Arlo Maverick
Arlo Maverick | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Edmonton, Canada |
| Genres | Hip-hop |
| Years active | 2002-present |
Marlon Wilson, known professionally as Arlo Maverick, is a Canadian hip-hop artist and filmmaker based in Edmonton, Alberta.
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Maverick grew up in a working-class family in Edmonton and listened to hip-hop and reggae with his cousins.[1] He first tried penning lyrics at the age of eight when he saw a girl in church who was writing a rhyme rather than listening to the sermon.[1][2]
Maverick's partner is the painter and filmmaker Natalie Meyer.[3] He works for National Oilwell Varco.[4]
Musical career
[edit | edit source]Wilson first adopted the name Arlo Maverick when he and his cousins Dirt Gritie and Bigga Nolte joined his friend DJ Sonny Grimezz to form the hip-hop group Politic Live in 2002. Politic Live toured across Canada and opened for acts like Busta Rhymes, Nas, and Snoop Dogg, but wound down in 2012.[1][2]
Maverick released his first solo album, Maybe Tomorrow, in 2016. This loosely autobiographical concept album traces the story of a boy named Soup as he comes of age, starts a music career, and deals with life's struggles.[2] It features contributions for many Edmonton-based producers, rappers, and singers. The album hit number-one on the Canadian Campus Radio Weekly Hip-Hop chart for four weeks.[1]
In 2021, Maverick released the Focused EP, a collection of singles, followed by the EP Soul Merchant.[5] This EP was inspired by reflections on humans' relationship with technology, prompted in part by Black Mirror, and was originally planned for release in 2018,[2] but was delayed to rework the songs into something closer to Maverick's vision.[5]
Maverick's next album, Blue Collar, appeared in 2023. The album explores his working-class background and challenges balancing work and life. It features a contribution from Maverick's Politic Live collaborator Dirt Gritie.[4][6]
Other pursuits
[edit | edit source]Maverick has been described as an important mentor figure within the Edmonton hip-hop community, helping to explain the steps in writing grants and producing and marketing an album.[1] Among his mentees is Sudanese-Canadian rapper Mouraine.[7] He has also long volunteered as a guest DJ for the community radio station CJSR-FM.[1]
Maverick and his partner Natalie Meyer collaborated on the Telus Storyhive documentary series Allow Me to Introduce, whose episodes each discuss a song that left a mark on Edmonton's hip-hop scene.[3] Wilson also received funding from Telus Storyhive to direct the documentary Unbreakable Crew, which documents the early history of breakdancing and hip-hop during the 80s in Edmonton.[3][8] In 2025, Maverick and Meyer released the documentary Batting Beyond Borders about West Indian cricket players in Victoria Park, Edmonton.[9]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d e f Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).