These two legends first met sometime in the mid-1980s, when both were DJs for various house and block parties in the Bronx and Brooklyn areas of New York. The two eventually teamed up to form Masters of Work (or MAW – pronounced ‘more’), releasing ground breaking dance music at later producing and remixing 100s of ‘dubs’ and hits records for house music and pop artists alike.
The duo first officially began work together under the Masters of Work name in 1990 for Cutting Records, with Gonzalez having initially ‘given’ use of the name to his friend DJ Todd Terry, a long-time friend and collaborator who would go on to have a hand in future MAW releases and projects. Along with Terry, Gonzalez recorded a few tracks under the Masters of Work name in the 1980s. However, the moniker truly rose to prominence after Little Louie Vega joined the outfit.
Masters at Work & the Todd Terry Connection
To go into a bit more detail about Todd’s connection with MAW… If you’re a house head you probably know the story, but for newbies it’s worth explaining. There are two classic NY house records released by Masters at Work a whole 3 years before Kenny and Louie joined forces. These were by an upcoming producer… Todd Terry, “Alright, Alright” and “Dum Dum Cry”. In the mid 80’s Kenny use to Dj with a crew he named Masters at Work, to put it simply Todd ‘borrowed’ the name and released said records. Luckily Kenny was cool with it (they had become friends by this point), but was very clear… “I’m having that name back one day…” You can see Kenny explaining the story himself here… Todd still collaborates with MAW to this day.
As mentioned above, Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzalez and ‘Little’ Louie Vega have produced, remixed and created music under many other names as well, including MAW, KenLou (Kenny & Louie), Sole Fusion, Hardrive, and Nuyorican Soul (a name inspired by the duo’s pride in their blended culture, citing their pride in their Puerto Rican heritage and love of New York culture and music). The music under the Nuyorican Soul handle differs a lot from the garage and house music the duo usually produce, with a focus on real musicians, minimal use of synthesizers, samples in cultural styles such as latin disco, jazz, soul, and more. For this project, Vega and Gonzalez collaborated with a number of New York musicians including Vincent Montana Jr., Roy Ayers, George Benson, Jocelyn Brown, Tito Puente, the Salsoul Orchestra, India, and more. The release included both covers and original songs, and was a huge hit for the band (edit looking forward to the new LP! Here’s hoping for a 2025 release).
Masters of Work also worked to remix already recorded tracks from various dance artists, including Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jody Watley, Earth, Wind & fire and Los Imigos Invisibles, to name a few.
MAW embrace mixing it up with a huge range of genres, creating iconic works in a variety of mediums, spanning from afro, latin to house music, jazz, techno, dub and more. Not content to pigeonhole themselves to any one genre, Little Louie Vega and Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez continue collaborating with artists across a broad spectrum of musical arenas creating a huge & extensive discography, comprising of hundreds of productions, remixes and original releases – just shows their incredible range and talent. Check out their Discography here.
Their frequent collaborations and work Todd Terry, who’s work ushered in to New York, the house and dance movements of the late 1980s through the 1990s, have certainly inspired Masters at Work. The duo and Terry often revisit to collaborate, remix and produce together (a little known fact: Terry loaned Gonzalez the original drum machine that went on to help much of the incredible work that Masters of Work went on to produce, in the early days). However, Terry is only one of many prolific singers, artists and musicians that the two have collaborated with, produced and/or remixed over the many years they’ve been working together.
Beloved in their native New York, Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez and Little Louie Vega have ushered in a new musical blend of house, hip-hop, latin beats, afro, jazz and dance to create a modern, fresh and cultural miss-mash of sound that is mesmerizing, invigorating, feel good and always danceable. There’s a reason they are often listed as one of the favorites among house and dance enthusiasts as well as jazz and latin music fans, not only in New York, where they are beloved staples, but around the globe. Their border-crossing work is a favorite among DJs & music fans everywhere.
UPDATE: In 2024, after a hiatus of a few years – MAW are back in the studio…
Know For:
The Masters at Work Dubs
Eclectic mix of genres including: Latin, Jazz, Funk, Soul & House
Early New York House music pioneers
The Todd Terry Connection
Prolific producers: They also work individually & together on many projects and under many different names