Before there was Heavy D, Chubb Rock or The Notorious B.I.G., there were the Fat Boys: Prince Markie Dee, Kool Rock-Ski and Buff Love, a.k.a. The Human Beat Box. You might remember the Fat Boys as a gimmick group, and there’s a little truth to that. At the height of its career, toward the late 1980s, it cranked out a string of singles that basically remade or covered old rock ‘n’ roll hits, including “Louie, Louie,” “The Twist” — and, of course, a chart-topping collaboration with The Beach Boys in “Wipeout.” However, just a few years earlier, the Boys were hip-hop’s most potent trio this side of Run-DMC.

via Fat Boys: A Hip-Hop Novelty Act Strikes Back : NPR

Photo: Ebet Roberts/Redferns