Biz Markie
b. Marcel Hall, 8 April 1964, Harlem, New York, USA. This member of Marley Marl's posse delivered his tales of bogey-picking, bad breath and other niceties in a jerky manner which comes close to self-parody, and has found himself a niche market in adolescent circles. His progress was aided by an unlikely hit single, Just A Friend, in 1989. Resolutely old school, his 1993 album features Let Me Turn You On over a sample of Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now, on which he actually sings. The set's title, ALL SAMPLES CLEARED!, is more than an unjustified whinge at copyright laws. Each and every sample was cleared by the relevant artist's representatives, after Markie had previously come under threat of imprisonment. This stemmed from his sampling of Gilbert O'Sullivan's 1972 ballad Alone Again on his I Need A Haircut album. Judge Kevin Thomas Duff awarded punitive damages ruling that 'sampling is theft under criminal law', giving all rap artists cause for concern.