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About the Book:
Half-Cuban, half-Puerto Rican, Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño is 100 percent Boogie Down Bronx. Born in the 60s, Wiz struggled in a turbulent and violent relationship with his alcoholic father while trying to protect his mother who was suffering from breast cancer. Raised in the 1970s, Wiz learned the code of the streets while hustling with his crew, the East Side Boys. In 1975, Wiz discovered salvation when he hooked up with the legendary Grandmaster Caz to form the Mighty Force Crew, waging some of the biggest DJ battles in the Bronx during hip hop’s earliest years.
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When Hip Hop first hit, the DJ was king. Rockin’ the party on two turntables for the b-boys and fly girls on the dance floor, DJs like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash pioneered an art form that has come to define our times. The first Latino DJ in the game, Wiz, along with Caz, went on to make a “mixed plate” in 1977 which combined sound bites, special effects, and paused beats. An innovator, originator, and a battle-style DJ with no fear, Wiz swept through the Bronx like a tornado.
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But the streets wouldn’t leave him in peace. After being convicted on an attempted murder charge, sentenced to nine years in prison, and forced to leave his baby daughter, Wiz was incarcerated upstate at the tender age of 17, where he learned the true meaning of desperation. But as time went on and he overcame his struggles with violence, drugs and alcohol, and women, Wiz eventually liberated himself from the path of self-destruction through love, self-respect, and self-determination.
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Featuring over 50 never-before-seen photos, It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ is a gritty and gripping tale of one man’s struggles to not only survive, but to triumph over adversity and abuse that will make your blood run cold. By conquering unimaginable obstacles, Wiz offers inspiration to anyone who has ever wondered, “Why me?”
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About the Authors:
Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño, the first Latino hip hop DJ, is credited for being the first DJ to make a “mixed plate” in 1977 along with Grandmaster Caz. In the years since, Wiz has been an influential force in educating the world about the early years of hip-hop. Wiz was a major contributor in the opening of the Experience Music Project in Seattle in 2000, and was instrumental in the making of Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn’s Yes Yes Y’all (Da Capo Press, 2002). He was also featured in the Emmy-nominated VH1 Rock Doc NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell, and is the creator and founder of the Hip-Hop Meets Spoken Wordz series.
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Ivan Sanchez is the author of Next Stop: Growing up Wild Style in the Bronx (Simon & Schuster, 2008), and was awarded the National Novel honors for his first fiction offering in 2004. Sanchez is also an anti-gang youth advocate and motivational speaker, who works with the Virginia Beach Police Department’s gang unit.
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Critical Praise:
“There are no punches pulled, no shorts taken, no inconvenient truths omitted here. The story of DJ Disco Wiz is a searing, powerful, heartbreakingly real hip-hop story. A must-read.” —Jeff Chang, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
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“If there are words to describe DJ Disco Wiz they would be ‘true survivor,’ born in a time when war and injustice was the state of America. This book is a must-read for all fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and educators alike, so that one may understand the pain that so many young people born in harsh conditions have to endure.” —Jamel Shabazz, author of Back in the Days
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“It’s Just Begun has opened my mind up to so much more about hip-hop history than I could’ve imagined, and is a sure-fire tool to help younger generations understand the volatile 70s decade in all its mess and glory. DJ Disco Wiz represents for all Latinos who have ever grabbed a set of headphones since. Estoy tan orgulloso de él.” —DJ Bobbito Garcia, author of Where’d You Get Those?
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Miss Rosen’s Contribution to the Project:
Text Editing, Production Management, Publicity, and Event Planning.
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New York Launch: The powerHouse Arena, Friday, June 5, 2009, 5-9PM
Hosted by Grandmaster Caz. Featuring Performances by Whipper Whip, Poison Pen, Bocafloja,
Hst, Patty Dukes, Alvare, Hassan Salam, and Rebel Diaz. Reading by Nile Rogers, Charlie Ahearn, and Jamel Shabazz
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Coordinate international publicity campaign including coverage in
All Hip Hop, Bronx Talk, Hip Hop & Politics, Latina, Library Journal, New York Daily News,
New York Post, Time Out New York, Tools of War, and Village Voice, among others.
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HIP HOP | MEMOIRS | A BRONX TALE
HC, 7.5 x 9.25 inches, 180 pages, over 50 four-color photographs and flyers
ISBN 978-1-57687-494-3/978-1-57687-530-8, $22.95
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Event photographs ©Joe Conzo
Historical photographs and flyers courtesy of DJ Disco Wiz
Cover courtesy of powerHouse Books