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The Fat Boys

The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, 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, and Darren "Buff Love" Robinson.

The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys
Background information
Also known as
  • Disco 3
  • Original Fat Boys
OriginNew York City, U.S.
GenresHip hop, electro-funk, beatbox
Years active1983–1991,[1] 2008–2021
Labels
Past membersKool Rock-Ski
Buff Love (deceased)
Prince Markie Dee (deceased)
Websiteoriginalfatboys.com

The trio is widely known for using beatbox in their songs. The group opened doors for beatboxers like Biz Markie and Doug E. Fresh. The Fat Boys were one of the first rap groups to release full-length rap albums, along with Run-D.M.C., Whodini and Kurtis Blow. Beloved for their comedic, self-deprecating rhymes, the group released seven studio albums, four of which went Gold by RIAA.

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".

The album Crushin' received a Platinum status due to their single "Wipeout", which was recorded together with the American rock group The Beach Boys. The next album, Coming Back Hard Again, repeated the formula of the previous one and received a Gold status due to the successful single "The Twist (Yo, Twist)", recorded together with American rock 'n roll singer Chubby Checker. The album also included the theme song for the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, which featured Robert Englund performing as Freddy Krueger.

The group starred in three feature films in the 1980s: Krush Groove, Knights of the City and Disorderlies.[3]

Members edit

  • Mark Morales, also known as "Prince Markie Dee" (February 19, 1968 – February 18, 2021)[2]
  • Damon Wimbley, also known as "Kool Rock-Ski" (born November 9, 1966)[2]
  • Darren Robinson, also known as "The Human Beat Box" and "Buff Love" (June 10, 1967 – December 10, 1995)[2]

History edit

Beginnings edit

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 station WBLS, which recommended him to a couple of sponsors. In the end, he persuaded the company Coca-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 at Radio City Music Hall.[5] The host that evening was Mr. Magic from the radio program Rap 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]

European Tour edit

In 1983, The Disco 3 released their debut single "Reality". It was produced by James Mason, jazz guitarist and keyboardist of Roy 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 like McDonald's and Burger 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 the Roseland Ballroom in New York.

Meeting Kurtis Blow edit

Charlie Stettler introduced the group to rapper and producer Kurtis Blow, who helped them find their signature sound.[9] To work on the album, Kurtis Blow recruited the drum machine programmers of Run-D.M.C., Larry Smith and Davy "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 as beatboxing. Darren "The Human Beat Box" Robinson was a pioneer in beatboxing.

Fresh Fest Tour '84 edit

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 from Coca-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. The Swatch 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 of Diet 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 from Harlem 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 that The 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 show Good 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 on Labor 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, with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five replacing Newcleus.[16]

Film and television edit

At the time, the American office of the company Swatch 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 on MTV. 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 heads Alan Goodman and Fred 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. [20]

Also because of these commercials, the group developed a reputation for their sense of humor. They starred in several feature films. Their first starring role came in the movie Krush Groove (1985), followed by a second, Disorderlies (1987), which also featured Ralph Bellamy as a millionaire invalid cared for by his good-natured yet inept orderlies (played by the Fat Boys), with a cameo by manager Stettler.

Making Crushin' and Coming Back Hard Again edit

Hoping to repeat the success of Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith with the single "Walk This Way" The Fat Boys made a cover version of the song "Wipeout" together with rock group The Beach Boys. The single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100[21] and number 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[22] The song "Wipeout" reached #2 on UK Top 100 in September 1987 during a 13-week chart run.[23] "Wipeout" was the last song the group members recorded for the album Crushin'".

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.[24]

The group was later approached to record the theme song for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), called "Are You Ready for Freddy", which featured Robert Englund performing as Freddy Krueger.

Their next album called Coming Back Hard Again repeated the formula of the previous one. This time, The Fat Boys recorded a cover version of the song "The Twist" with Chubby Checker, who performed it originally in 1960. The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100[25] and number 40 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[26] The song "The Twist (Yo, Twist)" reached number two on UK Top 100 in July 1988 during a 11-week chart run.[27] Another song from the album, "Louie Louie", is a cover version of a 1957 song by American singer Richard Berry. The song peaked at number 46 on UK Top 100 on November 5, 1988, for 4 weeks.[28]

Breakup edit

However, the tastes of the listeners at that time had already changed. By taking part in the rash rap opera On And On, the group tried to regain its fame, but this only accelerated the breakup of the group.[29] Prince Markie Dee left the group in 1990 to pursue solo interests, which included producing many early tracks for Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige which included her debut single, "Real Love". In 1991, the remaining two members, Kool Rock-Ski and Buff Love, carried on as a duo and released Mack Daddy (1991), but shortly thereafter, the group disbanded (until 2008). In the 1992 feature film Boomerang, Chris Rock's character laments the breakup of the Fat Boys. He was later quoted by Jay-Z in his 2001 song the "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)".

Aftermath edit

On December 10, 1995, Buff Love died of a heart attack during a bout with respiratory flu in Rosedale, Queens, New York. He was 28 years old and reportedly weighed 450 pounds (200 kg).[30]

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.[31]

In March 2009, Kool Rock-Ski announced the launch of his official website, KoolRockSki.com. His first solo project, the EP Party Time, was released on April 14, 2009.

On October 18, 2010, the cable network TV One aired Unsung: The Story of The Fat Boys. It mentioned that the two surviving members reunited and were touring with Doug E. Fresh who was providing the beatboxing. There has been no confirmation as to whether he is the new third permanent member. The special was produced by the group's manager, Louis Gregory, publicly known as Uncle Louie.[32]

In August 2012, The Fat Boys were scheduled to perform at the 13th annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, but ultimately failed to appear.[33]

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 in Miami, 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.

Discography edit

Albums edit

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[34]
US
R&B
/HH

[35]
AUT
[36]
CAN
[37][38]
GER
[39]
NL
[40]
NZ
[41]
SWI
[42]
UK
[43]
Fat Boys 48 6
The Fat Boys Are Back
  • Released: June 1, 1985
  • Label: Sutra
  • Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming
63 11
Big & Beautiful
  • Released: May 2, 1986
  • Label: Sutra
  • Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming
62 10
Crushin'
  • Released: August 14, 1987
  • Label: Tin Pan Apple/Polydor/PolyGram
  • Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming
8 4 56 40 49
Coming Back Hard Again
  • Released: July 1, 1988
  • Label: Tin Pan Apple/Polydor/PolyGram
  • Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming
33 30 22 73 11 46 18 98
On and On
  • Released: October, 1989
  • Label: Tin Pan Apple/Mercury/PolyGram
  • Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital download, streaming
175 52
Mack Daddy
  • Released: October 28, 1991
  • Label: Emperor/Ichiban
  • Format: CD, cassette, digital download, streaming
89
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles edit

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US
[48]
US
R&B/Hip-Hop

[49]
US
Dance

[50]
AUS
[51][52]
AUT
[53]
BE
[54]
CAN
[55][56]
GER
[39]
IRE
[57]
NL
[58]
NZ
[59]
SWI
[60]
UK
[43]
1983 "Reality" (as Disco 3) Non-album single
1984 "Fat Boys"/"Human Beat Box" (as Disco 3) 65 Fat Boys
"Jailhouse 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" (with the Beach Boys) 12 10 42 65 17 12 30 3 13 2 2
1988 "The Twist" (with Chubby 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.

Filmography edit

Feature films edit

Documentary edit

Video compilations edit

  • 1986 - Brrr, Watch 'Em! (MCA Home Video)
  • 1988 - 3×3 (PolyGram Music Video)

References edit

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  2. ^ a b c d e Hunt, Dennis (October 2, 1987). "Fat Boys: More Here Than Rappin". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  3. ^ "The 3 Films Of The Fat Boys: KNIGHTS OF THE CITY (1986), KRUSH GROOVE (1985), DISORDERLIES (1987) (by David Chisholm) September 15, 2015". cinapse.co. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
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  9. ^ Joseph, Ryan (April 26, 2016). "An Oral History of the Fat Boys' 'All You Can Eat' Music Video". firstwefeast.com. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
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  12. ^ "Information". Billboard. April 20, 1985. p. 49. Retrieved 2019-03-03 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Piskor, Ed. "Fresh Fest '84". boingboing.net. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  14. ^ "NYC Fresh Fest commercial 1984". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
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  26. ^ "The Fat Boys - The Twist - Billboard Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". billboard.com. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  27. ^ "FAT BOYS WITH CHUBBY CHECKER - Official Singles Chart (18 June 1988)". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  28. ^ "FAT BOYS - LOUIE, LOUIE - Official Singles Chart (5 November 1988)". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  29. ^ "The Fat Boys on Last.fm". last.fm. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  30. ^ "Darren Robinson, Fat Boys Rapper, 28 (December 13, 1995)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  31. ^ OriginalFatBoys.com
  32. ^ "Unsung - The Fat Boys". vimeo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  33. ^ "Strange times at the 2012 Gathering Of The Juggalos (by Nathan Rabin) August 14, 2012". avclub.com. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
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  36. ^ "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  37. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  38. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  39. ^ a b "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
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  51. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 110. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  52. ^ "australian-charts.com - Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  53. ^ "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  54. ^ "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  55. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  56. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  57. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  58. ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  59. ^ "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  60. ^ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade - hitparade.ch". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2021-10-04.

External links edit

boys, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sourc. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources The Fat Boys news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message This article may be written from a fan s point of view rather than a neutral point of view Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality and to make it neutral in tone September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn 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 and Darren Buff Love Robinson The Fat BoysThe Fat BoysBackground informationAlso known asDisco 3 Original Fat BoysOriginNew York City U S GenresHip hop electro funk beatboxYears active1983 1991 1 2008 2021LabelsSutra Records Tin Pan Apple Polydor PolyGram RecordsPast membersKool Rock Ski Buff Love deceased Prince Markie Dee deceased Websiteoriginalfatboys wbr com The trio is widely known for using beatbox in their songs The group opened doors for beatboxers like Biz Markie and Doug E Fresh The Fat Boys were one of the first rap groups to release full length rap albums along with Run D M C Whodini and Kurtis Blow Beloved for their comedic self deprecating rhymes the group released seven studio albums four of which went Gold by RIAA 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 The album Crushin received a Platinum status due to their single Wipeout which was recorded together with the American rock group The Beach Boys The next album Coming Back Hard Again repeated the formula of the previous one and received a Gold status due to the successful single The Twist Yo Twist recorded together with American rock n roll singer Chubby Checker The album also included the theme song for the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 The Dream Master which featured Robert Englund performing as Freddy Krueger The group starred in three feature films in the 1980s Krush Groove Knights of the City and Disorderlies 3 Contents 1 Members 2 History 2 1 Beginnings 2 2 European Tour 2 3 Meeting Kurtis Blow 2 4 Fresh Fest Tour 84 2 5 Film and television 2 6 Making Crushin and Coming Back Hard Again 2 7 Breakup 2 8 Aftermath 3 Discography 3 1 Albums 3 2 Singles 4 Filmography 4 1 Feature films 4 2 Documentary 4 3 Video compilations 5 References 6 External linksMembers editMark Morales also known as Prince Markie Dee February 19 1968 February 18 2021 2 Damon Wimbley also known as Kool Rock Ski born November 9 1966 2 Darren Robinson also known as The Human Beat Box and Buff Love June 10 1967 December 10 1995 2 History editBeginnings edit 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 station WBLS which recommended him to a couple of sponsors In the end he persuaded the company Coca 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 amp Rap Contest was held The event was held at Radio City Music Hall 5 The host that evening was Mr Magic from the radio program Rap 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 European Tour edit In 1983 The Disco 3 released their debut single Reality It was produced by James Mason jazz guitarist and keyboardist of Roy 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 like McDonald s and Burger 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 the Roseland Ballroom in New York Meeting Kurtis Blow edit Charlie Stettler introduced the group to rapper and producer Kurtis Blow who helped them find their signature sound 9 To work on the album Kurtis Blow recruited the drum machine programmers of Run D M C Larry Smith and Davy 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 as beatboxing Darren The Human Beat Box Robinson was a pioneer in beatboxing Fresh Fest Tour 84 edit 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 from Coca 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 The Swatch 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 of Diet 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 from Harlem 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 that The 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 show Good 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 on Labor 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 with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five replacing Newcleus 16 Film and television edit At the time the American office of the company Swatch 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 on MTV 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 heads Alan Goodman and Fred 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 20 Also because of these commercials the group developed a reputation for their sense of humor They starred in several feature films Their first starring role came in the movie Krush Groove 1985 followed by a second Disorderlies 1987 which also featured Ralph Bellamy as a millionaire invalid cared for by his good natured yet inept orderlies played by the Fat Boys with a cameo by manager Stettler Making Crushin and Coming Back Hard Again edit Hoping to repeat the success of Run D M C and Aerosmith with the single Walk This Way The Fat Boys made a cover version of the song Wipeout together with rock group The Beach Boys The single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 21 and number 10 on the Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs 22 The song Wipeout reached 2 on UK Top 100 in September 1987 during a 13 week chart run 23 Wipeout was the last song the group members recorded for the album Crushin 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 24 The group was later approached to record the theme song for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 The Dream Master 1988 called Are You Ready for Freddy which featured Robert Englund performing as Freddy Krueger Their next album called Coming Back Hard Again repeated the formula of the previous one This time The Fat Boys recorded a cover version of the song The Twist with Chubby Checker who performed it originally in 1960 The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 25 and number 40 on the Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs 26 The song The Twist Yo Twist reached number two on UK Top 100 in July 1988 during a 11 week chart run 27 Another song from the album Louie Louie is a cover version of a 1957 song by American singer Richard Berry The song peaked at number 46 on UK Top 100 on November 5 1988 for 4 weeks 28 Breakup edit However the tastes of the listeners at that time had already changed By taking part in the rash rap opera On And On the group tried to regain its fame but this only accelerated the breakup of the group 29 Prince Markie Dee left the group in 1990 to pursue solo interests which included producing many early tracks for Mariah Carey and Mary J Blige which included her debut single Real Love In 1991 the remaining two members Kool Rock Ski and Buff Love carried on as a duo and released Mack Daddy 1991 but shortly thereafter the group disbanded until 2008 In the 1992 feature film Boomerang Chris Rock s character laments the breakup of the Fat Boys He was later quoted by Jay Z in his 2001 song the Heart of the City Ain t No Love Aftermath edit On December 10 1995 Buff Love died of a heart attack during a bout with respiratory flu in Rosedale Queens New York He was 28 years old and reportedly weighed 450 pounds 200 kg 30 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 31 In March 2009 Kool Rock Ski announced the launch of his official website KoolRockSki com His first solo project the EP Party Time was released on April 14 2009 On October 18 2010 the cable network TV One aired Unsung The Story of The Fat Boys It mentioned that the two surviving members reunited and were touring with Doug E Fresh who was providing the beatboxing There has been no confirmation as to whether he is the new third permanent member The special was produced by the group s manager Louis Gregory publicly known as Uncle Louie 32 In August 2012 The Fat Boys were scheduled to perform at the 13th annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Cave In Rock Illinois but ultimately failed to appear 33 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 in Miami 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 Discography editAlbums edit List of albums with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US 34 USR amp B HH 35 AUT 36 CAN 37 38 GER 39 NL 40 NZ 41 SWI 42 UK 43 Fat Boys Released May 29 1984 Label Sutra Format CD LP cassette digital download streaming 48 6 RIAA Gold 44 The Fat Boys Are Back Released June 1 1985 Label Sutra Format CD LP cassette digital download streaming 63 11 RIAA Gold 45 Big amp Beautiful Released May 2 1986 Label Sutra Format CD LP cassette digital download streaming 62 10 Crushin Released August 14 1987 Label Tin Pan Apple Polydor PolyGram Format CD LP cassette digital download streaming 8 4 56 40 49 RIAA Platinum 46 Coming Back Hard Again Released July 1 1988 Label Tin Pan Apple Polydor PolyGram Format CD LP cassette digital download streaming 33 30 22 73 11 46 18 98 RIAA Gold 47 On and On Released October 1989 Label Tin Pan Apple Mercury PolyGram Format CD LP cassette digital download streaming 175 52 Mack Daddy Released October 28 1991 Label Emperor Ichiban Format CD cassette digital download streaming 89 denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory Singles edit Year Single Peak chart positions Album US 48 US R amp B Hip Hop 49 USDance 50 AUS 51 52 AUT 53 BE 54 CAN 55 56 GER 39 IRE 57 NL 58 NZ 59 SWI 60 UK 43 1983 Reality as Disco 3 Non album single 1984 Fat Boys Human Beat Box as Disco 3 65 Fat Boys Jailhouse 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 amp Beautiful In the House 51 1987 Falling in Love 16 Crushin Wipeout with the Beach Boys 12 10 42 65 17 12 30 3 13 2 2 1988 The Twist with Chubby 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 2017Filmography editFeature films edit 1985 Krush Groove October 25 1985 1986 Knights of the City February 14 1986 1987 Disorderlies August 14 1987 Documentary edit 2000 Where Are They Now The 80s II by VH 1 September 28 2000 2002 Breath Control The History of the Human Beat Box Tribeca Film Festival 2002 May 9 2002 2004 And You Don t Stop 30 Years of Hip Hop October 4 2004 2010 Unsung The Story of The Fat Boys by TV One October 18 2010 2010 Never Sleep Again The Elm Street Legacy DVD May 4 2010 2011 Beatboxing The Fifth Element of Hip Hop Atlanta Film Festival May 5 2011 Video compilations edit 1986 Brrr Watch Em MCA Home Video 1988 3 3 PolyGram Music Video Television Year Title Release Date 1984 TV commercial for Swatch wrist watches Brrr Swatch Em December 1984 1985 TV commercial for Swatch 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 teleshou 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 Sacree soiree 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 amp Chubby Checker 1988 Louie Louie 1988 Are You Ready For Freddy 1989 Lie Z References edit Steve Huey The Fat Boys AllMusic Retrieved 2019 12 05 a b c d e Hunt Dennis October 2 1987 Fat Boys More Here Than Rappin Los Angeles Times Retrieved March 25 2014 The 3 Films Of The Fat Boys KNIGHTS OF THE CITY 1986 KRUSH GROOVE 1985 DISORDERLIES 1987 by David Chisholm September 15 2015 cinapse co Retrieved 2019 03 03 a b How Disco 3 became The Fat Boys by ED PISKOR boingboing net Retrieved 2019 03 03 FAT BOYS CD AND LP BUNDLE 2012 cdn shopify com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Gonzales Michael A July 12 2012 When The Fat Boys Were Fly complex com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Disco 3 Reality discogs com Retrieved 2019 03 03 GangStarr Girl October 18 2010 The Fat Boys Kool Rock Talks TV One s Unsung Weightloss Fat Stereotypes vibe com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Joseph Ryan April 26 2016 An Oral History of the Fat Boys All You Can Eat Music Video firstwefeast com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Tompkins Dave July 11 2012 Why the Fat Boys still matter slate com Retrieved 2019 02 15 Considine J D November 29 1984 Hip Hop to Freshness washingtonpost com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Information Billboard April 20 1985 p 49 Retrieved 2019 03 03 via Google Books Piskor Ed Fresh Fest 84 boingboing net Retrieved 2019 03 03 NYC Fresh Fest commercial 1984 youtube com Archived from the original on 2021 12 13 Retrieved 2019 03 03 All American White Boy Steve Glavin Swatch World Breakdance youtube com Archived from the original on 2021 12 13 Retrieved 2019 03 03 THE FRESH FEST OF AFROFUTURISM chroniclesofharriet com Retrieved 2019 03 03 1984 Swatch The Fat Boys Commercial December 31 1984 youtube com Archived from the original on 2021 12 13 Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fats Boys for Swatch Director Alan Goodman fredalan org Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys Wipeout East coast rap and West coast surf rock battle it out in a memorable 1987 video by Bryan Thomas on July 2 2016 nightflight com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys Wipeout East coast rap and West coast surf rock battle it out in a memorable 1987 video by Bryan Thomas on July 2 2016 nightflight com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Fat Boys amp The Beach Boys Wipeout Billboard Chart History Hot 100 billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Fat Boys amp The Beach Boys Wipeout Billboard Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 FAT BOYS amp THE BEACH BOYS Official Singles Chart 22 August 1987 officialcharts com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Fat Boys Feat The Beach Boys Wipeout 1987 imdb com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys The Twist Billboard Chart History Hot 100 billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys The Twist Billboard Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 FAT BOYS WITH CHUBBY CHECKER Official Singles Chart 18 June 1988 officialcharts com Retrieved 2019 03 03 FAT BOYS LOUIE LOUIE Official Singles Chart 5 November 1988 officialcharts com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys on Last fm last fm Retrieved 2019 02 14 Darren Robinson Fat Boys Rapper 28 December 13 1995 The New York Times Retrieved 2019 03 03 OriginalFatBoys com Unsung The Fat Boys vimeo com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Strange times at the 2012 Gathering Of The Juggalos by Nathan Rabin August 14 2012 avclub com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys Chart History Billboard 200 billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys Chart History Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Das osterreichische Hitparaden und Musik Portal austriancharts at Retrieved 2021 10 04 Image RPM Weekly www bac lac gc ca 2013 07 17 Retrieved 2021 10 04 Image RPM Weekly www bac lac gc ca 2013 07 17 Retrieved 2021 10 04 a b Suche Offizielle Deutsche Charts www offiziellecharts de Retrieved 2021 10 04 Dutch Charts dutchcharts nl dutchcharts nl Retrieved 2021 10 04 charts org nz New Zealand charts portal charts nz Retrieved 2021 10 04 Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade hitparade ch swisscharts com Retrieved 2021 10 04 a b FAT BOYS full Official Chart History Official Charts Company www officialcharts com Retrieved 2021 10 04 Fat Boys Fat Boys on RIAA riaa com Retrieved 2019 02 15 Fat Boys The Fat Boys Are Back on RIAA riaa com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Fat Boys Crushin on RIAA riaa com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Fat Boys Coming Back Hard Again on RIAA riaa com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys Chart History Billboard Hot 100 billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 The Fat Boys Chart History Hot Dance Club Songs billboard com Retrieved 2019 03 03 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 110 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 australian charts com Australian charts portal australian charts com Retrieved 2021 10 04 Das osterreichische Hitparaden und Musik Portal austriancharts at Retrieved 2021 10 04 ultratop be ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS www ultratop be Retrieved 2021 10 04 Image RPM Weekly www bac lac gc ca 2013 07 17 Retrieved 2021 10 04 Image RPM Weekly www bac lac gc ca 2013 07 17 Retrieved 2021 10 04 The Irish Charts All there is to know irishcharts ie Retrieved 2021 10 04 Dutch Charts dutchcharts nl dutchcharts nl Retrieved 2021 10 04 charts org nz New Zealand charts portal charts nz Retrieved 2021 10 04 Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade hitparade ch swisscharts com Retrieved 2021 10 04 External links edit nbsp 1980s portal The Fat Boys discography at Discogs The Fat Boys at AllMusic nbsp The Fat Boys at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Fat Boys amp oldid 1221800698, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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