Cedric the Entertainer kicked off his hosting duties at the 73rd Emmy Awards with a tribute to the late Biz Markie. Taking place in front of a limited audience last night (Sept. 19) at the Event Deck at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, the comedian performed a parody of Markie’s 1989 hit, “Just A Friend,” which was reworked to focus on TV programming.
Cedric sang the song’s revamped chorus, “Oh TV, you, you got what I need,” while LL Cool J, Lil Dicky and actress Rita Wilson joined him for the verses. Audience members and award nominees like Tracee Ellis-Ross, Anthony Anderson and Billy Porter also joined in on the song.
The Emmys tribute is just the latest effort to remember the hip hop icon. Last week, Markie’s hometown of Patchogue, New York announced it would rename a city street after him. As reported by REVOLT, a ceremony to change South Street to Biz Markie Way will honor “the contributions Biz has achieved as an actor, beatboxer, DJ and philanthropist.” The ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 25.
Markie tragically passed away in July at 57 years old after suffering complications from diabetes. At the time, LL Cool J, Q-Tip, the Obamas and more reflected on his legacy and sent their condolences to his widow Tara Hall.
Elsewhere during last night’s Emmys, Cedric also cracked jokes about the COVID-19 vaccine and poked fun at Nicki Minaj’s recent controversy.
“We had to get vaxed to come here,” he told the crowd. “I did not have a reaction like Nicki Minaj’s cousin… I got Pfizer, that’s the Neiman Marcus of vaccines. Moderna is Macy’s and Johnson & Johnson is TJ Maxx.”
As reported by REVOLT, Nicki recently claimed on Twitter that her cousin’s friend in Trinidad suffered impotency after receiving the vaccine. The Minister of Health for Trinidad & Tobago later refuted the claim. See the Emmys tribute to Biz Markie below.