Interview with the Original B-Boy Wallace Dee
                                                      

Wallace Dee

conducted by Sir Norin Rad (The Intruders / Germany)

NORIN RAD:"From which part of the Bronx are you originally and where did you live at when you started to attend Kool DJ Herc's parties?"

WALLACE DEE:"When I was going to Kool Herc's parties I was living in Bronx River. 1609 Bronx River..that's the building that I was coming from. Right before that...okay... I was like in walking distance to Kool Herc's block parties. I was on Morris Avenue.. between 169th and 170th street in the Bronx right by Taft High School. That's where I was walking from...from that area to Kool Herc's parties....Kool Herc's parties on Sedgwick Avenue and most of them were in the park over there. He would set his equipment up over there and he would always let me know in advance when he was going to having these block parties. I wouldn't get there until like maybe the middle of the block party and then would call out my name through these big speakers like, "Wallace Dee is here!!!" Then everybody would come from everywhere and start surrounding me and they would wait for me to start to dance....they would wait until someone would come up and challenge me. One time Trixie came up and challenged me...you know the first thing I did while he had his back turned? I jumped over his head (laughs) and landed on the ground and started dancing. He told me that last Sunday!!! He was like, "Yo, I'll never forget that, Dee!" Everybody just went crazy!!! They wasn't used to that. They were like, "Ohhh!!!!!!" That's how I was dancing and my best record was "Listen To Me " by Baby Huey. I remember it like it was yesterday!!! Coke La Rock would be on the turntables and what he would do is he would work his way to Baby Huey. He would play like James Brown first and then from James Brown he would go to "Listen To Me"....That's my favourite record!  That's where I used to go offfffffffffffff!!!!!!! (excited)."

NORIN RAD:"How would you know about Kool Herc's parties?"

WALLACE DEE:"Okay, I was talking to his sister...Kool Herc's sister....I got a picture of her. There is a place.. a center called Roberto Clemente State Park and I used to go there all the time to play basketball and all of them used to come there. So after we finished playing everybody would basically gather round and start talking and we would ask her, "When is Kool Herc giving his next party and where it is going to be at?" So she would tell us, "Listen, my brother is gonna be at this park.." or , "He is going to be at The Hevalo!" All these different places where used to be at...DJing...when he first started. So I would be like, "Okay, I'm gonna be there!" Cause you know everybody knew about Kool Herc but I was there when he first started!!"

Cindy (Kool Herc's sister)

NORIN RAD:"So you were there at his very first parties back in 1973?"

WALLACE DEE:" Yes!!! I am part of the first generation that started this! The hiphop dancing...moving to the beat. That's how it all basically came about. IT STARTED IN THE BRONX! Everybody knows me as  "Wallace Dee from the Bronx". They put the "Dee" in there cause I was the dancer. "

NORIN RAD:"Oh, so that's where that came from?!? Who exactly added that "Dee" to your name?"

WALLACE DEE:"Coke!!! Coke La Rock gave me "Wallace Dee"! Wallace The Dancer!!!! (excited) That's where that "Dee" in my name came from. He gave Trixie his name, too!"

NORIN RAD:"Yes, Trixie told me he was given that name by Coke La Rock because he used to do a lot of tricks when was dancing. So you were there also at Kool Herc's parties which took place in that recreation room on 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, right?"

WALLACE DEE:"Of course!  I was there when he first started going to that recreation room..when he first started playing music in there....when he just had the small speakers (laughs). I used to be there! See all of us were friends at first. Down at Roberto Clemente State Park because Herc and his mother and sister they lived right across the street. 1520 he was living in that building."

NORIN RAD:"Did you also dance at those various indoor spots where Herc and Coke used to DJ at?"

WALLACE DEE:"Of course...the Twilight Zone, The Hevalo and the Executive Playhouse... those were the main spots when they were playing inside."

NORIN RAD:"So what would your dancing look like back then?"

WALLACE DEE:"Okay, when I used to come on and the music started I used to do the waving of the hands back and forth first, right?  And then as the beat went on I started moving my feet opposite of my hands...in sync...the finesse of the hands and the feet... the beat...it all went together. My hands went to the left and the right and my feet went to the right and the left. That's what made it look so spectacular...I always used to go with the beat and then at times I also used to freeze, you know? I used to freeze on the beat. I always had the shocking impression. What you thought I couldn't do that's what I did. I used make people say, "Oh shit!!! Look at that!!!" That was my impression. I always had the shocking impression because I was practicing to those beats.... "

NORIN RAD:"And matching the beats with your moves was mandatory back then, right?"

WALLACE DEE:"Yes, that's right! You couldn't ignore that....you had to dance to the beat. But the thing was.....when I dropped to the floor.... dancing.......the next time I came to a Kool Herc party everybody was doing that style of dance! (laughs) So I said to myself," I gotta come up with something different the next time I go." Cause everybody was doing my style. So I gotta let it go off for a little while and think about something different. That's why they were waiting for me to come to all Kool Herc parties cause I always came up with something different that they would take from me......copying it....you know what I mean?!It was like, "Oh shit, you are dancing just like Wallace Dee now!"

NORIN RAD:"So you're saying that you were basically passing out blueprints for other cats? They would bite your styles."

WALLACE DEE:"There you go! There you go! And I didn't mind that  cause then you got a whole group of people in the Bronx who were basically doing the same thing and who would try to put their own style to it. And they got that style from me! So I said, "Okay, that's alright with me. I don't mind that at all. If they love it, I love it even better."

NORIN RAD:"What kind of music did Herc play besides breakbeats?"

WALLACE DEE:"Herc used to play slow music, too. You know that back in the days type of slow music? Like "It's A Thin Line Between Love And Hate"...stuff like that."

NORIN RAD:"By the Persuaders."

WALLACE DEE:"There you go..He would play those musics, too! So people could get together...slow down and slow dance....doing the 500 and all that stuff. That's how you got romantically involved with each other. That's what I liked about Kool Herc and Coke La Rock. They wouldn't play just one set of music, you know? They would play all the other music, too. Slow music...they would play four, five songs of that then they would come back slowly but surely."

NORIN RAD:"The Hustle Dance was also done at Kool Herc's parties, right?"

WALLACE DEE:"Oh my god! Listen! I used to hustle with two or three women at the same time! That would basically be the house music. When he got to the era..now he hadn't gotten to it early...he played house music. And that's when a lot people used to hustle."

NORIN RAD:"Songs like "Do What You Gotta Do" by Eddie Drennon tht came out in 1975, right?"

WALLACE DEE:"Yeah, what you know about this??? (laughs)And it is good to mix it up like that. This way you don't have just one style of dancing. You got all different kind of styles! You got the hiphop beats, you got the slow music, hustle music...you got different music, different styles, man!"

NORIN RAD:"So all these different styles of music were like part of the recipe Herc used to rock a party?"

WALLACE DEE:"There you go! Some people wanted to chill out. Herc got everybody involved. When he played that Hustle music everybody was on the floor... hustling...even the girls that weren't dancing earlier! That's what he used to do. He put all that music together. Like when I got there he had that breakdancing going on...you know he got everybody jumping. Then he moved to the hustle music and got everybody who was sitting on the floor dancing with each other. You should have seen it, man! All these girls doing the Hustle!!! And then...he moved to the romantic part ....the slow music. Getting up close with the girl that you liked...He also played that for the couples who came there. He was playing music for everybody. I like that, I really do." 

NORIN RAD:"Now I have heard that you were known back then for always dressing up real fly? What was it that you used to wear?"

WALLACE DEE:"Okay, I'mma give it to you from head to toe. I used to have on the Cortefiel coat, right? That I got from AJ Lester's....I had a beige one, I had a grey one and I had a navy blue one that went down to the middle of your legs. Then I also had a Peacoat! The velours hat or a Kangol...maybe a short mockneck, the Playboys...you had to have Playboys on....of course you had to have the taylor made pants as well. I had the taylor made pants with the flap on the back.  I used to match it with different colours. The hat, the shirt, the Playboys that I wore I used to match it up. See if I had on a grey mockneck or knit shirt I would match with navy blue or grey taylor made pants and the grey Cortefiel socks that had just come out. I used to dress, man! I used to dress to impress! When you're stepping into a party with them clothes on you'll be noticed and you gonna get a lot of girls' numbers, too! (chuckles)"

NORIN RAD:"What was it like to go shopping at AJ Lesters in Harlem back then?"

WALLACE DEE:"Okay, basically I either jumped out of a cab or my car and I would go inside. Everybody would greet me as Wallace. "Yo , Wallace we got something new, man! Yo, come downstairs! I gotta show you this!" They would show me all the latest styles! And whatever nice styles were out during that time I used to buy it. Yes I would. Me and my brother..my brother Boscoe. We used to be together all the time."

NORIN RAD:"Oh, he used to accompany you to Herc's parties and dance there as well, right?"

WALLACE DEE:"All the time! It was me, my brother Boscoe and that guy named Tex. We all had the same Cortefiel Coats on and anything (laughs) We used to love that! You would walk in there (AJ Lesters) with your Cortefiel and your velours hat on and everybody would know you. "Yo, what's up Wallace Dee?? What's up Boscoe?? What's up Tex!" They knew us! We never had our heads up in the sky or anything like that we would talk to everybody. Whenever they wanted to see a certain step,  we would show them. "Yo, show me that step you was doing at that Herc party!" No problem...I'd get out of  my coat and get busy! That's how it was!"

NORIN RAD:"So the cats at AJ Lesters already knew you?"

WALLACE DEE:"Yes, they would always treat me like that cause I was going there so much...I used to go there at least two or three times a week. I would see what they'd have.....maybe at the second or third day I'd buy a stack of clothes that would hold me over for the whole month or whatever, you know? But I would definetely be there......They'd be like, "Yo Wallace Dee let me show you something! I take you down there!!!" You know, things like that! And you feel good when they greet you like that...let you know they been around... and these are the same guys that'd be going to Kool Herc parties....working at AJ Lesters."

NORIN RAD:"Those cats that worked at AJ Lesters came to Kool Herc's parties?"

WALLACE DEE:"Yeah..of course!!! Yes they would be there! That's how a lot of them knew knew me..from being at Kool Herc's parties."

NORIN RAD:"Let's talk about your brother Boscoe for a minute. Was he older than you?"

WALLACE DEE:"He is two years older than me."

NORIN RAD:"And your other partner was called Tex, right?"

WALLACE DEE:"Yes, he was my age."

NORIN RAD:"I see and both of them would also dance, right?"

WALLACE DEE:"Yes! Both of them were dancers. Listen, a lot of times me and my brother used to come there (to Herc's parties ) and dance together! Me and Boscoe...Tex wouldn't dance as much as we did but he would be there. But me and Boscoe...we would be dancing, taking out cats over there...that's what they knew us as.... "Yo Wallace Dee and Boscoe is here!!! Yo!!!!!"(laughs) We are part of that true hall of fame! Trust me! We also had team routines prepared for whoever might be there. Listen, we used to practice from the night before til two or three in the morning....you know, the next day!! We made up routines for that particular Kool Herc party that would come up next. All the time..we used to be up late at night when nobody else was around. -Throw on some music and get busy in the street....that's how we practiced. "

NORIN RAD:"What about Tex, though?"

WALLACE DEE:"Tex would also dance from time to time but he wasn't as loose as me and my brother. He was more of the type of guy that would look around for girls and stuff like that, you know? (laughs) Most definetely he was..He would rap to the girls, slow dance with them. That was his thing, that was his style. Me and Boscoe we had like permanent women at that time also..."

NORIN RAD:"How would you describe your brother's style of dancing? Was it similar to yours?"

WALLACE DEE:"Yeah, very similar! I had a little bit more of a finesse style...but he had his own style, no doubt! A lot of times he would say, "Let's do it like this (referring to a particular  team routine)." And then I would say, "Nah, let's do it like that tonight and we'll do that other style tomorrow!" (laughs) Stuff like that! We wouldn't argue...just choosing which style to use. A lot of times I'd be just standing around, waiting for my record to come on...then Coke La Rock would let me know, "Yo, I'm getting ready to play this song!"

 Coke La Rock (The Herculords)

NORIN RAD:"At the beginning of this interview you said that you would live in 1609 Bronx River after you had moved there from Morris Avenue therefore I would like to ask you whether you were also familiar with DJ Mario from Bronxdale during that era?"

WALLACE DEE:" MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARIOOOOOOOO! (very excited) You know who used to DJ with him, help him with his records and all that?"

NORIN RAD:"Who?"

WALLACE DEE:"My brother Boscoe! He used to help him to dig out a lot of good records and stuff like that. Mario used to play in a lot of those project parks in the Soundview area. Boscoe didn't live too far from there. At that time he lived on Story Avenue...near Soundview where him and Mario got together."

NORIN RAD:"So would you also go off at Mario's parties,too  or would you strictly stick to Kool Herc's parties?"

 WALLACE DEE:"No, I would dance over there at Mario's parties, too. It wasn't no difference. I wouldn't dance as much over there but I was dancing at Mario's parties."

NORIN RAD:"So is it possible that you may have influenced the people over there in terms of picking up breaking? I'm asking this because I have heard that some of the original Zulu King B-Boys also live in 1609."

WALLACE DEE:"Yes, I started that whole development! After I started dancing in that area...cause you gotta remember....Bambaataa's Zulu Nation was from Bronx River. My mother lived in 1609.apartment 7F....cats saw me dancing over there. So they were like, "Is Wallace home? Is Wallace coming downstairs?" Stuff like that....So as you said I developed that whole area...in this style of dancing. Cause I been to Bronx River and Story Avenue, Bronxdale......that's where Mario is from. All of that is walking distance  from each other."

NORIN RAD:"Who was your fiercest opponent back then?"

WALLACE DEE:"Nobody really. I used to beat everybody. You know a lot of them battles..it was contests.We used to win things...trophies, money, prestige, reputation...you know that was what was going on  back then. I never really battled anybody that I lost against."

NORIN RAD:"Okay, but from what have I heard you and Trixie used to battle each other a lot back then at Herc's parties."

WALLACE DEE:"That's true!!! (laughs) We used to battle a lot !! If he would come to the floor with all of his different tricks then I would come to the floor with all the different styles I had. Every time we saw each other...and they played our songs...it was like, "Come on, man! Let's go!!! We used to go at it!!! A lot!!! So I would say that Trixie was my main competitor back then. It was kool, though. I enjoyed it. "

Wallace Dee & Trixie - True B-Boy Legends

                                                 END OF PART ONE