Marcelo

Marčelo
Marko Šelić - Marčelo (2013)
Background information
Birth name	Marko Šelić
Born	(1983-01-22) January 22, 1983 (age 34) Paraćin, SFR Yugoslavia
Origin	Belgrade, Serbia
Genres	Hip hop , rap rock , jazz rap
Occupation(s)	Writer
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Lampshade Media Multimedia Records Bassivity
Associated acts	Filter Crew Wikluh Sky, Don Trialeon

For a basketball player nicknamed "Marčelo", see Šarūnas Marčiulionis

Marčelo (Serbian: Mарчело), born Marko Šelić (Марко Шелић) is a Serbian Hip-hop artist and writer, known for his socially conscious lyrics and eclectic approach to musical arrangements. From Paraćin, he moved to Belgrade, where he has had great success over the years, and became one of the most prominent Serbian hip hop artists. He is also a student of Serbian language and literature at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology. Marčelo is often referred to as the "voice of a generation" by his peers, as he perfectly captures the spirit of a transition-bound young man in Serbia trying to make a decent living for himself, while remaining sane. He does not vote, for he feels there is nobody to vote for, he does not trust the authorities, as he believes that none of them have earned his trust and he is sceptical about a happy ever after scenario, as he has seen to few of those to believe that they happen to most people.

Marčelo started making hip hop music in 1997, though his first significant contributions came out in 1999, with a demo band called Rhyme Animal. In order to pursue his solo career, Marčelo stepped out of Rhyme Animal in 2001, and started to work with Oneya, the founder of Bassivity Music and one of the leading producers on the Serbian hip hop scene. Oneya recognized his full potential and Marčelo signed with Bassivity in 2002. The first opportunity for a wider audience to hear and recognize his work came with 2003's Bassivity Mixtape Vol.1, to which he contributed two tracks, Definicija (feat. Shorty) and Snovidjenje.

His debut album, De Facto, also released in 2003 on the Bassivity label, came out to both public and critical acclaim, and he was branded as the voice of a generation. The album was full of criticism of Serbian society at the dawn of the new millennium and personal themes, which were delivered in a very sincere manner. In his single and video, Kuća Na Promaji (A House On A Range), he deals with the assassination of Serbia's prime minister in 2003, police brutality, corruption and alienation amongst young people in the country. It was the best-selling hip hop album that year in Serbia-Montenegro and the first post-war record that included collaborations between the new generation of music acts from former Yugoslavia: Edo Maajka (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Elemental (Croatia), Škabo (Serbia), "Bata Barata" ex Shorty (Serbia), Don Trialeon ex Trial (Serbia) and Disciplinska Komisija (Bosnia-Herzegovina).