kweli, Slick Rick, Q-Tip, Common, Guru, The Roots, Fat Joe and the Black Eyed Peas are just a few of the artists that have been a part of the respected Lounge history.

In 1998, Mr. Marshall decided to expand upon the successful showcases and co-founded Open Mic Records, partnering with Rawkus Records to release the critically acclaimed, Lyricist Lounge Volume 1. Music lovers responded to the album by wanting more. That same year, the Lounge launched its first national tour with artists like Eminem, De La Soul, Q-Tip, Common, The Roots, Black Eyed Peas and Wyclef.

In 1999, Mr. Marshall brought his vision forth and developed, "The Lyricist Lounge Show". Based on the idea of a hip hop musical and comedy sketch show with a cast of Lounge-based emcees, the concept of the show was sold to MTV. A year later, the show became one of the highest rated programs on the music video channel.

In November of 2000, Open Mic Records and Rawkus dropped its follow-up release, Lyricist Lounge Volume 2, selling over 450,000 units worldwide, which was followed by another Lounge tour featuring Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Xzibit, EPMD, Scarface, and many others.Along with the release of two (2) Lounge DVD's, the tour proved to be a huge success and helped to continue the Lyricist Lounge legacy.

Amongst all his success with the Lounge, Mr. Marshall has also been the Urban Representative for Midem, a 39 year-old international music trade show that takes place annually in Cannes, France, with 9,000 participants and 90 countries being represented. With his experience in television, he most recently helped to launch Current TV, the groundbreaking, independent cable and satellite TV network co founded by former vice president Al Gore. In front of the camera, Mr. Marshall hosts on-air segments for the station and behind the camera he has aggregated user generated content for Current's VC2 (Viewer Created Content) initiative.

If there has been one thing consistent in his career, it has been his involvement in always giving back to others. Whether teaching a film course to teenagers, creating "work hard" incentives for his interns and employees or inspiring local communities to make their voices heard, Mr. Marshall is committed to enabling others to grow and build their dreams.