Remembering Mr. Magic

I never knew his real name, until learning of his death yesterday.
I didn't have to know his real name. His nickname, "MR. MAGIC," told me everything I needed to know.
John "Mr. Magic" Rivas died of a heart attack, age 53.
He helped popularize what had been the underground sound of hip-hop in the early 1980s, with his pioneering mix show on WBLS-FM.
I heard Mr. Magic's show during a college trip to NEW YORK CITY.
Following that trip, I purchased "MR. MAGIC'S RAP ATTACK, VOL. 2," a 1987 cassette tape that I played almost continuously upon my return from the Big Apple.
"Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C., the superb "Eric B. is President," by Eric B. & Rakim and Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff's "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" were included on that compilation, which introduced me and probably countless others to the sounds of urban America.
Hip-hop had not yet begun to dominate New York, let alone the rest of the nation or the world, when Mr. Magic co-founded the "Rap Attack" show on WBLS-FM in 1983.
Now, Mr. Magic is widely credited for introducing hip-hop to the mainstream, as well as helping to launch the careers of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.
I wonder how many of today's artists are aware of the trail blazed by Mr. Magic?
Hopefully, they'll incorporate some of the rampant creativity of the OLD SCHOOL into their work of today.