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"King
of the Breaks"
Rest
In Peace James Leacy
Eulogy by: Dj TRAiLS
Hip Hop Elements / Pro-Am / Zulu Nation
I
realize that most people only saw Dj Leacy as the man behind the turntables
or felt his touch only through his music. I hope that by reading this, the world
will gain a better insight as to what a great man James Leacy was.
For those who don't know, Dj Leacy was the official
Bboy Masters Pro-Am Dj since 1998. Speedy Legs was
the first person in the U.S. to reconize his skills and his music selection
and he invited him to DJ at the Pro-Am in 1998. Leacy was always a very humble
person and always reminded Speedy how grateful he was because nobody else would
give him a chance before that. Bboy Masters Pro-Am was the event that made Dj
James Leacy famous in the United States and Dj Leacy also played an equal role
in the success of the Bboy Masters Pro-Am. Having the best Dj in the world helped
elevate Pro-Am to one of the best events in the world. After years of laying
down the soundtrack and the mix tapes to the one of the greatest events in Bboy
history, he started accepting invitations to play at other major U.S. events.
For me, all the hardwork, physical labor, stress, drama, and sacrifice that it takes to put on a major event is all validated by spending a week hanging out with such amazing people. Dj Leacy was one of those amazing people that I was fortunate enough to be close to through my dedication to the Bboy community and the Pro-Am. James Leacy is one of my best friends and always will be. I can still hear his voice and he's left a lasting impression in my heart and mind. Although we only got see him once or twice a year, we always stayed in touch via phone and email. Even though we all lead very busy lives, Leacy used to take the time to call us every couple of weeks so we could catch up, reminisce, and make future plans. Last time we spoke, he was looking forward to bringing his wife to meet us at this years Zulu Anniversary in New York and Djing the Bboy Battle together. One of his dreams was to meet all the pioneers of Hip Hop and Dj with them side by side. He often reminded me how pissed(in a funny way) he was that I got the chance to do so through my affiliation with the Zulu Nation Anniversaries.
Leacy also happened to be one of the funniest people on the planet. Every time
he called, he was either trying to prank call me or get me involved with some
practical joke on someone else. We had a lot of good laughs together. One of
my best memories of him is at Pro-Am 2002, we were following DJ magic in his
van that was hauling about 7 bboys in the back and all of a sudden the van blew
out a huge cloud of smoke and broke down. We couldn't help but break out into
hysterical laughter thinking about how scared the bboys in the back must have
been. We laughed so hard I had to stop the car in the middle of the street because
I would have crashed. Then we pulled up next to van and I asked them if they
wanted to race. Leacy, Domino, and myself also had a ball crackin' on Speedy
at Dennys in Los Angeles for the Pro-Am Armageddon battle of 2000. After the
last day of Pro-Am 2003, Leacy and I hit the bar and had a bunch of drinks and
spent the whole time laughing at Popsicle who was tipsy and making a fool of
himself by dancing with some other guys girlfriend and having his drink stolen
by a hooker. The next day Leacy, didn't wake up until 7pm. It was hilarious
to wake him up in the evening and hear him complain with his accent, "I
have the biggest F#%#* headache". Another fond memory I have is outlined
by the picture of Leacy holding the trophy below. When he found out we were
giving him an award, he cried out, "Uh oh, I know what an award means,
it means I'm not getting paid!" In his next life, I'm sure he will come
back as a comedian.
Icey Ice, Speedy Legs, and James Leacy at Pro-Am 2002
Every year, I looked forward to seeing Leacy so I could show him how much I improved on cutting doubles and what new breaks I found. My four biggest influences in Djing are: Dj Immortal, Leacy, Afrika Bambaattaa, and Jazzy Jay. Although we never discussed each other's records because Leacy was a firm believer in the old school tradition that you never tell anyone, especially another DJ what records you have in your arsenal, he was very supportive and encouraging of my Djing. He was also a real turntable hog. Not because of an ego, he just loved playing for the dancers so much that he never wanted to get off. This guy would Dj all day and all night for 4-5 days of Pro-Am. The preliminaries, battles, circles, after parties, EVERYTHING! I would also like to nominate Leacy for the title of"GrandMaster Leacy." He earned it.
James Leacy was a hard working construction worker by day and the best bboy dj in the world by night. He had just been married to a Columbian woman within the last two years and was very happy and proud. He often talked about moving to Miami so he could hang out with Speedy and myself and live a better life. If it wasn't for the hastles of immigration and attaining work permits, he would have relocated long ago.
On October 14, 2004 - James Leacy was hit by an automobile while out jogging and lost his life. He has left his mark on so many that his legacy will be immortalized forever through his music.
Although the loss is great, I have faith that he is in a much better place and we will be reunited one day. Until the time comes for us to join him, he will always be watching over us at every jam and making sure the music is on point and that the bboys are dancing to the music.
Check back
soon for the Commerative Dj Leacy Mix CD mixed by: Dj Slynkee,
Dj Trails, Abel, Original Music by Mr. Wiggles, and more to be announced...
All profits will be distributed directly to his wife and family.
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 Leacy showing off his record |
 Zulu Gremlin and Dj Leacy |
 Trails, Leacy, Skarekro, & Speedy Legs |
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 Leacy on the Wheels |
 One of Dj Leacy's mix CD's All of Leacy's CD's and Tape will be reissued shortly. |
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