DJ Casper (born Willie Perry[1] on 23 June 1971 in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American songwriter and DJ.
DJ Casper was raised in Englewood and is known as Casper because he almost always wears white clothing on stage but is also known as [1] DJ Casper, Mr C - The Slide Man or simply Willie. It is not widely known that Casper's first hit, the Cha Cha Slide, was in fact created for a personal trainer back in 1996 which then grew in popularity as an aerobic exercise at fitness clubs. It was some years later that Chicago's WGCI-FM radio station picked it up. The city's M.O.B. Records label became involved as well, helping Casper create a whole album to promote the dance. The Cha Cha Slide was then later picked up by Universal Records.
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There are at least three DJ's going by the name 'Casper', and strangely enough two of them have roots in Chicago; one is drum and bass DJ, the other is famous for his 'Cha Cha Slide' single.
1. DJ Casper (real name Wille Perry) is a Chicago based DJ who had a number one hit single in the UK called "Cha Cha Slide". MC Jig also did a version of this song, but the DJ Casper version was far more successful.
2. DJ Casper - Good Looking Records / Strictly Jungle Chicago
In the 90s, Casper was the undisputed champion of atmospheric/jazzy style of drum & bass in the US. While attending college in Boston, Casper was a resident DJ at one of the first weekly drum and bass nights in the US - Phuturistic Bluez' Jungle Roots (aka Sessionz) - from 1995 to 1997. From 1996 to 1999, he maintained a residency on the longest running weekly drum and bass radio show in the country - Strictly Jungle Chicago on WNUR FM w/ DJ Snuggles. On the production tip, Casper worked with Chris J on several atmospheric d&b projects. Their track, "Mysteries", was released on LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Records in 2001 under the alias Cascade. Two other tunes from that era - "Revelation" and "Symmetry" finally saw the light of day in 2003 on S.F. imprint True Intent.
From 1999 to 2002, Casper took a break from d&b in order to push the sound of UK garage in the US. After hearing UK garage on pirate radio in London, he immediately fell in love with it. Casper established himself as "the leading 2-step DJ in the US" (Urb Magazine). In July 2000, Casper became the first American DJ to play UK garage in London - dropping massive sets at Liberty (Club Colosseum) and on pirate radio station Life FM. He was selected for the 2002 Urb Next 100.
3. DJ Casper is a DJ from Eindhoven, Netherlands. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.