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TwitterMr. Magic dies of heart attack
Super rockin' Mr. Magic, a New York disc jockey who helped almost singlehandedly bring hip-hop into the mainstream, has died of a heart attack.
Magic, whose real name was John Rivas, co-founded WBLS-FM's Rap Attack radio show in 1983 and helped inspire budding stars like Notorious B.I.G. and Nas with early East Coast rhymes. Rap Attack went off the air in 1989, but Magic remained influential.
He was featured as a DJ for one of the in-game radio stations of the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, exposing him to a new audience. Magic's WBLS radio show can also be heard during a scene in "Notorious," the story of B.I.G.'s life.
When not lending his voice to those projects, Magic worked as a hip-hop producer and released a series of greatest hits from Rap Attack.
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who is this guy?
Read the article you dummy
That's not Mr.Magic. The guy in the picture is a rapper named Majik from New Orleans. Please correct yourselves and put a little effort
Mr Magic broke my record catch the beat when no other disc jockey would touch it. now it's a hip hop classic. and i owe it all to him.. he'll be truely missed.. thank magic for your time and believing in my music..Tski Valley
the guy in the pic is TJ Swan(he sang for Biz Markie) from Mr. Magic's Juice Crew All-Stars.
mr. magic actually helped revive life into wbls during his first incarnation their, wbls by 1981 was loosing the younger listener to upstart kiss fm, when then wbls music director neicey colon's daughter told her about a show on wbai, that all the younger heads were listening to sundaynight/monday morning at 2-4am niecey brought it to frankie crockers attention, and the rest as they say is history.
NOW YOU GOT TJ SWAN UP THERE. WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER REPORTING THIS IF YOU DON'T EVEN TRY
that hurts that you got the pix wrong.
i'm seriously pe'od you've been told you got it wrong and YOU STILL HAVEN'T CORRECTED IT!!
Mr.Magic is a true Hip Hop pioneer,the king of rap radio who did not get the props he deserved for bring rap music to the masses!!!@Tski Valley Catch the Beat is a rap classic that I still love to this day!!! R.I.P Mr. Magic!!!
Why have you not changed that picture to put the actual photo of Mr. Magic up there? People we need to email the author of this article. agrieser@tribune.com