The Fat Boys’ Prince Markie Dee dies aged 52

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Prince Markie Dee, a member of the Fat Boys hip-hop trio who later formed his own band and became a well-known radio host, has died. Born Mark Morales in Brooklyn Prince Markie Dee was a prolific songwriter and founding member of the Fat Boys, a group known for beatboxing that released several popular albums in the 1980s such as the platinum record “Crushin. '” Their 1984 debut album, “Fat Boys,” went gold, their next two albums sold millions of copies and they were featured in the films “Krush Groove” and “Disorderlies.” Morales, Darren Robinson and Damon “Kool Rockski” Wimbley were known as Disco 3 when they won a rap contest in Brooklyn in 1984. Morales formed his own band in 1993, Prince Markie Dee & The Soul Convention, which released the R&B hit “Swing My Way.” “Prince Markie Dee was more than a rapper," the manager of the Fat Boys, Louis Gregory, wrote on Twitter.