Marco Polo

Marco Bruno, better known as Marco Polo, is a Canadian hip hop producer and rapper. Born in Toronto, he moved to New York City in the early 2000s to pursue a career in hip hop production, and has since become one of the most sought-after underground producers on the US East Coast.

He has Italian origins; his parents emigrated from Naples and Calabria.

Marco Polo was born as Marco Bruno on December 26, 1979, in Toronto, Canada. He is of Italian descent. He went to an audio engineering school in Toronto. In the early 2000s, he moved to New York City, where he interned at The Cutting Room Studios.

In New York City, he worked as a sound engineer in several recording studios. As a result, he met up with legendary Brooklyn MC Masta Ace, who was looking for beats for his 2004 LP A Long Hot Summer at the time. Although Ace could not pay him at first, he used one of the beats Bruno gave him for the song "Do It Man" (featuring Big Noyd). Production for Sadat X's Black October album and various Boot Camp Clik projects followed a few years later.

His debut album from 2007, Port Authority, was released through Rawkus Records and featured guest raps from Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Buckshot, Wordsworth, O.C., Kardinal Offishall, Large Professor and Sadat X. The album was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year at the 2008 Juno Awards.

On June 2, 2009, a collaboration album with Torae was released, entitled Double Barrel.

On June 29, 2010, Polo released The Stupendous Adventures of Marco Polo on Duck Down Records. The album featured guest raps from an assortment of acts including the Large Professor, Torae, Royce Da 5'9" and others.

Also in 2010, he released a collaborative album with rapper Ruste Juxx, titled The Exxecution.

In October 2012, he released the For My People EP with Italian rappers Bassi Maestro and Ghemon.

In 2013, he released a solo studio album, PA2: The Director's Cut. It was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year at the 2015 Juno Awards.

Marco Polo's production revolves around his use of samples, and his style is somewhat comparable to that of Pete Rock and DJ Premier, the latter of which he names as his greatest influence. To give a more authentic effect to his production, he will individually sample drum sounds (such as a hi-hat) and arrange them to create his own "breaks". He often uses bass to enhance melodies he has sampled. He has been known to use outro beats to segue into the next song.

Studio albums

• Port Authority (2007)
• Double Barrel (2009) (with Torae)
• The Exxecution (2010) (with Ruste Juxx)
• Seize the Day (2013) (with Hannibal Stax)
• PA2: The Director's Cut (2013)
• Kartagina (2014) (with O.S.T.R.)
• A-F-R-O Polo (2016) (with A-F-R-O)
• A Breukelen Story (2018) (with Masta Ace)

Compilation albums

• Canned Goods (2005)
• Newport Authority (2007)
• The Stupendous Adventures of Marco Polo! (2010)
• Newport Authority 2 (2013)
• MPC: Marco Polo Collectables (2015)
• Baker's Dozen (2017)

EPs

• Per La Mia Gente (2012) (with Bassi Maestro and Ghemon Scienz)
• Rare Instrumentals Volume One (2013)
• A Breukelen Story: Bonus EP (2019) (with Masta Ace)

Singles

• "My Rights" / "Situations" / "I Just Wanna Rhyme" (2005)
• "War" (2007)
• "The Radar" (2007)
• "Double Barrel" / "Hold Up" / "Combat Drills" (2009) (with Torae)
• "Nobody" / "Rearview" (2010) (with Ruste Juxx)
• "Back to Work" / "I Refuse" (2013)
• "Side Effects" (2014) (with O.S.T.R.)
• "Nostalgia" (2018)
• "E.A.T." / "Masta Polo" (2019) (with Masta Ace)

Productions

• Shylow - "The Greatest" (2002)
• Masta Ace - "Do It Man" from A Long Hot Summer (2004)
• Sadat X - "If You" from Black October (2006)
• Rasco - "What Happened to the Game" and "Situations" from The Dick Swanson Theory (2006)
• Pumpkinhead - Orange Moon Over Brooklyn (2006)
• Boot Camp Clik - "My World" and "I Want Mine" from Casualties of War (2007)
• Special Teamz - "One Call" from Stereotypez (2007)
• Reef the Lost Cauze - "I Wonder" from A Vicious Cycle (2008)
• Heltah Skeltah - "Insane" from D.I.R.T. (2008)
• Braille - "The IV" from The IV Edition (2008)
• 9th Uno - "Sleep" from Unassociated Press (2008)
• KRS-One & Buckshot - "Oh Really" from Survival Skills (2009)
• Critical Madness - "Empirical" from Bringing Out the Dead (2009)
• D.O. - "Bully" from Stay Driven (2009)
• Verbal Kent - "Monologue" from Save Your Friends (2010)
• Verbal Kent - "My City" from Save Yourself (2011)
• Pharoahe Monch - "W.A.R." from W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) (2011)
• Talib Kweli - "Palookas" from Gutter Rainbows (2011)
• Torae - "You Ready" from For the Record (2011)
• J-Live - "The Authentic" and "Pronounced Spitta" from S.P.T.A. (Said Person of That Ability) (2011)
• Neek the Exotic & Large Professor - "Hip Hop" and "My Own Line" from Still on the Hustle (2011)
• Large Professor - "Professor @ Large" from Professor @ Large (2012)
• Vinnie Paz - "Crime Library" from God of the Serengeti (2012)
• Copywrite - "Opium Prodigies" from God Save the King (2012)
• MHz Legacy - "Obituaries" from MHz Legacy (2012)
• 4th Pyramid - "Feel It in My Bones" from The Pyramid Scheme (2012)
• Koncept - "Watch the Sky Fall" from Awaken (2012)
• Supastition - "Yada Yada" from The Blackboard EP (2013)
• R.A. the Rugged Man - "Shoot Me in the Head" from Legends Never Die (2013)
• Demigodz - "Audi 5000" from Killmatic (2013)
• Pharoahe Monch - "Time2", "Rapid Eye Movement", and "The Jungle" from PTSD (2014)
• Nature - "Throw It Up" from Seasons Changed: Winter Edition (2014)
• First Division - "Intro", "Life & Death", "The Trade", "Bottom Line", and "Take Your Time" from The Critical Path Pt. 1 (2014)
• First Division - "Intro", "Work Force", "B.R.A.W.L.", and "Victorious" from The Critical Path Pt. 2 (2014)
• La Coka Nostra - "Blind" from To Thine Own Self Be True (2016)
• Snak the Ripper - "Premium Dope" from From the Dirt (2016)
• M-Dot - "Dreamscape" from Ego and the Enemy (2017)
• Milano Constantine - "British Walkers", "That Feeling", and "10-4" from The Way We Were (2017)
• Talib Kweli & Styles P - "Nine Point Five" from The Seven (2017)
• Phonte - "So Help Me God" from No News Is Good News (2018)