‘THEY WERE SO DOPE’

Fat Boys Rapper Prince Markie Dee Dies at 52

The Fat Boys had multiple gold albums as well as a platinum hit with the Beach Boys on “Crushin.”

Mark Anthony Morales, the rapper, DJ and songwriter also known as Prince Markie Dee, died this week at the age of 52. Morales was part of the foundational rap group from Brooklyn the Fat Boys in the 1980s. The group is credited with popularizing beat boxing in rap and their album WHAT went platinum. Afterwards, Morales had a solo career and went on to write and produce for Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Frank Ocean and others. For more than a decade leading up to his death Morales was a radio DJ in Miami. In one tribute to Morales and the Fat Boys on Instagram Thursday, Questlove wrote, “They were so dope we just took them for granted,” and added, “this hurts.” Morales’ cause of death hasn’t been reported.