LONG CAREER: Biz Markie really broke through in 1989. Foto: Theo Wargo / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
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The rapper was 57 years old.
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The rapper was 57 years old, several American media write.
He died after complications related to diabetes at a hospital in Baltimore, peacefully with his wife by his side, writes AP.
The death is confirmed in an official statement from the head of his company, Biz Markie Inc.
– We are so grateful for all the conversations and prayers that have come as statements of support in this difficult time. Biz leaves behind an artistic legacy that will be hailed by his contemporaries and his beloved fans that he managed to touch with his music for over 35 years.
He was hospitalized last summer. The New York rapper got a hit with the single “Just a friend” in 1989, and it was the beginning of the artist’s heyday. He was also a producer, actor and comedian.
Markie, whose real name is Marcel Theo Hall, has also been called “The Clown Prince of hip hop”. He is also known as a pioneer of so-called “beatboxing”, and that is how he started his career way back in 1985.
He made his album debut with “Goin ‘Off” in 1988, and released his latest studio album “Weekend Warrior” in 2003.
He has also recorded music with the Beastie Boys. The Rolling Stones sampled Biz Markie on the album “Bridges to Babylon” in 1997. And Snoop Dogg himself did his own cover of Biz Markie’s song “Vapors” on the album “The Doggfather”.
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