Whodini was among the very first hip-hop groups to cultivate a high-profile national following for hip-hop music and made significant inroads on Urban radio. As they were contemporaries of other hip-hop groups such as the Fat Boys, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five and Afrika Bambaataa, they were managed by Russell Simmons, brother of Joseph “Run” Simmons of Run-D.M.C.. The group signed with London-based independent record label Jive Records in 1982; they enjoyed a string of hits for several years, mostly charting on Urban and R&B radio stations. The bulk of production on their releases was done by Larry Smith, a bass player who also handled much of Run-D.M.C.’s early work.

In keeping with the 1980s trend, Whodini’s albums tended to be synthesizer-driven with a heavy electronic drumbeat. The sampling technology that became identified with many hip-hop songs and with many bands was barely prominent in their music, and subsequently they never fully relied on it to create their sound. Their music comprised of mostly original compositions.

In 1983 they recorded the self titled album "Whodini", and their first single "Haunted House of Rock” was a Halloween-themed number which even today is still played in some clubs. Synth-pop pioneer Thomas Dolby helped produce another of their singles, “Magic’s Wand,” which was originally conceived as an advertisement for prominent radio jock Mr. Magic, who worked for New York’s WBLS radio. "Magic's Wand" has the distinction of being one of Whodini's most-sampled songs.
[edit] Escape

In 1984 they made Escape and many of the songs on this album are now considered[by whom?] classics, such as "Five Minutes Of Funk", "Freaks Come Out at Night", the instrumental "Featuring Grand Master Dee", "Big Mouth", and the relationship-driven "Friends". Many of these songs were also groundbreaking in the hip hop culture as each one of the songs told a unique story from the urban perspective. The album ended up going platinum, selling over one million albums upon its release.

The group began to cultivate a largely female audience, and their multi-layered beats and synth-driven sounds were a hit in dance clubs, as it fit perfectly in between the end of disco and the growing punk-rock era. When 12-inch versions of the songs came out on vinyl record for deejay use, the music, with their long instrumental breaks and infectious drum beats, were also great for breakdancing, which began to increase in popularity at the time.

The instrumental version of "Five Minutes of Funk" was used as the theme music for WNYC TV show Video Music Box, an influential early hip hop music video show.

The vinyl album is long out of print and the CD (only pressed twice, once in 1992 and again in 2002) is also out of print and any copies of either of them are extremely valuable to collectors.