Eddie Cheeba, a New York-area DJ considered the founding father of hip-hop, has died. He was 67 years old.
Def Jam founder Russell Simmons announced Cheeba's death Tuesday on Instagram, crediting the DJ as an initial source of inspiration. Simmons saw Cheeba, whose real name is Edward Sturgis, rap over instrumentals at a Harlem club in 1977.
“It wasn't a sophisticated rhyme by today's standards,” Simmons, now a controversial figure facing numerous accusations of sexual misconduct, recalled in Carrie Golus' 2012 biography, “Russell Simmons: From Def Jam to Super Rich.”
Simmons said Cheeba's music made him feel like he “just witnessed the invention of the wheel.” The hip-hop mogul added that the performance made him realize that he wanted a career in hip-hop music.
Simmons followed his inspiration, writing on Instagram in October: “PRAYERS ABOVE The great Eddie Cheba is in the hospital.”
Then this week, Simmons posted a video praising his friend, saying that Cheeba was part of a trio of DJs, along with DJ Hollywood and Lovebug Starski, who were integral to the creation of recorded hip-hop. Lovebug Starski died in 2018 at the age of 57.
“The public didn't know and his family never had the satisfaction of knowing how integral he was to the growth of hip-hop,” Simmons said in the video.
He later added that without Cheeba, along with DJ Hollywood and Lovebug Starski, “there would be no hip-hop records.”
In the caption accompanying the video, Simmons wrote that although people “did not adequately compensate him or celebrate him in his lifetime,” he hoped they would “look back and promote his legacy for current and future generations.”
The National Hip-Hop Museum, whose name appears in Simmons' video, did just that in his memory, recognizing Sturgis' contributions to hip-hop. “RIP DJ Eddie Cheeba, who was a pioneering DJ in New York in the 1970s, considered the number one club DJ,” the caption on the museum's Instagram post read.
The museum's publication offered more history lessons, saying Cheeba was also an inspiration to rap stalwart Kurtis Blow.
“Cheeba is credited with inspiring Def Jam Recordings founder @unclerush to pursue a career in hip-hop when Simmons heard Cheeba perform in Harlem in 1977. Kurtis Blow took his name imitating Cheeba at Russell's suggestion Simmons, copying Eddie's pattern. “Cheeba as ‘hit’ was a force of power as ‘cheeba’ was slang for marijuana.”
Other tributes came from hip-hop festival Rock the Bells, EPMD's Parish Smith (who shared a video of Cheeba proclaiming his fame as a “creator”) and others.
Despite his influence in driving hip-hop, Sturgis released only one record during his career, the 1979 rap-disco hybrid “Lookin' Good (Shake Your Body)” on Tree Line Records.
