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Amazing Alumni & Donors

Amazing Alumni Matt Markoff

Matt Markoff, BA 2003

Political Science

On his MySpace page, Matt Markoff appears in a suit and tie nearly as often as he shows up in jeans and a baggie hooded sweatshirt. This is because Matt is a lawyer and he is also M-Eighty, a rapper. He works behind the stage and performs on it. With degrees in Political Science and Law, he combines the academic and creative, the artistic and practical, landing Matt where he is today.

Matt, who has a rare gift for freestyle rap, has been rapping since he was in middle school. After he graduated from IUPUI with a BA in Political Science and a minor in International Studies, he moved to California to earn a law degree, thinking that he would get out of the music industry for good. Once he was on the West Coast, the music industry drew him back in with an opportunity to work for the Think Differently label. After a couple of years with that label, he created his own company, Holy Toledo Productions, which focuses on "building music from the ground up," starting with finding an artist a contract with a record label.

When he's in businessman-lawyer mode, Matt helps musicians shop for record labels, which is where the financial backing for a record comes from. He navigates the contract signing between artist and label, and then he helps both parties promote and distribute the new album.

In 2009, he worked with artists from Wu Tang and Planet Asia on solo albums for 2010. This winter he spent some time traveling with Canibus, a band who is on tour promoting their new album. Matt mainly took care of Canibus' practical issues, like performance schedules, driving routes, and legal "road bumps" that bands sometimes hit while they're on the road.

Though most of his tour duties with Canibus were behind the scenes, he admits to sometimes slipping back into the role of M-Eighty and performing "Bust Back" for the crowd. Indeed, Matt's own group, M-Eighty and Almighty, will release a new album this year. This means that he'll get to take off his business suit and spend more time back on stage, having fun while performing to promote the album.

This past semester, Matt combined his talents as a promoter and freestyle rapper, raising money to build a secondary school in Nigeria. In an event held at the IUPUI Campus Center, he rapped for 9 hours and 15 minutes, breaking the Guinness world record for the longest continual freestyle rap.

Matt came up with the philanthropic idea with the help of Professor Scott Pegg. In 2003 Pegg inspired Matt and the rest of his senior seminar class to think about ways they could help the world's poorest people by sharing his experiences. Pegg talked of how he, with his wife, Tijen, had initiated the Nigerian schools project after traveling to Africa. Today, Pegg's leadership of the program continues and the project is now administered through the Indianapolis-based Timmy Foundation.

Matt's goal is to raise enough money for a new secondary school in one of the Nigerian communities. He's raised about $2,000, but needs about $15,000 more. Building on funds from his performance, Matt hopes to collect more money by speaking about the project on tour and seeking foundation grants.

Matt likes raising funds for good causes so his fans know there are artists out there who "have a soul." He says that his fans and supporters know he is "someone that generally cares about music." His heart for the music really does come through, and anyone who talks to Matt will quickly realize that he is uncorrupted by success and remains incredibly grateful for the opportunities he found in Indianapolis.

What does the future hold for Matt? Right now, he is content to see where the music world will lead him. Whether he continues to operate his business or gets out of the industry in favor of a legal practice, Matt will always be an artist at heart-and an artist with a heart and a philanthropic spirit.

To learn more about the Nigerian schools project visit: http://www.bebor.org

--Abby Hayes, Senior English Major