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Rap royalty, Biz Markie will make a stop in the Lowcountry

By Kevin Young

Go to any function, be it a too-loud-for the-neighbors party, or a late-night bar, and there is always that song whose chorus demands to be sung along to.

Anthems, if you will.

Whether it's singing along to Lynyrd Skynyrd's declarative "Free Bird" or Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," there are songs that only get better when shouted by random revelers.

Resting comfortably among those tunes is the hip-hop masterpiece, "Just A Friend," a tune that celebrates the inherent beauty of off-key singing with its memorable chorus: "Oh baby you! You got what I neeeeeed. But you say he's just a friend!"

Rewind that tape back to 1987, when rap was still immersed in braggadocio and gold chains.

At the time, Marcel Hall separated himself from the other members of the DJ Marley Marl's Juice Crew, a collective of such notable emcees as Roxanne Shante, Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap.

Hall decided to bring a much-needed levity to rap and some goofy charm in the form of his alias, Biz Markie.

Employing his own knack for storytelling, a youthful sense of humor and a casual, offbeat form of human beat-boxing, Biz made a splash in the rap community with his debut album "Goin' Off," an album that made him the clown prince of hip hop.

The album's standout cuts, the beatbox showcase, "Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz," and the poignant tale of sudden fame, "Vapors," secured the album's status as one of Source Magazine's "100 Best Hip Hop Albums Of All Time."

Biz's popularity only grew in 1989 when he released his sophomore effort, "The Biz Never Sleeps."

Not straying too far from the formula that made him famous, Biz's new album would have merely remained another hip-hop classic had it not been for his ode to a shady girlfriend, "Just A Friend."

Casting himself as a lovestruck fellow, Biz's subject matter struck a chord with the mainstream, but it was his off-kilter chorus that resonated most with pop-music audiences.

In 1991, a popular Biz would face a lawsuit for sampling Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" for a song by the same name for his third album, "I Need A Haircut."

Hurt by a lawsuit that employed what would later be known as "The Biz Markie Sample Law" case, Biz went back under the radar of pop culture to concentrate on his music.

With a name that remains among hip-hop royalty, he re-emerged in 2005 as part of the mainstream when he took part in VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club."

Currently, the artist, who once employed a unique dance that he compared to a "ballerina drunk on Bacardi," has established himself as entertainer of another stripe.

As part of the Remy Martin Old School Tour, The Diabolical DJ Biz Markie brings his eclectic taste in music to North Charleston on Friday night.

With a diverse album collection, Biz Mark is guaranteed to put on a memorable show that will celebrate pop music, while giving a Lowcountry audience a good excuse to sing along, however off-key.