Awesome Fat Guy of the Week.

I've been fat all my life. Which means that before I grew into being a Fat Guy I was Fat Boy. In fact my mother was once approached by a man who wanted to put me into a Fat Boys music video. She declined due to my shy nature. A missed opportunity. Thanks to that I've always remember the trio of rappers. So today I am focusing my post on the Fat Boys. The question is are they Awesome Fat Guys? Let's find out.

We are off to a bad start.

The Fat Boys were made up of Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, and the deceased Darren "Buff Love"/"The Human Beat Box" Robinson. Manager Charlie Stettler led the group to their first shot of fame. In 1983 he brokered a deal that had the Fat Boys doing a commercial for Swatch that would air on MTV. This led to the Fat Boys growing in popularity. A Christmas commercial in 1985 was just icing on the cake.

So much 80s.

The Fat Boys debuted their first album in 1984 with the self titled "The Fat Boys". The album is considered by some to be an early Hip Hop classic. It was followed by Crushin' in 1987 which reached #12 on the Billboard charts and #10 on the R&B charts.

With their ever growing success the Fat Boys found themselves on the big screen. First in the Run-D.M.C. film Krush Groove and then in their own film Disorderlies. They followed that up by performing the theme song for A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. The song even featured Robert Englund as Freddy.

The trio's popularity continued into the 1990s. Their future was thrown into question when Prince Markie Dee left the group. This Left Kool Rock-Ski and Buff Love as a duo. The two stayed together for a short while but eventually breaking up. The end of the Fat Boys was lamented by many including Jay-Z.

This picture is FUCKING GLORIOUS.

The Fat Boy were together for less than a decade but did some amazing things in that short time. They endeared themselves to the general public with their Good Guy demeanors and became beloved by the Hip Hop community thanks to their pure skill and talent. It takes someone special to go main stream but still be loved by the "hard core" set.  After Buff Loves's death in 1995 it seemed like the Fat Boys would never return. That has since been thrown into doubt. Prince Markie Dee and Kool Rock-Ski stated that the band is back together and is searching for a new member to round out the trio.

Even more 80s. I can't take it. I need a Swatch stat.

So far the place of Buff Love has been taken by Doug E. Fresh who came up with Buff Love. There is no word as to whether he will be a permanent member of the group. Although, if he is, that would mean that the Fat Boys will be made up of people who are no longer fat. Funny that.

The Fat Boys were instrumental in making Hip Hop mainstream. They were safe to like and good at what they did. While I do dislike that they constantly pushed the "Fat Guy means Hog" stereotype I can't deny their likability. Even after the band's demise Kool Rock-Ski and Prince Markie Dee continued to be successful.

Prince Markie Dee had a successful solo career but really shone on the production end. He started a production company called Soul Convention.  During this period he wrote and produced tracks for artists like Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, and Marc Anthony. Recently he has begun to work as a radio host. First for WMIB and  now for WEDR.

Kool Rock-Ski never stopped performing. He has collaborated with the likes of Jay-Z and T-Pain. From the above picture you can see that he has spent quite some time getting healthy. Good for him.

As I mentioned above Buff Love passed away in 1995. He was 450 pounds at the time. His brother has stated that he was battling the flu at the time.

All in all I can safely say that the Fat Boys were and are Awesome Fat Guys. I wasn't sure if they had what it takes to be considered Awesome, but looking at their accomplishments I can wholeheartedly say that the Fat Boys are the Awesome Fat Guys of the Week.

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