Lovebug Starski

Lovebug Starski launched his path in the early 1970s as one of hip-hop’s earliest innovators, becoming among the first to layer spoken rhymes over the records he spun while appearing at virtually every hip-hop venue across the New York region. A Bronx native, he entered the profession as an assistant to Pete “DJ” Jones during those same early years. After establishing himself on the circuit, he took the role of resident DJ at Disco Fever in 1978 and shortly afterward began spinning at Club Harlem World and the Renaissance. He moved into recording with the single “Positive Life,” issued on Tayster Records, then supplied the soundtrack for the 1986 film Rappin’ on Atlantic Records and followed that with his debut album House Rock on Epic. A five-year prison term limited his work through the late 1980s, yet during the 1990s he resumed DJ duties alongside longtime associate DJ Hollywood. Lovebug Starski passed away in Las Vegas in February 2018 at age 57.