DJ Casper, the Chicago DJ behind the dance ground staple “Cha Cha Slide,” has died, seven years after he was identified with most cancers. He was 58.

Casper’s spouse Kim introduced his demise in a press release shared with ABC 7 Chicago, calling him a “fun-loving, giving particular person.”

“He was a real, family-oriented man,” stated Kim, who didn’t instantly reply to PEOPLE’s request for remark. “He cherished Chicago with all his coronary heart. He will likely be tremendously missed.”

Born Willie Perry Jr. in Englewood, Chicago, the DJ adopted the nickname Casper due to his behavior of sporting white onstage. In 1998, he wrote half one of many “Cha Cha Slide” for his nephew, who was working as a private coach at a Bally Whole Health.

The music, with its now-iconic directions, like “Slide to the left” and “reverse,” shortly grew to become a success in train lessons and college gymnasiums, prompting Casper to launch a brand new model, “Casper Slide Pt. 2,” in 2000.

“Properly, truly, I’m probably not stunned,” he informed Vainness Truthful in 2018 of its enduring reputation. “The music acquired actual scorching round 2004. And, I imply, as we speak, they’ve been enjoying it prefer it’s brand-new. You possibly can hear it in each stadium, each sporting occasion. They performed it on the Olympics. You hear it all over the place, so I’m probably not stunned. I’m simply joyful it’s nonetheless going, however I’m not stunned.”

The DJ even made a cameo on the hit Netflix sequence Orange Is the New Black in 2018 to bop his signature dance with Uzo Aduba’s character in a dream sequence.

Casper was identified with renal and neuroendocrine most cancers in 2016, although he informed Vainness Truthful two years later that his sickness was in remission.

“If you already know me you already know I am not gonna cease. I’m gonna proceed to go. I’ll proceed to go till I can’t go,” he informed ABC 7 in Could in what can be his closing tv interview. “Anyone that’s going by most cancers, know that you simply acquired most cancers and most cancers don’t have you ever. So carry on doing the cha-cha slide.”

Casper is reportedly survived by his spouse and 4 youngsters.