Whodini — Whodini

The hip-hop group Whodini was born in 1982 in Brooklyn, New York. It consists of rappers Jalil Hutchins (brother of Doctor Ice of UTFO) and John "Ecstasy" Fletcher, along with DJ Drew "Grandmaster Dee" Carter. The trio became famous for being among the first acts to combine hip-hop and R&B, almost creating their own genre, which would later evolve into the "new jack swing".

Whodini immediately obtained a lot of consent and following and in 1982 signed with the independent British label Jive Records, with which the trio released his first single, "Magic's Wand" in the same year: the song, a heartfelt tribute to one of the very first pioneers of the genre, Mr. Magic — a few years after UTFO, with whom Whodini does live performances (some of UTFO are the official dancers during Whodini concerts) and whose brother Jalil is one of the members, refuse to go to a show hosted by Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, causing what is considered the first hip-hop war, "The Roxanne Wars" — goes down in history for being the first hip-hop song to have its own music video. The beat is funky and dance, with a solid and cohesive production, cheerful and festive mood, good rap from the guys creating their first big hit. Produced by synth-pop and electro pioneer Thomas Dolby, the single became an instant international hit charting in the UK, Germany, New Zealand and the US (entering the rnb chart and being their biggest dance hit yet). The song was chosen as the first promotional single from their first self-titled album.

Also released in spring 1983 was Whodini's second single, "The Haunted House of Rock", a Halloween-themed song that opens the album, released in mid-October of the same year. This is followed by "Nasty Lady", the Brooklyn group's fourth single, with a light-hearted tune. "Underground" is a bare funky rhythm, while "It's All in Mr. Magic's Wand" is an instrumental choice, second tribute to Mr. Magic, and it has a frenetic jazzy rhythm, tight and skeletal boom bap production. "Magic's Wand" is the album's fifth track, and is succeeded by the rnb ballad, "Yours for a Night", the trio's fifth single. The disc is completed by "Rap Machine", third single from Whodini, and a remix of "The Haunted House of Rock". Produced by Willesden Dodgers (Nigel Green, Peter Brian Harris and Richard Jon Smith), Konrad "Conny" Plank, Roy Carter and Thomas Dolby, the album is distributed by Arista and does not reach the charts, unlike the singles. The music sounds pretty good and the guys have a solid and average style, never excessive.

Rating: 7/10.