Prince Markie Dee of pioneering New York rap group The Fat Boys has reportedly passed away at just 52 years old. AllHipHop reported the news:

Born Mark Anthony Morales, Prince Markie Dee came to prominence as 1/3 of the Fat Boys, which was one of the first rap group’s to go pop. With humble Brooklyn roots, the group, comprised of Darren Robinson (The Human Beat Box), Damon Wimbley (Kool Rock Ski), and Morales, came up as understudies of Kurtis Blow and blew up with the likes of LL Cool J, Run DMC, Whodini and others. For example, The Fat Boys starred in a major motion picture in 1987 with “Disorderlies,” a comedy that had the rappers as a motley crew of medical assistants. Prior to that, they starred in “Krush Groove,” a pseudo biopic about the life of mogul Russell Simmons.

After The Fat Boys first broke up, Prince Markie Dee released two solo albums, 1992’s Free and 1995’s Love Daddy, and he went on to write and produce tracks for Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Craig Mack, Marc Anthony, and others.

Rest in peace, Prince Markie Dee.

Fat Boys’ Darren “Buff Love” Robinson died in 1995.