R.I.P Ecstasy From Whodini
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- Start date
this should be a moment where ALL of HIP HOP unites reflects and appreciates not only Ecstasy and Whodini
but his GENERATION of Hip Hop as a whole and the foundation it BUILT for modern music
and also the family tree...
Kangol kid used to dance back up and then of course lead to Doctor Ice and UTFO ...
but his GENERATION of Hip Hop as a whole and the foundation it BUILT for modern music
and also the family tree...
Kangol kid used to dance back up and then of course lead to Doctor Ice and UTFO ...
Whodini Q&A: Seminal hip-hop group tells stories behind their rap classics
Updated Mar 07, 2019; Posted Jun 19, 2013
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By Matt Wake | mwake@al.com
WHODINI
A promotional photo of Whodini, (clockwise from top) Grandmaster Dee, Ecstacy and Jalil Hutchins, from their 1986 Jive Records recording, "Back In Black." (File photo)
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Pioneering rap group Whodini's much-sampled 1984 single "Friends" was inspired by two things, says the act's chief lyricist, Jalil Hutchins.
"There was a triangle-like romance going down, and 'Friends' was also spawned from the War song 'Why Can't We Be Friends?' – coming home from the disco-fever one night and hearing that on the radio. It was like seven o'clock in the morning."
"Friends" is a seminal hip-hop cut on an album chock full of them, "Escape," which also boats "Five Minutes of Funk" and the signature electro jam, "Freaks Come Out At Night."
"'Freaks Come Out at Night' went through phases to get to that hook," Jalil recalls. "The first initial thought was really making a song competitive with that Pat Benatar stuff that was out. (The song) was so poppy but the hook was kind of weak, so I started looking at the funk bands and their use of 'freak.' All of those songs, thinking of Rick James and all those characters. And 42nd Street in New York City is a hectic set, and thinking about the nightlife of New York and all of a sudden (the song) changed into something like funk and 'Freaks Come Out at Night.'"
Whodini - which also features Ecstasy (the stylish MC known for sporting Zorro hats onstage) and Grandmaster Dee, the group's DJ – formed in Brooklyn, N.Y. in the early-80s.
Jalil now lives in Atlanta. When reached via phone for this interview he's sitting on his couch with the front door open so he can listen to the rain.
Whodini is pictured at the 2007 "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" taping. (Contributed photo)
If Whodini was to be remembered by just one track Jalil, which would track would you want that to be?
"Friends" is one of the realest general songs that we've ever made out of hip-hop, but then again so was (the 1984 song) "One Love." And "Freaks Come Out at Night" is no joke on that, as far as telling the story of what's happening, giving it a light edge but making it effective and staying in the clubs for 30 years. The younger generation may not study all the words, but they know that song.
How did coming from Brooklyn affect Whodini's music?
Oh, man. Brooklyn was a real cool spot. It had a real rough edge but it was assorted, a better mixture of people in Brooklyn, and we were all knee-deep-dressed in Brooklyn. It was a place where you don't slip. You stay on-guard almost 24/7. The front verse in "Friends" is really paraphrasing all the people I'm around in the Brooklyn projects you know. Hanging around in Gowanus spots. That's what the first verse is about. Brooklyn has a lot of life to it and that feeds ideas.
Do you still have any of your handwritten lyrics to all those classic Whodini tunes?
No, I had something in storage, moved to Atlanta and that storage got closed out. I had some of the actual writing. Like 80 percent of the songs before we went to record, I may have the hook down. And then, I wrote down a concept for as many verses as I could. A lot of times it was one. A lot of times it was two. Find the groove, find the melody in your head, give it a month or two and just live. And that's all. And then I just leave it like that until it was time to go into the studio and wrote the rest there. It was a backwards way of working, really.
When I was in high-school, I saw Whodini in concert on a package tour with LL Cool J and Eric B. & Rakim. Your group was really charismatic on stage. Who are some of the best live acts you've ever seen in concert?
Man, I loved so many cats for so many different reasons, live. New Edition. James Brown. Temptations. Smokey Robinson. I love Stevie Wonder, Rick James. Prince might be my all-time performer. You can't deny Cameo or Parliament. It's about taking what you like from everybody you see and making yours equal that. Not taking things from their show particularly, but taking their energy, watching their moves.
How did you meet Ecstasy?
Me and Ecstasy were in different groups from around the way. I lived probably about two blocks from where he lived. Hip-hop had its battling competitions. And I was making a tape for a radio deejay, actually the first rap promo for a radio deejay, Mr. Magic, he was the first deejay with his own promo shows. [This promo would morph into the early Whodini cut "Magic's Wand." The rap group decided on their name as a way to continue the magic theme.]
The guys I was down with were playing around. And a guy seen me sitting outside at 10 o'clock on a bench and he said, "What's the matter with you?" And I said, "These guys are playing around and I gave my word I was going to make this promo." And he mentioned Ecs and his brother and said, "These guys have nice voices." And I said, "But that's my crew over there." And he said "But where's your crew now?" I went and talked to (Ecstasy) about it, because I wanted to get it done that night, and one thing led to another from that promo. That led to a record. And a record let to a career.
What hip-hop artists to come out the last few years are you into?
That's just it: I'm not. I haven't really studied any of them because they're really not looking for new ways to say the same thing. They copy, just repeat it. It was a real thing for me to stay away from that. I'm trying to feel my way around where they're at, but they're not giving me what I need. All the rough drug stuff, I've heard all that. I thought Nas told them better than all of them. Biggie flowed on that better than all of them.
Jalil Hutchins, left, and Ecstasy perform. (Contributed photo)
Which of your early rap contemporaries did you feel the most camaraderie with?
KRS-One, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy: I love all these guys. We came up from an era when the era was original. We didn't need another Fat Boys. We didn't need another Run DMC or LL Cool J or Grandmaster Flash or Soulsonic Force or Kurtis Blow. Those positions were taken. These days, it's OK to repeat a position. We were just looking to make our own imprint.
You're working on an autobiography. What kind of stuff is going to be in there?
This is the hardest thing I've ever done, as far as writing goes. Writing a song is totally different than writing an autobiography – and personally I think a lot of them can be a little boring. My childhood was just as ordinary as the next man. So looking for those moments in childhood or as a teenager that stand out and are entertaining, just to let people know a little more about you. And that's a little awkward. Fifteen wasn't yesterday for me. [Laughs.]
With the autobiography, I actually came up with something called "road stories," stuff that happened on the road. A lot of sex. A lot of partying. A lot of thievery. A lot of confusion too. It's not just one piece of cake on the road. I guess it's just like life. Anything can happen.
Through the early parts of hip-hop, everybody wasn't rooting for us. The establishment really saw as a commodity and didn't really want us there. I'm looking to do (the autobiography) in two parts: One part on road stories, one part on the formula of how all the songs were written, just in case anybody's interested in what sparked each song.
How many of those Zorro hats would Ecstasy bring on the road with him back in the day?
He would bring them one or two at a time. He had them in red; had them in white; two in black, one with an African headpiece on it. He had different ones, but the original one was his favorite. You've seen that one a lot.
When you listen to music these days, is it on vinyl, CD, cassette or MP3?
I don't even listen to the radio. I haven't had anything on my house to play music for over three years. People come see me and there like, "Yo, it's hard to believe you're in the music business." Go figure.
So is the focus for Whodini at this point mainly going to be on concerts or are you working on new music? [The group's last album was 1996's "Six."]
I think I will always write concepts for a song or write a hook. That's just in me. I don't know about going to wax again. I have a couple of finished songs. But it's personal stuff.
Hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri actually used to be a dancer at Whodini's live shows. How good were his dancing skills?
His skills as a dancer were the only reason he got to stay on the road. Him and Chad used to come out and do a Michael Jackson/Mick Jagger thing, when they had that record out together (1984's "State of Shock"). And (Dupri's) father was the production manager for the Fresh Festival tour.
Do you still have that feather earring you wore in the "Freaks Come Out At Night" music video or any other of your stage clothes from the '80s?
I gave some of them away. Some of the jackets. But that feather I had just picked that up about an hour before the video shoot, just to go with the record. Just to paint that theme just a little better. Before that I had a Rick James wig but I got a little excited one night and threw it into the crowd. And the next day, they were like. "Be ready for the video." I was like, "Yo, I need to go get another wig." That feather was the closest thing I could get that was part funk, part freak. It was like, "Give me that feather."
www.al.com
Updated Mar 07, 2019; Posted Jun 19, 2013
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By Matt Wake | mwake@al.com
WHODINI
A promotional photo of Whodini, (clockwise from top) Grandmaster Dee, Ecstacy and Jalil Hutchins, from their 1986 Jive Records recording, "Back In Black." (File photo)
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Pioneering rap group Whodini's much-sampled 1984 single "Friends" was inspired by two things, says the act's chief lyricist, Jalil Hutchins.
"There was a triangle-like romance going down, and 'Friends' was also spawned from the War song 'Why Can't We Be Friends?' – coming home from the disco-fever one night and hearing that on the radio. It was like seven o'clock in the morning."
"Friends" is a seminal hip-hop cut on an album chock full of them, "Escape," which also boats "Five Minutes of Funk" and the signature electro jam, "Freaks Come Out At Night."
"'Freaks Come Out at Night' went through phases to get to that hook," Jalil recalls. "The first initial thought was really making a song competitive with that Pat Benatar stuff that was out. (The song) was so poppy but the hook was kind of weak, so I started looking at the funk bands and their use of 'freak.' All of those songs, thinking of Rick James and all those characters. And 42nd Street in New York City is a hectic set, and thinking about the nightlife of New York and all of a sudden (the song) changed into something like funk and 'Freaks Come Out at Night.'"
Whodini - which also features Ecstasy (the stylish MC known for sporting Zorro hats onstage) and Grandmaster Dee, the group's DJ – formed in Brooklyn, N.Y. in the early-80s.
Jalil now lives in Atlanta. When reached via phone for this interview he's sitting on his couch with the front door open so he can listen to the rain.
Whodini is pictured at the 2007 "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" taping. (Contributed photo)
If Whodini was to be remembered by just one track Jalil, which would track would you want that to be?
"Friends" is one of the realest general songs that we've ever made out of hip-hop, but then again so was (the 1984 song) "One Love." And "Freaks Come Out at Night" is no joke on that, as far as telling the story of what's happening, giving it a light edge but making it effective and staying in the clubs for 30 years. The younger generation may not study all the words, but they know that song.
How did coming from Brooklyn affect Whodini's music?
Oh, man. Brooklyn was a real cool spot. It had a real rough edge but it was assorted, a better mixture of people in Brooklyn, and we were all knee-deep-dressed in Brooklyn. It was a place where you don't slip. You stay on-guard almost 24/7. The front verse in "Friends" is really paraphrasing all the people I'm around in the Brooklyn projects you know. Hanging around in Gowanus spots. That's what the first verse is about. Brooklyn has a lot of life to it and that feeds ideas.
Do you still have any of your handwritten lyrics to all those classic Whodini tunes?
No, I had something in storage, moved to Atlanta and that storage got closed out. I had some of the actual writing. Like 80 percent of the songs before we went to record, I may have the hook down. And then, I wrote down a concept for as many verses as I could. A lot of times it was one. A lot of times it was two. Find the groove, find the melody in your head, give it a month or two and just live. And that's all. And then I just leave it like that until it was time to go into the studio and wrote the rest there. It was a backwards way of working, really.
When I was in high-school, I saw Whodini in concert on a package tour with LL Cool J and Eric B. & Rakim. Your group was really charismatic on stage. Who are some of the best live acts you've ever seen in concert?
Man, I loved so many cats for so many different reasons, live. New Edition. James Brown. Temptations. Smokey Robinson. I love Stevie Wonder, Rick James. Prince might be my all-time performer. You can't deny Cameo or Parliament. It's about taking what you like from everybody you see and making yours equal that. Not taking things from their show particularly, but taking their energy, watching their moves.
How did you meet Ecstasy?
Me and Ecstasy were in different groups from around the way. I lived probably about two blocks from where he lived. Hip-hop had its battling competitions. And I was making a tape for a radio deejay, actually the first rap promo for a radio deejay, Mr. Magic, he was the first deejay with his own promo shows. [This promo would morph into the early Whodini cut "Magic's Wand." The rap group decided on their name as a way to continue the magic theme.]
The guys I was down with were playing around. And a guy seen me sitting outside at 10 o'clock on a bench and he said, "What's the matter with you?" And I said, "These guys are playing around and I gave my word I was going to make this promo." And he mentioned Ecs and his brother and said, "These guys have nice voices." And I said, "But that's my crew over there." And he said "But where's your crew now?" I went and talked to (Ecstasy) about it, because I wanted to get it done that night, and one thing led to another from that promo. That led to a record. And a record let to a career.
What hip-hop artists to come out the last few years are you into?
That's just it: I'm not. I haven't really studied any of them because they're really not looking for new ways to say the same thing. They copy, just repeat it. It was a real thing for me to stay away from that. I'm trying to feel my way around where they're at, but they're not giving me what I need. All the rough drug stuff, I've heard all that. I thought Nas told them better than all of them. Biggie flowed on that better than all of them.
Jalil Hutchins, left, and Ecstasy perform. (Contributed photo)
Which of your early rap contemporaries did you feel the most camaraderie with?
KRS-One, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy: I love all these guys. We came up from an era when the era was original. We didn't need another Fat Boys. We didn't need another Run DMC or LL Cool J or Grandmaster Flash or Soulsonic Force or Kurtis Blow. Those positions were taken. These days, it's OK to repeat a position. We were just looking to make our own imprint.
You're working on an autobiography. What kind of stuff is going to be in there?
This is the hardest thing I've ever done, as far as writing goes. Writing a song is totally different than writing an autobiography – and personally I think a lot of them can be a little boring. My childhood was just as ordinary as the next man. So looking for those moments in childhood or as a teenager that stand out and are entertaining, just to let people know a little more about you. And that's a little awkward. Fifteen wasn't yesterday for me. [Laughs.]
With the autobiography, I actually came up with something called "road stories," stuff that happened on the road. A lot of sex. A lot of partying. A lot of thievery. A lot of confusion too. It's not just one piece of cake on the road. I guess it's just like life. Anything can happen.
Through the early parts of hip-hop, everybody wasn't rooting for us. The establishment really saw as a commodity and didn't really want us there. I'm looking to do (the autobiography) in two parts: One part on road stories, one part on the formula of how all the songs were written, just in case anybody's interested in what sparked each song.
How many of those Zorro hats would Ecstasy bring on the road with him back in the day?
He would bring them one or two at a time. He had them in red; had them in white; two in black, one with an African headpiece on it. He had different ones, but the original one was his favorite. You've seen that one a lot.
When you listen to music these days, is it on vinyl, CD, cassette or MP3?
I don't even listen to the radio. I haven't had anything on my house to play music for over three years. People come see me and there like, "Yo, it's hard to believe you're in the music business." Go figure.
So is the focus for Whodini at this point mainly going to be on concerts or are you working on new music? [The group's last album was 1996's "Six."]
I think I will always write concepts for a song or write a hook. That's just in me. I don't know about going to wax again. I have a couple of finished songs. But it's personal stuff.
Hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri actually used to be a dancer at Whodini's live shows. How good were his dancing skills?
His skills as a dancer were the only reason he got to stay on the road. Him and Chad used to come out and do a Michael Jackson/Mick Jagger thing, when they had that record out together (1984's "State of Shock"). And (Dupri's) father was the production manager for the Fresh Festival tour.
Do you still have that feather earring you wore in the "Freaks Come Out At Night" music video or any other of your stage clothes from the '80s?
I gave some of them away. Some of the jackets. But that feather I had just picked that up about an hour before the video shoot, just to go with the record. Just to paint that theme just a little better. Before that I had a Rick James wig but I got a little excited one night and threw it into the crowd. And the next day, they were like. "Be ready for the video." I was like, "Yo, I need to go get another wig." That feather was the closest thing I could get that was part funk, part freak. It was like, "Give me that feather."
Whodini Q&A: Seminal hip-hop group tells stories behind their rap classics
'Freaks Come Out At Night' act to play Huntsville's Von Braun Center June 23.
Fuck this year.
I still have his business card in my wallet. Geez...
Damn one of the first cassette tapes I had.
R.I.P the Brotha
R.I.P the Brotha
Saw Grandmaster Dee a few years ago at FLL fueling planes. Think he still DJs in Atlanta.
This one hurts.
I’m done. I’ve seen them every time the FreshFest came to Norfolk Scope/Hampton Coliseum . Respect!
That's how Charlie Wilson did his brothers.
He was part of one of the classiest hip hop duo's of all time. RIP
, gotta love the 80's. RIP. Whodini meant the world to me.
RIP: Rest in musical power to John Fletcher aka Ecstasy of Whodini. One of the true originators and just an all around good brother.
John "Ecstasy" Fletcher of 80s Pioneering Rap Group Whodini Passes Away
December 23, 2020 - 4:00 pm by Datwon Thomas
Scores of music industry condolences are being offered to the familiy of John Fletcher aka Ecstasy of legendary hip-hop trio Whodini on his passing at the age of 56. The 80s rap group (with members Jahlil and DJ Grandmaster Dee) was early on the scene as stars of the then burgeoning music genre, where they kicked songs with funky grooves and meaningful messages about "One Love," "The Freaks Come Out At Night," and "Friends." The cause of his death has not officially been released at this time.
As a Brooklyn native, Ecstasy was the mature slick wordsmith with a fashion flair like no other. He is primarily known as the group member who wore a leather Zoro type hat and routinely performed shirtless at live events. It was his stand out style and smooth vocals that made him one of the few rap artists that gave a blueprint to having that x-factor on wax and on stage.
With time comes change and after six albums ranging from 1983 to 1996, the group slowed up in production. It is worthy to note that So So Def's founder, Jermaine Dupri, signed the group to his label for their final album. Dupri was once a teenage dancer on tour for Whodini and gave the fellas their flowers in the release of Six in 1996.
Look at Ecstacy and Whodini's hit songs below and show love to the legend's life.
John "Ecstasy" Fletcher of 80s Pioneering Rap Group Whodini Passes Away
December 23, 2020 - 4:00 pm by Datwon Thomas
Scores of music industry condolences are being offered to the familiy of John Fletcher aka Ecstasy of legendary hip-hop trio Whodini on his passing at the age of 56. The 80s rap group (with members Jahlil and DJ Grandmaster Dee) was early on the scene as stars of the then burgeoning music genre, where they kicked songs with funky grooves and meaningful messages about "One Love," "The Freaks Come Out At Night," and "Friends." The cause of his death has not officially been released at this time.
As a Brooklyn native, Ecstasy was the mature slick wordsmith with a fashion flair like no other. He is primarily known as the group member who wore a leather Zoro type hat and routinely performed shirtless at live events. It was his stand out style and smooth vocals that made him one of the few rap artists that gave a blueprint to having that x-factor on wax and on stage.
With time comes change and after six albums ranging from 1983 to 1996, the group slowed up in production. It is worthy to note that So So Def's founder, Jermaine Dupri, signed the group to his label for their final album. Dupri was once a teenage dancer on tour for Whodini and gave the fellas their flowers in the release of Six in 1996.
Look at Ecstacy and Whodini's hit songs below and show love to the legend's life.
RIP to the brother!!...He was a part of one of the best rap groups in Hip-hop...He will be miss!!
RIP
RIP, I loved this group....; their songs are always still playing in my head.....
122 weeks ago..........
Rest In Peace
RIP. Damn