Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 5-15-20

Feature
Teacher By Day — Rapper/Songwriter By Night: Marlon Wood, AKA Bruce Wayne, Strives For Excellence
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
Black men are often por- trayed and perceived as thugs or gangsters. Rarely are the millions of Black men that go to work each day and take care of their families and communities highlighted or celebrated. Rarer still are the stories about the quiet superstars that go above and beyond.
Marlon Wood is one of those superstars. Born to and raised by his mother, Karen and USC and NFL star father, Richard “Bat- man” Wood, the team captain of the 1979 Bucca- neers, the will to exceed was passed down. So much so that Marlon, aka, Bruce Wayne, a local rapper with an uplifting message and clean lyrics decided to use his father’s alter ego’s real name.
Bruce Wayne’s latest single “Wavve on Em” is sure to be immensely popu- lar. The video is on YouTube and he and his dancers will have you bouncing in your seats.
Wood has written over 150 songs over the past two years. His Instagram and YouTube handles are @brucewaynedk83 where you can find all of his videos. One of his recent songs, Smile recorded by Iris Bloom has gotten heavy radio play. Wood says he is taking his time launching his music business to mainly focus on quality over quan-
MARLON WOOD, AKA BRUCE WAYNE
tity.
Although he raps by
night, he also writes songs and poetry during the evening hours. He writes short stories and chronicles his life experiences. Song writing is his biggest love, combining his talents to reach his audience.
Of course, all of this hap- pens after family time. Wood lives in Tampa with his wife, Brittany and two sons. ‘They always come first,’ before he indulges in his passion and other pur- suits.
By day, Wood is a teacher and Reading Spe- cialist at IMG Academy, the prestigious prep school for athletes in Bradenton. He specializes in helping young athletes with reading issues. He works with kids in both group and individual set- tings. He helps them man- age their athletic ability while getting the best educa-
tion they can. During the quarantine, he has kept his students busy with online classes and interactional as- signments. He is devoted to keeping them on the right track.
He previously taught at Roland Park Elementary and Liberty Middle Schools before joining the military. His military career was cut short by old injuries from playing college football. Wood received his B. A. de- gree from the University of Washington in Seattle, where he played football. He has two Master’s degrees
from Liberty University and is also working on his PsyD (Doctor of Psychology) from Ashford University.
Wood feels that ‘educa- tion is good for everyone and kids as well as adults should keep striving to bet- ter themselves.’
Tampa is lucky to have its own superhero rapper. Whether it’s helping to res- cue a student or writing a knockout song, Marlon Wood, aka Bruce Wayne, is doing his best by striving to be the best for his family, students and the community.
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A