Jubilant rap star known for 1989 classic ‘Just a Friend’
Biz Markie, the New York rapper whose jubilant, bawdy charisma made him one of the most idiosyncratic hip-hop figures ever to break into the top 10, died on Friday. He was 57.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce, this evening, with his wife, Tara, by his side, Hip Hop pioneer Biz Markie peacefully passed away,” a representative for the rapper said in a statement.
“Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years.
He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes and frequent banter.”
The representative did not give a cause of death for Markie, who had battled diabetes in recent years.
Born Marcel Theo Hall on April 8, 1964, in Harlem, New York, Markie was a pivotal figure in early hip-hop, best known for his endearingly warbly 1989 single “Just a Friend” that remains a pop culture staple.
Although Markie embraced the “Clown Prince of Hip-Hop” label, he also bore the brunt of a 1991 lawsuit that first defined emerging law around sampling, a ruling that forever changed the music industry and the craft of making hip-hop.
Markie grew up on Long Island and earned early renown around New York City’s street-party circuit for his prowess at beatboxing — imitating the sound of drum machines and turntables with your voice — which he invoked on his breakthrough single,
“Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz” from his 1988 debut album, “Goin’ Off.”
That LP sported such street hits as “Vapors” and “Nobody Beats the Biz,” where Biz riffed on the hook from a local electronics store advertising jingle to boast, “You won’t be fighting or illing, you’ll just be partying / I came to have fun and, not be number one.”
That sense of loose, selfaware charm was a world apart from the ferocity of peers like Public Enemy or N.W.A.
But Markie had a playfulness and an off-key, enthusiastic musicality that turned out to have pop potential.
His second LP, “The Biz Never Sleeps,” contained the single “Just a Friend,” adapted from Freddie Scott’s 1968 song “(You) Got What I Need.”
“Just a Friend,” a catalog of woe-is-me romantic travails delivered in a charmingly pitch-agnostic wail, reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989 and became Markie’s defining single for the rest of his career.
Acts from the Beastie Boys, 50 Cent, Nas and metal titans Anthrax sampled or alluded to it on record, and its video — with Biz dressed as Mozart playing
piano — was an early MTV fixture.
But his hot streak would hit a wall on his third LP, “I Need a Haircut,” which liberally used a sample of Irish singer Gilbert O’Sullivan’s maudlin 1972 single “Alone Again (Naturally)” for the track “Alone Again.”
Although sampling was a widespread practice in hip-hop, O’Sullivan brought a successful copyright lawsuit against Markie, his producers and his label, Warner Bros. Records, marking the first time an artist was granted an injunction over unauthorized sampling.
The ruling, and subsequent settlement paid to O’Sullivan, would permanently alter the sonic and creative landscape of hip-hop.
But the setback didn’t dampen Markie’s spirits even if it set his career on edge (his followup LP was titled “All Samples Cleared!”).
Markie was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2010 but lost a significant amount of weight and continued to tour and record frequently.
In 2020, the rapper was hospitalized for complications related to his diabetes, according to TMZ.
Markie is survived by his wife, Tara Hall.