RIP Biz Markie; "Just a Friend"

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Rapper Biz Markie has died at the age of 57. His family told TMZ that the man behind the hit “Just a Friend” died of complications from diabetes in a Baltimore hospital surrounded by loved ones. He was hospitalized last summer with the same illness.

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His marquee song came out in 1989 on the album The Biz Never Sleeps, reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard charts in multiple countries, including breaking the Top 10 of the Hot 100 in the United States. The song had staying power, too: it was later certified Platinum.

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“Just a Friend” featured goofy, wailing vocals that Markie said came about by accident. He told Entertainment Weekly, “I asked people to sing the part, and nobody showed up at the studio, so I did it myself.”

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