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Sound 2 Productions Presents, A DeeJay Reunion Party, Featuring Whiz Kid, Sundance, Kool DJ AJ, Star Child, C.C.P. Rec. (venue), Paterson, NJ, March 19, 1983
Sound 2 Productions Presents, A DeeJay Reunion Party, Featuring Whiz Kid, Sundance, Kool DJ AJ, Star Child, C.C.P. Rec. (venue), Paterson, NJ, March 19, 1983

Sound 2 Productions Presents, A DeeJay Reunion Party, Featuring Whiz Kid, Sundance, Kool DJ AJ, Star Child, C.C.P. Rec. (venue), Paterson, NJ, March 19, 1983

DJ DJ Whiz Kid
DJ Kool DJ AJ
Performing artist Sundance
Production company Sound 2 Productions
Venue C.C.P. Rec.
Date1983
Mediumink; paper (fiber product)
DimensionsOverall (HW): 8 1/2 × 6 1/4 in. (21.59 × 15.875 cm)
Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection
Object number1999.733.145
Text Entries

Party flyers were a staple in the early years of Hip-Hop and hard-copy invitations were the main medium for communicating information and promoting an event. The flyers symbolized many key appearances, acts, conventions, DJ performances, and contests in the Hip-Hop scene. Many flyers were created by local graffiti artists such as Buddy Esquire and Phase 2. The flyers were often presented by Hip-Hop promoters, DJs, and MCs who hosted the parties. Money was given to the artist to draw creative art and graphics for about $40-$60 for approximately 1,000 party flyers. The parks’ open public spaces have provided the perfect venues for park jams, impromptu dance-offs, DJ battles, and rap battles that established the sound, fashion, art, and message of Hip-Hop. Most of the Hip-Hop parties were a space for positivity where many of the Hip-Hop community could escape the realities of racism that included police brutality, drug abuse, and gang violence in their surrounding communities.

Many of the original Hip-Hop parties took place at local roller rinks, community centers, parks, and clubs. Roller rinks were an important cultural site for fun in the late 70s and 80s where adults and teens would attend roller discos and Hip-Hop parties.  The space would be used as a place for DJs to spin, rappers to show their talents, and for breakers to showcase their dancing skills on the large skate floor. Community centers were another important space in the early years of Hip-Hop for youth to gather and escape their everyday life. Additionally, community centers and recreation centers were the original spaces where DJ Kool Herc would spin in his early era of DJing. The community centers such as the Bronx River Center and the PAL were usually located in the middle of the projects. But local promoters would give parties and give money back to the center for books and trips for the local kids in the community.

DJ Disco Wiz (Luis Cedeño, b. 1961) is an American DJ from the Bronx, New York and is known as being the first Latino DJ in Hip-Hop who credited for being the first DJ to create a "mixed plate" in 1977. DJ Disco Wiz partnered with his close friend, Casanova Fly (Grandmaster Caz from Cold Crush Brothers), to form the group the Mighty Force crew. Mighty Force is know as being one of the first Hip-Hop DJ crews in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group was well-known for their DJ battles in the South Bronx and was also responsible for presenting the first Latino rapper to the world, Prince Whipper Whip.

Kool DJ AJ (Aaron Gerald O'Bryant, d. 2015), was a pioneering promoter and DJ for many Hip-Hop parties since the late 70’s and early 80’s. He was the the DJ for MCs Busy Bee and Kurtis Blow. One of Blow's hits, "The AJ Scratch," was written to pay respect and homage to DJ AJ's turntable skills.

Party flyer in black ink listing performers, location and details of event.
CopyrightThis work is issued under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
On View
Not on view
Color photo of DJ Whiz Kid
DJ Whiz Kid
Date: c. 1984
Medium: chromogenic color prints
Object number: 1999.733.229
A Pre-Holiday Benefit Party:  Starski, Mix Mater Mike, The Three Queens, at C.C.P. Rec., Paterson, NJ, December 4, 1982
D.J. Starski
Date: 1982
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 1999.733.74