At age 58 and all grandadded up, the 1980s star of the rap duo known as Whodini has mellowed with his generation and is unrecognizable to many who were teens in 1984 jamming to the hit "the freaks com out at night", which was part of the "Breakin" movie sound track. Unfortunately we lost the second member John "Ecstasy" Fletcher in 2020, possibly due to COVID-19.
Whodini
John Fletcher, Jalil Hutchins, DJ Drew AKA Grandmaster Dee
Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; June 7, 1964 – December 23, 2020[2]); and turntable artist DJ Drew Carter, a.k.a. Grandmaster Dee.
Coming out of the fertile New York rap scene of the early 1980s, Whodini was one of the first rap groups to add a R&B twist to their music, thus laying the foundation for a new genre, new jack swing. The group made its name with good-humored songs such as "Magic's Wand" (the first rap song accompanied by a music video), "The Haunted House of Rock", "Friends", "Five Minutes of Funk", and "Freaks Come Out at Night". Live performances of the group were the first rap concerts with the participation of breakdance dancers from the group UTFO. Russell Simmons was the manager of the group in the 1980s.
The group released six studio albums. Fourteen of the group's singles hit the Billboard charts. Four of the group's albums were certified Platinum by the RIAA.
CHICAGO - JANUARY 1985: Rappers Jalil and Ecstasy from Whodini performs at the U.I.C. Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois in January 1985. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
