(image courtesy of myspace.com/mrmagicmusic)

The man who brought hip hop from the park to the radio, legendary New York radio personality DJ Mr. Magic, died on Friday at the age of 53. Although his show was only on the air for six years his influence was wide reaching. DJ Mister Magic was born John Rivas and MTV called him hip hop's Walter Cronkite. His program, Rap Attack, started in 1983 on WBLS and was the first hip hop show on a commercial station.


WNYC's Janaya Williams has this remembrance.

The hip hop group Whodini pay tribute to DJ Mr. Magic in their video 'Magic's Wand.'



DJ Premier has a mix tape tribute titled: 'R.I.P. Mr. Magic Tribute' on his blog. It provides some useful context and is recommended, but we offer a parental advisory: explicit lyrics.