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

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Prince Markie Dee, was an American rapper. He was a member of

the Fat Boys The Fat Boys were an American hip-hop trio from Brooklyn, New York (state), 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 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 Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

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 music, hip hop group the Fat Boys, released in 1987. It was their breakout album, charting in the top 10 on both ''Billboard'' Pop and R&B album charts and selling more than a million copies by ...

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

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

, " Wipeout", peaked to number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The trio also appeared in the comedy film '' Disorderlies'' that same year. They had earlier starred in the feature films '' Krush Groove'' (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 Columbia Records is an American reco ...

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 been credited on releases for high-profile music industry artists including Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Thalia, Michael Jackson ...

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, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1970 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his tenure with Bad Boy Records, during which he released his 1994 single " Flava in Ya Ear" (1994), which peaked within the ' ...

and

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

. 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. 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 license is h ...

radio in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. 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 an urban contemporary-formatted radio station that ranges from typical hip-hop and R ...

99.1 FM. He last worked at the Rock the Bells

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

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 ...

in the mid-1980s.

Death

Morales died on February 18, 2021, in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

the day before his 53rd birthday of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

Discography

Solo albums

* '' Free'' (1992,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) * ''Love Daddy'' (1995,

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

)

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 Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a 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 ...

/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

* '' Krush Groove'' (1985) * '' Knights of the City'' (1986) * '' Disorderlies'' (1987)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dee, Prince Markie 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)