Disco King Mario (July 1, 1956 – May 21, 1994) was a prominent

Black American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

DJ and pioneer of

hip-hop culture Hip-hop culture is an art movement that emerged in New York City, in the borough of The Bronx; Primarily within the black community. Hip Hop as an art form and culture has been heavily influenced by both male and female artists. It is charac ...

. He is known for being one of the founding fathers of hip-hop. His outdoor parties and park jams made him well known in and around the Bronxdale housing projects, and he was also a member of the

Black Spades The Black Spades were a mostly African-American street gang which started in the Bronx in the Bronxdale houses during the late 1960s and gained popularity in the 1970s. The gang began to spread from the Bronx to Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, S ...

. Mario's family hailed from Edenton, North Carolina, the place of his birth.

DJing & Career

Mario moved from Edenton North Carolina, and relocated to the Bronxdale Houses in the 1960's. In the early 1970's he began to DJ and organize outdoor block parties and park jams. He is noted as one of the first DJ's to start doing this in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His events brought him recognition throughout New York City. In the early stages of hip-hop, the DJ's were the stars at events, with the

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing b ...

being secondary. Mario put on many early shows in the "Gleason Watson" playground, also known as "Rosedale park", in The Bronx. At this time Mario was a prominent member and leader in The Black Spades street gang, which granted additional security to his parties. His crew and event production company was known as "Chuck Chuck City" Mario's sound system evolved greatly over the years. Kool DJ Dee and Tyrone the Mixologist influenced and aided the upgrades to his sound system, which became known for its superior sound quality.

Influence

Mario is one of the lesser known DJs who were throwing events around the time of

DJ Kool Herc Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican-American DJ who is credited with being the founder of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973. Nicknamed the Father of Hip-Hop, Campbe ...

's 1973 indoor party, which is often hailed as the start of hip-hop. Afrika Bambaattaa started out as an assistant to Disco King Mario, and Mario loaned Bambaataa the technical equipment for many of his first DJ appearances. Mario's negotiating ability and clout also helped Bambaataa gain access to many venues and spread Bambaataa's name throughout the community. Mario's

provided security and made sure Kool Herc and Bambattaa were safe at many events. Bambaataa would eventual face Mario in his first DJ-Battle that took place in 1976 in the New York Junior High School 123 For a time, early emcee's Busy Bee Starki was under Mario's guidance and a part of his "Chuck Chuck City" fold. Busy Bee Starski referenced Mario on his 1988 track "Old School" from his album ''Running Thangs.'' Mario never released any records or produced any notable original works of music. However some historians argue that his early role in the organic development of hip-hop is not sufficiently recognized.

Memorials

In Rosedale Park, The Bronx, where Mario once played in the 1970s he was honored by many hip-hop icons like Grand Master Melle Mel,

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), known professionally by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapping , rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Walker is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major rec ...

and many female pioneers like Lisa Lee and many others. In 2023, Rosedale Avenue was officially co-named "Disco King Mario Way"

Personal life

Disco King Mario died aged 37 on May 21, 1994, at 10:30 AM in Saint Barnabas Hospital, Bronx, N.Y.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Disco King Mario African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Rappers from the Bronx 1956 births 1994 deaths East Coast hip-hop musicians American hip-hop DJs 20th-century American rappers 20th-century African-American musicians People from Soundview, Bronx African-American DJs African-American founders DJs from New York City