Half-Cuban, half-Puerto Rican, Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeño is 100 percent Boogie Down Bronx. Born in the 60s, Wiz struggled in a turbulent and violent relationship with his alcoholic father while trying to protect his mother who was suffering from breast cancer. Raised in the 70s, Wiz learned the code of the streets while hustling with his crew, the East Side Boys. In 1975, Wiz discovered salvation when he hooked up with the legendary Grandmaster Caz to form the Mighty Force Crew, waging some of the biggest DJ battles in the Bronx during hip hop's earliest years. When Hip Hop first hit, the DJ was king. Rockin' the party on two turntables for the b-boys and fly girls on the dance floor, DJs like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash pioneered an art form that has come to define our times. The first Latino DJ in the game, Wiz, along with Caz, went on to make a "mixed plate" in 1977 which combined sound bites, special effects, and paused beats. An innovator, originator, and a battle-style DJ with no fear, Wiz swept through the Bronx like a tornado. But the streets wouldn't leave him in peace. After being convicted on an attempted murder charge, sentenced to nine years in prison, and forced to leave his baby daughter, Wiz was incarcerated upstate at the tender age of 17, where he learned the true meaning of desperation. But as time went on and he overcame his struggles with violence, drugs and alcohol, and women, Wiz eventually liberated himself from the path of self-destruction through love, self-respect, and self-determination. It's Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop's First Latino DJ is a gritty and gripping tale of one man's struggles to not only survive, but to triumph over adversity and abuse that will make your blood run cold. By conquering unimaginable obstacles, Wiz offers inspiration to anyone who has ever wondered, "Why me?" There are no punches pulled, no shorts taken, no inconvenient truths omitted here. The story of DJ Disco Wiz is a searing, powerful, heartbreakingly real hip-hop story. A must-read. --Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation If there are words to describe DJ Disco Wiz they would be true survivor. Born in a time when war and injustice was the state of America, This book is a must read for all fathers mothers, sons, daughters, and educators alike, so that one may understand the pain that so many young people, born in harsh conditions have to endure. --Jamel Shabazz - A Time Before Crack / The Last Sunday in June / Back in the Days / Seconds Of My Life If there are words to describe DJ Disco Wiz they would be true survivor. Born in a time when war and injustice was the state of America, This book is a must read for all fathers mothers, sons, daughters, and educators alike, so that one may understand the pain that so many young people, born in harsh conditions have to endure. "If there are words to describe DJ Disco Wiz they would be true survivor. Born in a time when war and injustice was the state of America, This book is a must read for all fathers mothers, sons, daughters, and educators alike, so that one may understand the pain that so many young people, born in harsh conditions have to endure." Now that Hip Hop is nearing its mid thirties the true and often violent background of the birth of that art form is starting to emerge. "It's Just Begun" the story of DJ Disco Wiz is one of the most compelling and stark naked revelations of the soil in which Hip Hop grew. It explores the growth from crime to art, from violence to consciousness and though it is a morality tale it never sugar coats or sweetens the reality of the pain, danger and madness of the streets. -- Ernie Paniccioli - Who Shot Ya?: Three Decades of Hip-Hop Photography Like Down These Mean Streets, a book which it resembles in narrative power and frank discussion of Black-Latino tensions, It's Just Begun is a meditation on violence, particularly on how violence in the home breeds violence in the streets. In all my years of reading urban literature, I have rarely read such an honest, and self critical description of the act of inflicting violence--of the cost on the person inflicting it, as well as the cost to the victim.--Dr Mark Naison, Professor of African American Studies and History, Fordham University Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeño, the first Latino hip hop DJ, is credited for being the first DJ to make a "mixed plate" in 1977 along with Grandmaster Caz. In the years since, Wiz has been an influential force in educating the world about the early years of hip-hop. Wiz was a major contributor in the opening of the Experience Music Project in Seattle in 2000, and was instrumental in the making of Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn's Yes Yes Y'all (Da Capo Press, 2002). He was also featured in the Emmy-nominated VH1 Rock Doc NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell , and is the creator and founder of the Hip-Hop Meets Spoken Wordz series. Used Book in Go