Beastie Boys’ Mike D on Biz Markie: ‘Not Just a Rapper, But a True Entertainer’

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Beastie Boys and Biz Markie were both New York hip-hop pioneers, so it’s natural they spent a lot of time together. The two artists often shared a stage, including a 1988 Madison Square Garden show where Biz performed an inimitable version of Elton John’s “Bennie and The Jets.” (That version later ended up on the Beasties’ Sounds of Science anthology.) As Rob Sheffield notes in his tribute to the rapper, who died Friday night at age 57, Biz even gave the Beasties the name for their label and magazine, Grand Royal. “I did not expect the Biz to be as Biz-like as he was,” Adam Horowitz said in the Beastie Boys Book. “You better have the tape running when the Biz is around. He’s an all-freestyle, off-the-dome kind of artist.”

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Following Biz’s death, Mike D of the Beasties paid tribute to his longtime friend.

We are so grateful to have had so many unforgettable experiences with the truly unique and ridiculously talented Biz Markie. We will miss his presence deeply in so many ways. In the Nineties, Biz would often show up at our G Son studio in Atwater, CA. Naturally every visit would start with a trip to the candy store — which in this case was actually a liquor store across the street. Regardless, he would always return happy with a brown paper bag full of treats. Once he had his sugar fix, he would typically grab a mic and sing whatever song he wanted, looking at us as if we’d know exactly what to play — and somehow he was usually right.

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