Before I introduced the PROFILE web-series to the internets last year with interviews of Waka Flocka, Jim Jones, and Raekwon I tried the q’s on my buddy Marques Toliver and I have to say his by far is one of my faves.

I originally met Marques while I was taping a show on the streets of Times Square about 4 years ago. He was playing violin and using the sound of the city as a substitute for background vocals. I walked over to him and noticed he was recording his session on a throwback recordable cassette player in hopes of capturing “a unique, raw sound”. We held a brief conversation about his journey to NYC from his hometown, Daytona, Florida, and he invited me to see him busk in Williamsburg sometime and then handed me a cd folded inside a brown paper bag w/ only an email address scribbled across it and told me to take a listen.

I played the cd at home that night and fell in love. His voice is filled with soul and his words are poetic (the kind that is based on reason not rhyme). We kept in contact throughout the years; I would attend his shows around the city witnessing him hypnotize the crowd with his talent and charisma and seen random bloggers, photographers, producers, even musicians lend their platform to showcase Toliver’s talent. Fast-forward to present day Marques has toured with TV on the Radio, performed on BBC’s popular late-night talk show Later with Jools Holland, and even received co-sign from Grammy Award winning UK singer Adele naming him her “NEW FAVOURITE ARTIST” on her blog. Another blog that has taken notice of Marques is Forbes magazine. Last year they featured him on the list of “Names You Need to Know in 2011″ . Marques plans on dropping an album this year and performing around the globe, stay posted on tour dates and projects @ www.marques-toliver.blogspot.com