Biz Markie

Despite having gone a decade without releasing a record, the name Biz Markie still denotes fun and funky. Known and revered for his humorous personality and rhymes, beatboxing abilities and more recently his DJing excursions and having a dance named after him, the former Juice Crew member keeps it very simple and surprisingly holds his own dropping his sloppily delivered rhymes on standouts like the J-Zone crafted "Chinese Food” and other tracks sporting beats that could have been crafted back in ’88. In fact, the Biz unashamedly revisits his past throughout as if in a time warp. When he does branch outside of his comfort zone, the results are mixed. The ill-fitting duet with dancehall’s Elephant Man cages his infectiousness, yet "Games” with its J-Dilla influenced feel comfortably accommodates his goofy persona. Even with the presence of P-Diddy and a few syrupy choruses and a loss in momentum towards the end, it’s hard to get mad at what he gets away with, confirming that the old adage nobody beats the Biz still applies.