Prince Markie Dee of the pioneering rap group, The Fat Boys, has passed away, according to a report from All Hip Hop.
Details of his death have not been disclosed at this time. He was 52.
Prince Markie Dee, real name Mark Anthony Morales, rose to fame in the 1980s as a member of The Fat Boys and went on to solidify himself as a solo artist, a producer, a songwriter, and an actor.
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In 2011, he proudly showed off his 175 pound weight loss in his effort to maintain a healthier lifestyle.
PMD told TMZ, “I am not young anymore. I can’t go eat a couple of Big Macs a day and not worry about it. I have to watch what I eat and care about my diet. I have kids to live for.“
The Hip Hop community is heartbroken over the news of his passing.
Condolences and tributes are flooding the streets of social media. But, I especially love the tribute from Questlove.
I wanted to leave this electrifying clip of the #FatBoys on @SoulTrain to show you how mind blowing this trio was when they came out in 1984. I think even Jay told me his first album he ever copped was their debut album. I mean yeah now we all take for granted that traditional music really isn’t needed to cold rock a party. But to see THESE cats rock it back then???! OMG! they were the first stadium hip hop headliners (#FreshFest)——sheeeeit Madonna wanted THEM opening for her & somehow RS (not their manager btw but hustled his act instead) was like “uh…they not available but I got these white dudes that might do the trick (for this tour they didn’t, but the Beasties owe The Fat Boys for getting that look back in 85)—-they were figuratively (no weight jokes) the biggest act in hip hop at some point in time. Like the first act that showed this culture might have some real international legs to it.
Like they were so dope we just took them for granted. They did dope routines & dancesteps, albums went gold & platinum. Did movies & tv & commercials. They explored territories for the first time that today just seems like *yawn* a Tuesday.
& his songwriting credits off the chain (“Real Love” was his monster for Mary, but also wrote/produced joints for Christopher Williams/Father MC/Mariah Carey (“Anytime You Need A Friend”)/Shabba/Lisa Stansfield//Coolio/Craig Mack/Destiny’s Child/Macy Gray/Method Man & Redman/Frank Ocean/Ariana Grande/Drake—-it goes on and on he been sampled/collaborated with etc….
I mean—-man…I dunno what I mean anymore. This hurts to see the mass exodus of people that helped shape my/our lives like this. Rest In Peace to Mark Morales, the Puerto Rican Prince, the Fat Boy….#PrinceMarkieDee
See the original post below:
Rock The Bells, where Markie worked as a radio host and DJ, also extended their condolences and paid their respects.
Prince Markie Dee is predeceased by Fat Boys member Darren “Buff Love” Robinson, who died in 1995.
My sincerest condolences and prayers to the Morales family and all who knew and loved the Puerto Rican Prince.
Source: AllHipHop.com
