Marc Dorsey

Marc Dorsey (born 1973) is an American R&B singer. His songs have appeared on the soundtracks of three Spike Lee films and he has collaborated with several well-known musicians including Jay-Z, The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo), E-40, Kelis, LL Cool J, and Swizz Beatz.

Dorsey was born in 1973 in Washington, D.C. 

He majored in business and music at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Soundtracks

In the 1990s, Dorsey began working with a few R&B legends like The Manhattans and others. While attending Morgan University, he met WBLS deejay Vaughn Harper, who encouraged him to pursue his music career as a profession. Dorsey then relocated to New York and started working with Harper and got introduced to film director/producer Spike Lee. 

Lee gave Dorsey an opportunity to perform a cover of The Stylistics' song "People Make the World Go Round", for his 1994 film Crooklyn (starring Alfre Woodard and Delroy Lindo). That was Dorsey's first single and it reached #65 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart. Dorsey and Lee collaborated on two more movies in the following two years. In 1995, Dorsey contributed to the soundtrack of Lee's crime/drama Clockers, with two songs: "People in Search of a Life" and "Changes". In 1996, his song "Welcome" was heard on Lee's Get on the Bus, starring Richard Belzer and De'aundre Bonds.

In 1994, his song "Forever Yours" appeared on the original soundtrack of David C. Johnson's drama Drop Squad with Eriq La Salle, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Ving Rhames.

Debut

After his soundtrack work, Dorsey did jingles for radio and television commercials. His work included spots for Coca-Cola, Oreos, and the United States Army. Before releasing his debut album, he also contributed vocals to MC Lyte's sixth album, Seven & Seven.

Dorsey's early soundtrack work caught the attention of the founder of Jive Records, Clive Calder, who signed him to Jive. In August 1999, Dorsey released his first full-length album, Crave, on the Jive record label. The album was produced by Timmy Allen, Larry Campbell, and Manuel Seal, and the label owner, Clive Calder, was also personally involved. Crave spawned three charted singles: "If You Really Want to Know", "Crave" and "All I Do". "If You Really Want to Know" reached #56 on the US R&B chart and #58 on the UK Singles Chart. "All I Do" is a cover of Stevie Wonder's song from his nineteenth studio album Hotter than July. The album also carried "As We Lay," which is a cover of Shirley Murdock's signature R&B hit single (1986).

Other work

Dorsey has collaborated with The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) on many songs. Dorsey and The Neptunes were connected through their mutual contact Kenny Ortiz, who was an A&R at RCA at the time. 

In 1998, Dorsey worked with MC Lyte on her sixth studio album Seven & Seven(produced by The Neptunes). 

In 2002, Dorsey was the featured vocalist on the LL Cool J single "Luv U Better", which was also produced by The Neptunes. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2004. It lost to "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé & Jay-Z.

In 2008, Dorsey collaborated with N.E.R.D. (The Neptunes + Shay Haley) on Kelis' song "Ghetto Children."

He has also worked with Mario Winans, Rodney Jerkins, and Jay-Z.

Dorsey now works in real estate. He does perform occasionally and intends to release his next musical work in the coming years.

Marc Dorsey cited Stevie Wonder as his influence.

Studio albums

Charted singles

Guest appearances