Album Notes

Marc Nelson’s strong, musical pedigree tells its own, unarguable story. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he attended the prestigious Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). Nelson’s best-kept secret has been that he is co-founded the now multi-platinum-selling R&B sensation Boyz II Men while still attending CAPA. Not long after the group (then a quintet of Nelson, Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris, Michael McCary and Wanya Morris) met Michael Bivens of BBD, Nelson left the group and signed a solo deal with Capitol Records and recorded his debut album “I Want You.”

Two years later, Nelson left Philadelphia and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his musical dreams even further. He began studio work with legendary writer-producer, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds on Perri “Pebbles” Reid’s third album, “Straight From The Heart” and gained recognition as a songwriter and producer through his great gift for lyrics and melody. Following the Pebbles project, Nelson was privileged to be immersed in an amazing amount of session work with Babyface and when in 1995 Babyface wanted a lead singer for a new group called Az Yet on his LaFace label, the invitation to Nelson was irresistible.

Az Yet soon became a platinum-selling group with their self-titled album, which spawned two hit singles - “Last Night” and “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” – and crowned them with Grammy recognition.

In 1998, Columbia Records signed Nelson to a solo deal and his album, Chocolate Mood, produced the smash single, “15 Minutes” peaking at #27 in the Billboard charts.

On January 9, 2007, Nelson was honored by his peers at SESAC at their third Jazz Awards Luncheon for his authorship on "It's On Tonight" by Brian Culbertson. The event honored jazz writers whose works achieved Top 5 status on the jazz charts from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006.

In 2008, Marc reunited with his former bandmates of Az Yet to finally record the group's sophomore album (set for release in September 2008).

In addition writing and producing his own music, music for other artists and working on the upcoming cd release with Az Yet, Marc has developed a consortium of fellow lyricists to form Lyric Masters 911. Through Lyric Masters 911, Marc and his associates have pooled their skills to assist fellow producers and songwriters accentuate new creations with colorful words and tempos for a broad range of genres allowing artists to tap into the depth of their talents. Lyric Masters 911 has written and produced hits for R&B greats such as Freddie Jackson, Charlie Wilson, Aaron Neville, Toni Braxton, Brandy, Babyface, Jon B., Tamia, Tyrese, Kevon Edmonds, Keith Washington and many more.


AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:
* Grammy Nominee
* Soul Train Award Nominee
* NAACP Nominee
* SESAC Award Winner (2007)

SOLO/GROUP DISCOGRAPHY:
* I Want You - Capitol Records (1990)
* Az Yet - LaFace Records (1995-1997)
* Chocolate Mood - Columbia Records (1998)
* Marc: My Words - Lyric Masters 911 (2007)

SESSION WORK INCLUDES:
Babyface - Various songs on album “The Day”
Babyface and Stevie Wonder - “How Come, How Long”
Whitney Houston - “Why Does It Hurt So Bad”
Toni Braxton - “You’re Making Me High”
Kenny G/Toni Braxton - “How Could An Angel Break My Heart”
Michael Bolton - “The Best Of Love”
Aaron Carter - “The Kid In You”, “I’m All About You”
Diana Ross- “Until We Meet Again”
Michael Jackson - “Get On The Bus”
Johnny Gill - “Long Way From Home”

SOUNDTRACK WORK:
The Best Man - “After All Is Said and Done,” w/Beyonce
Nutty Professor - “Last Night” w/Az Yet
Big Momma’s House - “Love’s Not Love”
Waiting To Exhale - “Why Does It Hurt So Bad”
The Preacher’s Wife - Various
The Program - Various

WRITING/PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS:
Babyface - “Seven Seas”
Toni Braxton - “Come On Over Here”
Jon B. - “Don’t Say”
Brandy - “Truthfully”
Marc Nelson - “15 Minutes”
Az Yet - “Time To End The Story”
Tamia - “Who Do You Tell”
Tyrese - “Tell Me, Tell Me”
Brian Culbertson - “It’s On Tonight”
Freddie Jackson - "Until The End Of Time"

STAGE PLAY APPEARANCES:
“Men Cry In The Dark”
“Tell Hell I Ain’t Coming”
“Love Ain’t Suppose To Hurt Part II: The Wedding”
“King Solomon Lives”

TELEVISION PERFORMANCES:
MTV Unplugged w/Babyface (1998)
Grammy Awards w/Babyface (1997)
Good Morning America w/Az Yet
Regis & Kathie Lee w/Az Yet
MTV’s Total Request Live (Solo)
American Music Awards (presenter/Solo)
World Music Awards (presenter/Solo)
VH-1 Fashion Tribute to Tyra Banks (Solo)
Queen Latifah (Solo)
BET’s Teen Summit w/Az Yet and solo
BET’s ALL (Solo)
Soul Train w/Az Yet & Solo
Lady of Soul Awards (Solo)
The Ricki Lake’s Valentine Day Special w/Az Yet
Fresh Prince of Bel Air (Solo)
“Soul Food” w/Al Green (Showtime) (Theme Song)