Messy Marv is a West Coast rapper from the Bay Area who debuted in 1996 and released a dizzying number of albums in later years. Born
Marvin Watson, he grew up in the Eddy Street housing projects in the Fillmore District of San Francisco. As a teenager he made his commercial recording debut in 1996 with the full-length album
Messy Situationz. A couple years later he released the West Coast underground classic
Explosive Mode (1998), a collaboration with his cousin, rapper
San Quinn, with guest features from some of the Bay Area's most prominent rap artists of the time: rappers
E-40,
Rappin' 4-Tay, and
Celly Cel along with producers
Mike Mosley and
Tone Capone. A steady stream of albums followed --
Death on a Bitch (1999),
Still Explosive (2001),
Turf Politics (2002),
Turf Thuggin' (2002),
Bonnie & Clyde (2003) -- though none was particularly popular or as well received as
Explosive Mode had been. Moreover,
Messy Marv struggled with personal issues during this period; for instance, he was confined to a wheelchair for half a year after breaking both of his legs in a fall from a fourth-floor window in 2001. He reached the Billboard charts for the first time with
Disobayish (2004), a mainstream breakthrough featuring guest features by West Coast superstars
E-40,
Keak da Sneak,
Too Short, and
Nate Dogg. The follow-up album
Bandannas, Tattoos & Tongue Rings (2005) was similarly popular, reaching the Billboard charts and spawning the regional hit "Get on My Hype." A subsequent prison stint didn't affect
Messy Marv's musical output much. He continued releasing several albums a year, a mix of solo efforts, collaborations, and mixtapes. In 2006 he had a big hit with "So Hood," a collaboration with
Guce from the
Bullys wit Fullys album
The Infrastructure. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide