Young Marcellus Wilson – better known by his professional tag of DJ Marcellus – is becoming a hit sensation on Chicago’s house music scene.
The 11-year-old music prodigy debuted professionally on July 26, when he was in fact only 10 years old, at the Daley Plaza House Music Hot Lunch Mix with Mother Diva, where he was the opening DJ for three other veteran DJs.
Marcellus was accredited by Valencia Dantzler, aka Mother Diva, who has been producing and hosting the Daley Plaza House Music Mix for three years running, with being the youngest DJ to spin house music at the event.
DJ Marcellus’s most recent gig was being a guest DJ at a Chicago public school fine arts festival. Marcellus said he enjoyed seeing the people dance to his music and is looking forward to doing more events with his eventual goal of being on the radio someday.
This young man’s performance has inspired our young people.
Marcellus, who is in the sixth grade at the Deneen School of Excellence and resides in the Chatham area, is the son of DJ L’Monte (LaMonte Wilson), who is a member of DJs of the Craft and a Prince Hall Mason.
DJ L’Monte explains that his son has been interested in music for almost half his life!
“Marcellus has loved music, especially house music, since the early age of six,” his dad explains. “Being exposed to house music frequently by me as a DJ, he took an instant liking to it. By singing along with some of the hottest hits in the mixes, he started developing an ear for good party music.
“We would go to the annual Chosen Few and DJs of the Craft barbecues and many other outdoor house music events, and I could see that he was enjoying the music so much. Attending these events spurred his interest in learning how to DJ, so I decided to teach him how to mix, then enrolled him into a DJ class to learn the origins and fundamentals of being a disc jockey.”
His father says that some of DJ Marcellus’ favorite songs to mix are: Wonderful by Terisa Griffin, Trumpeteer by Ray Foxx, and Dance by BeBe Winans, and that besides mixing house music, his son loves R&B and slow jams.
Mother Diva Dantzler, who is a talk show host, producer, Grammy member and also known as Madam Ambassador of House Music, called DJ Marcellus’ debut at the Daley Plaza House Music Hot Lunch Mix over the summer “a very important moment to Chicago youth.”
Dantzler said, “This young man’s performance has inspired our young people, especially with all the negative publicity and violence among our youth in Chicago.”
A professional DJ since 1990, DJ L’Monte has spun in Chicago clubs from the Clique to the Cotton Club to the Fifty Yard Line and cites his influences in being a DJ as such great jocks as Farley “Funkin’” Keith, Steve “Silk” Hurley, Pharris Thomas, Herb Kent “The Kool Gent,” and Sam Chatman.
DJ L’Monte is CEO of Mixenuf Multi Media, a disk jockey and video service specializing in wedding receptions, banquets and private parties and can be reached at www.mixenuf.com.
Young Marcellus Wilson can be found on social media as DJ Marcellus on Facebook and Instagram.
