Whodini rapper John ‘Ecstasy’ Fletcher, hip-hop pioneer, dies at 56 [Los Angeles Times :: BC-FLETCHER-OBIT:LA]
John “Ecstasy” Fletcher, cofounder of the early New York hip-hop group Whodini, who used electro-funk and R&B influences to expand the new genre into a commercially potent force, died Wednesday at age 56.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
“The African and Native American ancestors have gathered around and chosen this day, during the Winter Solstice, Dec 23rd, 2020 to call upon a most endeared, generous, and sincere soul,” Fletcher’s daughter Jonnelle wrote in a statement.
“‘One Love’ to one of Hip Hop’s Greatest! There will never be another,” his bandmate Jalil Hutchins added.
John "Ecstasy" Fletcher, cofounder of the early New York hip-hop group Whodini, who used electro-funk and R&B influences to expand the new genre into a commercially potent force, died Wednesday
John “Ecstasy” Fletcher of trailblazing 80s hip-hop group Whodini dead at 56
Lyndsey Parker
December 23, 2020, 6:11 PM
Whodini sJalil Hutchins (left) and John Ecstasy Fletcher (right) backstage in 1984. (Photo: Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
A who’s-who of the hip-hop community took to social media Wednesday to mourn the death of John “Ecstasy” Fletcher, best known as the charismatic, Zorro-hatted co-vocalist of the trailblazing Brooklyn rap trio Whodini. Questlove of the Roots was the first to break the sad news via his Twitter and Instagram accounts, posting, “One love to Ecstasy of the legendary #Whodini. This man was legendary and a pivotal member of one of the most legendary groups in hip hop. This is sad man.” The group’s Grandmaster Dee later confirmed the news to
The cause of death was not immediately known.
“The African and Native American ancestors have gathered around and chosen this day, during the Winter Solstice, Dec 23rd, 2020 to call upon a most endeared, generous, and sincere soul,” Fletcher’s daughter Jonnelle wrote in a statement.
“‘One Love’ to one of Hip Hop’s Greatest! There will never be another,” his bandmate Jalil Hutchins added.
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Fletcher was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the neighborhood’s Wyckoff projects. Whodini came of age in the late ’70s and early ’80s, alongside Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and Kurtis Blow, some of the first acts to take an emergent hip-hop culture of DJ-driven street parties and gain notice in the wider music industry. Whodini’s sound synth-driven with a hook-heavy mix of singing and rapping would influence generations of acts and become prime sample material for Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle and Nas.
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