Phonographs-Turntables
DJ Babu enjoys his journey teaching the artform of turntablism, a term he is credited for coining. Since buying his first set of mismatched turntables when he was seventeen, Babu has accomplished a lot, including wining the ITF World Team DJ battle title, producing one of the most popular battle...
DJ Chris The Glove remembers when he was a kid listening to Grandmaster Flash’s The Wheels of Steel on repeat trying to figure out what he was hearing and how he could replicate that sound. Chris first became well known for his 1984 appearance in the classic hip-hop movie Breakin’ and for producing...
DJ Ralph M still remembers a Halloween party he attended in 1982, where he was first introduced to hip-hop and break dancing. He was fascinated by the turntable and his dream was to become a Mixmaster on KDAY, a famous Los Angeles radio station. When he was thirteen, he received that opportunity...
DJ Aladdin’s musical career began in the late 1970s with a wooden turntable from his uncle and another from his aunt as well as a mixer from Radio Shack. He watched as Hip-Hop exploded in New York and wanted to bring his own unique sounds to his audiences in his neighborhood of Compton, near Los...
DJ Quest thought he was going to be a rapper while his cousin would DJ but once he saw the turntable set up at home he was hooked and never looked back. Quest is a founding member of the Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters/Space Travelers who created one of the first DJ battle records Hamster Breaks....
DJ Keith Shocklee was first introduced to DJing at a local Long Island youth center in the 1970s. He soon started performing at other youth centers in the area as well as house parties, living up to the program’s goal of keeping kids off the street. As his career developed, he began working with...
DJ Qbert brought new energy to Hip-Hop as a DJ in the digital world of turntables. Keeping to the traditions of the pioneering DJs who influenced him, Qbert added new flare to the craft of mixing by utilizing cutting edge technology and gear. His first set up included a turntable where the records...
DJ Rhettmatic entered into the hip-hop world as a dancer (popping) and as a graffiti artist but quickly moved over to the DJ side. As a member of The Beat Junkies he won ITF World Team DJ titles in 1997 and 1998 as well as DMC West Coast champion in 1996. He was featured in the cult classic...
DJ Evil E was thirteen years old when he heard the pioneering artist Grandmaster Flash, which inspired E to get his own turntable rig. As a young DJ, Evil E was inspired by a performance in Los Angeles by Ice T. As it turned out the two would meet and become collaborators on many musical projects...
DJ Revolution can still remember the first time he heard Grand Master Flash’s 1981 album Adventures on the Wheels of Steel and being blown away that this music was created with existing songs and with only records and turntables. His grandfather saw his passion and helped him build his own mixer...