Another legend in the HipHop community has left us. Marcel Theo Hall, better known as Biz Markie, passed away on July 16th after a lengthy battle with diabetes.
Born in Harlem but raised in Long Island, Biz Markie captured everyone’s attention with his songs like “Just a Friend”, “Vapors” and “Nobody Beats The Biz”. Biz had songs, but that was not all that he did. He was also very well-known as a DJ and would tour around the country, health permitting, in clubs, and would do sets.
Biz Markie would also write songs and produce records with other artists over his career and he even lent his vocals to a sample of “Just a Friend” in a song titled “Just a Friend 2002” by R&B artist Mario, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, which was five spots higher than Biz Markie’s original version of the song.
Along with music, Biz Markie would also dabble in featured in a few acting roles. One of his most memorable roles was his one scene in Men in Black II, where he and Will Smith communicate by beatboxing back and forth.
Biz Markie was a joyous soul who brought life to anything he did. He will be sorely missed. He passed away at the age of 57.
