Money Mark

Money Mark
Money Mark in March 2007
Background information
Birth name	Mark Ramos Nishita
Born	1960 (age 56–57)
Origin	United States
Genres	Alternative hip hop, nu jazz
Occupation(s)	Keyboardist Record Producer
Instruments	Keyboard Piano Melodica
Years active	1991-present
Labels	Various
Associated acts	Beastie Boys Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group Banyan Hello Seahorse! Jack Johnson Die Antwoord Linkin Park

Mark Ramos Nishita, known professionally as Money Mark, is an American producer and musician, best known for his collaborations with the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2011. Born in Detroit to a Japanese-Hawaiian father and a Chicano mother, he moved to the West Coast when he was six.

His first album Mark's Keyboard Repair (1995), was made up of keyboard driven pop-funk songs recorded at demo quality. Guy Ritchie used a song from the album in "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." MKR was followed up by the Third Version EP in 1996 and Push the Button in 1998, for which Mark received critical praise. Whereas his 1996 EP was similar to his debut, Push the Button was extremely eclectic, combining aspects of rock music and pop with soul, funk and hip hop. This LP was met with good reviews, as was his 2001 follow up Change is Coming which had a tropical yet danceable disco and funk sound.

Mark met the Beastie Boys during their migration to the West Coast. He helped them build a studio, and quickly became a principal collaborator. He has performed, written, and collaborated on every Beastie Boys album from 1992's Check Your Head to the group's final album, 2011's Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Mark co-authored the Grammy Award winning album The Mix-Up.

Money Mark contributed the keyboard phrase that opens and underpins "Where It's At" from Beck's 1996 album, Odelay. He played keyboards on tour for the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet in support of their self-titled album. He has since become a full member of the quintet, appearing on the live EP with Damo Suzuki called Please Heat This Eventually and several other albums, with his debut full-length collaboration with the group being the Quintet's second LP release, The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange. In 1996, Money Mark contributed the song "Use Your Head (Use A Sua Cabeca)" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization. He also contributed songs to Red Hot's Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin and Red Hot + Rhapsody a tribute to George Gershwin. In 2004 Mark scored and played all instruments for HBO's first ever documentary prime time series, "Family Bond's," directed by Steve Santor. In that same year, Mark also contributed original songs and score cues for "Along Came Polly," "Fun With Dick and Jane," and "The Devil Wears Prada."