Production · Performance

The 45 King

real name Mark Howard James

aka DJ Mark

The Bronx, United States · 1961-10-16 – 2023-10-19

The 45 King is credited on 769 releases across 219 albums tracked on Gatefold, active 1987–2025 — the collector-built map of who actually made the music.

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Photo of The 45 King

769

Credits

219

Albums

5

Decades active

350

In collections

Biography

source

Showing the Discogs bio

DJ Mark the 45 King (born Mark James, October 16, 1961 - October 19, 2023), also known as the 45 King, started DJing in New Jersey in the mid-1980s. The nickname the 45 King came from his ability to make beats using obscure 45 RPM records.
The 45 King first gained fame with his breakbeat track "The 900 Number" in 1988. This track among others was sampled hundreds of times.
In 1998, the 45 King produced "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)". The song was a hit that featured a looped chorus from the original cast album of the Broadway musical Annie. In 2000, he produced the platinum-certified track "Stan".
Founder of publishing house.
He died on October 19, 2023 at the age of 62.

Bio from Discogs

Credited work

769 releases · 219 albums · active 1987–2025

  • Production · 745
  • Performance · 376
  • Engineering · 260
  • Other credits · 23

Studios: Airwave Sound · Studio With A View · Calliope Studios · The Hit Factory

Discography

Records they worked on — most-collected first.

Frequent collaborators

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