Big Mucci

Urban / R&B Cleveland , OH United States

About Big Mucci

Since 1996, Cleveland Ohio's own Big Mucci also known as "The Emperor of Line Dance Music" has been entertaining crowds all across the country. Big Mucci a US. Marine Vet, is known for his f ...

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  • Big Mucci - Line Dance Choreographer, Recording Artisti

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By Anne Nickoloff, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- “Whoa, do the shuffle!” The command abruptly dips into a catchy bass line that’s very close to the one in Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Soon, directions are called out -- steps, kicks, and a few “giddy-ups” mixed in with whistle toots. If you’re from Cleveland, you might recognize “The Cleveland Shuffle” by 71 North. The iconic line-dance song, first released in 1998, then re-released in 2002 with dance call-outs, is a sensation that’s been embraced at Northeast Ohio weddings and birthday celebrations ever since. According to 71 North leader Big Mucci -- aka musician and dancer Mark Wynn -- the song has been played at Cavs halftime shows, former WNBA team Cleveland Rockers’ games and even during mayoral races. “I believe ‘The Cleveland Shuffle’ made a big impact because it was something fresh and new that Clevelanders had not heard or seen,” Wynn said. “I am the first person to ever make a line-dance record in the city of Cleveland. I am also the first person ever to make a line-dance record song for the city of Cleveland.” “The Cleveland Shuffle,” along with regional hits like “Boodie Bounce” and “Biker’s Shuffle,” remain some of Wynn’s best-known work today, two decades later. This year, he celebrated the successful songs on his new remix album, “The Linedance Movement 2,” which features instrumental versions and electronic remixes of the shuffle, along with brand-new singles. All of Wynn’s music is strictly made for line dancing. The songs’ steady beats pair with straightforward dances, with Wynn leading the group. Wynn used to be the leader and primary songwriter of 71 North, but now produces music under his own moniker ‘Big Mucci’ -- a combination of his childhood nickname “Mucci” and his more recent nickname “Big Man.” In the past decade, 71 North (a dance crew named after one of Cleveland’s most prominent highways) broke apart while members went on to find careers in theater, fitness, graphic design and more. Only Wynn continues to put out line-dance music, and he’s well known for it both locally and nationally. He received two lifetime achievement awards -- one from Baltimore’s Union Crew line dance collective and one from the Ohio Hip-Hop Awards. He was honored as an “Ohio Icon” with an Ohio Kings award, and won an award of excellence at Cleveland’s Legend Awards. In addition to his awards, one of Wynn’s big accomplishments is that Beyonce used a “Biker’s Shuffle” dance move on her “Formation” world tour -- or, it’s at least a move that looks similar enough to the “Biker’s Shuffle.” (Wynn proved his point with a couple of convincing videos on YouTube.) Wynn calls himself the “godson” of line-dancing, falling in with DJ Cupid, Casper and DJ Maestro, ushering in an era of line-dancing in the ’90s that was inspired by disco music. “When you say line dance, the first thing people think of is country,” Wynn said. “But country line-dancing came after the disco era.” In the mid-1970s, “L.A. Hustle” took over disco clubs on the West Coast, and was modified into “The Bus Stop” when it earned popularity on the East Coast in the late ‘70s. According to Wynn, “The Cleveland Shuffle,” released in 1998, was the next urban line-dancing song to have call-outs. Of course, other popular records came out in between, notably “The Electric Slide.” But because the original version of “The Electric Slide” was based on Bunny Wailers’ “Electric Boogie,” which did not have call-outs in the song, Wynn doesn’t count it as an original line dance single. That’s an important distinction, Wynn said. “A lot of people call me the godson of line-dancing, because I make actual music for line dancing. You have people that have the regular music that put a line dance to it, but then you have people like me who make line dances and the music,” Wynn said. “You can’t do no other type of dances.” Wynn finds inspiration for songs from his own life. Wynn, an avid motorcyclist and a member of O’Men’s motorcycle club, wrote “Biker’s Shuffle” to honor the group and to break stigmas about it. (The O’Mens were featured in a 2003 Cleveland Scene feature titled: “Un-Easy Riders: The Omens Motorcycle Club went from hard partyers to unlikely Samaritans.”) “We’re just regular people, a group of people that comes together that loves riding motorcycles,” he said. “I try to bring a positive light to the whole thing.” There’s also “Breast Cancer Awareness Shuffle,” a song Wynn wrote in honor of his mother, who died two years ago following a 15-year fight with the disease. Originally, Wynn planned to film his mom dancing for the music video, but she died before he got the chance. “It was a big shock,” he said. “I wish I had videotaped it then.” Growing up, Wynn was supported by his family in his artistic pursuits. He was raised in the city’s Lee-Harvard neighborhood. When his parents divorced, he split time between Lee-Harvard and Euclid. He went to the Cleveland School of the Arts from 4th to 8th grade, with a major in modern dance and ballet, and a minor in drama. From there, he went to John Marshall High School and then graduated from Max Hayes High School in 1991. “My whole dream was to be an MC Hammer backup dancer, and to dance on ‘Soul Train,’” he said. “I’ve been dancing forever.” Wynn played high school football for half a season, but his father pulled him off the team when his grades started slipping. During his junior year of high school, Wynn was involved with schoolmates’ gangs, trying to fit in with others his age. “Thinking back, it’s kind of funny because my friends used to call me a part-time gang banger because where I lived with my mother and also where I lived with my father -- there was no gang activities in those areas,” he said. “Plus, I think I may have been the only gang banger who had to be in the house by the time the street lights came on.” After graduating, Wynn joined the Marine Corps and was stationed at Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii, working in marine aviation logistics. He also had temporary additional duty in military police in Okinawa, Japan. The moment he returned home to Cleveland, he got back to dancing. He wrote and released “Boodie Bounce” in 1997 while he was working at a McDonald’s in Tower City. The dance song provided levity in a time of tragedy. Wynn’s younger brother Anthony was killed that same year, a victim of gun violence. At the time, Wynn had almost no experience in writing music -- but fans were so excited about the dance song that they encouraged him to write more. He continued to release singles, EPs and albums for the next two decades, as both 71 North and Big Mucci, and regularly danced at events. He still dances today, working around his day job as a security guard. Currently, Wynn’s work in music takes up most of his weekends, taking him to events around the country. He averages about 100 shows a year -- but he still makes time to care for his three children and his partner. Wynn performs at festivals, community centers, wedding receptions and cruises. His music is also used at schools in physical education programs, helping teach dance as an exercise. “Anything that deals with entertainment, I’m there,” he said. Sometimes, Wynn’s songs are more intense when performed in the line dancing community. He’ll play instrumental versions and let passionate followers dance along, with all the steps memorized. “In the line dance world, you have regular line dancers who do the clubs and wedding receptions, a night out, social gatherings,” he said. “Then, you have the line-dance community, where they live, eat, sleep line dancing. That’s all they do.” Wynn wants all of his Big Mucci releases to remain accessible for everyone -- even people who think they can’t dance, or children. It’s the reason he includes wordless instrumental versions of his songs, and also why he recently introduced clean versions of songs like “Boodie Bounce” and “Hokey Pokey” for kids. For Wynn, the best part about performing is seeing groups share a moment of joy together. “A lot of people come, they’re feeling down, or you don’t know what’s going on in their home, but they come out and that 20-30 minutes of them out there line dancing, it just brings a smile to their face,” he said. “My favorite part is to see the enjoyment on peoples’ faces.”

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Influences

T-Pain, 69 Boys