By Houston Williams and Roman Wolfe
(AllHipHop News) Pioneering Hip-Hop group The Fat Boys will be the subject of tonight's episode of TVOne's critically acclaimed series, Unsung.
The series, which launched in 2008, features one-hour biography specials that celebrate the lives and careers of a variety of accomplished artists or groups who deserved - but didn't make - the transition to superstardom.
"The Fat Boys was such an amazing stepping stone for me to catapult myself into the production world and radio world," Prince Markie Dee told AllHipHop.com. "It was an amazing part of my life. That's enough for me, I really do this from my heart and I am so happy they did this for my man Buff."
The Fat Boys, who hailed from Brooklyn, New York, were one of the first internationally known Hip-Hop groups.
Their self-titled 1984 debut is considered a classic among Hip-Hop aficionados.
The group, which featured Prince Markie Dee, Kool Rock Ski, Rockski and Buffie aka the "Human Beat Box," blazed a trail for today's Hip-Hop artists.
In addition to their first two albums going gold (The Fats Boys, The Fat Boys Are Back!), The Fat Boys landed some of rap's earliest endorsement deals (Swatch, 1984), while starring in flicks like Disorderlies which featured legendary actor Ralph Bellamy and making appearances on TV shows like Miami Vice.
Tragically, group member Buff died of a heart attack brought on from his complications from his own weight, which was around 450 pounds at the time of his death in December of 1995.
"At the end of the day, all I care about is that my dude Buff gets his recognition. All these years have gone by since he's passed away and he's hardly ever mentions, honored or anything like that and it hurts me. He was such a good person and he deserved more. At the end, it shows what an amazing person Buff was," Prince Markie Dee told AllHipHop.com.
The episode of Unsung is told through a number of artists and executives, including the group's first manager, Swiss-born producer, rapper Kurtis Blow, Biz Markie, Charles Stettler and their current manager, Louis "Uncle Louie" Gregory.
"I always told Markie Dee it would come around one day, but I wasn't really stressing it," Kool Rock Ski told AllHipHop.com. "As long as the people who were there with us from day one know about the impact we had on hip-hop, that's all that really matters. We appreciate TVOne for recognizing us and wanting us to do this."
Unsung featuring The Fat Boys premieres tonight at 10:00 PM EST on TVOne.
Allhiphop.com
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