THE FAT BOYS HOUR

Buff Love, the Human Beatbox, was a pioneer in beatboxing (using his mouth to portray the typical hip hop percussion "scratch 'n mix" sounds). Buff Love and another contemporary Doug E. Fresh popularized beatboxing, inspiring other artists to innovate, including Biz Markie and later, others such as Rahzel. Attempting to capitalize on the appearance-oriented name of the Fat Boys, another hip hop group dubbed themselves The Skinny Boys, and yet another The Fat Girls. Their popularity was mild in comparison, however. Their 1985 self-titled debut "The Fat Boys," is considered by many and most to be an early rap classic, with artists like Boogie Down Productions and Redman, among others, making references to the album. For their 1987 album, Crushin', the Fat Boys made a cover version of The Surfaris' hit, "Wipe Out", with The Beach Boys singing back-up vocals. The single made it to #12 on the Billboard chart, and #10 on the corresponding R&B listing. The Fat Boys also recorded a version of "The Twist" with Chubby Checker who covered it in 1960. Matthews soon left the group over a dispute involving some BBQ chicken and a pitcher of lemonade.