Mr. Magic 1956 – 2009
Written by DJ Special Blend from Chicago on October 5, 2009
Legendary New York Hip-Hop personality Mr. Magic recently past away.
Magic, born John Rivas, was the first on air disc jockey to have a hip-hop show on a major radio station. “Rap Attack,” on WBLS-FM, debuted in 1983 and along with helping to introduce hip-hop music to the mainstream, it is credited as the birthplace of the Juice Crew. Group leader, Marley Marl was featured on Magic’s show as the DJ and Tyron “Fly Ty” Williams was the producer (XXLmag)
Mr. Magic (John Rivas) was a very important figure in the history of Hip-Hop.
He paved the way for all radio stations that ever did mixshows and also sparked the career of Boogie Down Productions due to the ids he showed when they came to shop their demo to him and was turned away which then sparked “South Bronx” and “The Bridge Is Over”. He was known for his direct and sarcastic attitude on the air and every artist wanted his approval when it came to breaking new records. He even had songs dedicated to him by the legendary Whodini (”Mr. Magic’s Wand”) which was surprisingly produced by one of my favorite artists, Thomas Dolby (DJ Premier).
