Pleasure – Let's Dance (1976) (New York City Blackout, July 13, 1977)

A legendary jam, so funky that its mere presence on a Bronx turntable may have caused the New York City blackout of 1977.

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On July 13, 1977, Casanova Fly (later Grandmaster Caz) and DJ Disco Wiz were spinning records in the Bronx, their equipment set up in a park on Valentine and 183rd Street, battling a rival named DJ Eddie.  Around 9:27 pm, moments after Caz put on the super funky “Let’s Dance” (1976) by Pleasure off their Accept No Substitutes LP, the record suddenly slowed to a stop as all the lights went out in the vicinity.

Caz and Wiz initially thought they were responsible, having tapped into a lamp post to power their system, but soon realized the lights had also gone dark in the surrounding buildings.  Then they heard the sounds of shop owners slamming their gates down all over the block.  “Hit the stores!,” someone in the crowd yelled, and others advanced on the DJ’s who had been entertaining them just moments before, trying to steal their equipment.  But both were armed, and pulled out their guns, as Caz told the would-be looters, “Go that way, motherfuckers!”

DJ Disco Wiz and Grandmaster Caz

New York City’s infamous blackout of 1977 had begun.  And by the time it was over, hip hop was on its way to blowing up as a cultural force.  Before that night, there were only a few DJ crews in the Bronx.  “After the blackout, you had a DJ on every block…(it) provided them with the resources,” said Wiz.  “It kind of financed the next generation of aspiring DJs.”

Before long, according to Caz, “everybody was a DJ.  Everybody stole turntables and stuff.  Every electronic store imaginable got hit for stuff.  Every record store.  Everything.” 

Further info:

“How the Blackout of 1977 Helped Hip Hop Blow Up,” by Sara Rosen, Mandatory, July 13, 2017.

“‘It Turned the World Upside Down’: How New York City’s 1977 Blackout Jump-Started the Hip-Hop Era,” by Jonathan Abrams, Rolling Stone, October 14, 2022.

#soul #funk #breaks #DJDiscoWiz #GrandmasterCaz #HipHop #NYCBlackout