The Fat Boys

The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys on their debut album. (From left to right: Buffy, the Human Beat Box, Kool Rock-Ski, and Prince Markie Dee)
Background information
Also known as	Disco 3
Origin	Brooklyn, NY, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip-hop
Years active	1982–1991
Label(s)	Sutra WEA Tin Pan Apple/Polydor
Members
Prince Markie Dee Human Beat Box Kool Rock-Ski

The Fat Boys were an American hip-hop music trio from Brooklyn, New York City who emerged in the early 1980s.

Member details

• Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales
• Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley (born November 4, 1966)
• Darren "Buffy, the Human Beat Box" Robinson (b. June 10, 1967–d. December 10, 1995)

History

Originally the group was known as The Disco Three. However, the name was changed after their manager, Charles Stettler, complained about how much the trio ate during an early European tour. Charles Stettler and Art Kass were listed as the executive record producers on the 1984 Fat Boys album.

Unlike many of the streetwise images of the genre, the Fat Boys were known for their offbeat and friendly style. Much of their material involved the pleasures of food and drink, as well as partying and romancing women. Buffy, the Human Beatbox, was a pioneer in beatboxing (using his mouth to portray the typical hip hop percussion "scratch 'n mix" sounds). His distinctive talent was influential to the genre as well as a noticeable hook to get the Fat Boys noticed. Buffy and another contemporary Doug E. Fresh popularized beatboxing, inspiring other artists to innovate, including Biz Markie and later, others such as Rahzel. Attempting to capitalize on the appearance-oriented name of the Fat Boys, another hip hop group dubbed themselves 'The Skinny Boys', and yet another 'The Fat Girls'. Their popularity was mild in comparison, however.

For their 1987 album, Crushin', the Fat Boys made a cover version of The Surfaris' hit, "Wipe Out", with The Beach Boys singing back-up vocals. The single made it to #12 on the Billboard chart, and #10 on the corresponding R&B listing. The Fat Boys also recorded a version of "The Twist" with the original recording artist, Chubby Checker.

Capitalizing on their good humored personalities, the trio starred in the 1985 Run DMC film Krush Groove and in the Hollywood feature film Disorderlies (1987), which also featured Ralph Bellamy as a millionaire invalid who receives bumbling care by his good-natured orderlies (played by the Fat Boys). They were later approached to record the theme song for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), called "Are You Ready for Freddy featuring Robert Englund performing as Freddy Krueger".

The group's popularity waned by the '90s, and Prince Markie Dee left the group to pursue solo interests. In 1991, the remaining two members (Kool Rock Ski & Buffy, The Human Beat Box) carried on as a duo and released Mack Daddy (1991), but shortly thereafter disbanded for good. Regardless, the Fat Boys are fondly regarded as a seminal part of early rap music recording history. Although there was talk of a Fat Boys reunion, nothing materialised. By December 10, 1995, it became an impossibility when Buffy the Human Beat Box died of a heart attack in Rosedale, Queens, New York. He was 28 years old and reportedly weighed 450 lbs. Prince Markie Dee is currently a radio host for WMIB 103.5 FM 'The Beat' in Miami, Florida on its morning drive-time show.

The catalog of recordings by the Fat Boys is currently hard to find. A compilation was produced by Rhino Records in 1997, but it is out of print. Since then, the group's catalog has morphed even further since the release of the compilation: in the late 1990s, BMG Special Products (now Sony/BMG Special Products) purchased the Buddah/Kama Sutra Recordings catalog to which the Fat Boys' first three LPs belong. During the same period, Universal Recordings purchased Polygram Entertainment, owner of the masters of the three albums recorded for Tin Pan Apple/Mercury. Rhino Recordings, a subsidiary of Warner Music, apparently allowed this compilation to go out of print some years ago. Any new compilation will have to license the songs from two distinct recording catalogs - Sony/BMG and Universal - never an easy task. Currently, the first three albums from the group have seen limited re-release on CD in Europe.

Discography

Singles as one-time appearances

• 1985 - "Chillin With The Refrigerator" - (Sutra)
• 1985 - "Force M.D.s Meet the Fat Boys" on the Force M.D.s' album Chillin’ (Tommy Boy)
• 1985 - "All You Can Eat" - Krush Groove Original Soundtrack - (Warner Bros.)
• 1985 - "Krush Groovin'" (as part of the Krush Groove All Stars) - Krush Groove Original Soundtrack - (Warner Bros.); reached #87 on the US R&B chart
• 1985 - "Sun City" - Artists United Against Apartheid - (Manhattan)
• 1986 - "King Holiday" - (as part of The King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew) - (Mercury)
• 1987 - "Baby You're a Rich Man" - Disorderlies Soundtrack - (Tin Pan Apple/Polygram)

Filmography

• 1985 - Knights of the City, a.k.a. Cry Of The City (New World)
• 1985 - Krush Groove (Warner Brothers)
• 1985 - TV Commercial for SWATCH wrist watches (a.k.a. "Swiss-Watch"). This TV commercial has the trio rapping about this product in which they cleverly start off on cue with: "Brrr - Swatch'em..." (identically based on the beat and tune of their own 1984 hit, "Stick'em")
• 1986 - Miami Vice TV show, episode "Florence Italy"
• 1986 - Fat Boys On Video: Brrr Watch ‘Em! (MCA Home Video)
• 1987 - Disorderlies (Warner Brothers)
• 1987 - Square One music video "Burger Pattern"
• 1988 - Square One music video "One Billion"
• 1988 - 3 X 3 (Tin Pan Alley/Polygram Music Video)
• 1989 - Square One music video "Working Backwards" (1989)
• Unknown - Episode of T and T with Mr. T

External links

• Disorderlies at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Fat Boys — A Large Body of Work" by Jake Austen (From Roctober #32, 2002)

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