Prince Markie Dee

Mark Morales, widely recognized by his stage name Prince Markie Dee as one member of the hip-hop trio the Fat Boys, launched a solo career in the 1990s that produced exactly two albums. His first effort, the 1992 release Free issued under the billing Prince Markie Dee & the Soul Convention, blended R&B and rap while balancing serious themes with humorous ones; although far from cohesive throughout, the track “Typical Reasons (Swing My Way)” reached the top of Billboard’s rap chart and “Trippin’ Out” climbed to number ten. The second album, Love Daddy, did not appear until 1995. That lengthy interval between projects hurt its performance, and the set climbed no higher than number 91 on the R&B/hip-hop albums chart. Throughout the same span Morales refined his abilities behind the boards, accumulating an extensive list of production credits from the 1990s into the early 2000s that included work for Mary J. Blige, Craig Mack, Shabba Ranks, Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, and Lisa Stansfield. On February 18, 2021, Prince Markie Dee passed away one day before turning 53.