“Cha Cha Slide” Creator DJ Casper Dead At 58 After Cancer Battle

The music industry has lost a star.

DJ Casper, the inventor of the “Cha Cha Slide,” died on August 7 at 58, according to his wife Kim, according to Chicago’s ABC7.

Casper died after a year-long fight with cancer.

“They diagnosed me in 2016 with two forms of cancer, renal and Neuroendocrine, which is kidney and liver,” he told ABC7 anchor Samantha Chatman in May. “So they went in to attempt surgery and discovered that the kidney was connected to the main artery.” As a result, they opted against it. They resolved to treat it.”

According to the website for his Casper Classic Radio, the artist, also known as Mr. C The Slide Man, underwent chemotherapy. Casper notified ABC7 in 2019 that he was in remission. However, his cancer reappeared later. Casper, on the other hand, never gave up hope.

“If you know me, you know I’m not gonna stop,” he told the news outlet in May. “I’m going to keep going. I’ll keep going till I can’t anymore.”

DJ Casper, the inventor of the “Cha Cha Slide,” died on August 7 at 58, according to his wife Kim, according to Chicago’s ABC7.

Casper grew up in Englewood, Chicago, as Willie Perry Jr. According to his Casper Classic Radio bio, he was given the nickname Casper because he was virtually always dressed in white throughout his performances.

According to the website, Casper devised the “Casper Slide Pt. 1″—also known as the “Cha Cha Slide”—for his nephew, a trainer at Bally Total Fitness, in 1998. Two years later, he released “Casper Slide Pt. 2,” which drew the attention of Elroy Smith from Chicago’s radio station WGCI-FM, according to his bio.

The song quickly rose to the top of the charts, reaching number one in the United Kingdom. It continues slamming into fans’ hearts on the dance floor more than two decades later. Casper, who has previously worked with radio station WVAZ V103 and his own Casper Classic Radio, even appeared in season six of Orange Is the New Black, where his tune was broadcast.

And his music, as well as his legacy, will live on.

“Anyone going through cancer should know that you have cancer and cancer does not have you,” Casper previously told ABC7. “So keep on doing the ‘Cha Cha Slide.'”

SOURCE – (AP)