The Song Planner

Early DJ / Turntablism Rap

tagStarted 1981Peak 1981-1986Last big hit still active

Located in 1 route

Hip-Hop / Rap → Old School / Historical Foundations

Records that put the DJ center stage: scratching, cutting, backspins, crossfader cuts and beat-juggling assembled from chopped vinyl. The turntable becomes the instrument, the mix becomes the composition. Sound is collage-like and percussive, foregrounding hand skill and break manipulation over conventional song structure or rapping.

History

Grand Wizzard Theodore is credited with inventing the scratch; Grandmaster Flash's 'Adventures on the Wheels of Steel' (1981) was the first record built entirely from turntable manipulation. The craft was later named turntablism and revived in the '90s by virtuoso crews and DMC champions like the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, X-Ecutioners and DJ Q-Bert.

Defining artists

Essential listening

← Explore Hip-Hop / Rap

Sources

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Grandmaster_Flash_on_the_Wheels_of_Steel
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratching
  • https://mn2s.com/news/news/history-turntablism/