Prince Paul has revealed that a new Biz Markie documentary is in the works, and that he’s been tasked with scoring the project about his dear friend’s life.
Speaking to Variety about the work that he put in to help bring De La Soul‘s catalog to streaming platforms, the Handsome Boy Modeling School founder revealed that the next project he has on deck is a film about Biz, who passed away in 2021.
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“I just finished scoring a documentary for Biz Markie. Just finished that, and watching it and then scoring it was so tough because I’d known him since I was a kid, so it was bittersweet,” Prince Paul said. “There were things about him I didn’t even know.
“Another part that made it bittersweet is it was the first thing I ever scored without my friend [Don] Newkirk, who passed in November. That was way different for me. He’s been there ever since I’ve started making music.”
Prince Paul did not offer any details as to who else was involved in the new Biz Markie project, nor when or how it would be released.
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Biz Markie has been the subject of at least two previous documentary projects. The first, Nobody Beats The Biz was released in 2016, while the Universal Hip-Hop Museum delivered its own account of the legend’s life in 2020.
Shortly after the Juice Crew legend lost his battle with Type II diabetes in 2021, his legacy was also revisited in a documentary called Where We’re From: Rise of L.A. Underground Hip Hop.
Throughout the roughly 90-minute film, producers/directors DJ Bonds and DJ Breeze explore the emergence of Los Angeles underground Hip Hop in the late 1990s/early 2000s, recounted firsthand by some of its architects.
It also includes archival footage from Club Elements and interviews with Hip Hop luminaries Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Hieroglyphics, The Beat Junkies, Planet Asia, Defari and more.
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In a clip obtained by HipHopDX, veteran MC Jeru The Damaja looked back on his friendship with Biz and recalled a time when the Human Beatbox gave up his time slot at the 2000 Live From The BBQ Festival so Jeru could rock, too.
While also discussing with Variety De La Soul’s music and his history with the crew, Prince Paul touched on the impact Dave “Trugoy The Dove” Jolicoeur’s death has had on him, revealing that the two of them were supposed to release a joint project together in the early 2000s.
“I think people don’t realize me and Dave had a lot of history,” Prince Paul said. “Of course I asked Dave to be on Handsome Boy Modeling School, we did the thing with Del (“The Projects (P Jays)”). But Dave and I were going to make an album together. Just him and I.
“We got a record deal and everything, and it was going through and the label flaked on us. It was a label from overseas — I wish I had the name of it because I’d love to blow them up right now. This was probably about 15 years ago, and we had got the music together and we were pretty excited about it and it just never happened.
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“But Dave, his impact on me was crazy,” he continued. “So it’s a lot of little things. When I think of him, I smile. And it’s sad that he isn’t around to see all the work we’ve put in to rekindle this whole thing again. It seems divine in a way, because at least it happened: If he had passed away and we hadn’t had the opportunity to do this again, I’d feel some type of way. He definitely will be missed.”
As for his own music or new projects with other collaborators, Prince Paul told Variety that while he’s “always teetering on wanting to make another record,” he’s still waiting for the right inspiration.
