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The Fat Boys | |
|---|---|
 The Fat Boys in 1985 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels |
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| Past members | Kool Rock-Ski Buff Love(deceased) Prince Markie Dee(deceased) |
| Website | originalfatboys |
The Fat Boys were an Americanhip-hop trio fromBrooklyn,New York, who emerged in the early 1980s.[2] The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales,Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, andDarren "Buff Love" Robinson.
The trio is widely known for usingbeatboxing in their songs. The Fat Boys were one of the first rap groups to release full-length rap albums, along withRun-DMC,Whodini andKurtis Blow. Beloved for their comedic, self-deprecating rhymes, the group released seven studio albums, four of which wentGold byRIAA.
The first two albums of the group were produced by Kurtis Blow. Successful singles included "Jail House Rap", "Can You Feel It?", "Fat Boys", "Stick 'Em", "Don't You Dog Me", "All You Can Eat", "The Fat Boys Are Back", and "Pump It Up".
Their fourth studio albumCrushin' (1987) received aPlatinum status due to their single "Wipeout!", which was recorded together with the Americanrock bandthe Beach Boys. Their next studio album,Coming Back Hard Again (1988), repeated the formula of the previous one and received aGold status due to the successful single "The Twist (Yo, Twist)", recorded together with Americanrock and roll singerChubby Checker. The album also included "Are You Ready for Freddy", the theme song for the filmA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, which featuredRobert Englund performing asFreddy Krueger.
The group starred in threefeature films in the 1980s:Krush Groove (1985),Knights of the City (1986) andDisorderlies (1987).[3]
In 1983, a Swiss-born promoter named Charles Stettler, the owner of his own label Tin Pan Apple, decided to hold a hip-hop talent contest. To find a sponsor, Stettler went to radio stationWBLS, which recommended him to a couple of sponsors. In the end, he persuaded the companyCoca-Cola to finance the contest. For the next three months, contests were held to identify a winner in each borough of New York City every Saturday afternoon.[4]
On May 23, 1983, the final contest entitled "Coca-Cola and WBLS present: The Tin Pan Apple After Dark Dance & Rap Contest!" was held. The event was held atRadio City Music Hall.[5] The host that evening wasMr. Magic from the radio programRap Attack. According to the terms of the competition, the winner signed a contract for a recording contract. The Fat Boys members, then calling themselves The Disco 3, were unexpected winners[2] with their song "Stick' Em".[6]
In 1983, The Disco 3 released their debut single "Reality". It was produced by James Mason, jazz guitarist and keyboardist ofRoy Ayers' jazz-funk band.[7]
Since the group did not have a manager, Stettler took over this position. Stettler took the group on a European bus tour, where he told them to gain more weight. The concerts ended at 12 o'clock in the evening, and they could not get to the hotel until two o'clock in the morning. Only places likeMcDonald's andBurger King were open, so the group members gained weight from this. Since so much was happening, the group members did not even notice this on the tour and did not consider themselves overweight.[8] A party was later held for the renaming of the group at theRoseland Ballroom in New York.
Charlie Stettler introduced the group to rapper and producerKurtis Blow, who helped them find their signature sound.[9] To work on the album, Kurtis Blow recruited thedrum machine programmers ofRun-D.M.C.,Larry Smith andDavy "DMX" Reeves, who were considered two of the best at making songs at the time. "Stick' Em" was the first song they recorded with Kurtis Blow.[10]
The group's 1984 self-titled debut album,Fat Boys, is considered by many to be the first hip-hop album to feature the element of hip hop known asbeatboxing. Darren "The Human Beat Box" Robinson was a pioneer in beatboxing.
One day in 1984,Russell Simmons stormed into Stettler's office and told him that he was going to have a festival titled Fresh Fest Tour '84, in which his groups and breakdancers would take part. Since Stettler raised $300,000 fromCoca-Cola to finance his 1983 contest, Simmons wanted Stettler to do it again. The young promoter could not get the beverage company to return, so he called a friend of his and asked him if there was anything the Swiss were trying to sell. TheSwatch wristwatch turned out to be such a product. Stettler persuaded the company to finance a tour of $360,000, while the festival was renamed The Swatch Watch New York City Fresh Fest.
Russell Simmons did not want to take the Fat Boys on the tour, because nobody had heard of them at that point. Stettler went to an old Tower Records store on 4th Street and Broadway, and handed out 5,000 flyers that read: "Guess the weight of the Fat Boys and the person who does wins 800 cans ofDiet Pepsi and one dollar." Thousands of children lined up at the Tower Records store to participate. Stettler put the group members on the scale; at that time they weighed 868 lb (394 kg) together. In the end, a boy fromHarlem won.Channel 2 News filmed this event, including the delivery of the soft drink, but police did not respond when it was stolen a short time later.
The next day, Stettler saw in the newspaper thatThe Jackson 5 was going to be reuniting at a concert in October 1984. He called his wife and part-time partner, asking her to write a press release saying that the Jackson 5 have picked the then-still-unknown group the Fat Boys as their opening act. Stettler distributed this press release across the city. The next morning, Stettler and The Fat Boys appeared on the TV showGood Morning America. When the host turned around to The Fat Boys, they did not know what to say. They simply said: "Brrr, Stick' Em! Ha-ha-ha, Stick 'Em!", due to it being the group's popular song at the time.[4]
Russell Simmons agreed to add The Fat Boys to the lineup of the festival, which included Run-D.M.C., Kurtis Blow,Whodini,Newcleus, and The Dynamic Breakers.[11] The first concert of the tour took place onLabor Day, September 3, 1984.[12] For 27 concerts in the United States, the organizers raised $3.5 million.[13] The festival was accompanied by advertising on television.[14][15]
In 1985, this was followed by Fresh Fest II, which included the same acts, withGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five replacing Newcleus.[16]
At the time, the American office of the companySwatch was tasked with trying to advertise its product to American audiences. The company was known for using offbeat campaigns, and agreed to feature the Fat Boys in a commercial for the watches onMTV. The video "Brrr, Swatch ’Em!" was aired in December 1984.[17] Swatch again featured The Fat Boys in a 1985 Christmas advertisement created by former MTV creative headsAlan Goodman andFred Seibert. This commercial, "Swatch Watch Presents A Merry Christmas" was first broadcast in December 1985.[18][19] These commercials were notable, because when they aired in December 1984, MTV did not feature many hip-hop artists in their programming, having only started airing music videos from rap artists earlier that year with Run-D.M.C.’s crossover hit, “Rock Box.” Due to the success of these commercials, they would become frequent guests on MTV, pioneering a space for hip-hop artists to appear on the network and ultimately increasing hip hop's popularity and legitimacy with MTV's audience.[19]
Also because of these commercials, the group developed a reputation for their sense of humor. They starred in severalfeature films. Their first starring role came in the movieKrush Groove (1985), followed by a second,Disorderlies (1987), which also featuredRalph Bellamy as a millionaire invalid cared for by his good-natured yet ineptorderlies (played by the Fat Boys), with a cameo by manager Stettler.
Hoping to repeat the success ofRun-D.M.C. andAerosmith with the single "Walk This Way" The Fat Boys made acover version of the song "Wipeout" together withrock groupThe Beach Boys. The single peaked at number 12 on theBillboard Hot 100[20] and number 10 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[21] The song "Wipeout" reached number 2 onUK Top 100 in September 1987 during a 13-week chart run.[22] "Wipeout" was the last song the group members recorded for the albumCrushin'.
The music video for the song begins with an announcement of a boxing match, The Fat Boys and The Beach Boys are attending the match. The match is interrupted by a fight. In the following scene, The Fat Boys load up a car with swimsuits and then drive off. The Beach Boys are driving in a dune buggy through the city. Both bands go around the city in the direction of a beach, while they perform the song and invite the inhabitants of the city to come to the beach. Meanwhile, at the beach one of The Fat Boys tries to lift a heavy weight and is laughed at by two women because of failure, another playing volleyball and another surfing. The Beach Boys on the other hand are DJing in the street. At the end of the video they all celebrate at a beach party.[23]
The group was later approached to record thetheme song forA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), called "Are You Ready for Freddy", which featuredRobert Englund performing asFreddy Krueger.
Their next album calledComing Back Hard Again repeated the formula of the previous one. This time, The Fat Boys recorded a cover version of the song "The Twist" withChubby Checker, who performed it originally in 1960. The single peaked at number 16 on theBillboard Hot 100[24] and number 40 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[25] The song "The Twist (Yo, Twist)" reached number two onUK Top 100 in July 1988 during a 11-week chart run.[26] Another song from the album, "Louie Louie", is a cover version of a 1957 song by American singerRichard Berry. The song peaked at number 46 onUK Top 100 on November 5, 1988, for 4 weeks.[27]
However, the tastes of the listeners at that time had already changed. By taking part in the rap operaOn and On, the group tried to regain its fame, but this only accelerated the breakup of the group. Prince Markie Dee got fired from the group in 1990 to pursue solo interests.,[28] which included producing many early tracks forMariah Carey andMary J. Blige which included her debut single, "Real Love". In 1991, the remaining two members, Kool Rock-Ski and Buff Love, carried on as aduo trying to sign with Polygram Records but the label did not sign them. They signed with Atlanta, Georgia label Ichiban Records and they releasedMack Daddy (1991) with the single Whip It On Me, The album did not make much success, but shortly thereafter, the group disbanded (until 2008). In the 1992 feature filmBoomerang,Chris Rock's character laments the breakup of the Fat Boys. He was later quoted byJay-Z in his 2001 song the "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)".
On December 10, 1995, Buff Love died of aheart attack during a bout with respiratory flu inRosedale, Queens, New York. He was 28 years old and reportedly weighed 450 pounds (200 kg).[29]
The surviving members of the Fat Boys launched its first official homepage, OriginalFatBoys.com, on November 5, 2008. According to the website, the Fat Boys recorded their first track in nearly two decades and had plans of doing a reality TV show in search of a new member.[30]
In March 2009, Kool Rock-Ski announced the launch of his official website, KoolRockSki.com. His first solo project, the EPParty Time, was released on April 14, 2009.
On October 18, 2010, the cable networkTV One airedUnsung: The Story of The Fat Boys. It mentioned that the two surviving members reunited and were touring withDoug E. Fresh who was providing the beatboxing. There was no confirmation at the time as to whether he was the new third permanent member. The special was produced by the group's manager, Louis Gregory, publicly known asUncle Louie.[31]
In August 2012, The Fat Boys were scheduled to perform at the 13th annualGathering of the Juggalos inCave-In-Rock, Illinois, but ultimately failed to appear.[32]
Prince Markie Dee died of a suspected heart attack on February 18, 2021, the day before his 53rd birthday; according to TMZ, Morales had gone to the hospital complaining of chest pains. It was determined a stent was needed to clear blockage in his heart, but Morales died before the stent could be inserted.
Prince Markie Dee was a radio host who worked at WMIB-FM and WEDR-FM inMiami,Florida, as well as SiriusXM. Kool Rock-Ski is last known to have been residing in New York, and is the last surviving Fat Boy.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [33] | US R&B /HH [34] | AUT [35] | CAN [36][37] | GER [38] | NL [39] | NZ [40] | SWI [41] | UK [42] | |||
| Fat Boys | 48 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| The Fat Boys Are Back |
| 63 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
| Big & Beautiful |
| 62 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Crushin' | 8 | 4 | — | 56 | — | — | 40 | — | 49 |
| |
| Coming Back Hard Again |
| 33 | 30 | 22 | 73 | 11 | 46 | — | 18 | 98 |
|
| On and On |
| 175 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Mack Daddy |
| — | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [47] | US R&B/Hip-Hop [48] | US Dance [49] | AUS [50][51] | AUT [52] | BE [53] | CAN [54][55] | GER [38] | IRE [56] | NL [57] | NZ [58] | SWI [59] | UK [42] | |||
| 1983 | "Reality"(as Disco 3) | — | 92 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1984 | "Fat Boys"/"Human Beat Box"(as Disco 3) | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fat Boys |
| "Jail House Rap" | 105 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | ||
| 1985 | "Can You Feel It" | 101 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "The Fat Boys Are Back" | — | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Fat Boys Are Back | |
| "Hard Core Reggae" | — | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Don't Be Stupid" | — | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "Sex Machine" | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | Big & Beautiful |
| "In the House" | — | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "Falling in Love" | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Crushin' |
| "Wipeout"(withthe Beach Boys) | 12 | 10 | 42 | 65 | — | 17 | 12 | 30 | 3 | 13 | 2 | — | 2 | ||
| 1988 | "The Twist"(withChubby Checker) | 16 | 40 | — | 21 | 5 | 2 | 37 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 | Coming Back Hard Again |
| "Are You Ready for Freddy" | — | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 83 | ||
| "Louie, Louie" | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | — | — | — | — | 46 | ||
| 1989 | "Lie-Z" | — | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | On and On |
| "Just Loungin'" | — | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
| Soundtracks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Song | Release date |
| 1985 | Krush Groove | "Don't You Dog Me", "Pump It Up - Let's Get Funky", "All You Can Eat", "Fat Boys", "Krush Groovin'" | October 25, 1985 |
| 1986 | Knights of the City | "Jailhouse Rap" | February 14, 1986 |
| 1987 | Disorderlies | "Rock Rulin'", "Baby You're a Rich Man", "Wipe Out" | August 14, 1987 |
| 1988 | Police Academy (TV series) | "They Wear The Blue" (the opening theme song) | September 10, 1988 |
| 1988 | The Freddy Krueger Special (TV Movie) | "Are You Ready For Freddy?" | August 18, 1988 |
| 1988 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master | "Are You Ready For Freddy?" | August 19, 1988 |
| 1989 | She-Devil | "It's Getting Hot", "Party Up" | December 8, 1989 |
| 2000 | Price of Glory | "Roving Gangster (Rollin')" | March 31, 2000 |
| 2006 | Scarface: The World Is Yours (video game) | "Hardcore Reggae", "Human Beat Box" | October 10, 2006 |
| 2009 | Everybody Hates Chris (TV Series), episode "Everybody Hates Fake IDs" | "All You Can Eat" | January 23, 2009 |
| 2012 | Rude Tube (TV Series), episode "Utter Fails" | "Fat Boys Are Back" | September 10, 2012 |
| 2014 | Ping Pong Summer | "Stick 'Em" | June 6, 2014 |
| 2014 | Rap Critic Reviews (TV Series), episode "Top 5 Worst Lyrics I've Ever Heard... This Month" | "Wipeout", "Protect Yourself/My Nuts" | February 27, 2014 |
| 2017 | One Hit Wonderland (TV Series documentary), episode "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco | "Human Beat Box" | March 1, 2017 |
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Release date | |
| 1984 | TV commercial forSwatch wrist watches ("Brrr, Swatch 'Em!") | December 1984 | |
| 1985 | TV commercial forSwatch wrist watches ("Swatch Watch Presents A Merry Christmas") | December 1985 | |
| 1985 | Soul Train (TV Series) - episode "The Temptations/The Fat Boys" | January 5, 1985 | |
| 1986 | Miami Vice (телешоу), episode "Florence Italy" | February 14, 1986 | |
| 1987 | Ebony/Jet Showcase (TV Series) | September 11, 1987 | |
| 1987 | The New Hollywood Squares (TV Series) | November 16, 1987 | |
| 1987 | Square One (TV Series), episode 1.12, music video "Burger Pattern" | February 10, 1987 | |
| 1988 | Square One (TV Series), episode 2.1, music video "One Billion" | September 19, 1988 | |
| 1988 | T. and T. (TV Series), episode "The Silver Angel" | February 22, 1988 | |
| 1988 | Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute (TV Special documentary) | June 11, 1988 | |
| 1988 | MTV Video Music Awards (TV Series) | September 7, 1988 | |
| 1988 | Sacrée soirée (TV Series) | October 19, 1988 | |
| 1988 | Rockopop | November 5, 1988 | |
| 1989 | Police Academy (TV series) season 2, episode 29, "Survival of the Fattest" (voice) | January 14, 1989 | |
| 1989 | Square One (TV Series), episode 3.41, music video "Working Backwards" | December 23, 1990 | |
| 1990 | Ebony/Jet Showcase (TV Series) | March 16, 1990 | |
| 2017 | Detroiters (TV series) Season 1 Episode 9 "Husky Boys" | April 4, 2017 | |
| Videos | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | ||
| 1984 | "Fat Boys" | ||
| 1984 | "Jail House Rap" | ||
| 1984 | "Can You Feel It?" | ||
| 1985 | "Stick 'Em" | ||
| 1985 | "Hard Core Reggae" | ||
| 1985 | "Don't You Dog Me" | ||
| 1985 | "All You Can Eat" | ||
| 1986 | "Sex Machine" | ||
| 1986 | "King Holiday" (King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew) | ||
| 1987 | "Wipeout" (Fat Boys and The Beach Boys) | ||
| 1988 | "The Twist (Yo, Twist)" (Fat Boys & Chubby Checker) | ||
| 1988 | "Louie, Louie" | ||
| 1988 | "Are You Ready For Freddy?" | ||
| 1989 | "Lie-Z" | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
