Talib Kweli and Madlib have brought together a few friends to pay tribute to the late Biz Markie in a new video.
The clip, released Tuesday (January 9), is for the track “One For Biz” off of the artists’ joint Liberation 2 project from last year. The video features a verse from Wildchild, who is a member of Madlib’s group Lootpack.
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Q-Tip appears on the song, appropriately interpolating Biz’s hook on “Nobody Beats the Biz,” which was itself a homage to a beloved commercial jingle. However, the ATCQ member does not show up in the video.
You can see the clip below.
The legendary Hip Hop legacy of Biz Markie, who died in 2021, was burnished by director Sacha Jenkins’ 2023 documentary All Up In The Biz.
“Biz Markie is the pure essence of Hip Hop,” Jenkins told Southern Laced upon the release of the film’s initial trailer. “He believed in [it], he lived it, he harnessed its powers. Most people don’t know that he used those powers to power up some of the culture’s greatest poets and then some. I was fortunate to meet with Biz when he was alive so to have the opportunity to bring him back to life now that he isn’t here … it’s a special film.”
Born Marcel Theo Hall in 1964, Biz Markie got his start in New York City before relocating to Washington D.C. In 1988, Biz dropped his debut album Goin Off, which includes the singles “Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz,” “Nobody Beats the Biz”, “Vapors” and “Pickin’ Boogers.”
The comedic nature of his music soon earned him the nickname “The Clown Prince of Hip Hop” and he continued pumping out albums throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s.
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But it was his 1989 sophomore album The Biz Never Sleeps that catapulted him to international notoriety, thanks to the hit single “Just a Friend.” The track reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard 200.
