Biz Markie
By Kristin Emery
Friends and family know him as Marcel Hall, the kid from Harlem who later moved to Long Island then made it big. Fans know him as Biz Markie, the hip hop artist, rapper, beat boxer, actor and DJ who’s still booking more than 175 show a year after three decades in the entertainment and music business.
“‘Besides Yo Gabba Gabba!’ and making appearances on TV shows and stuff, I’ve been DJing and performing,” Markie says.
Your kids probably know him from ‘Yo Gabba Gabba!’ which is a popular Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. network show. Ask your kids about him they’ll probably bust out one of his “Biz’s Beat of the Day” songs from the show.
But you’ll remember him for rising to fame on the music scene in 1985 as beat box for Roxanne Shante of the Juice Crew, and for striking gold in 1989 with his single “Just a Friend,” which hit number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 the next year. That catchy tune made VH1’s list of 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time.
Markie’s career includes doing commercials for cereal, electronics, beer, mouthwash and other products and even designing a line of sneakers with Pro Keds. He’s worked with the Rolling Stones, Will Smith and The Flaming Lips in addition to almost every big name hip hop artist.
How did Markie go from performing hip hop to spinning tunes as a DJ?
“I taught myself,” he says. “I taught myself how to do everything and the thing is, the more that you put into what you want, what your hobby is, the more you get out of it. It’s like building a model, if you put the right glue on it, it’s gonna stick.”
Markie’s DJ career has taken off with notable events including The Grammy Awards after parties, pre-Oscar parties, Will Smith movie premiere events and Chris Rock’s “No Apologies” tour. Markie’s schedule for 2019 is packed doing solo shows, touring with MC Hammer and playing the Essence Festival in New Orleans all in between his DJ gigs.
Western Pennsylvania is a frequent stop for Markie – and he has family here. His cousin, Pittsburgh native and former Steelers running back Chuck Sanders, runs a hugely successful business in Pittsburgh and owns the upscale Savoy restaurant in the Strip District. Markie is a frequent visitor and has played at events there for fellow Steelers, including Jerome Bettis.
“I just love going to the games,” Markie says of his fondness for the Pittsburgh area. “I love the Pittsburgh colors.”
Markie says he loves collaborating and performing with friends and artists that he’s known since his early days in the music industry.
“It’s good to get together with old friends,” he says. “We’re gonna reminisce about when we were skinny and when we got fat and when we got skinny again!”
He promises his show at The Meadows Casino will be lots of fun with him singing, rapping and DJing.
“A little bit of everything,” says Markie. “I love DJing, I love performing. I just love having fun!”