New York, NY (October 19, 2023)—Mark Howard James, better known as pioneering hip-hop producer DJ Mark The 45 King, has reportedly died of undisclosed causes. Fellow hip-hop producer DJ Premier of Gang Starr announced James’ passing on Instagram this morning, noting the producer just turned 62 on Monday.
Across his lengthy career, James produced Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem) and ” Eminem’s “Stan,” as well as Queen Latifah’s breakthrough All Hail The Queen album; handled high-profile remixes for Madonna’s “Keep It Together” and Lisa Stansfield’s “All Around The World;” and worked with a who’s who of Nineties hip-hop and rap, including Eric B. & Rakim, Salt & Pepa, C&C Music Factory, Peanut Butter Wolf, Digital Underground, Craig Mack and many others.
James got his stage name The 45 King from the endless amount of often obscure 7-inch records that he used to sample and built beats, and first gained notoriety with his 1988 single “The 900 Number,” a breakbeat record released on Tuff City that in turn has been sampled dozens of times, including on tracks by Public Enemy, Breakestra, Vanilla Ice, The Prodigy, Funkmaster Flex and more. As a key part of the Flavor Unit collective, he did production work for many of its artists as they signed with Tommy Boy; meanwhile he also continued to produce breakbeat compilation series such as Breakapalooza and The Lost Breakbeats.
Inside Producer Carter Lang’s Eclectic, Creative Enclave
As news of his passing spread online, recollections quickly poured out from those who knew him in the hip-hop community. Eminem tweeted, “Legends are never over. #RIP Mark Howard James aka The 45 King … I’m 4ever grateful!!!” Meanwhile, DJ Pooh tweeted “This man opened his super dope NY-styled home studio and showed love to a West Coast dude when it wasn’t that common. Always solid.”
Elsewhere, Young Guru shared on Instagram, “RIP to DJ Mark “The 45 King” @thereal45king. This man was the first producer that I followed and would buy an album just because his name was on it. He was monumental as a producer. Flavor Unit and New Jersey HipHop would not be the same without him. Beyond just production, he was impeccable as a DJ. His timing with 45’s was so clean and unmatched…. What a legend!! Rest well my idol!!!”
