Cha Cha Slide legend DJ Casper who masterminded dance craze dies
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DJ Casper – the mastermind behind the world-famous dance anthem Cha Cha Slide – has died at the age of 58.
On Monday (August 7), his wife Kim confirmed his passing to ABC7, however his cause of death has not been revealed.
The noughties songwriter, whose real name is Willie Perry Jr, revealed his diagnosis of kidney and liver cancer back in 2016.
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He opened up about his struggles battling the illness and regularly updates his fans on his progress over the years.
The hitmaker previously shared with the publication how his condition had impacted his appetite and was losing a lot of weight as a result.
He told them: "I used to weigh 236 pounds, and I think I'm about 60 pounds less. If you know me, you know I'm not going to stop.
"I'm going to continue to go. I'm going to continue to go until I can't go."
Arguably, the star's biggest hit was the 2000s version of the Cha Cha Slide which he was inspired to do after his nephew, a PE teacher in Chicago, asked him to write a track for a step aerobics class.
It didn't take long before the musical crazy took off, with the hypeman soon inundated with requests to play the song at parties and events.
His record was soon picked up and played by Chicago's WGCI-FM in 2000 which was then released by Universal Records.
The original backing is from 1992 house hit Plastic Dreams, performed by Dutch producer Jaydee, which reached number 11 on the UK Dance charts at the time.
First released in 2000, it took four years for the single to hit the UK, but when it made it across the pond the track was certified Platinum for selling over 600,000 copies worldwide.
Speaking about his global sensation in 2023, he gushed: "It just spread, it went crazy. When I got off the plane at Heathrow, there were about ten thousand people just waiting."
However, he did admit to UniLad that he was "getting sick" of the song after more than two decades but confessed he'll never get sick of watching people dance to it.
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Tributes have been pouring in for the late star online, with fans flooding to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to pass on their condolences.
One user penned: "<an, talk about legacy. RIP DJ Casper. You made a song and corresponding dance that will be solidified into the beyond, as will you."
Another agreed: "The amount of fun memories I have because of this man is insane, this is so disheartening to hear."
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