Only the Best :-))
DJ G. Wiz
On Tuesday evening, with tornado sirens blaring and his audience checking their phones for moment-by-moment coverage of the night’s inclement weather, Ron “G. Wiz” Butts briefly delayed the start of a media showing for his new documentary, Background Check, Volume 1: The Story of St. Louis & East St. Louis Hip Hop 1979-1995. Satisfied that his preview audience was finally all under one roof, the self-taught filmmaker and hip-hop lifer set up his one-hour film with a few comments about what viewers could expect, which is this: the first installment of a three-part exploration of hip-hop, as it grew up in St. Louis’ neighborhood parks, skating rinks, YMCAs, and small clubs scattered across both sides of the river.
Of course, with Wiz as a longtime radio host on St. Louis airwaves—currently heard on both 95.5 FM The Lou (9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays) and 88.1 FM KDHX (7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursdays)—there’s a strong stretch of the film that also explores the role of radio in accelerating a hip-hop audience in St. Louis. In his intro comments, he asked that members of the assembled not put any spoilers out into the world, so we’ll just note this: The key hip-hop track “Rapper’s Delight” was first aired on East St. Louis–based airwaves, but we’ll defer to Background Check to let the full story unknot itself, as there’s more than one theory out there. That he said/she said/they said portion is a fun bit of the film.
The film’s start was intended as a self-produced work on the director, himself, detailing his roles recording, releasing, live DJing, and broadcasting hip-hop in St. Louis. Begun back in 2011, the film shaped itself in a new way once Wiz decided to move it into a much larger story than his own, one of the birth and evolution of hip-hop in the wider community. Even though he was around for the whole story, he told his Tuesday audience that “I thought to myself that no one wants to see a film just about me. So, why don’t we bring the whole city in? That made more sense. Make it universal and bring in as many people as we can.”
In total, over 100 people were interviewed, some showing up in the first episode, others appearing later. Even as titles suggests a trilogy that’ll push up to the mid-’90s, this starter gets about a half-decade into the ’80s, using an assortment of interviews, photos, and a few precious bits of video.
As the work progresses, there’s going to be even more to sift through for Wiz and his small filmmaking team.
“Volume 2,” he deadpans, “will hopefully get released when… I get it done. In the process of putting a film together, I want my documentaries to work for people in South America, China, or Sikeston, Missouri, so that they can visualize what’s going and what’s being said by the images. The images are the most important part of a documentary, along with the facts. That’s why this took so long; the pictures and the footage from people’s interviews. At this point, there’s a total of 103 people that I’ve interviewed. Every person will not be in every volume. We’re telling a story from a bunch of voices. That’s what this is all about.”
In a press release, the film’s described as a “thorough investigation on who were the legendary innovators back in the day that help create an atmosphere and style of a new street culture. Pioneers of Hip Hop music like Jim Gates, Dr. Jockenstein, and Larry Shepard ‘the Original Godfather,’ set the stage for a new type of entertainment targeted to the young and cool people. The documentary takes us back in time and places us in St. Louis with The Rockets, a popular dance group, talking about performing during ‘Afro Day in Fairground Park.’ It includes in-depth interviews with DJ’s, MC’s, promoters, and other influential people in the industry giving their interpretation of what it was like. You will hear controversial tales of who was the first person and radio station to play ‘Rapper’s Delight’ over the airwaves; WESL- East St. Louis, or KATZ-St. Louis. Many reminisce about trying to get on the popular radio show “Roll Call” to recite their freestyle raps. During the interview, participants laugh about the anticipation of getting their call answered and whether they’d get hung up on if their rap was weak. This film is filled with historical information, stories and testimonies about how hip hop impacted the metropolitan area.”
The time spent with the Rockets, in particular, is one of the film’s high points, as Wiz and company were able to get the group’s six dancers and emcee into one room to discuss their beginnings, before allowing them some on-screen time for a short, on-camera dance-off. The camaraderie and good feelings on display as they do this might be the most joyous bit of documentary filmmaking released in town this year.
And, as noted, the film’s about the fascinating growth of hip-hop acts around town, who gained notoriety in geographic sections of St. Louis. Maybe they were popular on the East Side, or had a following in North County. Through it all, local radio stations were the one place in a pre-web world where young listeners could tap into what was hot just across town, even if they weren’t attending those parties on Friday and Saturday nights.
Background Check will get its public debut on Tuesday, June 18, at the Missouri History Museum. Details can be found here.
Between now and then, you can enjoy the film’s trailer on YouTube:
