He’s “Just a Friend”, made “Music with his mouth” and told the world about the “Vapors” epidemic, but now he’s over 14o pounds lighter.
After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes three years ago, legendary rapper and DJ Biz Markie knew he had to drop some pounds along with his beats. Through diet, exercise and cutting back on sugar, the beatboxing funnyman and hip-hop icon went from 385 to 244 pounds and hopes to lose 30 more.
“I walk. I do the treadmill, I walk around the mall,” Biz, 49, told the Daily News. “I do a little crunches with my stomach, not that much. Just enough to get the engine going cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha! Vroooommmmm.”
Another big step: Swapping his sugary soda habit for the no-calorie drink Zevia, made with stevia. It comes in a range of flavors like Cola, Ginger Ale and Biz’s favorite, Black Cherry.
“Instead of me drinking a soda that’s got 70 sugars in it, it has no sugar and it’s sweeter. It’s like God said, ‘Yo, we need you on earth a little longer!'” Biz said. “I take it on the road, I take it everywhere. I would have a Zevia IV if I could.”
Biz has even taught a few cooking classes through Living Social in nearby D.C. “Chicken stir fry, chicken pad Thai with peanut butter sauce. Sugar-free lemon cupcakes. I make anything you want,” he said and gives credit to his parents for teaching him how to cook.
I’ve been cooking most of my life. After you make records, you don’t cook that much unless you want that taste.”
Biz lost 40 pounds when he won VH1’s first “Celebrity Fit Club” in 2005, “but after I got off the show, I blew back up,” he admits. “Will Smith, Magic Johnson and a couple other of my friends bet me that I couldn’t lose the weight (again). I guess they love me, ’cause they want me to stay around.
“I won the bet, but the stipulation is to keep it off.”
For his 50th birthday on April 8th, getting slimmer helps him be an inspiration to his friends.
“They be seein’ me, I lost the weight, and I didn’t have to use lap band surgery or whatever,” Biz said. “They see that I did it, and they know I was the greedy, greasy person. So if I can do it, anyone can do it.”
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