| Biz Markie | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marcel Theo Hall |
| Also known as | The Diabolical Biz Markie, The Markie Kidd |
| Born | April 8, 1964 (age 47) |
| Origin | Long Island, New York |
| Genres | Hip hop, comedy music |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, actor, producer |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Labels | Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros., Tommy Boy Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Juice Crew, Beastie Boys, Digital Underground |
| Website | bizmarkiespace.com |
Marcel Theo Hall (born April 8, 1964,[1] Harlem, New York) better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989. In 2008, "Just a Friend" made #100 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time.
Markie has been called "the Clown Prince of Hip Hop."[2][3]
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Biz Markie's career began on Long Island, New York [4] in the early 1980s, where he established his reputation for beat-boxing and rapping. MC Shan and Roxanne Shante were part of Marley Marl's Cold Chillin' Records, and Biz beatboxed on Shante's underground hit "Def Fresh Crew" (1986). This lent credibility to his recording career and put Cold Chillin' on the map. In the same year, Biz Markie's debut single, "Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz", was released on Prism Records. He released his debut album, Goin' Off, 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", "The Vapors" and "Pickin' Boogers".[5]
I Need a Haircut sales 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.,[6] 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 releases were set. Biz 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, he occasionally made television appearances, including guest appearances on In Living Color (including as contestant Damian "Foosball" Franklin in the recurring game show sketch "The Dirty Dozens" and as Marlon Cain in "Ed Bacon: Guidance Counselor") and in a 1996 freestyle rap commercial on MTV2. He also made numerous guest appearances with the Beastie Boys, "Check Your Head" (1992), "Ill Communication" (1994), "Hello Nasty" (1998), and their anthology The Sounds of Science (1999). 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 1996, he 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, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine.
In 1997 he appeared on the Rolling Stones' song Anybody Seen My Baby? on their album Bridges to Babylon. His part was shortened on some radio versions.
In 2002, he appeared as an alien in Men in Black II with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, essentially playing an alien parody of himself, whose native language sounded exactly like beatboxing. Between 2002 and 2003 he appeared in episode 5 of the TV series Fastlane playing himself as a nightclub DJ. In 2003 he appeared in the international television series titled Kung Faux performing a series of voice over characters featured in a variety of episodes. In 2004, his song The Vapors appeared on the soundtrack of Rockstar's popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which featured an old school hip hop radio station, Playback FM. In 2005, Biz detoured from his recording duties to appear on the first season of the television show Celebrity Fit Club which challenged celebrities to lose weight by a combination of diet and exercise. Biz Markie lost more weight than anybody else in the competition. That year, he was also in an episode of The Andy Milonakis Show.
Biz Markie was a cast member on Nick Cannon's Wild 'n Out, seasons 1 and 3. Biz also does the beatboxing segment, Biz's Beat of the Day on the Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba!.
Biz Markie began 2008 opening for Chris Rock's "No Apologies" tour. Biz Markie's act includes spinning records ranging from old school hip hop to Lynyrd Skynyrd and then performing "Just a Friend".[7] Biz Markie's playlist includes the following: "Children's Story" by Slick Rick, "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Holiday" by Madonna, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!, "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow and "Robot Rock" by Daft Punk.
In December 2009, Biz Markie appeared in a RadioShack commercial, repeating the line: "Oh Snap! Guess what I saw!" from his song "Just A Friend".[8] That same year saw his debut with Andy Milonakis in television commercials for the commercial Internet service, Tune Up.[9]
In 2010, Biz Markie appeared on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, providing commentary throughout the series. Biz Markie himself was not included on the list. On November 9, 2010, Biz appeared on The Aquabats! new EP, Radio Down! in the title track. On November 11, 2010, Biz sat in with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and performed "Just a Friend" with actor Jeff Goldblum.[10]
Biz Markie also appeared in the Adventure Time season two episode Slow Love,[11] which aired on November 15, 2010.
On September 8, 2011, Biz Markie sat in with Umphrey's McGee at The Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY and sang vocals on a cover of Steve Miller's "The Joker" for the encore on night three of the band's 4-night run.
| Year | Song | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. Rap | |||
| 1987 | "Make the Music with Your Mouth" | — | 84 | — | Goin' Off |
| 1988 | "Vapors" | — | 37 | — | |
| 1989 | "Just a Friend" | 9 | 22 | 5 | The Biz Never Sleeps |
| 1991 | "What Comes Around Goes Around" | — | 84 | 4 | I Need a Haircut |
| 1993 | "Let Me Turn You On" | — | — | 7 | All Samples Cleared! |
| 1993 | "Young Girl Bluez" | — | — | 4 | |
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