Watch Lil Dicky, LL Cool J and more pay tribute to Biz Markie at the Emmys

A tribute to late rapper Biz Markie opened the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, performed by Lil Dicky, LL Cool J, Cedric The Entertainer and more.

Cedric The Entertainer, the host of the ceremony at the Event Deck at L.A. Live, opened the show by rapping the opening lines from Markie’s hit ‘Just A Friend’, before LL Cool J ran through the audience with lines referencing vaccines, quarantine and The Queen’s Gambit.

The camera then cut to members of the audience performing the track’s chorus, including Mandy Moore and Tracee Ellis Ross. Lil Dicky then emerges to perform a reworked second verse, referencing various television shows like Ted Lasso, I May Destroy You and more.

Rita Wilson takes the mic and flexes her surprising rap skills, before other audience members like Billy Porter, Mj Rodriquez and more continue to sing the song’s chorus. Wilson, Dicky, LL Cool J and Cedric The Entertainer then finish the performance on stage together.

Watch the full performance below:

Biz Markie passed away in July at age 57, with rumours of his passing circulating as early as July 1. A memorial was held in early August at New York’s Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts which LL Cool J attended, along with Busta Rhymes, Ice-T and more.

Guns N’ Roses paid tribute to Markie shortly after the memorial service, with frontman Axl Rose encouraging fans at a New Jersey concert to join him for a piano sing-a-long of ‘Just A Friend’.