Maker

Maker is a US hip-hop producer from the United States. He works under the name Maker and is also known as Marco Jacobo. He comes out of the Chicago underground hip-hop scene and later moves through production, DJing, and live performance.

Production work and early releases

Maker begins releasing music in the early 2000s after building a reputation for hard, organic drums and heavily chopped, sample-based production. His debut album is Honestly, released on Birthwrite in 2003, followed by Shooting The Breeze on Galapagos4 in 2005. His work also appears on a series of non-album releases, including limited 7-inch singles on Bully and Headrums and the 7-inch series The Maker Files, released on Shake It in 2007 and featuring Maker, Joey Beats and Scott Matelic.

Collaborations and groups

Maker works extensively with other artists and producers. He has a long-running partnership with MC Qwel on the producer albums The Harvest and So Be It, released on Galapagos4 in 2004 and 2009. These albums are also the first and last releases in Qwel’s Four Seasons series. Maker is also the lead producer in the hip-hop group Glue, which includes Adeem and DJ DQ. Glue releases three full-length albums: Seconds Away on Ramona in 2003, Sunset Lodge on Shake It in 2005, and Catch As Catch Can on Fat Beats in 2007.

Style, touring and scene presence

His music is associated with instrumental hip-hop and downtempo production, later expanding to include live vocals and turntablism. Maker develops a substantial following through a large number of releases, tours and collaborations, and performs alongside artists including Pharcyde, De La Soul, Masta Ace, Prince Paul, Little Brother, Mike Relm, Mos Def, MF Doom, Cage, Killah Priest, Mr. Dibbs, 2Mex, Sixtoo, Blockhead and Shapeshifters. His touring reaches the US, Europe and Japan. Glue also appears on MTV2 and Fuse.tv and performs on Warped Tour.

DJ work and live projects

Maker also works as a DJ and describes himself as a crate digger. In 2006 he forms The Comeups Sound System with DJ Intel, DJ Pickel and visual artist Jose Garibaldi. Their sets draw from funk, soul, hip-hop, disco, house, Latin, downtempo and breaks. He holds DJ residencies and performs with Pete Rock, Afrika Bambaataa, Steinski, Chicken George, Andy Smith of Portishead, Greyboy, DJ Day, D-Styles, Z-Trip, Peanut Butter Wolf and Chairman Mao. As a live PA performer, he presents his compositions alongside Blu, Exile, Opus, DiVinci, Joey Beats, Boom Bip, Daedelus, Mr. Dibbs, Edit of the Glitch Mob, Gaslamp Killer, D-Styles and Daddy Kev.

Other collaborations and licensing

Maker’s production appears on recordings by Sleep, Josh Martinez, Dessa, Psalm One, The Opus and the band Cassettes Won’t Listen. He also works on the producer collaboration Graymaker with Grayskull. His beats are licensed for use in This American Life, the film Trick ’r Treat, and MTV’s The Buried Life.

Genre associations

Maker is linked with hip-hop, instrumental hip-hop and downtempo, with his later work also associated with live vocal production and turntablism. The input also connects the name Maker with pop punk, melodic hardcore and emo through a separate act of the same name, but the US hip-hop producer entry is the relevant one here.