Mark Anthony Morales (February 19, 1968 – February 18, 2021), better known by the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

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 (), lit ...

, and

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

. 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 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, ...

in the early 1980s. After winning a talent contest at the

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...

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 A rap opera or hip hopera is a musical work in hip hop style with operatic form. The terms have been used to describe both dramatic works and concept albums, and ''hip hopera'' has also been used for works drawing more heavily on contemporary R&B ...

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 Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

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,

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

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 Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gr ...

. 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 "Pu ...

'' (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 broadcast ...

radio in

Miami, Florida 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 ...

. 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 Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

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 Milner's ...

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,

) * ''Love Daddy'' (1995,

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

)

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 ''The Fat Boys Are Back'' is the second studio album by American hip hop music, hip hop group the Fat Boys, released on June 1, 1985, by Sutra Records. The album was produced by Kurtis Blow. The album peaked at number 63 on the US Billboard 200, ...

'' (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 State ...

/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)