Marquis Mix (13 of Nazareth) has come to be classified by many his fans and contemporaries alike as one of the most talented writers within the current generation fo spokenword artists. Since choosing to pursue art full-time in 2002, Marquis has released 4 CDs, toured the US, Canada, the UK, and had his work featured on Music Choice.
In April of 1994 Marquis was in a car accident which forever altered his life and perception of the world. Six months following this traumatic experience he began to have seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy. Instead of being a hinderance, seizures have become one of Marquis' prime motivations to continue on his current course in hopes of being an inspriration to all who witness his life and work. A detailed story of his journey was publishing on epilepsy.com.
Excerpt from "Speaking Up, Speaking Out"
I had begun to take my life back. I started to attend church on a regular basis which brought me peace of mind and a wholeness I had never felt. I continued writing rhymes, poetry, prayers, thoughts, pretty much whatever came to mind. I had the realization that my depression stemmed not from epilepsy or seizures but from an inability to communicate my fears. By June 1997 I was me again, only better. I had lost all the weight. I was standing tall; chest out, chin up. People who had not seen me since Christmas did not recognize me. The darkness gave me greater appreciation for the light, but in truth I still had no direction in which I wanted to travel with my new found self. So as I often had in life I listened to others and went to school for Computer Aided Drawing. It was the logical step. I could draw, I did not have a degree or job, so I went for a year and a half then had to drop out because I could not afford the tuition. All the while I was writing daily; expressing the ups, the downs, my observations, reflections pretty much…whatever came to mind. I recall a conversation I had with my Aunt Darlene while in between jobs. She stormed out of her bedroom and asked, "What are you going to do with your life?" The words echoed through me; and without an effort toward thinking about how I should respond to get her off my case, I silently held up my ink pen and notepad. She looked at me and said, "You have a one in a million chance at that, Marquis! What about your future?" I sat in an assured silence that I had spoken my peace for the first time in 20 years I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
In February of 1999 I walked into a small café, signed the open mic list and faced a fear greater than being in the dark. Communicating out loud the thoughts that I had been harboring, scribbling in notebooks, on loose leaf sheets was my greatest fear. I failed English my senior year because I could not get through an oral report; but there I was standing in front of strangers, trembling, stuttering, afraid and determined to do something for me just once. And I did, and I did it again and again and again and again until it became my job. It's June 2005 and I am a nationally known spoken word artist/performer I communicate for a living. I am not a millionaire yet, but I love what I do. My work is my dreams come true. I have won some national competitions. I have traveled to places I never imagined I'd see. I know it can be difficult living with seizures. I still get frustrated and cry about having epilepsy sometimes but I live. In spite of…no…insight of it all, I live.
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