Introducing the King of the Queen City [Video]

Nineteen talented emcees entered the contest to find out who is the King of the Queen City. It got narrowed down to four final emcees, but there can only be one King! Watch as Yasmin Young from the 2 to 6 Takeover introduces you to the emcee who holds the crown!

Marquél Jeffries, better known by his stage name Marquél or, interchangeably, Francs, is an American Hip-Hop recording artist, from Buffalo, NY. Marquél made his debut in the music world in 2011 with his song, "Role Play." Since then, Marquél has been establishing himself with the accompaniment of meaningful lyrics and soulful beats.

Since a toddler, Marquél has been hugely impacted by music. His passion for music began at an early age when his grandmother would always play music from her era, hence his usage of soul-sampled instrumentals. He has always looked for hope and pleasure in music. It was not until 2007 when Marquél started making his own music, inspired by his uncle and Buffalo-Native artist/producer Mario “M-A” Dade. Marquél wrote music for a short time, at the tender age of 9, but quickly lost interest due to lack of motivation and resources. It was not until Marquél recorded his first song in 2011, when he decided that making music was the thing for him.

Thus far in his career, Marquél has been on one of Buffalo's more notable radio stations, 93.7 WBLK, for his hit song "Blue Sky" (previously used by Common), performed in several venues (including in Buffalo, NY and Oswego, NY), along with dropping a successful debut mixtape, The C and 3 Tape, on January 6, 2016. Marquél has gained much attention, especially from older crowds, as he spits his life experiences over various mainstream beats. He really showed his potential in his song Over, as he reflected his life over Black Metaphor’s "Water" beat (previously used by Lil Bibby) while touching on various topics, such as a relative’s near-death situation and his loss of friends due to maturing.

Marquél also released his second mixtape, Planet 16, on March 20, 2016. This mixtape takes a different approach from The C and 3 Tape. It starts off as a couple of fun tracks with mind-boggling wordplay with things associating with Kanye West and The Notorious B.I.G. The mixtape then shifts to serious problems, including the incarceration of one of his close relatives. Planet 16 then concludes with a track, Killing Me, where Marquél talks about many bottled up thoughts that he finally expresses.