In the ’70s, hip-hop was budding at block and house parties in the Bronx, where DJs spinning turntables moved crowds like puppet masters. Until the late ’70s, most of those DJs were men; that is, until the ascension of Lawanda McFadden, aka Wanda Dee.
Dee became the first woman DJ to lead the hip-hop genre, and during a recent phone interview, she elaborated on the process of gaining others’ acceptance in the industry. She recounted one night when Afrika Bambaataa, one of the originators of breakbeat DJing, invited Dee to perform at an event. When she tried to set up, the guy running the PA dismissed her.
“I walked up to the DJ booth and told him I was a guest of Afrika Bambaataa to DJ, and this guy laughed in my face,” Dee recalls. “He was like, ‘I don’t believe you. Get out of here.’”
Despite the nature of the interaction, she went downstairs to find the event coordinator, and by then, Bambaataa had heard and stepped in. After she played her set, Dee said the man who was questioning her fell to his knees and apologized.
“I didn’t realize how much resistance I was going to get,” Dee said. “To me, it was all the more worth the fight because I knew I was on a path that had never been paved before with any other female DJ. That’s how it was for me and the different places that I went to play.”
Dee’s historical debut as hip-hop’s first female DJ paved the way for her to move behind the turntables and to the center as a singer and performer. She will be among the first generation of hip-hop stars taking part in Eric Floyd’s Legends of Hip-Hop show at the Peacock Theater on Sunday, Nov. 30.
The star-studded lineup includes Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, KRS-One, Doug E. Fresh, Furious Five (featuring Melle Mel & Scorpio), Planet Patrol and Kurtis Blow & Sugarhill Gang.
“It’s like a family reunion,” said Eric Floyd, husband and manager of Dee, during the interview. “There are various generations of hip-hop, but there’s only one first generation. These are the people who laid the original bricks in the foundation of the multi-billion-dollar operation that is hip-hop. Everyone who loves the true originators, pioneers, and veterans, this is the show you want to be at. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. We’re getting offers now to take it around the country, to take it around the world, but guess what, LA? You’re getting it first.”
As the first female DJ, Dee was making waves from the Bronx, performing in neighboring cities and states, including Queens and Staten Island, New York, as well as Connecticut and New Jersey. Dee said she often had to cart her records and equipment to and from each show, sometimes involving ferry rides and overnight stays in dangerous places.
She described Bambaataa as a prominent brother figure who provided a level of protection on the streets through his gang, the Black Spades, which later transformed into the Universal Zulu Nation, a global hip-hop collective. Dee also later met DJ Kool Herc, the father of hip-hop, whose breakbeat DJing and funky drum solos laid the foundation for the genre.
Herc welcomed Dee to some of the parties he hosted, which she said provided an alternative to the gang life intertwined with hip-hop, and a space where young people could gather to enjoy music in a safe environment. Dee credits both Herc and Bambaataa as mentors and said even though there were present dangers, her love of the music kept her going.
“It was a powerful calling for me, and I never thought of the danger at all because I always believed that my ancestors and my guardian angels would protect me and walk with me,” Dee said.
As her reputation grew, she became a staple of the music emerging from the Bronx, leading her to audition for Harry Belafonte’s film “Beat Street.” She said the film’s production company reached out to her after the cast and consultants recommended that they feature her, given her prominence as the first female DJ in the genre. After setting up an audition where Dee performed a DJ set, she asked them if they had a place for her in the film, to which Belafonte replied, “There is now.”
“I was so happy because that was like it was a game-changer for me,” Dee said. “It was a major game-changer to be in a movie that was released worldwide, and I was just so ecstatic.”
On the first day “Beat Street” was released, Dee snuck into a screening in her neighborhood with her brother, who waited until the lights went out before sitting down in the back.
“We watched the whole movie, and then when my part came up, you would think Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson were both in that movie performing together,” she said. “People jumped up in the air, screaming and hollering like it was ten thousand people in the movie theater. It was so touching, both Eric and I’s eyes are watering just thinking about it.”
The film served as a launching pad for Dee, elevating her from a regional act to a global one at the age of 21. After the premiere, she was invited to perform at London’s Lyceum Theatre, where she was surprised by the reception she received. Dee remembers maneuvering through a crowd, asking who they were there to see, only to be told they were waiting for her.
“That was another moment that I was just touched and grateful,” she said. “I’d finally seen at that point that they liked all the hard work and how it paid off.”
In 1986, two years after “Beat Street,” Dee released “Blue Eyes,” which featured her scratching and showcased her as the vocalist for the first time. She was encouraged by Floyd, who believed she could easily transition from DJ to singer. The song became another historical first, making Dee the first female rapper to go platinum with a single. She was ready to continue singing, but was still holding out for the perfect moment.
Prior to meeting Dee, Floyd was not so familiar with the world of hip-hop and worked as a dancer on the television show “Fame.” In his off time, he also worked the stages with singers Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Shirley Bassey, and Sammy Davis Jr.
Floyd said that when he met Dee, he felt more “uptown and Broadway cabaret” than the underground music scene she was coming from. However, he still had show business experience that he felt could translate.
At the time, female rappers were dressing similarly to their male counterparts, with baggy jeans, sweat suits, and sneakers driving the fashion. Floyd suggested that Dee take a different direction with glamour and sex appeal. He pitched a way to beat the men who fronted the genre: harness what they couldn’t. Dee agreed and brought on dancers who teetered on the edge of exotic and erotic in her performances, paving the way for future female rappers like Lil’ Kim, Nikki Minaj, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion to take a page from the same playbook. At 62, Dee still incorporates her sex appeal with an unabashed confidence.
“You have to have the courage and dare to be different,” she said. “The goddess image and persona that I use on stage and who I am off stage are totally different. It’s my sexuality, decision and body, and I’m proud of it. No one has the right to tell me how to present myself, whether on stage or off the stage. It’s my power and I don’t give away my power to anybody, and I don’t allow negativity and fear to be a part of me.”
Floyd said he used to work with Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, on shows where he brought aspiring singers and performers to the school, including up-and-coming artists such as Beverly Johnson, Mark Anthony, Chris Rock, and MC Light, among others, in their early days.
He once pitched a show with Dee, which was approved by the school’s principal, Joe Clark, but he was unable to attend because of a conflicting commitment, leaving him with the school’s vice principal, Julian Jenkins, a Jehovah’s Witness. When Jenkins saw Dee pull the pants off her dancers, he sprinted through the aisles to the stage and shut the curtain, infuriated by the show’s suggestive content. Despite Jenkins’ reaction, Floyd knew an opposite reaction was forthcoming and also felt it was time to pursue singing full-time, with the momentum behind her.
“Over the next week or two, Wanda was the hottest thing in the country,” Floyd said. “It went on, and she was on Good Morning America, People Magazine . . . she was everywhere. By that point, now she’s selling another two million records because of all the press.”
Floyd and Dee have been married for 42 years, and Floyd has managed her for nearly as many years. During the interview, they describe each other as best friends and say they trust each other completely, including in matters of marriage and business. That trust, they say, still guides the relationship and extends into her professional life, as evident in shows like Legends of Hip-Hop that celebrate her achievements. Floyd said that, as an air sign, he complements her as a fire sign, noting that “no fire can breathe without air,” and that the more air he fans under her, the hotter and larger her flame becomes.
“That is really the magic of our professional life, and our marriage is always going to be intact because we just get along,” he said. “The professional life works because I set the table for her, but she always serves the meal, and when she serves it, it’s always hot.”
Eric Floyd’s Legends Of Hip-Hop
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30
Where: Peacock Theater, 777 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles.
Admission: Tickets start at $124 at AXS.com.