Biz Markie, the Clown Prince of Hip Hop, Dies at 57 Years Old

The rapper, DJ, and record producer Biz Markie died on Friday at the age of 57 years old. Rising to fame as a member of the Juice Crew as hip hop flicked at the boundaries of mainstream culture in the eighties, Markie was a larger-than-life character who established an enduring appeal through the success of his 1989 song ‘Just a Friend’.

Born Marcel Theo Hall in the Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan, by his teens Markie had moved to Long Island where he began to make a name as a beatboxer and member of the Juice Crew. The Queensbridge collective was centred around the producer Marley Marl, who at the time was serving as the sound engineer and sidekick for Mr. Magic’s pioneering New York radio show Rap Attack.

The collective featured the diverse talents of MC Shan, Roxanne Shante, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, and Big Daddy Kane, gaining popularity when the answer song ‘Roxanne’s Revenge’ became a breakout hit in late 1984. In contrast to the rapid-fire delivery of Kane and the gritty realism of Kool G Rap, Biz Markie stood out for his large frame and outsized personality, often the source of comic relief. He was interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun in the Big Town, while Marley Marl began to produce the collective’s solo records for the new label Cold Chillin’.

Regarding the name Biz Markie, the rapper explained:

‘My name Biz comes from the first hip hop tape I heard. It was 77, 78 from the L Brothers. Grand Wizard Theodore was the DJ, and the rappers was Kevvy Kev, Master Rob, and Busy Bee Starski. I loved Busy Bee. Busy Bee just stuck with me. My name used to be Bizzy B Markie, and after a while I put the Biz with the Markie. My nickname in my neighborhood was Markie.’

Biz Markie’s full-length debut arrived in early 1988. Co-written by his childhood friend Big Daddy Kane, Goin’ Off showcased Markie’s beatboxing talents on the track ‘Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz’, while ‘Pickin’ Boogers’ stressed a penchant for childish comedy that sometimes bordered on the slapstick. With ‘Vapors’ on the other hand, Markie demonstrated his knack for narrative storytelling and ironic wordplay, in a song which interpolated James Brown and was covered by Snoop Dogg in 1997.

In 1988, Markie and Kane provided the introduction to the music video for ‘Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard’, which Paul Simon set figuratively at a high school in Queens. The major breakthrough for the emerging rapper would come a year later, upon the release of his sophomore record The Biz Never Sleeps.

Produced by DJ Cool V and Paul C, the standout single ‘Just a Friend’ became one of the biggest crossover hits of the era, climbing to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and to five on the Hot Rap Singles chart. Constructed around a sample of the 1968 song ‘(You) Got What I Need’ by Freddie Scott, the track’s self-deprecatory lyrics offered an engaging chronicle of stalled or unrequited romance.

On the thirtieth anniversary of the record, Markie recalled inviting other artists to sing on the chorus, but when they failed to show up at the studio he was left to belt out the part. His strained delivery perfectly captured the theme of hapless courtship, while the accompanying music video – in which he adorned a powdered wig and played piano by candlelight – did much to add to the song’s innate charm.

I Need a Haircut in 1991 and All Samples Cleared! in 1993 were more moderately successful, as Markie poked fun at the litigation which ensued following the use of an unauthorised sample on the song ‘Alone Again’. Markie was sued by the Irish songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan, with the resulting case setting a new precedent for the recording industry, requiring all samples to be cleared in advance. A couple of compilation albums still followed, before Markie’s final studio record Weekend Warrior was released in 2003.

Self-styling as ‘The Inhuman Orchestra’ at the start of his career, the success of ‘Just a Friend’ saw Markie increasingly embrace his title as the ‘Clown Prince of Hip Hop’. In the nineties he began to parlay his reputation into other forms of entertainment, making guest appearances on In Living Color before starring as an alien beatboxer opposite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black II.

Markie continued to perform as a featuring artist, while contributing to compilation albums and television commercials. In 2002 he sang the hook as the R&B artist Mario revamped his famous single, with ‘Just a Friend 2002’ surpassing the original by peaking at number four on the Billboard chart. Markie then introduced himself to a new generation of fans through the live-action puppet series Yo Gabba Gabba! on Nickelodeon, where he hosted the regular segment ‘Biz’s Beat of the Day’.

In 2017, Markie became the DJ for the VH1 game show Hip Hop Squares, and in 2020, he began to host a show on SiriusXM via LL Cool J’s radio channel Rock The Bells. He had been hospitalised early in the year owing to complications from Type 2 diabetes, and in December reportedly entered into a rehabilitation facility after suffering a stroke. His death brought heartfelt tributes from colleagues and contemporaries, including Questlove, LL Cool J, and Mike D.