In 1994, Dorsey released his first single, a cover version of The Stylistics' "People Make the World Go Round", for Spike Lee's film Crooklyn. The track appeared as the film's opening song and also was featured in its soundtrack album. Dorsey contributed on the soundtracks to David C. Johnson's 1994 film Drop Squad and Spike Lee's follow-up Clockers (1995).
He wrote several jingles for commercials, including spots for Coca-Cola, Oreos and the United States Army.[citation needed]
On August 10, 1999, Marc Dorsey released his debut studio album Crave through Jive Records. The album was produced by Timmy Allen, Larry Campbell and Manuel Seal, and spawned three charted singles: "If You Really Want to Know",[4] "Crave" and "All I Do".