Fat Boys

They weren't just a novlty act like the profile says. Early Fat Boys/Disco 3 were a very respected and important Hip Hop act. If you only know them for Wipeout forget that and go and dig the early stuff. Essential

R.I.P. Prince Markie Dee and Buff. You cats were one of the best to have ever done it.

I was in elementary school when the old-school hip-hop movement started up. I lived off of MTV and was something of a social pariah. I fell into hip-hop pretty hard. I saw Breakin' in the theaters, and owned a copy of the VHS of Beat Street. The local YMCA hosted dancing classes that I loved more than anything!

The Fat Boys had seemed to be something of a novelty, a joke of a rap act. But listening back to those old albums, some of those rhymes - as well as the ubiquitous Human Beat Box (R.I.P.) - were pretty tight. They were able to use levity and a bit of ego to make their size a positive. I remember every time I would stumble onto a Fat Boys music video, I was able to be entertained for a few minutes. I was one of the few who loved "Disorderlies" on my block.

It was when they started doing cover versions of older songs that they seemed to truly lose their way. The Freddy Kreuger track was well-crafted, giving DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's "Nightmare On My Street" a run for its money, in my opinion.

The trio just never seemed the same after that. Of course, Darren Robinson (Human Beat Box) passed away, which made it seem harder for a reunion to even happen. They'll always live on as a vestige of my childhood, a symbol of a more innocent time when rap could be more light-hearted and humorous than it's perceived now.