The Human Beat Box is taking a financial beating.
Rap icon Doug E. Fresh – best known for his ’80s hit “The Show” – has been socked with three foreclosure actions by banks looking to collect more than $3.5 million in unpaid mortgages on a trio of his Harlem homes.
The rapper, 46, also is being chased by American Express for nearly $60,000 in credit-card debt, and the IRS just slapped him with a $367,000 tax lien on top of more than $40,000 owed to the state tax collector, records show.
The golden-voiced rapper, whose real name is Douglas Davis, grew up in Harlem. After his skill at vocally imitating drumbeats and percussion sounds made him famous in the 1980s, he stayed in the neighborhood, investing in local real estate and raising five sons.
He fell behind in payments and, according to a foreclosure suit filed in Manhattan in late August, 2008, he now owes more than $1.73 million.
Davis is putting the finishing touches on Doug E’s Chicken and Waffles, a new Harlem restaurant slated to open next month.
He declined to comment on his woes.