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Champion of The Underdog: An Appreciation of The Life & Work of Biz Markie, Vol. 4 By: Mike Park, The Super Music Friend (Re-published)

Matt Horowitz
Mike Park pictured with Biz Markie & Yo Gabba Gabba!'s DJ Lance Rock (SOURCES: @asianmanrecords & metroactive/activate)

Marcel Theo Hall, better know as Biz Markie and oftentimes, affectionately referred to as The Biz, The Clown Prince of Hip-Hop, The Inhuman Orchestra, The Diabolical Biz Markie, and The Emizah-Emizah, was highly revered as one of the most genuine emcees to ever do it. Biz passed away on Friday, July 16, 2021 at the tender age of 57, likely due to complications from Type 2 Diabetes, although, no official Cause of Death has been revealed just yet. Biz Markie is most well-known for his infectious 1989 break-out single, "Just A Friend," but he was a truly multi-talented artist, as well. Biz Mark's lesser-known talents included beat-boxing, dancing, producing, DJ'ing, acting, singing, and song-writing.

It was proven time and time again that "Nobody Beats The Biz," but he surely didn't mind collaborating with just about anyone; racking up genre-defying features with everyone from the Beastie Boys to Spin Doctors. Biz's film and television appearances included roles on In Living Color, Men In Black II, black-ish, and Yo Gabba Gabba! as well as Paul Simon's "Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard" music video. Since Biz Markie's untimely passing, his friends, fans, peers, fellow musicians, and admirers have been sharing their fond memories online. We'll attempt to collect some of the most meaningful tributes here with Champion of The Underdog: An Appreciation of The Life & Work of Biz Markie. Rest Easy to the man, the mouth, the legend, Marcel Theo "Biz Markie" Hall.


Sincerely,

Matt "The Witz" Horowitz
The Witzard Founder/Editor


"R.I.P. Biz Markie. The Clown Prince of Hip Hop is gone. I spent three months on tour with Biz. We shared a bus and, somehow, became friends. I didn't know that the back lounge area was for him and on the first day of tour, I was just chilling back there. I could see Biz get on the bus and start walking towards the back. I asked if it was okay that I was back here and he said, "of course" and, then, he said, "have you seen The Avengers movie?" which had just come out. [Biz] said, "I have a bootleg of it, if you want to watch it." And, so, somehow, I was granted admission to his back lounge area. One hang out session included him showing me old footage of his Rap battles. One particular battle was him versus JAY-Z and it was crazy how wild the crowd got during his Rap battle. They didn't care who JAY-Z was, but they loved Biz Markie. At one point, Biz pointed at the TV and said, "I'm not even saying words during this part!" He was just mumbling nonsense and the crowd was going crazy. What a joy to experience that. I have so many stories to share. One of my favorite things to do was watching Biz go into truck stops in the middle of the night while we were fueling up the bus. And just watching people do a double-take and, then, they would look at me and I would say, "yep, that's Biz Markie.'"

- Mike Park (@asianmanrecords)