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Mr. Magic is a legendary hip hop icon. In the seventies and eighties, he could be found in the Disco Fever as part of what is now referred to as the original Juice Crew (i.e. Kurtis Blow, Fly Ty, Sweet G, Super Sal, Gigollette, Lovebug Starski, Fearless Four...) In 1979 he debuted on the radio as it's first Hip Hop disc jock, bringing a fresh and new musical style to the airwaves. What began as a pay-to-play broadcast on WHBI 105.9, "The Mr. Magic Disco Showcase," and later, "Mr. Magic's Rap Attack," would go on to become the top rated show on 'The Class of New York Radio', 107.5 WBLS.
Through numerous trials and tribulations, Magic's # 1 show remained on the air until 1989. During the show's run, he faced the adversity of countless nay-sayers who did not believe in the hip hop culture, including some of his company superiors. With his back to DJ Marley Marl (as well as DJ Chilly Q on some occasions), the team brought countless world premieres and exclusives the radio.
The spontaneity of the show was many times what made it most interesting, from artists being broken and careers being started, to records LITERALLY being broken if they weren't initially considered dope. Also during the show's run, the Juice Crew as we know it was formed (i.e. Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Glamorous, Marley Marl, Magic, Fly Ty, Craig G, Master Ace, etc...), and the infamous Bridge Wars went down. This legendary Hip Hop rivalry, in a nut shell, had DJ Red Alert (of 98.7 KISS fame) and Boogie Down Productions on one end of the spectrum, with Magic and the Juice Crew on the other end. MC Mitchski, Butchy B, Cool C, Poet, and others also got their two cents in, but as Magic will reassure you, "Beef is nothing personal, at the end of the day people need to know to take the gloves off."
Since the show's succesful run, Magic has had other shows on New York's Hot 97, and has also appeared in the 2002 Playstation 2 game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, as the radio host of Wild Style. To those of you who have been wondering, Magic has been doing just fine, keeping the Cold Chillin' name alive with his partner, Tyrone "Fly Ty" Williams. Years later, the famous last words stay true, "Remember to be yourself, or you might find yourself by yourself, and that is definitely no fun. Just ask..."
