DJ Mark The 45 King Dies: Producer Of Jay-Z’s ‘Hard Knock Life’ & Eminem’s ‘Stan’ Was 62

Bruce Haring
·2-min read

Mark Howard James, the producer known as “DJ Mark The 45 King” who worked with such rap hitmakers as Queen Latifah, Jay-Z and Eminem among many others, has died at 62.

His manager confirmed the death, but provided no further details.

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Born in the Bronx, N.Y., James started producing in the mid-1980s as hip-hop became a cultural force He produced Queen Latifah’s debut album All Hail the Queen in the late ’80s, then was behind the board for such rap classics such as Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) and Stan by Eminem .

He earned his professional name by culling bits from obscure 45 singles His breakout track, The 900 Number, was released in 1987, and featured a prominent saxophone snippet from Marva Whitney’s 1968 song, Unwind Yourself. The song has been sampled and remixed by artists including DJ Kool, Public Enemy, Breakestra, and Ced Gee.

James was part of the New York hip-hop crew the Flavor Unit, which included artists like Apache, Lakim Shabazz, Chill Rob G, and Queen Latifah.

James went on to produce cuts by Latifah, Gang Starr, Salt-N-Pepa, Eric B. & Rakim, Digital Underground, Madonna, C&C Music Factory, and many others.

Artists have paid tribute to James on social media, including Eminem, who wrote, “Legends are never over. #RIP Mark Howard James aka the 45 King … I’m 4ever grateful!!!”

Jay-Z added: “Thank you Mark. Your instrumentals, namely ‘The 900 Number,’ were more memorable than our whole albums. You gave me a canvas to have a conversation with the world!! You changed my life. Even when the life is short, the art is long!!”

No information on survivors or memorial plans was immediately available.

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