NY has always had innovators and the best and brightest in every sense. Hip Hop DJs got started here, evolved here and prospered here too. From Kool Herc to Grandmaster Flash, the roots are well covered by this city. Grandmaster Caz was the true innovator as the first rapping DJ. DJ Premier began taking his skills outside of Hip Hop, while still being one of the most prolific Hip Hop DJs.
There is one other DJ that is not as popular as the above-mentioned guys but just as big of a part of the Hip Hop DJ landscape. DJ Scratch. His skills, his passion of the game and his ability to sense music like few can made him the man other DJs love to love. What does that mean, you say? It means that everything from his infamous Jason mask scene to his devotion to old school music to his history is worthy of all the credit he gets. Brought up by Jam Master Jay of RunDMC he joined EPMD as their resident DJ shortly and there was no looking back.
Although Scratch has an extensive production roster with Wu-Tang, LL Cool J, Busta and even 50 Cent songs, his true passion is DJing. He is your typical DJ you’d think. Quite open-minded to all music, yet having his favorites, rather reserved, constantly active, he represents what other DJ symbolize. And at the same time you’d just have to see him on stage to understand how silly of a notion that is in his case. A distinctive mixture of scratching and rhythmic beats, characteristic of that REAL Hip Hop sound, combined with a thick onslaught of smooth sample-rich tunes make people say: “All DJs should start from Scratch”.
Staying true to his people and consistently finding time to make appearances at various NY shows, DJ Scratch stays current not only with his music. He is current within his fans and within that dense New York insider crowd. As Busta said on Scratch’s track from last year:
“I’m on my NY s—“.
Dmitriy Goldin
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