The East Side had Tone Loc two weekends ago, and this weekend Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward welcomes another hip-hop pioneer, Biz Markie.
You know him and love him for his late '80s hit "Just a Friend." True fans probably know "The Vapors" and "Make the Music (with your mouth)" too, Mr. Markie, if you will, was the first rap artist to be sued for sample clearance in 1988.
Biz will appear Friday at Moct, 240 E. Pittsburgh, to DJ and host a night of old school and contemporary party tunes. We also hear the he'll stop by Moda3, 320 E. Buffalo, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Born Marcel Hall, Biz Markie stepped onto the scene in 1985, at age fourteen as the beat box backup for Roxanne Shante of the Juice Crew. He then adopted his alias Biz, a name his mother used to call him because he was a busy body, and Markie, short for Marcel, his neighborhood nickname.
Markie, also in town to take part in the "50 Million Pound Challenge" on Saturday at Washington Park, will be joined by rapper Slick Rick, R&B singer Angie Stone, 112, Shirley Murdock and others. This weight loss initiative and 14 city tour, developed by Dr. Ian Smith, begins at noon.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
