In 1996, DJ Kool’s live club recording of “Let Me Clear My Throat” became an iconic rap anthem.
This month, the D.C. native was notified that his tune was finally certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, an achievement that is long overdue.
“Who would have thunk that DJ Kool would’ve ever been on WTOP? I grew up listening to WTOP, so this is big for me!” Kool said. “I got a phone call from a friend of mine in Philadelphia, shoutout to Big Al. He was like, ‘Kool, you know your record just went platinum.’ I was like, ‘Man, get out of here! What are you talking about? Where did you see that?’ He was like, ‘Go to the RIAA website,’ so I did that and it was right there. You definitely get a plaque and a bunch of other things come along with it like getting able to do interviews on WTOP!”
Born in the District in 1958, John W. Bowman Jr. grew up attending St. Peter School, John Tyler Elementary School, Randall Junior High School and Eastern Senior High School.
“I was a four-sport athlete coming up: I played baseball, basketball, football and ran track,” DJ Kool said. “I was playing organized basketball at the time for the CYO league, the Catholic Youth Organization. … Two teammates of mine would always talk about how I came down the court. … I had to go behind me back, through my legs, Magic Johnson, so they would say, ‘Look at that cool as** guy.’ … When I became a DJ, I said, ‘Kool, I’ll use that as my DJ handle.'”
He grew up listening to all kinds of music.
“The first single that I heard was ‘Kim Tim III (Personality Jock)’ by a funk band called The Fatback Band,” DJ Kool said. “The next thing you know, here comes Sugarhill Gang with ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ … Maniac McCloud was my earliest DJ influence around here. … My earliest influence as an MC was from Melle Mel from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. My earliest influence as far (as) becoming a go-go artist was ‘The Godfather’ Chuck Brown.”
He began as a mobile DJ in 1977 before spinning turntables at various clubs around the D.C. area.
“In 1979, I had my first opportunity to play the Paragon II on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown. … I got a call from my mentor Maniac McCloud playing The Room on 12th and New York Avenue, NW. I worked there from 1982-1986; the Classics out on Allentown Road in Camp Springs; I did the Ibex on Georgia Avenue, NW; I did the East Side in Southeast/Southwest D.C.; Triples nightclub in Temple Hills, Maryland; Rhythm in Landover; the Legends.”
He’ll never forget one Sunday night at the Ibex when an iconic rapper paid a surprise visit.
“Chuck Brown was performing, I was the DJ,” DJ Kool said. “LL Cool J came to the club unannounced! They brought him in the backdoor, so they had to take them up that hellacious fire escape. … Chuck Brown was doing an LL Cool J song, ‘I’m Bad,’ so I tell LL, ‘Go up and rock with Chuck!’ … LL came up on his blindside, so people started screaming. Pops thought they were screaming for him, then he looks over and LL Cool J was standing right there!”
DJ Kool began releasing singles on the Billboard chart consecutively from 1986 to 1996, including two albums, “The Music Ain’t Loud Enuff” (1990) and “20-Minute Workout” (1994). His biggest album was “Let Me Clear My Throat” (1996). Its title track opening is a sample of Kool & The Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging” — later sampled in Mase’s “Feel So Good” — before shifting to a sample of The 45 King’s “The 900 Number.”
“I was playing ‘The 900 Number’ in a club called Ivory’s in Richmond, Virginia,” DJ Kool said. “I was about to say something to the crowd [when] something actually got caught in my throat, so to play off the fact that I was up there dying in front of everybody in real time, I just spontaneously said, ‘Let me clear my throat,’ which was a Beastie Boys line. … I coughed! That was an actual real body function right there that most of us do.”
As for the lyrics, DJ Kool delivers the call and response of a live performance — “When I say freeze, you just freeze one time, when I see freeze you just stop on a dime, freeze!”
“Because of the art of call-and-response, which actually started out in gospel music if you think way back and people like Cab Calloway with ‘Hi-de hi-de hi-de-hi,'” DJ Kool said. “Call and response is a very big part of go-go music as well, so I think that is one of the main ingredients that makes it does what it does. … Then the rest of the song just started making itself, ‘have mercy babe, I hope you don’t mind,’ that’s what I call my Chuck Brown-isms.”
He got a call from a Philadelphia radio station suggesting that he perform the song live at the Bahama Bay club.
“Nobody knew that we were doing a live recording, so we got it the first take,” DJ Kool said. “Basically, we were just recording the live performance. That’s the little method to my madness. … All I did was mic the room up so you can hear them, and I had my mic in front of me so you can hear me, and I’m going back and forth cutting this record doing it live. … and the rest is history, as they say.”
After such mainstream success, DJ Kool followed up with the album “Gimme Dat Beat” (1997), including tracks like “The Word” featuring the Junk Yard Band and “Run Joe” featuring Chuck Brown. His newfound fame even allowed him to collaborate with WWF superstar “Macho Man” Randy Savage on the song “Hit the Floor” (2003).
“I get a phone call, ‘Hey, Kool, man, wanna do this song with Macho Man?'” DJ Kool said. “I’m a big Macho Man Randy Savage fan; I might be his No. 1 fan, rest in peace. This guy was the best. We went to Tampa, we recorded the record and here’s a fun fact: ‘Macho Man’ wasn’t too far in person as his character. … That was him all day, every day, 24/7! … I got a chance to go on a promotional tour with him across the country, flying on private jets.”
Today, you’ll find him at D.C. sports arenas wearing a curly “W” to rep the home teams.
“This ‘W’ actually comes from the Washington Senators … I used to go to the Senators games as a kid because I lived in walking distance to RFK Stadium,” DJ Kool said. “The reason I wear this ‘W’ the way that I do. It doesn’t have anything to do with baseball; it has everything to do with the town that made me who I am: Washington D.C. I rep my city. … I’m proud to be from here, extremely, probably to the point of insanity. It’s D.C. or nothing for me!”
Listen to the full conversation on my podcast below:
