Hip-Hop 101

Lesson I: The DJ

"Itchin' for scratch..." Kool Herc and Grand Wizard Theodore drop some knowledge about the history of the DJ in this excerpt from The Source magazine.

1970. An aspiring teenager DJ-recently transplanted to the Bronx from his native Jamaica-decides to liven things up at his next party by extending the length of a record's "break" by combing two turntables and playing two copies of the same record, hip-hoppin' from one turntable to the other . Before long, the double turntable method becomes the standard. A few years later, another teenager discovers that he can make percussive noises by "scratching" one record back and forth in time to the beat of the other. The innovations made by Kool Herc, Grand Wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and other like-minded DJ's of the ear were the spearhead of an underground cultural movement that is now recognized as hip-hop

THE SOURCE: What made y'all different from other DJ's of that time

KOOL HERC: Backing up the record using two turntables to prolong the beats, finding certain break beats that people were waitin' for. I came up with the "merry-go-round," which was a barrage of breaks that I put together. I played the hustle, the cool-out music, for people chillin' at the bar. And then when I called a "merry-go-round," people knew that a lot of break beats were coming.

Grand Wizard Theodore: I was the first to scratch. It's a phenomenon now. We went to San Francisco because the International Turntable Foundation gave me an award for creating the scratch. Now every year, the DJ at the World DJ contest is gonna receive the Grand Wizard Theodore Award.

 

THE SOURCE: Herc, Where was the first place you rock with two turntables?

KOOL HERC: 1520 Cedric Avenue in the Bronx. It was a recreation center. That place is always going to be the first place of hip-hop. The creation. The start of the B-boy, the two turntables and the jam.

THE SOURCE: And Theodore, how did you come up with the scratch?

Grand Wizard Theodore: It was an accident. I was in a practice session, and I was playing the music a little loud, so my moms came and nearly broke down the door. While she was cursing me out, I was holding the record and it was going back and forth in the earphones. I started exploring a little more with different records trying to make it where people could understand it when I actually did a party.

THE SOURCE:So, where was the first time that the scratch was heard in public?

Grand Wizard Theodore: At this place called Sparkle in the Bronx. It was in 1975. When I first started doing it, everybody paused while they were dancing. Some people walked up to the front to find out what I was doing. Other people were partying so hard that they just kept dancing.

THE SOURCE :What was a party like back then?

KOOL HERC: A party was like a big community even-East Side, West Side, South South, North Side. Back in the days, the gangs like to terrorize the main clubs, so it went underground to house parties. I was the guy that kinda resurrected it.

Interview by Erik Parker