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When It All Began: The History of Fantasia Brooklyn Mobile DJ’s
Foreword:
This was a story that was way long overdue. It had been sitting on the back burner for a long time. I believe if you don’t tell your story no one else will. I do not know if the other Brooklyn DJ’s kept documentation of their exploits. A lot of the Brooklyn mobile DJ’s have gone unrecognized since that era of the Golden Age of mobile DJ’s. And yes! Things were happening in Brooklyn as well as the South Bronx. Hopefully my story will open up a new dialogue about the African American mobile DJ contribution to the music industry. This story is also dedicated to those great DJ’s of that era who I came to admire, be inspired, and had a chance to play with them during our great tenure as Brooklyn’s powerful mobile DJ’s. Fantasia came, they saw, they conquered, and DAMN! WE HAD FUN!
What started out as way to make some money for our young pockets grew into a much larger quest. Let’s go back to the year 1972. I met my two high school buddies Larry and Laverne aka Killer and Rapp3 in Abraham Lincoln high school. These were the names which they called themselves at the time. Killer had taken his name from the comedian Flip Wilson’s Geraldine character’s boyfriend. Rapp said he could rap three ways. I guess he thought he could rap to a girl three different ways to get to her.
I got the name Chips from the Abraham Lincoln football team’s linebacker Ray Wiggins. Actually, it was Mr. Chips taken from that movie of the time Goodbye Mr. Chips. Ray would always call me Mr. Chips whenever I got the answer right in social studies class, which was most of the time. Soon the rest of the football team that made up the rest of that class started calling me that. I liked the nickname. However, later on I just dropped the Mister part. Occasionally someone on the team would be a wise ass and call me Mr. Tibbs.
It was Ray Wiggins who inspired us to throw our own parties. He gave nice parties on Park Place and Nostrand Ave over in the Crown Height section of Brooklyn. He also played the music too. It was the first time I heard Magic Carpet Ride by SteppenWolf.