Darren Robinson, a 450-pound rapper dubbed the Human Beat Box for his percussive belches and grunts, died suddenly while singing for friends at his home. He was 28.
Robinson, a former member of the Fat Boys whose first album went gold, collapsed and died early Sunday, the Daily News reported Monday.Robinson had been fighting the flu, said his brother, Curt Robinson.
"He was doing one of his songs, and at the end of the session he got off the couch and was climbing on a studio chair when he fell and lost his wind," his brother told the newspaper. "I tried to give him mouth to mouth, but he just couldn't make it."
Paramedics called to Darren Robinson's home at 3 a.m. were unable to revive the rapper.
Robinson, Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales and Damon "Kool Rockski" Wimbley - total weight topping 800 pounds - were called Disco 3 when they won a rap contest in Brooklyn in 1984.
That led to a record deal and a European tour during which they racked up hotel room-service bills that were so high their angry promoter started to call them "fat boys."