"Just a Friend" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Biz Markie | ||||
from the album The Biz Never Sleeps | ||||
Released | September 26, 1989 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:06 | |||
Label | Cold Chillin' | |||
Songwriter(s) | Marcel Hall [3] [4] | |||
Producer(s) | Marcel Hall [4] | |||
Biz Markie singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Just a Friend" on YouTube |
"Just a Friend" is a song written, [3] [4] produced [4] and performed by American hip hop artist Biz Markie. It was released in September 1989 as the lead single from his album The Biz Never Sleeps . It is Markie's most successful single, reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990. [5]
The song interpolates the 1968 song "(You) Got What I Need" recorded by Freddie Scott, whose basic chord and melody provided the base for the song's chorus. Markie's lyrics [6] describe romantic frustration after pursuing a woman who is actually romantically involved with another man who she falsely claims is "just a friend." Due to the widespread popularity of the song along with its acclaim and its influence on pop culture (and Markie's failure to have another charting Hot 100 song), Biz was classified by VH1 as a one-hit wonder, and "Just a Friend" was ranked 81st on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders in 2000, and later as number 100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop in 2008. [7] Karma, a staff record producer for Cold Chillin' Records, told Vibe magazine in 2005 that he produced the single, but never received credit. [8] The single was certified platinum on April 12, 1990. [9] In 2021, it was ranked at No. 480 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time". [10]
The music video, directed by Lionel C. Martin, acts out the lyrics humorously and includes a scene of Biz Markie singing the chorus dressed as Mozart in 18th-century clothing with a powdered wig in a candlelit room while playing the piano. [11] [12] [13]
In November 2010, actor Jeff Goldblum performed the song in a duet with Markie on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon . The duet was highly requested by fans of the show and was set up by Fallon and the Roots. [14] In June 2023, his widow Tara Hall, [15] announced the Just a Friend Foundation [16] and confirmed a documentary about Biz Markie’s life, All Up in the Biz, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. [17]
Charts (1989–1990) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles (RPM) [18] | 66 |
UK Singles (OCC) [19] | 55 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [5] | 9 |
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks ( Billboard ) [5] | 37 |
U.S. Hot Rap Singles (Billboard) [5] | 5 |
Chart (1990) [20] | Position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 94 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [9] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Marcel Theo Hall, known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper and singer. Markie's 1989 single "Just a Friend", became a Top 40 hit in several countries and was named No. 100 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time in 2008. Markie was sometimes referred to as the "Clown Prince of Hip Hop".
"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right " is a song by American hip hop/rap rock group the Beastie Boys, released as the fourth single from their debut album Licensed to Ill (1986). One of their best-known songs, it reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of March 7, 1987, and was later named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The song was also included on their compilation albums The Sounds of Science in 1999, Solid Gold Hits in 2005 and Beastie Boys Music in 2020.
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"Just a Friend 2002" is a song by American R&B singer Mario, written by Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Harold Lilly, John Smith, and Biz Markie. It is a loose cover of Markie's hit "Just a Friend" and was the first single released from Mario's self-titled debut album. Mario's version is different, as the story is changed from a man who discovers his girlfriend has been cheating on him to a story about unrequited love. Produced by Campbell, the song was released in April 2002 and peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 2002.
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