Let's talk about one of the elements of Hip Hop, DJing. A disc jockey (DJ) is a person who mixes recorded music for an audience. Originally, “disc” referred to phonograph records, not the later compact discs or CDs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium. But that's DJ's in terms of definition.
When we look at the origins with Hip Hop, we look back at the times with Clive Campbell (DJ Kool Herc). As rap evolved in the 1970s, so did DJing (or deejaying). DJs (disc jockeys) like Clive Campbell loved to please their audiences. Knowing which records would fill the dance floor and which techniques wowed the most were critical the success of a party.
Campbell was spinning his sister's party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue the night he discovered the breaks. Cindy knew him as Clive. Everyone in the Bronx knew Clive as DJ Kool Herc. The party had gotten off to a slow start. Herc played house music, hard funk, dancehall, and disco; pretty much all the usual floor fillers. But nothing was working. The dancers were waiting for the break sections to hit so they could hit the floor and get down. Kool Herc gave the people what they wanted. Two turntables, a guitar amplifier, and thunderous speakers by his side, he mixed the breaks by cutting up the middle section of choice records and fading them onto one another. It worked magical wonders and still does today.
We can thank these originators, the three most important names in the history of DJing are Clive Campbell (DJ Kool Herc), Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) and Grand Wizard Theodore (Theodore Livingston). DJ Kool Herc
Herc discovered the breaks. He deejayed the first hip-hop party in the summer of 1973.
Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash is known as the inventor of turntable wizardry. He perfected Herc’s breaks by using what he calls the "quick mix theory". Flash would use a headphone to listen to the second record before it merged onto the first before playing it over the speakers. This produced a seamless transition from one record to another.
Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizard Theodore learned to DJ from his brother, Mene Gene. Theodore was also a student of Grandmaster Flash. He's universally credited with the invention of scratching. The story goes that Theodore’s mother had asked him to turn down the volume of his record. When she stormed into the room to reprimand him, he attempted to stop the record immediately by putting pressure on it with his hand. This produced a scratching sound.
**Flash disputes this story. "I guess maybe me and Theodore have to sit down some day and figure this out," Flash told The Guardian in 2002. "I came up with my style; Theodore was my first student; and before me there was no one. So who taught him how to play? But I'm not gonna argue: I love him and I do credit him for making the style believable."
DJing has evolved beyond recognition. Ones and twos have been replaced by CDs and laptops. Regardless, DJs continue to play a pivotal role at hip-hop parties
everywhere Hip Hop is enjoyed, thanks to the genius of Herc, Flash, Theodore and countless others.