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John Fletcher, who was known by the stage name “Ecstasy” while playing with the first rap group Whodini, has died, according to the group’s Grand Master Dee and many friends. He was 56 years old. The cause of death has not been revealed.
“An ecstatic love of the legendary #Whodini,” Roots drummer Questlove wrote on social media. “This man was legendary and a pivotal member of one of hip hop’s most legendary groups. He’s a sad man.
Whodini was among the commercial pioneers of rap music as contemporaries of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Kurtis Blow. Their hit singles included Friends, monsters come out at night, magic wand and The haunted house of rock. The group won a platinum record (one million units sold) and two gold albums (500,000 units).
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Tributes poured in for Fletcher on social media.
“[In] 1987 I entered the Def Jam tour, “wrote Public Enemy’s Chuck D.” I tended to be nervous, looking at 15,000 fans in front of me every night. There were two MCS who directly guided my calm that summer. One was Doug E. Fresh and the other was Ecstacy of Whodini. Always there to reassure with advice and tips. “
Whodini was formed by Fletcher and Jalil Hutchins in Brooklyn, NY in 1982. The band signed with Jive Records and managed by Russell Simmons, who also managed Run-DMC and Kurtis Blow. Their first single was Magic wand, a tribute to the early days of hip-hop DJ Mr. Magic.
Fletcher, known for his Zorro hat. was a focal point of the group.
The big commercial breakthrough came with Escape, who understood Freaks come out at night and Friends, the latter is one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop.
Whodini hit the road with Run-DMC’s epic “Raising Hell Tour”, one of this year’s major musical events that also featured LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys.
With the emergence of new styles in hip-hop, Whodini became part of the old school and was pushed up the food chain. Their last album arrived in 1996, but the band continued to appear at reunion shows.
Whodini was honored by VH1’s Hip Hop Honors in 2007 and by the Black Music Honors in 2018, where he received the Hip-Hop Icon Award.
No information was immediately available on survivors or memorial plans.
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