Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; June 7, 1964 – December 23, 2020); and turntable artist DJ Drew Carter, a.k.a. Grandmaster Dee. Coming out of the fertile New York rap scene of the early 1980s, Whodini was one of the first rap groups to add a R&B twist to their music, thus laying the foundation for a new genre, new jack swing. The group made its name with good-humored songs such as "Magic's Wand" (the first rap song accompanied by a video), "The Haunted House of Rock", "Friends", "Five Minutes of Funk", and "Freaks Come Out at Night". Live performances of the group were the first rap concerts with the participation of breakdance dancers from the group UTFO. Russell Simmons was the manager of the group in the 1980s. The group released six studio albums. Fourteen of the group’s singles hit the Billboard charts. Four of the group’s albums were certified Platinum by the RIAA. Career Early years Whodini was among the first hip hop groups to cultivate a high-profile national following for hip hop music and made significant inroads on urban radio. They were contemporaries of other hip hop groups such as Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa, Run-D.M.C., The Fat Boys and Warp 9. The group signed with London-based independent record label Jive Records in 1982; they enjoyed a string of hits for several years, mostly charting on urban and R&B radio stations. The bulk of production on its releases was done by Larry Smith, a bass player who also handled much of Run-D.M.C.'s early work. In 1982, Whodini made a hip hop story with its debut single "Magic's Wand", an ode to hip hop radio pioneer Mr. Magic, which became the first hip hop song for which a music video was shhot. Synthpop and electro pioneer Thomas Dolby helped produce this single. "Magic's Wand" also has the distinction of being one of Whodini's most-sampled songs. On July 8, 1983, the group released the self-titled album Whodini on vinyl and audio cassettes. The bulk of album was produced by influential German pioneer Conny Plank at his own studio near Cologne, Germany. On CD, the album was released in the United States only in 2010.