Supreme

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Supreme (born Jon Malone August 10, 1973 in Detroit, Michigan) is a radio personality, musician, producer, songwriter, publisher and music historian. Supreme is currently the host of The Classic Hip Hop Show, airing Saturday mornings on WUHT-FM.

Early life

Malone is the son of musician Johnny Malone and interior decorator Elizabeth Roper Malone. He was born in Detroit and raised on that city's west side. He spent a lot of time traveling while his father toured and met numerous musicians who visited the family home. He mastered the drums, piano and violin by the age of 10. He also collected comic books and was a fan of The Electricfying Mojo's "Midnight Funk Association" radio show on WJLB-FM. He adopted the MC name "Poet Supreme" based on a line in Public Enemy's "Rebel Without a Pause", later shortening it to "Supreme".

After his mothers' death in 1989, Supreme left Detroit to settle in her hometown of Greenville in Butler County. He completed high school there and began recording his own hip-hop demos on an Alesis SR-16 drum machine and Tascam 4-track recorder. He also collaborated with other rap artists in the area and polished his skills in producing and composing music. He graduated in 1991.

College and Motown

After high school, Malone enrolled at Alabama State University, but transferred a year later to the University of Montevallo, studying mass communications. While there he became an audio engineer for the campus TV news program. He launched his own radio show, "Basement Flava" on the campus' radio station in 1994.

Malone left college in 1995 to pursue an artists & reportoire internship at Motown Records in Los Angeles. He was subsequently promoted by CEO Jheryl Busby to a full time position in A&R and production, but was a victim of downsizing when new CEO Andre Harrell closed the Los Angeles office a year later. He returned to Montevallo to complete his degree and work on a demo tape.

Music career

In 1996 Supreme completed a solo demo, Supreme's Lounge, on audiocassette. The debut garnered interest from several independent hip hop labels. He began collaborating with other area artists while also pursuing a career in radio. In 1998 he took a job in research and promotions with Cox Communications in Birmingham, eventually earning a part-time on-air slot.

During the same year Supreme's father retired from music publishing and handed him the reins to his then-inactive company, Lonebar Music. Supreme began licensing sample clearance for his father's recordings, including a sample from A Taste of Honey's "Disco Dancin'" which was used by R. Kelly for "Money Makes the World Go Round" in his 1998 R album.

In 1999, Supreme started "The Eargasm", a weekly hip hop showcase at the High Note Lounge which ran until 2004. He also joined local funk/jazz outfit Mecca's Groove as keyboardist and lead singer. In 2000, he became assistant program director for Clear Channel's V105.9 (WENN-FM), but was laid off when the station folded in 2001. With a new wife and the first of two daughters to support, Malone took a job at a Southside coffee shop, supplementing his income by singing for tips and promoting his band.

In 2002, Supreme returned to Detroit. He contributed two songs ("I Believe In You" and "Unconditional Eyes") to P-Funk keyboardist Amp Fiddler's solo album Waltz of a Ghetto Fly which earned underground success. He began working with several Detroit-area artists in the emerging neo-soul movement. He released a second album, The Marlon Malone Experience in 2005, featuring more of his singing alongside rapped lyrics and blending the Detroit sound with some Southern influences.

Supreme returned to Birmingham in 2005 to work at Citadel Broadcastings' WUHT-FM (Hot 107.7). He joined DJ Rahdu on his neo-soul/rare grooves/hip hop program, the Diamond Soul Experience. They also co-hosted a weekly live concert version of the show at Amani Raha, bringing artists such as Anthony David, Saul Williams, Eric Roberson and Goapele to Birmingham.

During this time Supreme contributed production work to numerous neo soul and hop hop albums. He produced Wes Felton's "Funky Feeling (You So Funky)", the video for which was named one of the Top 100 Videos of 2007. He also contributed to Raheem DeVaughn's "Lay Awhile" and Shaheed's "Health Wealth and Knowledge of Self" with Akil the MC from Jurassic 5. He remixed the Shaheed single "Breath Control" with vocals by Wes Felton and orchestrated the re-release of his father's 1976 album Freedom Serenade on Ubiquity Records.

Currently, Supreme is the host of Hot 107.7's "Classic Hip Hop Show". During one episode, Doug E. Fresh proclaimed that Supreme was Birmingham's "hip hop encyclopedia", a nickname Supreme uses today as he shares his knowledge of hip hop culture with youth, such as at Miles College's 2008 Spring Arts Festival.

In November 2007 Supreme converted to Sunni Islam.

Discography

  • Supreme. Supreme's Lounge (1996) limited edition audiocassette
  • Supreme. The Marlon Malone Experience (2005)

External links