Page Sixreports family and friends of Biz Markie were joined by a handful of his hip-hop contemporaries on Monday for a memorial service in Long Island where they remembered the late rapper and DJ’s life and legacy.
Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, LL Cool J, Montell Jordan, and Ice-T were in attendance. “Biz was an icon. He is what we call hip-hop,” said Busy Bee, whose stage name inspired Biz’s moniker. “He was peace, love, unity and having fun. That was Biz.”
“Remember, Biz didn’t get killed, he didn’t die in some tragedy,” Busy Bee continued. “He died in peace.” On July 16, Biz Markie died at the age of 57 while holding his wife’s hand in a Baltimore hospital. He had been dealing with complications related to Type 2 diabetes for quite some time, and was reportedly hospitalized for weeks prior to his passing.
“The thing I’m going to miss the most about him was every time he would see me, his face would just light up with that Chiclet, toothy smile,” Biz’s wife Tara Hall said. “Seeing him smile made me smile.”
“He made me laugh every day,” Hall added. “That is not hyperbole. That is a fact.” She also revealed in her remarks that she received a letter from Barack and Michelle Obama, who offered up their condolences in wake of his sudden passing, per TMZ. His kids also spoke briefly about how much he’s missed.
“If you needed him, he was there,” Rev. Al Sharpton said in his eulogy, perThe Sun. “He was a cultural icon without us exaggerating that. He was a trendsetter. He was a humanitarian. He was somebody who deserved all of the accolades he gets and more because he was us.”
According to Page Six, Dave Chappelle took a moment before screening his untitled documentary as part of the Heist Summer Series in D.C. to remember Biz. Chappelle was joined by Talib Kweli, who urged the crowd to recite a few bars. “Talib Kweli started off by saying, ‘Nobody beats the Biz, nobody beats the Biz,’ before they transitioned to [Markie’s 1989 hit song] ‘Just a Friend,’” an attendee recalled.
