# Biz Markie - dead at age 57 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [July 17, 2021, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689 "2021-07-17T04:10:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/1 "2021-07-17T04:10:19Z")
> **[Biz Markie, Bombastic Rapper Behind ‘Just a Friend,’ Dies at 57](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/biz-markie-dead-just-a-friend-9602530/)** > > Biz Markie, the bombastic rapper behind the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Just a Friend,” has died at age 57. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9aofoBrFNdg/maxresdefault.jpg "Biz Markie - Just A Friend (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aofoBrFNdg) ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/2 "2021-07-17T06:20:41Z")
No love for the Biz? I admit I don’t exactly celebrate his entire catalog, but, “Just a Friend” made me smile every time it came on. Biz was survived by his girlfriend, “Blah-blah-blah.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/3 "2021-07-17T06:48:34Z")
RIP. A great talent and by all appearances a fine person. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/4 "2021-07-17T16:43:24Z")
_The Biz Never Sleeps_ was the first piece of entertainment media (cassette tape) I ever bought for myself. I don’t know how I scraped enough cash together but I had it in my Walkman for our class trip to a Cubs game in 1990 or 1991 and I was cool as ice. His later collaborations with the Beastie Boys also set him apart. The BEASTIE BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYS They’re coming home… Biz also stars in this unforgettable Men In Black 2 scene: [Men In Black II (MIB) Aliens work in the Post Office, Biz scene on Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/464490987) > [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Biz was survived by his girlfriend, “Blah-blah-blah.” Things were rocky between Biz & Blah-blah-blah but we should probably check in on Agnes, Agatha, Jermaine & Jack. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/5 "2021-07-17T16:48:41Z")
The craziest thing is that my son and I were watching the 1st episode of _Ted Lasso_ and there was a reference to Biz Markie. I asked him if he knew who he was, and he said he heard of him. The instant the episode finished, I saw a tweet forwarded to me about his death, and it was surreal. My son is 17 and the name Biz Markie never came up in 17 years until that moment. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/6 "2021-07-17T23:02:06Z")
I just happened to watch this a few days ago. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hOoJWs4JMLA/hqdefault.jpg "ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOoJWs4JMLA) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/7 "2021-07-17T23:32:20Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > No love for the Biz? I admit I don’t exactly celebrate his entire catalog, but, “Just a Friend” made me smile every time it came on. “Just a Friend” is on my Walking Music mix list. I was sad to hear of his passing. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/8 "2021-07-17T23:45:09Z")
Nobody beats The Biz except, apparently, diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biz-markie-dead-at-age-57/946689/9 "2021-07-18T06:26:42Z")
TBH, this death struck me harder than I thought it would, even though I had heard he was ill. When you reach my age, most celebrities’ deaths make you go “Ehh, their work never really touched me that strongly.” But my heart sank pretty hard when I read about his death. I remember when “Just a Friend” came out, and I thought “Wow, damn great gimmick. Wish I’d thought of it.” But as it still got played and mentioned by my friends over the next two decades, I started to realize “Damn, that really is pathos as art. Every part of this song is on the edge of falling apart.” And as the video @Wolf333 linked to mentioned, he really was one of the most genuine personalities in hip-hop at that time. I didn’t delve hard into his catalog, and I had forgotten that he was the trigger for sampling to finally come to a head as an art form, but I’m sad to see him go. RIP Biz.