Id be like, Yo, whats up [with him]?
Shed say, Oh, hes just a friend.
So instead of me fighting, I put the pain into the pen and wrote it out.
Biz Markie in 1988.Credit: David Corio/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
I wasnt putting them both together, but he played the Freddie Scott.
So I gave him $200 for the 45s, even though the 45s were only worth a dollar.
And when me and him played the [melody] one time, it was over.
Warner Bros. Records
I just did the record because I did the record.
I just wanted to make a story rap record, not to go pop or anything.
Did you automatically consider it as a single?I knew it was gonna be a single.
But its not like Im looking for that record first or last.
Im just doing the record.
Was it tough to get them to play the song?Yeah.
But the thing is, it didnt go pop its just that pop picked it up.
I just came off of Vapors, a big hit.
I just went both directions this time.
What were your feelings when it blew up?
They would say, Biz is trying to sing?
Aw, the record is wack.
But I wasnt supposed to sing the [chorus].
When did you shoot the music video with Lionel C. Martin?We did the video that fall.
We did the video right before Labor Day.
That was my idea.
I helped write the storybook with him.
Because the record was supposed to be serious and it came out funny.
The song was supposed to be serious, or the video?Just the song itself.
I didnt do it to be funny.
Was that frustrating that people assumed the song was funny?Naw, there wasnt no frustration.
I was just happy.
People look at me as the clown prince of rap anyway.
And a lot of people tried to do it over.
But, you know, theres nothing like the original.
Pepsi and everybody used it.
How did its success change your career?It never changed nothing because I still do everything the same.
It never changed nothin.
Youve had a long career full of hits.
I know what I did in hip-hop.
And its like a brand-new record every time.
It keeps you on your toes and it keeps the youth in you.
Did Just a Friend help you get over your heartbreak?Yes.
Its always therapeutic to talk about heartbreak whether its a conversation with a friend, or through music.
