Biz Markie dies
Marcel Theo Hall — the Long Island MC whose 'Just a Friend' is among the most-recognized hip-hop hooks ever recorded, and the defendant in the Grand Upright v. Warner sample case that reshaped the genre's production economics — dies at 57 in Baltimore. Hall had been hospitalized for months with complications from Type-2 diabetes.
Why it matters
Marcel Theo Hall, who recorded as Biz Markie, died on July 16, 2021, in Baltimore, of complications from Type-2 diabetes. He was 57. He had been hospitalized for months. Biz was the Clown Prince of Hip-Hop, which is a real title and one nobody else has held. "Just a Friend" (1989), the off-key sung hook over a Freddie Scott sample, is one of the most universally recognized songs ever made in any genre, the kind of song people who have never bought a rap album in their life will absolutely sing along to in a bar at midnight. Biz also has, in addition to the legacy of that song, the legacy of being the defendant in Grand Upright Music v. Warner, the 1991 case that broke uncleared sampling. So you can argue he is responsible for one of the most beloved hip-hop singles of all time and also one of the most consequential legal rulings against the production methodology of hip-hop. Both of these things are correct about him. He kept smiling about it. He was 57.
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