Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

winner remixer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the

Masters at Work Masters at Work is the American garage house production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. The duo has produced music together under the names MAW, KenLou, Sole Fusion, Hardrive, and Nuyorican Soul. They have bee ...

musical production team.

Biography

He was born to a musician family, as his father, Luis F. Vega Sr., was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

, and his uncle was singer

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (30 September 1946 – 29 June 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa ...

of the

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...

. Vega embarked on his music career as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

, spinning records at the age of 13. By 1985, Louie began playing house and block parties in his local

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

and his first

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gen ...

residency was at the Devil's Nest, in the Bronx, and later he moved to heartthrob (the old Funhouse), Roseland,

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

and the Palladium in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. During the 1990s, Vega was playing at one of the most influential nightclubs for

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, The Sound Factory Bar at the Underground Network Parties with promoters Don Welch and Barbara Tucker (also singer). During this time, production team

began a remixing team which consisted of young producers "Little Louie" Vega and partner

Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (born July 5, 1970), also sometimes known as K-Dope, is an American record producer and disc jockey. He is one half of the classic house music Masters at Work musical production team with Little Louie Vega; and also releas ...

. Vega's uncle is salsa vocalist

, while Gonzalez's father, Hector Torres, also performs salsa. Vega is also the cousin of Eric Vega, a popular event creator and promoter in New York City. Louie Vega is presently married to vocalist Ana Martins, also known as Anané Vega. Louie Vega was ranked #5 at the Top House Artists of 2020 by Traxsource. Louie Vega was ranked #1 at the Top Artists of 2021 by Traxsource.

Discography

: ''See

for the rest of his discography''

Albums

*''Elements of Life'' (2004) *''Elements of Life Extensions'' (2005) * ''Elements of Life Eclipse'' (2013) * '' Louie Vega Starring...XXVIII'' (2016) * '' NYC Disco'' (2018) * ''Expansions In The NYC'' (2022)

Singles

Louie Vega/"Little" Louie Vega

*1998 "Te Quiero" *1990 "House of Vega" *1991 " Ride on the Rhythm", with

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gr ...

*1996 "Hip Hop Jazz EP", with Jeffrey Collins *2000 "Elements of Life", with Blaze *2000 "Life Goes On", with Arnold Jarvis *2002 "Diamond Life", with Jay 'Sinister' Sealee and Julie McKnight *2002 "Brand New Day", with Blaze *2003 "Cerca De Mi", with Raul Midon and Albert Menendez *2003 "Africa/Brasil" *2004 "Thousand Fingered Man" *2004 "Mozalounge", with Anané, Raul Midon and Albert Menendez *2004 "Journey's Prelude", with Ursula Rucker *2004 "Love is on the Way", with Blaze *2004 "Steel Congo", with House of Rhumba *2005 "V Gets Jazzy", with Mr. V *2006 "Joshua's Arm", with Blaze *2007 "Here to Stay", with Soni *2016 "A New Day", with

Caron Wheeler Caron Melina Wheeler (born 19 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the found ...

and

Jazzie B Trevor Beresford Romeo OBE, (born 26 January 1963) better known as Jazzie B, is a British DJ and music producer. He is the founder of Soul II Soul. Life and career Jazzie was born in London UK to parents of Antiguan descent in Hornsey, London ...

Sole Fusion

*1992 "We Can Make It" *1994 "Bass Tone" *1995 "The Chosen Path", with Kenny Dope *1997 "We Can Make It '97"

Freestyle Orchestra

*1989 "Don't Tell Me", with

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crossed ...

*1990 "Keep on Pumpin' it up", with

*1998 "I Don't Understand This", with Kenny Dope *1998 "Odyssey/I'm Ready", with Kenny Dope

Hardrive/Hardrive 2000

*1992 "Sindae", with Kenny Dope *1993 "Deep Inside EP" *1993 "Hardrive EP", with Kenny Dope *1999 "2000 EP" *1999 "Never Forget", with Lynae

Other aliases

*1989 "There's a Bat in my House", as Caped Crusaders, with

*1990 "Afrika", as History, with Q-Tee *1994 "Love & Happiness", as River Ocean, with

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

*1994 "The Tribal EP", as River Ocean, with

*1994 "Curious", as Sun Sun Sun, with Lem Springsteen *1995 "Reach", as Lil Mo Yin Yang, with

Erick Morillo Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, The Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, D ...

*1995 "Freaky", as Lou², with Lil Louis *1996 "The Missile", as The Chameleon *1996 "Shout-n-Out", as Lood, with Mood II Swing

Production for other artists

*1987

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member ...

- songs "Victim of Love" (Little louie Vega mix) and "Hideaway" (Little Louie Vega mix) on the remix album '' The Two Ring Circus'' *1987 The Cover Girls - "Because of You", with Robert Clivilles *1988 Noel - " Like a Child", with Roman Ricardo *1990 Kimiesha Holmes - "Love me True" *1990 2 in a Room - "Take me Away", with Aldo Marin *1994

Barbara Tucker Barbara Tucker (born March 19, 1967), is an American house and soul singer, songwriter and choreographer born in Brooklyn, New York, US. Tucker had six No. 1 hits on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the 1990s and into the 2000s, and se ...

- "I Get Lifted" *1995

- "Stay Together" *1998 Donnell Rush - "Perfect Day for Company", with Lem Springsteen *2001

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

- " Y-Tu-Conga" *2003 Anané - "Nos Vida/Mon Amour" *2003 Ursula Rucker - "Release" *2004 Kenny Bobien - "Spread Love" *2005 Anané - "Amazing Love" *2005 Anané - "Let Me Love You", with Mr. V *2005 Anané - "Move, Bounce, Shake", with Mr. V *2007 Mr. V - "Put Your Drink Down"

References

External links

* – official site
Louie Vega

The Chameleon

Hardrive

River Ocean

Sole Fusion
''alias'' discographies at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming t ...

200 Sheep

Caped Crusaders

Freestyle Orchestra

Kenlou

Lil Mo' Yin Yang

Lood

Lou²

Masters At Work

Nuyorican Soul

Sun, Sun, Sun

Unreleased Project

Voices
''groups'' discographies at

Louie Vega
Train Wreck Mix at RBMA Radio On Demand
Louie Vega
Master Work {{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Little Louie 1965 births Living people Club DJs Electronic dance music DJs DJs from New York City American electronic musicians American house musicians House musicians Remixers Grammy Award winners Place of birth missing (living people) Entertainers from the Bronx Musicians from New York City American DJs Record producers from New York (state) Hispanic and Latino American musicians American musicians of Puerto Rican descent