Mark Griffin, better known as MC 900 Ft. Jesus, is a classically trained musician[1] turned rapper and experimental musician who was born in Kentucky in 1957.[2] The son of an army officer,[2] Griffin moved around quite a bit before settling in Dallas, Texas in 1979.[3] Griffin studied the trumpet and has a BA in Music from Morehead State University as well as an advanced degree in music from North Texas State University.[2] Before becoming MC 900 Ft. Jesus, Griffin played in local Dallas bands The Telefones and Lithium X-Mas.
MC 900 Ft. Jesus' music is influenced by hip-hop, incorporating many sound samples. His first album, Hell With the Lid Offincluded the single "Truth is Out of Style" which gained a cult following. His subsequent single, "The City Sleeps", explored the mind of a serial arsonist.[2]
He released his last album, One Step Ahead of the Spider, in 1994; it contained the single "If I Only Had a Brain", which became his best-known song. The song gained increased exposure from the music video directed for it by Spike Jonze,[4]as well as exposure on MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head cartoon show.[5]
Contents[]
Name[edit][]
Griffin's stage name came from a sermon by Oral Roberts, in which the televangelist claimed that he had received a vision of a 900-foot-tall (270 m) Jesus, who commanded him to build a hospital on the campus of Oral Roberts University.[2][3]
Career[edit][]
Griffin's first album, Hell With The Lid Off (1989) was released under the name "MC 900 Ft. Jesus With DJ Zero",[3][6] but the MC has sole billing on Welcome To My Dream (1991) and One Step Ahead of the Spider (1994). DJ Zero appears on Welcome To My Dream under his real name, Patrick Rollins, because of uncertainty about whether he would have been able to tour in support of the album. Rollins/Zero appears on One Step Ahead of The Spider but is not listed in the credits.[7]
Griffin eventually became disillusioned with the music industry, and following unproductive sessions for his fourth album, felt he had taken his style of music as far as he wanted to go. Record label interest waned.[5][1]
After retirement from music industry[edit][]
Needing a new direction, he gained his commercial pilot's license, hoping to become a flight instructor, but eventually took a job at a large bookstore.[5]
As of 2007, he began DJing weekly at a Dallas music venue, Lee Harvey's, located in the Cedars neighborhood near downtown.[5]
Discography[edit][]
Albums[edit][]
- Hell with the Lid Off (1989): MC 900 Ft. Jesus With DJ Zero
- Welcome to My Dream (1991): MC 900 Ft. Jesus
- One Step Ahead of the Spider: (1994) MC 900 Ft. Jesus
Singles[edit][]
- Too Bad / Shut Up: (1988) MC 900 Ft. Jesus With DJ Zero
- I'm Going Straight To Heaven: (1989) MC 900 Ft. Jesus With DJ Zero
- Truth Is Out Of Style: (1989) MC 900 Ft. Jesus With DJ Zero
- UFO's Are Real: (1990) MC 900 Ft. Jesus With DJ Zero
- Killer Inside Me: (1991) MC 900 Ft. Jesus
- The City Sleeps: (1991) MC 900 Ft. Jesus
- If I Only Had A Brain: (1994) MC 900 Ft. Jesus
- But If You Go: (1994) MC 900 Ft. Jesus
- Falling Elevators: (1996) MC 900 Ft. Jesus