John “Ecstasy” Fletcher from iconic rap group Whodini (56) has passed on.
Dec. 23, 2020
John “Ecstasy” Fletcher (56) has passed on.
John Fletcher along with MC Jalil Hutchings and Drew “Grandmaster Dee” Carter was known as Whodini, one of the most influential rap grounps of the 1980s (“Friends,” “The Freaks Come Out at Night,” “One Love,” “Five Minutes of Funk,” “Big Mouth” and “Funky Beat.”)
I remember seeing footage from Fresh Fest 1984, which featured Whodini, Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, The Fat Boys, Newcleus & the Dynamic Breakers, New York City Breakers and Turbo and Ozone from Breakin’ fame. It was definitely the collection of Hip-Hop’s pioneers.
Whodini, one of the first rap groups to successfully blend rap with R&B/Soul, produced by Larry Smith and Thomas Dolby, “Magic’s Wand” is one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop history. The song highlighted their relationship with rap pioneer Mr. Magic’s iconic radio show “Rap Attack” on WBLS that featured fellow rap trailblazers DJ Marley Marl and Tyrone “Fly Ty” Williams.
Their albums included “Whodini” (1983), “Escape” (1984), “Back in Black” (1986), “Open Sesame” (1987), “Bag-a-Trix” (1991) and their comeback album “Six” on Jermaine DuPri’s So-So-Def label, which produced the hit single “Keep Running Back.”
DuPri got his start in the industry as a backup dancer for Whodini in the early 1980s, and the group’s energetic performances also were buoyed by other outstanding back up dancers like Shiller Shaun “Kangol Kid” Fequiere and Fred “Doctor Ice” Reeve (Jalil’s younger brother), who went on to form one half of the popular rap group UTFO, whose hit “Roxanne, Roxanne” is a hip-hop banger and classic.
Whodini was a huge influence on us as kids. The image and music helped us to see the positive side of Hip-Hop. Rap, dance, deejaying portayed boy Whodini influenced us to work hard and progress in the Hip-Hop world.
He will be missed.
