DJ Charlie Chase
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DJ Charlie Chase | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Carlos Mandes |
| Born | January 16, 1959 Manhattan, New York, United States |
| Genres | Hip-hop |
| Occupation | DJ |
| Years active | 1975–present |
Carlos Mandes (born January 16, 1959), also known as DJ Charlie Chase, is a Puerto Rican DJ who played a key role in establishing the Latino community as a contributing force in the Bronx's early hip hop culture. Hitting the hip hop scene in 1975, Chase was a founding member of The Cold Crush Brothers, along with DJ Tony Tone and members Grandmaster Caz, JDL, EZ AD and Almighty Kay Gee. In 1980, Chase and Tone were responsible for forming the first MC convention in hip hop history.
Early life
[edit]Chase was born in Manhattan on January 16, 1959, to Puerto Rican-born parents. Chase's family moved often and lived in different New York City neighborhoods, which were primarily Puerto Rican or Black. Chase began playing music as a bassist in bands at the age of 14, representing a variety of musical styles. Chase produced his first album at the age of 16.
Career
[edit]In the 1980s, Chase DJ'd for WBLS alongside the legendary Funkmaster Flex. Chase received criticism from some in the Hispanic community for playing hip-hop music because it was thought of at the time as a distinctly Black form of music. He fused hip-hop with salsa, among other music genres. In the early 1980s, Chase was the DJ for the New York hip-hopgroup The Cold Crush Brothers, the first rap group to be signed by CBS Records, and also the first to go on tour in Japan. In 1981, Chase got his first movie role. He played himself in the film Wild Style. In the film, he had a small speaking part and he performed with his rap group. Chase was inducted into the Technics DMC DJ Hall of Fame in 2003.[1] Other DJs to receive this honor are the late Jam Master Jay, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Grandmaster Flash.
Influence
[edit]Chase was one of the only Hispanic artists in the early hip hop scene. He remembers not feeling welcome because most early participants felt that it was, “a Black thing and something that’s from their roots…being Hispanic, you’re not accepted in rap.”[2]
Chase was never queit about his ethnicity, though, despite some backlash. “That was my way of opening the doors for everybody else to do what they’re doing now,” he said. “And being that I was there at the very beginning, that was the I way I had to do it, that was my contribution.”[3]
When artists like Mean Machine began to popularize Spanish-language hip-hop, Chase was wary that they were straying too far from hip hop's roots but, eventually, he recognized their new contributions to the genre and threw his support behind what he deemed, “cool and new.”[4]
Chase's work influenced many artists that came after him, such as underground acts like Mellow Man Ace and Latin Empire, and mainstream rappers like Fat Joe and Big Pun.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ "DJ Charlie Chase". Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
- ^ Flores, Juan (2004). That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Routledge. p. 81.
- ^ Flores, Juan (2004). That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Reader. Routledge. p. 83.
- ^ Flores, Juan (2004). That's The Joint!: The Hip-Hop Reader. Routledge. p. 84.
Sources
[edit]- Flores, Juan, "Puerto Rocks," in That's the Joint! The Hip-Hop Studies Reader, page 71, eds. Murray Foreman and Mark Anthony Neal (New York: Rutledge, 2004)
- Latin Rap