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History
Behind the First Ohio DJ Award
The TRUE Story
of
Northeast Ohio's
(Cleveland, Ohio and beyond)
Hip-Hop/Rap Scene...
How it all began...and you know I know!
Question:
DJ
Cochise, how did the Hip Hop/Rap Music Scene get
started in Northeast Ohio? I’ve heard a lot of stories.
Some of your homies that you personally
taught how to dj or rap groups you’ve produced
& promoted…won’t even tell the truth or
they try not to mention your name!
Since it all started with you, how did it
all begin?
Answer:
You have to understand…there is a whole
story on how Hip Hop/Rap Clubstyle Music came to
Northeast Ohio.
It all began in the fall of 1979.
I just stepped off the plane from Europe.
I went to high school in Naples, Italy at
Forrest Sherman High.
I was heading to Kent State University on a
track scholarship running the 200 meters, 400
meters and mile relay.
I had a roommate named Enoch Brown from
Brooklyn, New York and when I was trying to sing
like Ray, Goodman and Brown, Cameo and Teddy
Pendergrass…Enoch was rapping…”To the beat
everybody and everybody to the beat…”.
I was amazed!
My
ambitions to be a dj began when I use to like this
freshman girl and we were headin’ to The Kent
State Rathskellar (The Rat) to a party (It later
became the center point of Rap for the state of
Ohio and beyond).
Anyways, I was in line with her and the dj
came out and was flirtin’ with her (He was the
most popular person from Kent State since Arsenio
Hall at that time).
He walked her in and then told the guy at
the door I wasn’t old enough to get in…startin’
mess. (…you can see how she was.). I wasn’t happy, to say the least, but from that point on I
wanted to dj and show him up one day…taking it
to the next level.
I began learning all about rap from Enoch
and listened to his mix tapes he brought from
Brooklyn. I
began making up raps and performing acappella in
the Rotunda
(…a red carpeted area Kent Staters
would hang out at in
Tri Towers).
I
began djing in 1979, in my room with the “3 in
1” systems as I use to call it.
You know the turntable, radio and cassette
deck all in one. I would mix music while using two of these systems turning up
& down both volume controls simultaneously. I would put my headphones in the system that was turned down
until it was on beat…then turn it up and mix it
in…while turning down the other system.
I had no pitch controls or fancy Technic
1200’s at the time.
I used my fingers and would speed it
up…and slow it down while mixing.
This is how I djed parties at first as
well. I
became quite good at it.
The
following semester I pledged a fraternity named,
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc and began djing
parties. The Kappa's had a lot to do with
promoting me as a dj.
Most
of the time back then, I djed for free, I remember one time I got paid a whopping
$15 for a party I did with the Sigma Gamma
Rhos.
I loved djing so much, I didn’t care.
It was a way for me to get back at that
other dj and my ex-girl.
I wanted to be the top dj at Kent State.
Anyway, My frat brother, My Sands
(…that’s what we refer to ourselves to the
ones we pledged with…), Jerry Thorpe asked me
what I wanted to do at Kent State for fun.
He was so thankful because I got him to
pledge Kappa Alpha Psi with me.
He had a bigger track scholarship than I
did, so he loaned me $600 to buy dj equipment.
That was in May 1980.
I
use to listen to a dj on the radio named Bud
McFarlin on WDMT FM 108 Clubstyle Show.
He would mix “Theme from the Black Hole
& Knee Deep” by George Clinton &
Parliament Funkadelic and I thought
that was so amazing.
He was the smoothest mixer while blending
two records at that time…he became one of my dj
mentors. The
other dj I admired was Terry King aka “The
Psychotic Nutt”.
I heard him play at the Happy Apple
(downtown Cleveland) and The Host House.
He was incredible. He didn’t really blend music, but he talked a warehouse of
sh*t. He
had lights, the smoke machine and the boomin’
system. He
would talk so much cool sh*t during a party…I
had to do it too. I developed the skills of a dj mixer as well as microphone
master. I
went to the Cleveland to find out where
the record stores were located.
I found out all the djs were going to two
main record stores in Downtown Cleveland, Record
Den (Scott was the manager) and Downtown Records
(owned by Saul and ran by Matt Whitfield).
While at the clubs, hearing R&B all
night long drove me nutz!
I was buying records in a section in the
corner of the stores called Rap with Groups like The Fearless Four, Ronnie
G, The Treacherous Three, Spoonie G, Blow Fly and a lot of other
Rap Artists no one ever heard of…
You have to remember, Cleveland was an
R&B city at that time, so Kent State played
R&B at parties all night.
The whole record was played and no mixing.
One after another…all night long…to me
this was boring.
I
began djing parties at Kent State playing all rap
music. I
can remember my first gig was in the Student
Center in a room called 204/206. I mixed one record after another…rap record after rap
record…people were getting tired because they
weren’t use to dancing for 20-30 minutes
straight…booing me…and would walk out and
leave. I couldn’t believe people didn’t like rap music because I
was jammin’…so I thought.
I kept doing it anyway…weekend after
weekend…party after party and everyone began to
like it at Kent State.
One day I was mixing and I was playing both
records at the same time…one of the records
started skipping, but it was still on beat some
what. I thought wow, that sounded good. I began moving the record back and forth sometimes turning
the volume up and down, so you couldn’t here the
back que of the record.
All this began in May 1980.
I also started dj parties in the Kent
State Ballroom and a dusk ‘til dawn spot called
Oscar
Ritchie Hall.
It was actually one large classroom, but I
could tell you stories!
In
the spring of 1981, WDMT FM 108 (Dean “Dean Dean
your Music Machine” Rufus) was having a HUGE dj
battle “LIVE ON AIR” called "The
Showdown"!
The favorite to win was Bud McFarlin.
You see, no one from Cleveland ever heard of
me except those that went to Kent State.
They took my mixtapes and talked me up to different cities when they went home on college
breaks from places like New York City, Michigan,
Overseas, Florida, West Coast, New Orleans,
Chicago…many places…and especially in
Northeast Ohio.
You know how it is, everyone is from
everywhere at a large college university.
It was time to leave for summer break and I
was headin’ back to Naples, Italy to see my
immediate family.
You see, I grew up as an Army Brat (…even
though I was born in Cleveland, I grew up like
Shaquille Oneal and lived a little everywhere).
I never entered the dj contest, but when I
came back to Kent after the summer break to return
for the fall semester of 1981, they were still
advertising for djs to enter the dj battle.
A friend of mine coerced me to go
and buy a mixer from Radio Shack, so I could mix
properly and enter the contest…so I did.
I sent in my mixtape of all Rap music and
waited…and waited…and waited…and waited some
more. I never got a call, but one day with only 2 days left before
the contest was suppose to air on the radio,
Dean Rufus (Program Director of FM 108 WDMT and
host of The Clubstyle Show) called me and told me
I was a finalist.
I almost sh*t my pants!
He asked me where did I get the name Cochise. I
told him I had gotten it while playing football
and running track while in high school in Naples,
Italy because I use to wear a bandanna.
I wore it while running the 200 meters
(…I ran a 21.6 that day by the way, not
bad…huh?) one day and I was called Running Dear,
Geronimo, Cochise…and Cochise stuck.
So, when I got to Kent State, when asked what
my name was…I said Cochise.
I was excited and took a few friends to the Radio Station with me (…one of the people with me was Kevin D. Heard, of the Cleveland Call & Post, later becoming
M.C. Chill of Fever Records), but it was My
Sands,
Billy Fields, that gave me that Nupie pep
talk. He told me, "Cochise, no one can
touch you. There is no dj doing the things
you can do on the turntables and you rap too. Go get
'em Sands". It was September 5th, 1981
at 8:37pm the night of the dj
battle. I
was entering a dj contest with a new style of
presenting music by mixing using turntables and
rapping on the microphone. I was a DJ and
M.C. rolled up into one.
The favorites to win were Bud McFarlin or
The Preacher Man.
When it was my turn, Dean Rufus, asked me
what was I doing on the audition mixtape I sent in
for the contest.
I didn’t know what to say…so I thought
to my self for a sec' (…let’s see, I was
swiping and mixing), so I blurted out ”Swipe
‘n Mix” (…which we say is scratching in the
Rap World. No,
I didn’t start scratching. I’m
not saying that at all.
New York is where it started.
I just didn’t know it at the time.
That’s my style, “Swipe ‘n Mix”.
Now I had 15 minutes to mix.
Instead of playing 4 or 5 records in their
entirety, I mixed about 30 songs and did a
solo rap. So I claim, I’m the first rapper to perform on the
radio in Northeast Ohio as well.
The listeners went nutz!
At that time, FM 108 was almost heard as
far as Columbus, Ohio all the way to Toronto, Canada…so just make a big circle and that’s who was listening. EVERYONE was listening! It was said over
1 million listeners were listening during the dj battle that day on
September 5th, 1981…imagine that! It was a chance to be heard and to mix “live” on the radio. It was one of the biggest thrills in my life!
I had started a new era, a new craze and a
different culture that influenced the entire state
of Ohio and beyond! EVERY up and
coming dj wanted me to either teach them or they
studied my mixtapes & radio
shows. That was a cool experience. I
tried to teach as many djs my technique as
possible. It was the time in the USA to take
djing to another level.
Anyway,
I played all rap music never heard before while
swipe ‘n mixin’ and did a rap to the
instrumental of “Funky You Up” by The
Sequence. I
won “hands down”…my VICTORY…I beat my
idol…Bud McFarlin…wow, what a head rush that
was! I
was awarded a 1st Place Plaque (…you see
pictured above) and a $200 gift
certificate.
Better yet, I had the title for the Best DJ
of Northeast Ohio and the one who brought Rap
music to Cleveland.
This is the TRUE story of how Rap
came to dominate The Northeast Ohio and surrounding
areas. From
that point on, Cochise became a household name in
Northeast Ohio and beyond!
I became a regular on the FM 108 Clubstyle
Show. I
use to hear stories of how Northeast Ohio and
Canada came to a stop because of recording &
listening to me “live” on the radio. To this
day, I’ve introduced Classic songs that are
still played in clubs like “Einsten” (I
made up the dance that went with it....In...Out...In...Out)
&
“Yum Yum (Eat ‘em Up)” by The Beat Box Boys,
“Rapper Dapper Snapper” by Edwin Birdsong,
“More Ounce” by Bobby Demo f/Roger Troutman,
“Freedom in an Unfree World” by Hippie with
Haircuts and a few more. I started a club
"thing to do" called "Freeze -
Defrost". Imagine while everyone
was dancing...I'd yell out..."So, when I say
Freeze, Pause and then...Defrost...now
Freeze, huh...Defrost! When I said Freeze...
everyone would
stop dancing...and when I said Defrost...then they
would proceed. I know what you're
thinking. No, I started that. I've heard
it used by major records saying "The
Music and Loud Enough" and the whole nine
yards. I even heard one Rap Group disguise
it and call their track "Pause". I
had given a demo to one of the executives. I
ran into them at a lay over flight at the airport
in Newark, NJ. I was flying back to
Cleveland from Florida...from one of those
"Jack-The-Rapper"
Fish Fries. I always thought it was cool
they used it. I would watch them on B.E.T.
and M.T.V. It did bother me sometimes
though, but no hard feelings. Anyways, Cleveland
and Northeast Ohio know where it came from.
Actually, I borrowed it from a Kappa Kane Step
called Eastwood. In addition, I would start off every
Radio Mix Show in
the 80’s with the intro to
“Funk Funk” by
Cameo:
Captain, the transporters ready…
Needless to say, the dj service and
mixtape/CD business took off!!! I then did shows sometimes accompanied by the Rap Group, Cochise and The Bomb Squad. You see, The Bomb Squad was Cleveland’s first rap group. We hooked up at Kent State and I promoted and got them a lot of exposure. The first Rap Show in Cleveland was a bar/club called
Burrel’s off East 60th and Euclid
Avenue. The spot is no longer there though…
The first major Cochise party was at the Spectrum.
Both places are on the Eastside of Cleveland,
Ohio. If
you were at any of my jams, tell it in the Guest
Book section on my website. I
later had crews called Cochise & The Apache
Crew, as well as Cochise & The Electric Crew.
Everywhere I djed I sold out!
I
had gigs in throughout Northeast Ohio and the surrounding areas
like The
Kent State Rathskellar (The Rat) , Woodhill Park,
Club Debos, Gordon Park, Club Candies, USA Skating
Rink, Spectrum, Fat Glens, The USA Skating
Rink, The Mad
Hatter, Swingos at the Statler, The Plush, The
Golden Gate Skating Rink, Club BedRocks, The
Chic, The Delta Club, The 93.1 FM WZAK Anniversary
Party with Roger Troutman & Zapp, The Mediterranean
Party Center, The Chiefs Club, The
Coliseum Party Center, The Forge, Smitties, Toucans,
The Cotton Club, In The Cleveland Flats, The Crystal Room in Sandusky-OH, Red Carpet
Lounge (Vel's),
The Stardust,
The Escape, The Subway, Harry O's - B&B’s
& The Double Time in Akron-Ohio, Déjà vu, Ohio State,
Baldwin Wallace College, Edinboro State,
Youngstown State, Cleveland State, Akron U and a
lot of other colleges & cities.
Keep in mind, I graduated from
college…became a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army…and
djed every weekend by the time I left Kent State.
It took 5 years, but what a blast!!!
To this day, when someone tells me they
partied with me “back in the day” or still
have one of my FM 108 Clubstyle Show recordings,
it gives me chills. So when ANYONE asks you the story of the Northeast Ohio
Hip
Hop/Rap Scene, refer them to this page on my
website. It’s
the TRUE Story of how it all began! Every Rapper and Hip Hop DJ that you’ve heard of from
Northeast Ohio from the dates I’ve mentioned in
this bio to the present day, came AFTER
me…that means all of them.
No matter what you might here.
I am the Godfather of the
Northeast Ohio
Hip Hop/Rap Scene....so that includes
Cleveland and the rest of Ohio. I
give much respect to ALL my homies that are
in, that were and still in this Rap Game.
In
1986, I produced and performed one of the biggest
radio played and best selling Rap songs of
Cleveland’s Rap History named “I’m Tellin’
It all”. It's
a song that tells my story. I wrote
it because I was pissed off at my rivals at the
time. They all united one summer and decided
to diss me. I went to a concert at The
Front Row. Performing was NWA, Biz
Markie, EPMD, Red Man and a few
others. One Cleveland Rapper, Bango "The
B-Boy Outlaw", in the show dogged me in front
of everyone in his performance. He was the driver
in the "Murder Was The Case" video
by Snoop Dogg and was also on Ice T's Compilation
Album of various artists. He did give a
great show though...I give it to him. I had
written a song that dogged ALL my rivals at
one time and told the TRUE story of the "History
of Rap in Northeast Ohio" in one hit
record! What fun that was! Some
of the lyrics are:
“…In
Hollywood Heights, where I learned to deal,
That’s
Lee & Harvard, to 93rd and Woodhill.
These streets I walk, the boulevards I
cruise,
All around Cleveland, Cochise does rule!
In the home of Rock ‘n Roll, I’ve always
rocked hardcore,
House parties, cabarets, discos and more.
Now Rap it came by via me, Cochise,
I schooled all my homies with R-A-P.
Cause it’s a better way to turn than R&B,
Pop, Jazz, Country ‘n Western getting’ flooded
by these.
Since ’79 and in overseas,
I’ve been knockin’ down walls in every
country…”
---DJ
Cochise
Presently:
I produce Groups, Underground Hip Hop &
Dirty South Mix CDs, Old School R&B Mix
CDs, Old
School Rap CDs and Line Dance Greatest Hits CDs
that have spread all over the globe.
I continue to produce Mix CDs like
Strictly For The Street, Strictly For The House
Party, No Limit Bad Boy, Thuganomix 2000, Line
Dance 2001, Line Dance 2000, Afterwork Mix at Six
CDs, Back in The Day CDs and a host of others.
I’ve had my own mix show on 93.1 FM WZAK “The Afterwork Mix
At Six" thanks to
Lynn Tolliver, Jr (Program Director).
These gigs helped catapult me to the next era in the music
biz. Every since then, I end a radio mix
show, mixes, a party or whatever with..."It's
Over..."!
My Mix CDs, Songs and MP3 Downloads
on the internet are
Club Dance tracks with
different productions including Hip Hop and R&B,
Reggae, House, Techno and Bass Music rockin' dance
floors across the USA and Internationally.
I still have my dj service and record
label, so get in contact to book me for an event: click here
I
want to personally thank all those that have
supported me over the years.
Through my up and down times, there are
those that have been down with me from day
one…through all the rumors…turmoil’s…the
dissing…and whatever else.
If you’ve listened to me on the radio,
played any of my songs & mixes, visited my website,
gave me a shot to mix on-the-air, downloaded an MP3, came to one of my jams, hired
me for a club or party or purchased a ring tone, CD,
DVD,
VHS or cassette tape…I thank you!
Thank
you for all the support
to
all the people down with me back in the day
and
in the present
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D
J C O C H I S E
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| HISTORY
BEHIND FIRST AWARD | CURRENT
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SITE | CONTACT
