Background and Age

Marcel Theo Hall was born in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.

Career and Net Worth

Biz Markie has been called the Clown Prince of Hip Hop because of his comedic take on the genre. His first album called “Goin’ Off” was released in 1988 and it attracted attention because it introduced the world to a new rap style that favored humor and featured free-style beat boxing. The album produced a single, “Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz”, as well as several underground hits including “Nobody Beats The Biz”, “Pickin’ Boogers” and “Vapors”.

Biz Markie’s second album, known as “The Biz Never Sleeps” was also a studio album and it was released by Warner Brothers Records on their Cold Chillin’ label. The single “Just a Friend” features Biz alternating between singing and rapping. It became his most successful single reaching number nine on the Billboard charts. In 2000, "Just A Friend" was ranked eighty-first on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. Biz also released a video for the song which was directed by Lionel C. Martin and highlighted the rapper’s problems with women.

Biz Markie’s third studio album, “I Need a Haircut” in August of 1991 turned out to be a turning point for his career. The record was produced in part by his cousin Cool V. and the track “Alone Again” created problems for Markie and the entire hip-hop industry. The album’s use of samples caused Markie to be sued by Gilbert O’Sullivan for copyright infringement as he claimed that some samples in the song were legally his. The lawsuit resulted in the already low selling album being pulled from sale to the public. This lawsuit also set a precedent that required all hip-hop artists to get the songs they were to sample pre-approved by the copyright owner. After this, Biz Markie released an album called “All Samples Cleared” but sales of this record suffered because of the bad publicity he had received due to the lawsuit. Although Biz Markie was a significant influence on the rap culture his career was fading into obscurity.