Biz Markie, jubilant ‘Just a Friend’ rap star, dies at 57

Biz Markie, the New York rapper whose jubilant, bawdy charisma made him one of the most idiosyncratic hip-hop figures ever to break into the top 10, died on Friday. “It is with profound sadness that we announce, this evening, with his wife Tara by his side, Hip Hop pioneer Biz Markie peacefully passed away,” a representative for the rapper said in a statement. Markie grew up on Long Island and earned early renown around New York City’s street-party circuit for his prowess at beatboxing — imitating the sound of drum machines and turntables with your voice — which he invoked on his breakthrough single, “Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz” from his 1988 debut album, “Goin’ Off.” That LP, with state-of-the-art sampling from producer Marley Marl and some ghostwritten lyrics from Big Daddy Kane, sported such street hits as “Vapors” and “Nobody Beats the Biz,” on which Biz riffed on the hook from a local electronics store advertising jingle to boast, “You won’t be fighting or illing, you’ll just be partying / I came to have fun and, not be number one.” That sense of loose, self-aware charm was a world apart from the ferocity of peers like Public Enemy or N.W.A. But his hot streak would hit a wall on his third LP, “I Need a Haircut,” which liberally used a sample of Irish singer Gilbert O’Sullivan’s maudlin 1972 single “Alone Again ” for the track “Alone Again.” Although sampling was a widespread practice in hip-hop, O’Sullivan brought a successful copyright lawsuit against Markie, his producers and his label, Warner Bros. Records, marking the first time an artist was granted an injunction over unauthorized sampling. In 2009, Heineken beer helped turn “Just a Friend” from one-hit wonder to multigenerational earworm in a ubiquitous singalong commercial reminding people to “let a stranger drive you home.” Markie, an affable and lovable figure, became an unofficial goodwill ambassador for early hip-hop: He was the DJ on the short-lived VH1 game show “Hip Hop Squares” and hosted his own old-school hip-hop show on SiriusXM radio.