Artist:Biz Markie
Song:Just a Friend
Album:The Best of Cold Chillin'
Rapper Marcel "Biz Markie" Hall scored a top ten hit with the 1989 single Just a Friend. It turned out to be his only chart hit so he is a one hit wonder. Hall's career was severely damaged by the ramifications of illegal sampling. He was born Apr. 8, 1964 in New York City but he grew up in Long Island. That's where he went to high school. After graduating, he began to perform in New York clubs. Hall met producer Marley Marl in 1985 and started working for him as a human beatbox. Of course Hall wanted to be a rapper and demos got him a record deal with Cold Chillin' with Warner Bros. distribution in 1988. The 1989 single Just a Friend is from Hall's second album The Biz Never Sleeps. It reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold. Just a Friend is a song about girl trouble based on the 1968 Freddie Scott hit (You) Got What I Need written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Of course in the early days of rap, illegal sampling was out of control until Hall's 1993 album I Need a Haircut. The song Alone Again was based on the Gilbert O'Sullivan hit Alone Again (Naturally). After O'Sullivan won his lawsuit, Warners had to pull all copies of Biz Markie's album. And ever since record companies have been more careful about clearing samples and giving songwriters credit. Hall recorded one more album for Warners called All Samples Cleared. He recorded a 2000 album for Tommy Boy and released an EP and some singles. But that lawsuit killed his career and changed the music business forever. Hall appeared as a parody of himself in the 2002 film Men in Black II. He did voice over work and appeared on reality TV. He performed occasionally as a nostalgia act. Type 2 diabetes led to health problems and his death on July 16, 2021 at age 57. Here's the video for Just a Friend by Biz Markie.
No comments:
Post a Comment