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Prince Markie Dee, a member of pioneering hip-hop group the Fat Boys, died Thursday, group manager Louis Gregory confirmed. He was 52 years old. No cause of death was given.
“Forever in my heart. Prince Markie Dee was more than a rapper; he was one of my best and closest friends,” Gregory wrote on Twitter. “My heart is breaking today because I lost a brother. I will always love you Mark and I will cherish everything you taught me. Tomorrow is your birthday, swing my big brother.
Born Mark Anthony Morales on February 19, 1968, he teamed up with Darren Robinson (The Human Beatbox) and Damon Wimbley (Kool Rock Ski) and performed as The Disco 3 before later becoming the Fat Boys. The group launched their career in 1983 by winning a talent competition at Radio City Music Hall and by the end of the decade they had become one of the main ambassadors of rap pop culture with the simultaneous release of their fourth album. sold in platinum. To crush and their comic film Troubles in the summer of 1987. The trio popularized beatboxing and their goofy sense of humor and affable attitudes made them essential in bringing rap music to the mainstream.
Their first two albums – the self-titled debuts of 1984 and 1985 The fat boys are back – were produced by rap legend Kurtis Blow and included hits such as “Can You Feel It?”, “Jail House Rap” and “The Fat Boys Are Back”.
“I was walking and all of a sudden I heard music ricocheting off the walls, it was going ‘huh huh huh ha huh Hu Hu ha Fat Fat Fat boys, Fat Fat Fat boys,’ that was the first song that they were playing the block party to summon you to appear, ”Fat Joe wrote on Instagram. “Today’s news is sad that the last member of the Fat Boys, Prince Markie D Morales, has passed away, he was a great guy, legend and trailblazer. God bless my brother Boriqua until we meet again.
It was their To crush cover of “Wipeout” with the Beach Boys which gave them their biggest hit, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their cover version of “The Twist” starring Chubby Checker from Come back hard again hit the number 16 on the Hot 100 chart.
Following the breakup of the Fat Boys, Dee launched a solo career and wrote and produced songs for Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Mary J. Blige (the latter recorded Morales’ “Real Love” to become her first hit in the Top Ten). His 1992 album Release had number one hit with “Typical Reasons (Swing My Way)”.
He moved to radio later in his career, serving as a WMIB host in Miami, and had his own show, Prince Markie Dee’s Show on SiriusXM’s Rock the Bells station.
“They were figuratively (without weighty jokes) the greatest act in hip-hop at one time,” Questlove wrote on Instagram. “Like the first act that showed this culture can have real international legs… They were so dope we just took them for granted. They did dope routines and dances, the albums went gold and platinum. I’ve done movies, TV shows, and commercials. They explored territory for the first time that today feels like * yawning * on a Tuesday. “
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