Little Louie Vega

Not to be confused with the similarly-named house music producer, DJ and singer, Li'l Louis; or the German singer who recorded "Mambo No. 5", Lou Bega.
"Little Louie" Vega
Vega at Club Air, Tokyo – April 29, 2014
Vega at Club Air, Tokyo – April 29, 2014
Background information
Birth nameLuis Ferdinand Vega, Jr.
Born (1965-06-12) June 12, 1965 (age 59)
The Bronx, New York, United States
Genres
Occupations
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • remixer
Labels
Websitewww.vegarecords.net

Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production team.[1]

Biography

He was born to a musician family, as his father, Luis F. Vega Sr., was a jazz saxophonist, and his uncle was singer Héctor Lavoe of the Fania All-Stars. Vega embarked on his music career as a disc jockey, spinning records at the age of 13.[2]

By 1985, Louie began playing house and block parties in his local Bronx and his first nightclub residency was at the Devil's Nest, in the Bronx, and later he moved to heartthrob (the old Funhouse), Roseland, Studio 54 and the Palladium in Manhattan.[3] During the 1990s, Vega was playing at one of the most influential nightclubs for house music, The Sound Factory Bar at the Underground Network Parties with promoters Don Welch and Barbara Tucker (also singer). During this time, production team Masters at Work began a remixing team which consisted of young producers "Little Louie" Vega and partner Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez.[3]

Vega's uncle is salsa vocalist Héctor Lavoe, while Gonzalez's father, Hector Torres, also performs salsa.[4] Vega is also the cousin of Eric Vega, a popular event creator and promoter in New York City. Louie Vega is presently married to vocalist Ana Martins, also known as Anané Vega.

Louie Vega was ranked #5 at the Top House Artists of 2020 by Traxsource.[5]

Louie Vega was ranked #1 at the Top Artists of 2021 by Traxsource.[6]

Discography

See Masters at Work for the rest of his discography

Albums

Singles

Louie Vega/"Little" Louie Vega

Sole Fusion

  • 1992 "We Can Make It"
  • 1994 "Bass Tone"
  • 1995 "The Chosen Path", with Kenny Dope
  • 1997 "We Can Make It '97"

Freestyle Orchestra

Hardrive/Hardrive 2000

  • 1992 "Sindae", with Kenny Dope
  • 1993 "Deep Inside EP"
  • 1993 "Hardrive EP", with Kenny Dope
  • 1999 "2000 EP"
  • 1999 "Never Forget", with Lynae

Other aliases

  • 1989 "There's a Bat in my House", as Caped Crusaders, with Todd Terry
  • 1990 "Afrika", as History, with Q-Tee
  • 1994 "Love & Happiness", as River Ocean, with India
  • 1994 "The Tribal EP", as River Ocean, with India
  • 1994 "Curious", as Sun Sun Sun, with Lem Springsteen
  • 1995 "Reach", as Lil Mo Yin Yang, with Erick Morillo
  • 1995 "Freaky", as Lou², with Lil Louis
  • 1996 "The Missile", as The Chameleon
  • 1996 "Shout-n-Out", as Lood, with Mood II Swing

Production for other artists

See also

References

  1. ^ Potts, Diana. "Biography: "Little Louie" Vega". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  2. ^ IMO Records. "Little Louie Vega Biography". Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2012-03-08. "Little Louie" Vega Biography"], IMO Records' Retrieved on 08 March 2011.
  3. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 413/4. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
  4. ^ "Masters at Work - Biography | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  5. ^ "Top House Artists of 2020". Traxsource. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "Top Artists of 2021". Traxsource. Retrieved February 20, 2021.