Prince Markie Dee, The Fat Boys rapper and prolific music producer, passes away at 52
The rap music world is in mourning on Thursday, with beloved rapper and music producer Prince Markie Dee passing away at age 52, one day short of his 53rd birthday.
The rapper (real name Mark Anthony Morales), best known for being part of the rap trio dubbed The Fat Boys, passed away ‘suddenly’ on Thursday, via TMZ.
No cause of death was given, though his passing was confirmed by SiriusXM’s Rock The Bells channel, where he hosted a radio show.
R.I.P.: The rap music world is in mourning on Thursday, with beloved rapper and music producer Prince Markie Dee passing away at age 52, one day short of his 53rd birthday
Morales was born on February 19, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York City, where he formed The Fat Boys.
The group was comprised of Morales, Damon ‘Kool-Rock-Ski’ Wimbley and Darren ‘Buff Love’ Robinson, who passed away after suffering from respiratory flu in 1995.
The group was originally known as Disco 3 before changing their name to The Fat Boys in the early 1980s.
Early days: Morales was born on February 19, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York City, where he formed The Fat Boys
Rap trio: The group was comprised of Morales, Damon ‘Kool-Rock-Ski’ Wimbley and Darren ‘Buff Love’ Robinson, who passed away after suffering from respiratory flu in 1995
The group was well known for using beatboxing in their songs, paving the way for others like Biz Markie and Doug E. Fresh.
They joined rap pioneers like Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and Whodini as some of the first rap artists to release full-length albums.
Their self-titled first album was released in 1984, which topped out at 48 on the Billboard 200 albums charts and was certified gold by the RIAA.
They released The Fat Boys Are Back in 1985, which was also certified gold as well, and arrived the same year as they starred in Krush Groove.
They continued their prolific run with 1986’s Big & Beautiful but they had their biggest hit in 1987 with Crushin, which peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 album charts and #4 on the Hip-Hop album charts, while also starring in the cult comedy classic Disorderlies.
The album also featured the hit single Wipeout, which they recorded with The Beach Boys, peaking at #12 on the Hot 100 singles charts and reached #2 on the UK charts.
Krush: They released The Fat Boys Are Back in 1985, which was also certified gold as well, and arrived the same year as they starred in Krush Groove
Disorderlies: They continued their prolific run with 1986’s Big & Beautiful but they had their biggest hit in 1987 with Crushin, which peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 album charts and #4 on the Hip-Hop album charts, while also starring in the cult comedy classic Disorderlies
They released three more albums – 1988’s Coming Back Hard Again, 1989’s On and On and 1991’s Mack Daddy before they broke up.
Prince Markie Dee would go on to produce hit songs for Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige’s debut track Real Love.
He would go on to produce from other popular artists such as Ariana Grande, Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Frank Ocean and Destiny’s Child.
Producer: Prince Markie Dee would go on to produce hit songs for Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige’s debut track Real Love