Biz Markie

Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper and singer.

Markie was born in Manhattan in the neighborhood of Harlem, New York City, on April 8, 1964.

He was raised on Long Island in the hamlet of Brentwood and the village of Patchogue, where he spent his teenage years and where, on September 25, 2021, the intersection of South Street and West Avenue, across the street from his then-home, was dedicated as Biz Markie Way.

The song interpolates the 1968 song "You Got What I Need" by singer-songwriter Freddie Scott, whose basic chord and melody provided the base for the song's chorus.

He graduated from Longwood High School in Middle Island in 1982.

Markie began his career in New York City nightclubs and later gained regional recognition by performing at colleges in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Regarding the origin of his stage name, the rapper said:

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 was interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun in the Big Town.

Markie released his debut album Goin' Off in 1988, which attracted a fair amount of attention, largely due to the lead single, "Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz".

The album also featured the underground hit singles "Nobody Beats The Biz", "Vapors", and "Pickin' Boogers".

Biz also appeared briefly in the music video for Rob Base's single "It Takes Two".

Markie's 1989 single "Just a Friend", became a Top 40 hit in several countries and was named No. 100 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time in 2008.

Markie was sometimes referred to as the "Clown Prince of Hip Hop".

On October 10, 1989, Markie's second studio album, The Biz Never Sleeps, was released on Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records, produced by Markie, his cousin Cool V and Paul C. The single "Just a Friend", in which he alternates between rap and caterwauling, became Markie's most successful single, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard charts.

Markie's third studio album I Need a Haircut was released on August 27, 1991, on Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records; it was produced by Markie and his cousin Cool V. Sales of the album were already low when Markie was served a lawsuit by Gilbert O'Sullivan, who claimed that the album's "Alone Again" featured an unauthorized sample from his hit "Alone Again (Naturally)".

O'Sullivan's claim was upheld in a landmark ruling, Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc. that altered the landscape of hip-hop, finding that all samples must be cleared with the original artist before being used.

In accordance with the ruling, Warner Bros., the parent company of Cold Chillin', had to pull I Need a Haircut from circulation, and all companies had to clear samples with the samples' creators before releasing the records.

This development reflected the increasing popularity of hip-hop and the financial stakes over which were set.

He also made numerous guest appearances with the Beastie Boys on Check Your Head (1992), Ill Communication (1994), Hello Nasty (1998), and their anthology The Sounds of Science (1999).

Markie responded in 1993 with the mischievously titled All Samples Cleared!, but his career had been hurt by the publicity emanating from the lawsuit, and the record suffered accordingly.

For the remainder of the decade, Markie occasionally made television appearances, including guest appearances on In Living Color; as contestant Damian "Foosball" Franklin in the recurring game show sketch "The Dirty Dozens"; as Marlon Cain in "Ed Bacon: Guidance Counselor"; in a 1996 freestyle rap commercial on MTV2; and in the 1993 superhero film Meteor Man.

In 1996, Markie appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America Is Dying Slowly, alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among others.

The CD was meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African-American men.

In 1997, a sample of a Markie recording appeared in the Rolling Stones' song "Anybody Seen My Baby?" from their album Bridges to Babylon.

Markie also teamed up with Frankie Cutlass on his third single and music video titled "The Cypher Part 3" with some of Marley Marl's Juice Crew veterans.

He also appeared of Fünf Sterne deluxe's song "Will Smith, Meer Gayne?"

from the album Sillium.

He also rapped on the song "Schizo Jam" on Don Byron's 1998 release, Nu Blaxploitation (Blue Note/Capitol) and worked with Canibus on the first track on the Office Space soundtrack (1999).

He also rapped on the track "So Fresh" alongside Slick Rick on Will Smith's 1999 album Willennium.

In 1999, Markie appeared on Len's song "Beautiful Day" on their album You Can't Stop the Bum Rush, as well as on Alliance Ethnik's album Fat Comeback.

"Just a Friend" was ranked 81st on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders in 2000, and later as number 100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop in 2008.

The music video, directed by Lionel C. Martin, chronicles the rapper's woman problems.

In 2002, Markie appeared in Men in Black II, with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, playing an alien parody of himself, whose native language sounded exactly like beatboxing.