Supreme

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.

After his mothers' death in 1989, Supreme left Detroit to settle in her hometown of Greenville in Butler County. He finished 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.

College and Motown

In 1991, Supreme graduated from high school and headed to Alabama State University. Confused about what to major in, he transferred his scholarship to the University of Montevallo in 1992. As a mass communications major, Supreme was granted access to the television and recording studios eventually becoming audio engineer for the campus TV news program. In 1994, he started his own radio show, Basement Flava, which would be the campus' first ever hip hop based radio program. In addition, Supreme established relationships with then-fledgling indie labels such as Relativity and Loud Records, who serviced the show with records by newcomers like Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, and Common. 1995 was a turning point for Supreme, as he was torn between finishing college and joining his father, who was now living in Los Angeles, to establish a career in music full time. A friend gave him a contact with Motown Records in L.A. who were looking for interns. This proved to be the breakthrough Supreme needed. Supreme traveled out to California to intern in the A&R department. Jheryl Busby, then president of Motown, was so impressed with his drive and passion for learning the business, Supreme was offered an actual paying job in the A&R and video production departments. A year later, Busby resigned and Andre Harrell took over as president. The company was then downsized and subsequently the L.A. offices were dissolved. Supreme soon found himself without a job and decided to return to Alabama to finish school and work on his demo.

Radio

In 1996, Supreme completed his first solo effort, the hip hop collectors' item Supreme's Lounge. Only 300 cassettes were pressed. Supreme's Lounge made quite an impact and was courted by several independent labels for distribution. It wasn't until radio personalities Kori White, B-Brian, and Chris Coleman gave it a thumbs-up that Supreme decided to switch his focus to the radio industry. In 1998, Supreme began his radio career in Birmingham in the research and promotions departments at Cox Radio, eventually landing a part time on-air slot. He held several side jobs during this time and also worked with many local artists. This same year his father officially retired from the music industry and decided to give his half of the publishing company (Lonebar Music) to Supreme. At the time Lonebar was inactive. Supreme reactivated the company and started licensing sample clearances for his father's music. The most notable sample was A Taste of Honey's "Disco Dancin'" which was used by R. Kelly for "Money Makes the World Go Round" from his 1998 R album. In 1999, he started "The Eargasm", a weekly hip hop showcase at the High Note Lounge which would become Birmingham's longest running (1999-2004). Supreme joined a local funk/jazz outfit called Mecca's Groove as keyboardist and lead singer. In 2000, he became assistant program director for Clear Channel's V105.9 (WENN FM). The station folded in 2001 and new father Supreme needed to make ends meet. He went to work at a local Southside coffee shop and sang for tips while there. Being on the Southside meant obtaining gigs for the band would become easier.

Return to Detroit

In 2002, Supreme returned to Detroit and was introduced to P-Funk keyboardist Amp Fiddler. Amp's solo releases were well recieved overseas, but he was ready to break stateside. Supreme contributed two songs ("I Believe In You" and "Unconditional Eyes") and helped Amp's Waltz of a Ghetto Fly album become an underground success in the U.S. At this time Detroit was experiencing a return to prominence in the music industry thanks to the emergence of the neo soul movement. Supreme established a working relationship with several of Detroit's hottest artists and beatsmiths such as Slum Village, Jay Dee, Phat Kat (who has family ties in Ensley), Dwele, and Vernon D. German. Supreme also worked on his second album titled The Marlon Malone Experience in 2005. This was the first time he ever concentrated on singing as well as rapping. The beats were heavily influenced by his Detroit roots with a bit of Southern flavor. This album is also a collector's item.

Diamond Soul Experience

In 2005, Supreme arrived back in Birmingham to work with Citadel broadcasting urban WUHT FM (Hot 107.7). He was added to the DJ Rahdu-hosted neo soul/rare grooves/hip hop program, The Diamond Soul Experience. Later in the year, the duo hosted a weekly live concert version of the show at the now-defunct martini bar Amani Raha. Performers at the live show include Anthony David, Saul Williams, Eric Roberson, and Goapele.

Production work

Supreme's production work can be heard on considerable amount of neo soul/hip hop artists' albums. He has collaborated with Wes Felton (formerly W.Ellington Felton) on his numerous albums. The video for the Supreme-produced "Funky Feeling (You So Funky)" recieved airplay on VH1 Soul and BETJ, subsequently landing on the list of Top 100 videos of 2007. Supreme and Felton are currently working on an joint project called Travel Music, with Felton supplying the vocals while Supreme does the beats. Supreme has also worked with Raheem DeVaughn on "Lay Awhile" a song that was slated for DeVaughn's latest release Love Behind the Melody. Supreme orchestrated the re-release of his fathers' 1976 album Freedom Serenade in a joint venture with West Coast indie label Ubiquity Records. Supreme is the executive producer and chief beatsmith on the latest release from Shaheed Health Wealth and Knowledge of Self which features a guest appearance from Akil the MC from Jurassic 5. Supreme recently remixed the single "Breath Control" which features Wes Felton and can be heard on Shaheed's myspace page: [1]

Classic Hop Hop Show

Currently, Supreme is the host of Hot 107.7's "Classic Hip Hop Show" which airs Saturday mornings from 7am until 11am. Guests of the show include Grandmaster Mele Mel, Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick, and MC Lyte. Popular segments include the Classic Hip Hop Megamix, The Classic Hip Hop Block, and The Finish Line. During one episode, Doug E. Fresh proclaimed that Supreme was Birmingham's "hip hop encyclopedia", a nickname Supreme uses today. You can check out the show live here: [2]

Personal life

Supreme is has been married since 2001 and has two daughters. In November 2007, Supreme became a Sunni Muslim. On occasion Supreme teaches Hip Hop classes, exploring the history of the culture. His most recent appearance was during the Miles College Spring Arts Festival in March 2008.

External links

• Supreme at MySpace.com