Front
Page
US
Music News
UK
Music News
UK
Interviews
Nightclubs
Events
+ Concerts
Album
Reviews
Games
Feature
Articles
Music
Videos
Chat
Room
For over two decades, DJ Scratch has been everyone’s favourite DJ’s favourite DJ. The Situation catches up with one of the greatest DJs of all time to hear his thoughts on the ever-changing world of hip hop.
George
Spivey's career could be deemed legendary judging by no
more than its outstanding length. Going on 20 years since breaking into
the big leagues as EPMD's
official DJ, it goes without saying that DJ
Scratch is without question one of the most valuable players
in the game, an influence to his contemporaries, and a wily veteran still
making it happen.
Y'all know the story; the talented DJ pays his dues on the road with a who's who of hip hop icons, learning the tricks of the trade while brushing up on his craft. Introduced to EPMD by Run DMC's Jam Master Jay, Scratch had jaws scraping the pavement with his distinctive and commanding technique behind the turntables. On tour, he conceived more than a couple different ways to liven up your average hip hop show, most notably his cutting of ‘Friday the 13th, I'ma play Jason’ line while sporting a hockey mask. If his onstage antics weren't enough to satisfy heads back in the day, then listeners were sure to get off to his beats. That's right, my man's a switch hitter - holding it down melting wax and embodying funk and soul on the production tip. Remember ‘Funky Piano’ off the ‘Business As Usual’ LP? That's vintage Scratch at work, but only a glimpse into what has become quite a calling; making beats for his predecessors, his peers, and his people.
Since '96 it’s been nothing but forward progress for the one-man-army. Touring with Jay-Z and G-Unit, while moonlighting as house-DJ for ‘Rap City’ and ‘Uptown Comedy Club’ only accounts for maybe half of Scratch's continuously accumulating cred. He's been Busta Rhymes' go-to-guy for beats, and is the fingers behind hits like ‘Do The Bus A Bus’, ‘Party Going On Over Here’, and the Grammy-nominated ‘Gimmie Some More’. And yes, his production credit does go well beyond Flipmode Squad. 50 Cent, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, DMX, Method Man, Redman and Alicia Keys have all sought out ya boy for adequate backdrops, making Scratch partially responsible for pushing roughly 50 million units.
The Situation had the pleasure of sitting down with the one and only Scratch, and he let us know what he's been doing, and exactly what we still have to look forward to.
In 2006, do you consider yourself more of a DJ or producer, and why?
I've always been a DJ. Everything else I've done is because of me being
a DJ.
How does the transition come, from solely DJ-ing to becoming that double
threat?
Being at the right place at the right time, but mostly, if you have the
talent, it’s just natural progression for a DJ to become a producer.
The greatest producers are DJs, starting from the greatest producer of
all time, Marley Marl. The
most successful producer of all time, Dr.
Dre, was a DJ. Premier
is a DJ, Pete Rock is a
DJ. You know, so it's a natural progression.
Without
Jam Master Jay, is there a DJ Scratch?
Yes there would be a DJ Scratch. I was already touring before I got with
Run DMC; that was just the next big step for me. However, if it weren't
for Jam Master Jay, I wouldn't be the complete, concert DJ that I am.
What's
the difference between touring with EPMD and touring with Jay-Z?
Touring with EPMD, there were definitely differences, but mainly it’s
that it was the 'Golden Era', you know what I mean? Every group that was
on tour with us had their own sound. And back then we could do tours in
big arenas, and there might be a fight here and there, but, we were never
denied any arenas back then. So there's a difference right there! With
Jay-Z, basically, I was experienced. I was a made man, you know, and I
controlled the whole show, the whole tour actually. And they had never
been on a tour like that by themselves, so I was basically the mentor
during the whole thing. It was the same amount of people, just a different
time. Matter of fact, that might have been the first and last tour since
the 'Golden Era' where it was all hardcore hip hop groups. You didn't
need an R&B group just to get into a big arena. Both tours were good
fun, though, and on top of that, no drama!
Are
you happy with the direction in which DJ-ing has gone in recent years?
I'm happy with the publicity that DJs are getting right now. Right now,
the DJs are starting to control the game again. Before, you know, DJs
didn't have any say-so.
Are
any DJs or producers bringing anything new to the table?
In terms of producing, no, I'm not hearing anything. Nothing is really
to my liking. I'm just waiting for all this hot sh*t that Premier's about
to come out with, and a bunch of hot sh*t Pete Rock and Dr. Dre are supposed
to come out with, so I'm still waiting.
What
is the best thing to happen to hip hop in the last five years?
The best thing to happen in the past five years was a song called ‘New
York Shit’ by Busta Rhymes and produced by DJ Scratch! (Laughs)
It finally lit the torch on the Statue of Liberty in New York again, and
it’s letting New York rappers be proud that they're from New York,
and walk and talk like they're from New York.
You've got the DVD coming out, ‘So Wat Cha Sayin’. Tell us
a little about that.
It’s basically just celebrating the 23 years that I've been in this
game. I'm talking about the good and the bad, you know, I'm not gonna
just do the whole success story, because there was the struggle before
the success. I'm also looking to pay homage to all the DJs that are never
mentioned in all these DJ documentaries. You have these DJs now who have
been DJ-ing for like five years, and when they ask them who the pioneers
are, they go to Kool Herc,
of course, Bambaataa, Flash,
Theodore, but then they
don't remember anybody else. They don't remember Grandmaster
Dee from Whodini,
Mixmaster Ice of UTFO,
Hitman Howie Tee from Real
Roxanne and Chubb Rock.
They don't remember DJ Cash Money
and DJ Jazzy Jeff. So basically
just paying homage and going through the whole story, you know, becoming
the person I am, the DJ I am and the producer I am now. There's a lot
of never-before-seen footage, as well.
How
has hip hop changed since you started DJ-ing?
On one side, we've become a lot more business minded than back in the
day. We've always generated a lot of money, but now we're starting to
get some of the money that was made from the sweat off our backs, you
know what I mean? Musically, you know, it goes to the left, it goes to
the right, but it always comes back to the Big Apple.
You've conquered DJ-ing; you've produced for countless recording artists,
toured all over the world, and sold millions of albums. What is next for
DJ Scratch?
What's next is to basically maintain. I don't think you can really conquer
DJ-ing, I would never say that, but I am trying to keep the torch lit
for the lost art form known as DJ-ing. Especially the realm of DJs that
DJ for rappers, because you don't see that anymore. Today it’ll
just be like some guy on the stage with a replay button. What's next for
me is to maintain and preserve our craft. I'ma still be producing, I'ma
still be DJ-ing. I just want to make sure that I can contribute to the
game, especially when the game starts going sour.
Briefly
tell me how you feel about the following DJs:
DJ Premier:
One of my only real friends in the industry. Incredible scratching and
incredible beats. He inspired me as a producer.
DJ Babu:
Someone who I was able to influence, and an incredible DJ. Also a hot
up-and-coming producer.
Kanye West:
Amazing producer.
Pete Rock:
Legendary producer, dope-ass DJ.
9th Wonder:
Hot up-and-coming producer.
Alright, man, thanks for taking time out, catch you on the flipside.
No problem at all. Peace.
For more information on DJ Scratch, please visit his official website: www.djscratch.com.
