Marcellus Dawson, the youngest of four brothers, was born in St. Paul, MN in 1978. Raised in Chicago, IL, he began expressing himself musically at the age of eight. It was obvious to his parents that his love for music and his ability to play instruments (there are seven in his repertoire) 'by ear' was not just talent, but a gift.
Marcellus' talents are rooted in gospel. He played the piano and organ for Apostolic Pentecostal Church of Morgan Park, IL. In junior high school, Marcellus, with the help of his music teacher, arranged music for and conducted a class band. His teacher was amazed at his ability to read and write music without formal training. Marcellus continued writing music and playing for his church choir throughout his high school years.
Marcellus received a track scholarship to South Dakota State University (SDSU) in 1996. At SDSU, he became the DJ for the university's radio station, KCSF. While working at the station he met Jay Logan. Logan, owner of Jae Sporte Entertainment had already produced hits for Pebbles and Bobby Brown. Logan, impressed with Marcellus' gift, taught him the fundamentals of music. These studies enabled Marcellus to further develop his skills and enhance his passion for music.
In 2000, Marcellus traveled back to Chicago where he met two gentlemen, BJ and Chuck. These men owned a no-name record label and recruited Marcellus to produce for them. In this capacity, he produced a song for the rappers known as Do or Die. It was around this time that Marcellus also met Ola Joseph owner of Zoawe Records. Marcellus produced and wrote music for the artists signed with Zoawe.
In 2003, Marcellus 'Handz Down' Dawson, signed with a production company known as The Trendsettas. They were hired by KG at Divine Mill Records in New Jersey to produce hits and with Marcellus' brilliant talent for writing music; that is exactly what happened. In 2006, Urban Mystic's song 'It's You', was 1 for sales in Billboard, four weeks in a row. Before the album dropped, it had already sold over 200,000 copies.In addition to his current Billboard sucess, he is accredited with producing the theme song for the movie, The Cookout, entitled The Cookout and the featured song Family Reunion. In January of 2007 Stacie Orrico's album "Beautiful Awakenings" debut. The album includes three tracks written and produced by Marcellus; 'I'm Not Missing You', 'Take Me Away' and Don't Ask Me To Stay. Marcellus has also produced tracks for other artist such as; Jahiem 'More Than a Woman'. Selena Johnson 'Apartment for Rent' and other unreleased tracks.Marcellus' musical genius brought this production company to the forefront of today's music industry. In 008 Marcellus produced the song, 'The River" by Noel Gourdin which scored on the movie 'Roscoe Jenkins'. Marcellus is currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. Marcellus is currently working on The album of th hottest -Teen pop group B5!! Although, most of his work to date has been in hip-hop and R&B, Marcellus is able to create sounds to fit the needs of any artist. His music is unique due to his gifted ability to mix genres, and create new, innovative beats.
