The Whiz Kids
The Whiz Kids are a production, DJ, and editing team popular in the late 1980s American underground dance music scene. The team was made up of Wayne "Cutmaster Crash" Walters, and Kevin "Boy Wonder" Fluornoy. The two men began their careers in the early 1980s as local DJ's in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Boy Wonder started as the founder of an open air mobile DJ crew named the CS Express in the housing project he resided in. He often spent time on and around the active turntables in the Royal Sounds record store in the Lauderhill Mall, which morphed in the 4-Sight record label. Once the label was underway, Boy Wonder became the performing DJ for the owner's son, MC ADE. Unhappy in this role, the position was soon filled by DJ Eddie B.
Cutmaster Crash is most famous for being the DJ to fellow 4-Sight Records artist Gigolo Tony, but he was also working with Boy Wonder on demos and production the entire time. Tony's second album, Ain't it Good to Ya, was actually produced by both Crash and Boy Wonder, although only Crash was credited.
Their sound as Miami Bass producers during this period was marked by the introduction of the E-mu SP1200 drum sampler in 1987, which was not only a new sound for the label, but for all of rap music between 1987 and 1989. Since they debuted their "SP1200-tonal-bass-plus-looped-samples" sound in early 1988, they did not find immediate success as it proved too new for the audience. But as the sound was embraced the following year, their skills became a commodity. They produced songs for the 1989 follow up album for MC ADE, but the financial negotiations became extremely difficult. The team left the company as a result, which resulted in their credit stripped from the album.
They continued on, making more of a mark by constructing radio shows that were remarkable works of art. In the late 1980s, very few late night mix-show DJ's mixed live on air, but rather, pre-recorded their mixes beforehand. The Whiz Kids took this opportunity to show the world their editing skills learned from fellow radio DJ/editor Phil Jones, creating unique version of tracks all within a seamless mix of songs. This gained them attention from labels local and abroad to perform post-production edits on other artists' records.
One of the most famous post-production and editing jobs they did was the Electro Bass track Security by The Beat Club in 1989, which was picked up by Atlantic Records, and marketed internationally. The song became a hit in the famed Hacienda club in Manchester, UK, right in the midst of the UK Acid House/Madchester craze. They also produced tracks for BVSMP's debut album, which was being recorded in 1988 to cash in on the group's hit, I Need You, on Suntown Records. However, negotiations between Suntown Records and the major label who would be releasing the album caused the project to be shelved.
This success earned them national attention from IRS Records/Island Records. Crash and Boy Wonder formed a full-fledged group with other performers, enetering a contract with IRS. The crew moved to New York to begin production on their debut album in the early 1990s. After a short stay, Crash decided to leave the deal behind and move home to Florida, prematurely ending the group's career. Between this event and the BVSMP project's demise, Boy Wonder became soured on the industry, and decided to keep a low profile.
Crash currently lives in South Florida where he continues to DJ in clubs and produce music. Kevin (now known as "Life Walks") continues to live and DJ clubs in New York City, often guesting at a new party entitled The Beat Club, named in honor of the track he's famous for.