Mark Anthony Morales (February 19, 1968 – February 18, 2021), better known by the stage name Prince Markie Dee, was an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, producer,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and radio personality. Morales was a member of

the Fat Boys The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark " Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, ...

, a pioneering hip hop group that gained fame during the 1980s. Morales was the vice-president of Uncle Louie Music Group.

Early life

Morales was born on February 19, 1968. He established the Disco 3 together with Darren Robinson and Damon Wimbley in the early 1980s. After winning a talent contest at the Radio City Music Hall in 1983, they signed a contract with the show's promoter. The promoter recommended that the group rename itself the Fat Boys, in reference to their weight.

Career

The Fat Boys

Morales's accomplishments with the Fat Boys include seven full-length albums. Of these, three attained gold certification and one – ''

Crushin' ''Crushin is the fourth studio album by the hip hop group the Fat Boys, released in 1987. It would be their breakout album, charting in the top 10 on both ''Billboard'' Pop and R&B album charts. A cover version of the Surfaris' hit " Wipe Out" w ...

'' (1987) – reached platinum. Their hit song from that album that featured

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

, " Wipeout", peaked to number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The trio also appeared in the comedy film ''

Disorderlies ''Disorderlies'' is a 1987 screwball comedy feature film starring the rap group, The Fat Boys, and Ralph Bellamy. The film was directed by Michael Schultz who previously directed The Fat Boys in ''Krush Groove''. Plot summary Winslow Lowry is a ...

'' that same year. They had earlier starred in the feature films ''

Krush Groove ''Krush Groove'' is a 1985 American musical comedy-drama film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures that was written by Ralph Farquhar and directed by Michael Schultz (who also produced the movie, along with George Jackson and Doug McHenry). This ...

'' (1985) and '' Knights of the City'' (1986). The Fat Boys attempted to broaden their artistic scope by releasing ''On and On'' (1989), a rap opera album. Its lack of success hastened the demise of the group. They released one more album, ''Mack Daddy'' (1991), before disbanding soon afterwards.

Later career

After the Fat Boys, Morales embarked on a solo career. He signed with Columbia Records and released a solo album, '' Free'' (1992). It included a #1 hit single, "Typical Reasons (Swing My Way)". After joining with

Cory Rooney Mark Cory Rooney (born 1968) is an American record producer. He has written, produced, and developed various successful records for artists including Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Thalia, Michael ...

to form a production company, Soul Convention, Morales wrote and produced tracks for such artists as

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey,

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1971 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer, and was famous during his tenure under Bad Boy Records. Early life and career Craig Jamieson Mack was born in The Bronx, New York, and raised on ...

and Marc Anthony. He was a producer for Blige's first album, ''

What's the 411? ''What's the 411?'' is the debut album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on July 28, 1992, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. After signing a record contract with Uptown, Blige began working on the album with producer Sean " ...

'' (1992), including her hit song from that album, " Real Love". From 2008 to 2010, Morales served as the afternoon drive radio host/DJ at 103.5 The Beat

WMIB WMIB (103.5 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station in South Florida, United States. It is licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but it also serves Miami and the Miami metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and the broadc ...

radio in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. He subsequently worked at

WEDR WEDR (99.1 FM, "99 Jamz") is a radio station serving the South Florida region and licensed to Miami, Florida. WEDR has an unusually wide music selection for a mainstream urban-formatted radio station that ranges from typical hip-hop and R&B t ...

99.1 FM. He last worked at the Rock the Bells Sirius XM station, hosting his own show, ''The Prince Markie Dee Show''.

Personal life

Morales once dated and was engaged to rapper

Pepa Performance Evaluation Process Algebra (PEPA) is a stochastic process algebra designed for modelling computer and communication systems introduced by Jane Hillston in the 1990s. The language extends classical process algebras such as Robin Milne ...

sometime during the mid-1980s. He died on February 18, 2021, in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, one day before his 53rd birthday. The cause of death was

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

Discography

Solo albums

* '' Free'' (1992, Columbia Records) * ''Love Daddy'' (1995, Motown)

With Fat Boys

* ''

Fat Boys The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark " Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, ...

'' (1984, Sutra) * '' The Fat Boys Are Back'' (1985, Sutra) * '' Big & Beautiful'' (1986, Sutra) * ''

'' (1987, Tin Pan Apple/

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

/PolyGram) * Coming Back Hard Again (1988, Tin Pan Apple/Polydor/PolyGram) * On and On (1989, Tin Pan Apple/ Mercury/PolyGram) * Mack Daddy (1991, Ichiban)

Filmography

* ''

'' (1985) * '' Knights of the City'' (1986) * ''

'' (1987)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Markie Dee 1968 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American singers American DJs American male film actors Columbia Records artists Hispanic and Latino American rappers Motown artists Rappers from Brooklyn Record producers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state)