Two years have passed since hip-hop pioneer Biz Markie left this earth. The culture’s “Clown Prince” left a legacy that stretched well beyond rap masterpieces like “Just a Friend,” “Vapors,” and “Biz Is Goin’ Off.” One individual carrying the torch of the Juice Crew member is his widow, Tara Hall. Most recently, she served as the executive producer for the Sacha Jenkins-directed documentary “All Up In The Biz.” Released last week on Showtime in conjunction with Mass Appeal, Hall wanted the doc to show the full human Markie was.
“One of the main things I wanted to get across in the documentary is that Biz was more than just the ‘Clown Prince of Hip-Hop,” said Hall. “It was important for me to show people that he was a wonderful father, wonderful husband and a great brother. It wasn’t always jokes and fun and games.You can Google him and look him up and see him having fun and dancing and playing games and joking around. But guess what? He was that way too at home.”
The documentary examines how Biz’s distinctive style of blending rhyming, beatboxing, and humor helped change hip-hop in many ways. Sure, the important notes are all there, including his early beginnings as a kid under foster care in New York before starting his break in music as a member of The Juice Crew under Cold Chillin’ Records. Many rap luminaries, including Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Roxanne Shante, Prince Paul, and more, show up for anecdotal interviews.
However, the documentary takes an interesting approach through animated sequences alongside segments featuring a puppet version of Markie with Hall playing herself. According to her, reenacting Markie’s last moments, in particular, was horrifying.
”People will see in the film that Biz suffered for a year and then one more month and I was in the hospital with him every single day,” said Hall. “I moved that man at least three times to different hospitals. Here we are in the film and Sasha is asking me to reenact this. It was horrible. It was scary. Just because I was scared didn’t mean that I couldn’t do it. It was bigger than me, so I did it.”
The final portion of the documentary has Hall looking directly at the camera, explaining some of the issues she’s had with aspects of his estate since Markie’s passing. Most recently, she went on Instagram proclaiming that his old manager was holding his Instagram account “hostage” and “posting on it without” his family’s consent. Hall wants to use the current situation as an example for others to avoid the same issues.
“He was only 57 so there were a lot of things that just weren’t in order,” she explained. “I encourage everyone to get your stuff together and your paperwork together. It’s very difficult when you’re dealing with somebody’s estate; especially with somebody like Biz who had so much and so much will come in for the rest of my life and my child’s life. It’s difficult, but I’m handling it. It gets a little crazy when somebody passes away, but I have a good team around me. I have a good army around me, and we’re handling it, knocking it out one by one.”
Another way Hall is maintaining Markie’s legacy is through the Biz Markie’s Just A Friend Foundation. The organization aims to support children in the foster care system through various initiatives besides other causes like the appropriately titled “I Need A Haircut” program and Biz Markie’s Emergency Food Pantry in Harlem.
Most recently, Biz Markie’s Emergency Food Pantry partnered with Harlem Dowling for a recent giveaway. Labeled as one of the first charitable institutions in the United States dedicated to children of color, the Harlem Dowling was founded in 1836 as the Colored Orphan’s Asylum.
“It’s our honor to partner with the Biz Markie’s Just A Friend Foundation as our missions are aligned and our histories are somewhat the same,” said Dixon. “As someone growing up in the hip hop world, I enjoyed all of it. It just was my childhood coming full circle. It was wonderful.”
Collaborating with Biz Markie’s Emergency Food Pantry allowed the organization to serve 130 households with robust pantry bags and some wings from Wingstop. Harlem Dowling Executive Director Karen Dixon states these partnerships are important to community members. Past the loss of her husband, she hopes Biz Markie’s Just A Friend Foundation will remind many of the rap legend’s philanthropy.
“This is what Biz was all about,” Hall said. “His whole entire life was giving to the community, giving to friends and helping out families. This is what I want to continue to do through the nonprofit. This is how you keep Biz’s legacy going.”
Credit:Source link
