Fact check: Biz Markie is alive but under medical care, manager says

Chiara Vercellone, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Rapper Biz Markie is dead

False claims about famous recording artists dying are not uncommon: It happened to Eminem in 2000, Kanye West in 2009 and Daddy Yankee in 2011.

Biz Markie has become the most recent addition to the group.

"Biz Markie has passed away," reads the text above an image of the rapper posted to Instagram.

The image has received over 53,000 likes since it was posted July 1. It's one of many posts making this claim across social media.

But the rumor is unfounded: The hip hop legend, whose real name is Marcel Theo Hall, is still alive.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the image for comment.

Hall alive, manager confirms

Despite health concerns over the last few years, Hall is alive, his spokesperson told USA TODAY.

"The news of Biz Markie's passing is not true," manager Jenni Izumi told USA TODAY in an email statement. "Biz is still under medical care, surrounded by professionals who are working hard to provide the best healthcare possible."

Izumi didn't say why Hall is under medical care.

Hall, 57, has dealt with health issues for years, including Type 2 diabetes since 2011.

In 2014, he told ABC about the health risks diabetes posed for him. At the time, he said he had lost 140 pounds to keep the illness from worsening.

In 2020, Hall was hospitalized in Maryland due to "non-COVID complications suffered from a history of Type II Diabetes," Izumi told WUSA 9 at the time.

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Other singers have also spoken about Hall's conditions, contradicting reports about his death.

Rapper Big Daddy Kane, who collaborated with Hall in 2018, posted a video on Instagram July 1.

"For all those concerned, Biz Markie is still alive," he said in the video. "He has some serious health issues, but he is still alive."

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Hall is best known for his song "Just A Friend," which was released in 1989 as part of his second album, "The Biz Never Sleeps."

Our rating: False

We rate the claim that Biz Markie is dead FALSE, based on our research. The rapper's manager confirmed to USA TODAY that he's still alive and under medical care for an undisclosed illness.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Hip hop legend Biz Markie is still alive, manager confirms