About the Artist
Andre Marcel Ajamu Akinyele was born June 21, 1972, in the Bay Area of San Francisco, California. He has released five CD’s under his middle name MARCEL on his own recording label Bombay Recording Company where he produced, arranged, composed, and performed all of the material on each release. These five CD’s have crossed many genres from Funk to World and has brought him full circle to embrace jazz. Recording as MARCEL, his first release was "The Diary of Marcel, (1998)" a love story about a relationship gone sour and professing his love for the last time. This debut CD was truly groundbreaking, which led to him touring the Bay Area and promoting the CD by doing in-store appearances in Tower Records, The Wherehouse, Sam Goody, and Rasputin, gaining him exposure throughout California. His second release “Spice The Alternative Hip-Hop Experience, (2001)” has a more developed Hip-Hop, R&B sound with an added mixture of Funk, Rap, Old School and Futuristic rhythms. “Spice The Alternative Hip-Hop Experience” gained him exposure on the front cover of Disc Makers Magazine, in which he continues to be featured on a regular basis. He also received Internet distribution with The Orchard, and was nominated for the “Just Plain Folks 2002 Internet Awards.” Sales have been generated via Internet in Japan and Europe. The song “Spice” was added to a Japanese Cable Network Program in Japan in 2003. His third release “Uptown : 2025 A.D, (2003)” led him to change his birth name from Andre Marcel Wilson to Andre Marcel Ajamu Akinyele, but still recording as MARCEL. This CD has a mixture of R&B, Funk, and New Age and was co-produced by New Age artist Jon O’Bergh. “Uptown : 2025 A.D.” is about a planet in search of utopia and contains the popular single “Mother Earth.” Shortly thereafter his grandmother fell ill and passed away in December of 2003. Marcel had to find a way to channel his energy and produced his fourth release “Uptown : 2025! E.P. The Remixes, (2004)” that contains HOT remixes from “Uptown : 2025 A.D.” The releases of “Uptown : 2025 A.D.” and “Uptown : 2025 E.P. The Remixes” gained him radio airplay on The Upper Room with Joe Kelley, a radio station based in Connecticut that Prince featured on his official website, which was a major high point! Also, MTV Germany featured MARCEL on their website and included him in their roster of major artists due to those releases. And, his fifth and final release as MARCEL was “Secret Weapon Volumes 1 & 2,” released on August 25, 2004. “Secret Weapon Volumes 1 & 2” has led to various performances around the world, gaining him a more solid fan base in Europe and Japan. The release has also received distribution and radio airplay in Australia. The passing of his Grandmother Pearl Jones in December of 2003, led him to record under his new name Ajamu Akinyele and to release his first jazz album dedicated to her titled, “Supernova,” soon to be released on April 5, 2005 on his own new label Pearl Jazz Recording Label. The songs are a reflection of his personal and musical growth. So, this CD is not only a new beginning or a rebirth, but also a new direction in his soul searchin’ to take him to the next level in his journey. Ajamu Akinyele is a well-rounded musician whose mission in life is to be true and honest and to produce great music for people who truly love music. Along the way he hopes to help communities come together and to inspire younger generations to play instruments. He views his music as a gift from the universe that should be appreciated as art, and what will remain true is his love and passion for music. Experience Cyber Jazz! For more information access www.ajamu.net.
