David James Parker (born October 26, 1962), known by the stage name Busy Bee, is an American old-school hip hop musician from

New York, NY New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. First coming on the New York City music scene in 1977, Busy Bee worked with many of hip-hop's founding fathers, including

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furio ...

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influence ...

, and Kool DJ AJ.

Career

Known for his comedic rhymes, Busy Bee originally gained a large following through MC rap battles in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. He was famously roasted by Kool Moe Dee at Harlem World in Manhattan, NY, December 1981, in one of the earliest documented rap battles. In 1985, he won the New Music Seminar's MC World Supremacy Belt. In the early 1980s Afrika Bambaataa asked Busy to join his Zulu Nation where the young MC would DJ for Bambaataa's Zulu Nation parties. Busy Bee continues to rhyme today, most recently appearing on KRS-One and

Marley Marl Marlon Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects ...

's collaborative 2007 album '' Hip-Hop Lives''. Busy Bee was featured in the 1983 film '' Wild Style'', billed as the first hip-hop motion picture, directed by Charlie Ahern. More recently, he played himself in the 2002 inner-city drama '' Paid in Full''. In 2007, he was included in the video documentary ''Hip Hop Legends''. Thirty years after the song's initial release, in 2018 Robert Rippberger directed the official music video for “Suicide” by Busy Bee, the single off his gold album ''Running Thangs''. The video features a cameo by artist Ice-T.

Personal life

He currently resides in Las Vegas Nevada, with Michelle, his wife of over 20 years. He has two daughters.

Discography

Albums *1988 – ''Running Thangs'' (Strong City/Uni/MCA Records) - #48 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine that ranks contemporary R&B, R&B and hip hop music, hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Th ...

*1992 – ''Thank God for Busy Bee'' (Pandisc Records) Singles *"The Marvelous Three and the Younger Generation" (Busy Bee, DJ Small, AJ, Cowboy, Kid Creole, Melle Mel, Mr. Ness, Rahiem) - Rappin' All Over (Brass Records - 1980) *"School Days" (Master Five - 1981) *"Making Cash Money" (Sugar Hill - 1982) *"Busy Bee's Groove" (Sugar Hill - 1985) *"Suicide" (Strong City/Uni/MCA - 1987) *"Express" (Strong City/Uni/MCA - 1988) *"Keep It Movin'" (Blazin' - 2002) *"Rock the House" (Blazin' - 2002)

Guest appearances

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starski, Busy Bee 1962 births African-American male rappers American male rappers Living people Rappers from the Bronx Uni Records artists East Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people