Marcus Boyd:
Repaying His Voice Through Music and Activism By Margo Marie McManus
A
well-known DJ, accomplished music producer, and talented composer, Marcus Boyd has come a long way. Born with autism in the 1980s, Marcus is intimately familiar with the trials and challenges it brings. But his autistic experiences also cultivated his lifelong passion for music and later propelled him into advocacy. In his own words, “I wanted to become a voice for autism because I have autism and been having it for 38 years now, so I know about the good and bad parts of it. I know what it feels like to be bullied, wanting and trying to end it all because you feel so alone and you feel like no one understands you, and people are silently judging you. So, I wanted to come in and show people by using my testimony that I can relate, and I am here to help fight for rights and better laws for the autism community as a whole.” As someone who has lived and succeeded with autism, Marcus holds himself responsible for using his experience to assist and uplift the lives of others. Able to listen to the tone of someone’s voice and immediately reproduce an authentic sound, Marcus dedicated himself to music not only as a hobby but as a career. With the mentorship of a music producer in Atlanta who took him under his wings, Marcus painstakingly built, promoted, and marketed his personal brand, eventually rising to stand proud as the CEO of Marcus Boyd Beats. He can play eight instruments, has experience with 18 genres, and has composed over 80,000 copyrighted and trademarked sample cleared beats.
48 | Exceptional Needs Today | Issue 4
