What Was Biz Markie's Net Worth When He Died?
2021 is shaping up to be a distressing year for rap fans. The hits came right out of the gate, with news of the tragic death of MF Doom just before New Year's Day (even though he actually died on Halloween). Then we got news of Dr. Dre's brain aneurism a few days later. Luckily, the doc survived that situation, but other legends wouldn't pull through the way he did. We lost DMX to a cocaine-induced heart attack in April, and now in July we have lost another one. On July 16, we got news of the heartbreaking death of Biz Markie, the man responsible for everyone's favorite late-'80s rap hit "Just a Friend."
Although he was a one-hit wonder, the one hit he did have was enough to endear him into the hearts and ears of '90s kids everywhere. So now people are wondering just how well that one song paid off for Markie. Let's take a look into his finances at the end of his life and see.
Biz Markie wasn't stupid rich, but he wasn't broke, either
The nice thing about being a one-hit wonder is that if the hit gets played like "Just a Friend" did, it's gonna keep earning money for years. That's the case with Biz Markie. Although he had been largely forgotten by everyone in society except drunk college kids who "love this f****** song," he still did pretty well for himself in the years after its release.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Biz Markie was worth around $1 million when he died. So no, he wasn't living as large as other rappers who gained fame and fortune, but he obviously wasn't hurting for cash, either. That amount may have been higher, had Markie not been wrapped up in a copyright lawsuit that resulted in his third album — the one after that of "Just a Friend" — being pulled from the shelves. Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan sued Markie for allegedly sampling a song of his, and the courts side with the Irishman. You still had never heard of O'Sullivan until now, but at least he was able to ruin another musician's chance at continued success with his lawsuit. Thanks, mate.