DJ Disco Wiz - New School

New School

The grandson of the late Puerto Rican artist and Santero Norberto Cedeño; (La Mano Poderosa, 1950), Wiz is the creator of "The Hip-Hop Meets Spoken Wordz" series, a hip hop and poetry performance series that gives a voice to up-and-coming Latino talent in New York City. As a poet, DJ Disco Wiz has performed at the Apollo Theater and the landmark Nuyorican Poets Cafe and his poetry can be seen in the upcoming book Born in the Bronx. Wiz also appears in a few documentaries on hip-hop history including 1 LOVE, a film produced by noted hip-hop historian James "Koe" Rodriguez about the lives of Joe Conzo, Ernie Paniccioli, and Jamel Shabazz--hip-hop’s first photographers.

Wiz has openly contributed to the community education of the formative years of hip-hop. In the millennium issue of The Source Magazine he candidly shared his experience in being the first Latino during the culture’s evolution. He was also a major contributor in the opening of the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington in 2000. His contribution and donation of original hip-hop flyers, solely for the preservation of hip-hop can be seen as part of the archives. He was also instrumental in the making of Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn’s rendition of the early years of hip-hop entitled Yes, Yes Y’all; sharing numerous original flyers and first-hand accounts of the early years of hip-hop including an account of the historical New York City blackout of 1977.

He is also a board member of the Universal Federation for the Preservation of Hip Hop Culture, chaired by Afrika Bambaataa of the Universal Zulu Nation. The Federation also includes on its board; Grandmaster Caz, DJ Tony Tone, Kurtis Blow, GrandMaster Melle Mel, KRS-One, Lovebug Starski, Jorge “PopMaster Fabel” Pabon, and photographer Joe Conzo.

At present time Wiz is co-authoring his memoirs with Simon & Schuster author Ivan Sanchez. The book is titled It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip-Hop’s First Latino DJ. The book will be released on the Miss Rosen imprint of powerHouse Books in June 2009.