One for Many: The Thunder's DJ keeps native, hoops worlds spinning
“Emcee One is a true hero and ultimate inspiration throughout our tribal communities. In my eyes, he is the definition of Indigenous excellence.”
Taboo of Black Eyed Peas
If you’ve attended an Oklahoma City Thunder game anytime since 2020, you’ve heard the man at work. Maybe he caught your ear with one of your favorite 90s jams or a current Top 40 bop, or even possibly with his mastery in the art of turntable scratching. His name on most nights is Marcus Anthony Guinn. But to 18,203 fans on OKC hoops nights, he is known better as Emcee One. Or as most people affectionately call him, “The Thunder DJ."
One of many well-known Sam Presti-isms is that the Thunder draft people, not players. But that's a theme that touches all aspects of the organization, beyond the talent on the court. So when the Thunder were on the search for a new in-game DJ, they weren’t just looking for the most skilled music maestro. They also needed someone who fit the character of the Thunder. Marcus just happened to check both boxes.
“They care about what I care about. It was a good fit,” One says of his relationship with the Thunder.
Laying OKC roots
Marcus is a Cali kid, specifically The Bay, by physical place of birth. But he is Oklahoman through and through by way of his tribal roots in the Osage and Potawatomi tribes. And also by way of the 1990s rap battles at The Glass Key Club on the East Side. OKC’s DJ has old school lineage to Oklahoma through both his tribal heritage and his art.
Emcee One brought the street cred earned from his Bay area hip hop experience to his new home just when the OKC rap scene was taking off. He oftentimes brought along a young, talented middle schooler named Jabee (yes, that Jabee) to the rap battles. Emcee One made a name for himself through his rhymes and flow, but he was always drawn back to turntables. And any success achieved through hip hop helped fund his deeper passion.
“Turntables were my first love. But I couldn’t afford them. It’s free to write verses. It’s free to break dance. It might cost you some paint cans to buy graffiti. But to buy gear was out of my reach.”
Shea Vassar
Flash forward a couple decades. By the late 2010’s, One had worked with the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat and performed a halftime show for the Thunder. He had befriended staff in Thunder production and was a fan of how the team ran their show. Marcus had the NBA experience and character OKC coveted. The admiration was mutual.
“They care about people who care,” One says of the Thunder. “And they knew about my work in the communities.”
Cause and career: the mashup
So what exactly is it that Emcee One cares about and what is this community work that made the Thunder take notice?
“In the indigenous world, there’s conferences to combat various things in our community. We have those and they’re largely attended,” Marcus says of his work within the Native American community. “We’re dealing with suicide prevention, healthy lifestyles, the embrace of culture and the beauty of some of our cultural beliefs and practices. As a people group, we have intergenerational trauma, and to overcome that, we need intergenerational wisdom. That’s what the conference settings are for. In those conference settings, I was a trainer, a facilitator, a public speaker, an advocate. But I realized there was a void in production and I could fill that gap. Sometimes I’m a DJ or a keynote speaker, or sometimes I’m behind the scenes. A conference is a content delivery mechanism. My job is to make sure the content is delivered at a high rate.”
"Sometimes I’m a DJ or a keynote speaker, or sometimes I’m behind the scenes. My job is to make sure the content is delivered at a high rate.”
DJ Emcee, pictured at left, on his work supporting the Native American community
So when OKC initially approached One about the DJ gig, he didn’t think it would work out. He was traveling the world for all of those different events and conferences. Then a global pandemic changed the world. And in turn, changed One’s world.
Emcee One’s inaugural season as the Thunder DJ was the Covid year: no fans in the stands. His second season, there were limited fans due to the new protocols. It wasn't until his third season that he could play for a full arena. Each season was a new learning experience. But just like rookie players who gain experience and their improved play is reflected on the court, the developing Thunder DJ got better each season. Hearing him talk about it, you’d think you were talking to third season JDub.
“The game was able to slow down for me.”
But just as any OKC player will deflect credit to their teammates, One is quick to point out that he is just one part of a talented and well-oiled Thunder production crew. He praised his fellow entertainment team including the Thunder Drummers, Thunder Girls, The O’City Crew, Rumble the Bison, Malcolm, Emily, Gabe, Mario, the concourse DJs, and Lite Brite, the official DJ for the OKC Blue and occasional cover when Marcus is called to a tribal conference in-season.
Many spins, one beat
Emcee One’s skills as a hip hop artist have led to professional relationships with the likes of Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas. One of their collaborations, “Stand Up/Stand N Rock” earned Marcus an MTV Video Music Award. And his talent behind the turntables led Nike to hire him as the official DJ for their N7 Collection, which provides sport and physical activity programming to kids in Native American and Aboriginal communities. And of course, Emcee One is now a seasoned, veteran DJ of one of the most high profile teams in the NBA.
Marcus Anthony "Emcee One" Guinn in his element(s)
But when the spotlights are dimmed and the speakers are faded, you can hear that Marcus’s heart beats for helping his community. Marcus runs the nonprofit he founded, One Innertainment Inc., affording him the ability to travel during the Thunder offseason and speak into the lives of the youth at Native conferences all across the country. He’s a rare case of an accomplished entertainer, using his NBA platform to further his community outreach and not vice versa.
To OKC hoops fans all over the globe, he’s the Thunder DJ. To his wife, his friends and the fellas at pick up hoops, he’s Marcus. To his son, he’s Dad. To old school OKC hip hop heads, he’s Emcee One. To sneakerheads, he’s The Nike DJ. And to the kids at tribal conferences all over the United States, he’s a mentor and role model. That’s a lot of names for someone who goes by One.
