MarcusMySlaveName

Marcus Burley, better known as Blair Copeland(his rap moniker), is an Afro-American artist known for his whacky idealistic songs and his knack of creating just about anything. Born in Buffalo, New York on April 20th, 1994 he remains a local and is a member of SkyWrd, a grassroots hip-hip collective focused on liberating the youth of conformity.  The group embraces a lust for creativity, wherever they can find it.

Growing up on his parents limited taste for Jazz & Funk , and any rap he could hear playing from his older brother's room, Copeland sought out his own point of view towards music.  The young MC first found inspiration from Kanye West, Lil Wayne and SouljaBoy Tellem thus promoting his go-getter, self reliant attitude towards anything he put his mind too.  It wasn't until the age of 16 that Copeland decided he could rap just as well as any of his classmates.  With a newly bestowed confidence due to the influences of Wiz Kahlifa and Kid Cudi the young artist entered his high schools talent show.  Succeeding only in realizing the raw, alluring sensation of crowd pleasing he so desperately craved, he entered again a year later alongside the members of SkyWrd this time winning first place.  It was that moment where he seriously considered music as a career.  During the last legs of his high school campaign, Copeland released several singles and a short project to gain the attention of anyone who would listen.  Succeeding again by garnering a cult neighbor-like fan base eager to hear what the young artist had to offer. 

In the fall of 2012, Blair attended Niagara County Community College majoring in Audio Engineering with the goal of meeting and networking with students in fields beneficial to him.  Prior to dropping out just before the end of his freshman year he released an EP entitled "Northern Lights" which provided much needed nutrients to his hungry listeners. The project also earned him attention from some of the young minds at his school, thus still managing to accomplish his goal by gathering supporters in numerous professions.

Now, almost two years since the release of his last single, Blair Copeland can be seen connecting with crowds at house events and jumping around on stage in showcases sponsored by AfterDark Entertainment.  Though he has yet to release another single he often lends his unorthodox style and witty lyrics to his fellow group mates on guest verses.  When questioned about his hiatus he responded "I've been planning my professional debut for about two years now.  I've always had the content, just never understood the business/marketing side to the game; I do now."