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| A Moment of Silence... |
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| Written by Floyd Stevenson | |
| Thursday, 14 February 2008 | |
 The beginning of 2008 has been off to a rocky start. With the recent death of Houston rap legend Pimp C at the end of last year still fresh in the minds of hip hoppers all over the world, North Texas was also hit hard, with not one, but two losses of its own. The first was a complete shock when local MC and promoter William P. Hunnicutt, or Freewill to the heads, passed on Saturday 12th, 2008 in his sleep.
He had recently spent the last year traveling across the United States promoting his music and selling merch on various tours and finally ended up in California where he met his soul mate. I remember calling Vig when I heard about it in disbelief. I found myself wanting to think it was some kind of sick promotional stunt. Not Freewill. He was too young. How could this happen?  Will was such a cool person. He never let negativity affect him, you would always see him with a smile on his face. He always had such a good attitude and approach to everything he did and it carried him far. Looking back, I only remember words of encouragement and kindness from the guy and I suspect he left a similar impression on many others in his path. With any news like this, you always try to find the silver lining and it’s good to know Will was survived by a child. Everyone in the local community came together to help his widow and family in this time of need by organizing a benefit show Saturday February 16th at the Green Elephant. As if that wasn’t enough, not even a month later I was equally shocked to find out on February 2nd, 2008, DJ Frantic or Fran Erck to those that knew him well, was killed in a car wreck on his way home from a DJ gig. Unlike Will, I did know Fran and he too was a kind spirit. He was one of the most focused people on the decks I have ever seen. I had known Fran for many years through the local hip hop scene. He won a DJ battle I held at Knowledge Wednesdays, back at the old Sandbar (now Wax), beating out the other competitors easily with a more elaborate routine and overall polished set. The entire crowd, which consisted mostly of the other DJ's friends, voted for Fran overwhelmingly.  Fran and Big J’s project “The Clever Monkeys” is classic, southern, soulful hip hop at its finest. All the listeners out there already know, it was only a matter of time before the duo was either signed or given a viable distribution deal. That’s real talk. They made exceptional music and had an even better live show. I had the opportunity to see them perform at The Granada Theater when they opened up for Guru and was absolutely amazed at how well they put it down. You could see how much thought, preparation and hard work Frantic put into his performances. That's what always set him apart from a lot of the other DJ's. Fran is survived by his wife, Stacy; his babies, Laddie, Lexi and Kitty; father, Les Erck of Irving; mother, B. J. Karnath and husband Steve of Trophy Club; sister, April Prince and husband Rob of Arlington; grandparents, Drexell and Mary Toombs of Grand Prairie, and Ola Whitaker of Flower Mound; parents-in-law, Mike and Joanne Whitaker of Lewisville; sisters-in-law, Elaine Cool and husband Chris of Houston, and Annette Setliff and husband Adam of Dallas. On behalf of the entire staff of SSA we send our deepest condolences to the families of these two individuals. They were shining examples of the kind of talent we have bubbling in the North Texas hip hop community but more importantly, genuine people, who affected everyone around them in a positive way. Our prayers are with you… If you would like to donate to the Fran Erck Memorial Fund, please go to: www.downingweb.com/djfrantic If you would like to donate to the family of Freewill aka William P. Hunnicutt, please contact his widow: myspace.com/teazemetea            |
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