A disc jockey, often abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays existing recorded music for a live audience. Most common types of DJs include radio DJ, club DJ who performs at a nightclub or music festival and turntablist who uses record players, usually turntables, to manipulate sounds on phonograph records. Originally, the disc in disc jockey referred to gramophone records, but now DJ is used as an all-encompassing term to describe someone who mixes recorded music from any source, including cassettes, CDs or digital audio files on a CDJ or laptop. The title DJ is commonly used by DJs in front of their real names or adopted pseudonyms or stage names. In recent years it has become common for DJs to be featured as the credited artist on tracks they produced despite having a guest vocalist that performs the entire song: like for example Uptown Funk.
Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two records simultaneously.
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system for live events and/or broadcasting equipment so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth, all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records.
A direct-drive turntable is one of the three main phonograph designs currently being produced. The other styles are the belt-drive turntable and the idler-wheel type. Each name is based upon the type of coupling used between the platter of the turntable and the motor.
Richard Quitevis known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is a Filipino American turntablist and composer.
Lucas MacFadden, better known as Cut Chemist, is an American DJ and record producer. He is a former member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He has collaborated with DJ Shadow on a number of projects. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles in 1997.
The X-Ecutioners are a group of hip hop DJs/turntablists from New York City, New York. The group formed in 1989, and currently consists of three DJs, including Total Eclipse, DJ Boogie Blind, DJ Precision. Original members of the group included Mista Sinista, Rob Swift, and Roc Raida.
Michael Schwartz, better known by his stage name Mix Master Mike, is an American turntablist best known for his work with the Beastie Boys.
A DJ mixer is a type of audio mixing console used by Disc jockeys (DJs) to control and manipulate multiple audio signals. Some DJs use the mixer to make seamless transitions from one song to another when they are playing records at a dance club. Hip hop DJs and turntablists use the DJ mixer to play record players like a musical instrument and create new sounds. DJs in the disco, house music, electronic dance music and other dance-oriented genres use the mixer to make smooth transitions between different sound recordings as they are playing. The sources are typically record turntables, compact cassettes, CDJs, or DJ software on a laptop. DJ mixers allow the DJ to use headphones to preview the next song before playing it to the audience. Most low- to mid-priced DJ mixers can only accommodate two turntables or CD players, but some mixers can accommodate up to four turntables or CD players. DJs and turntablists in hip hop music and nu metal use DJ mixers to create beats, loops and "scratching" sound effects.
Rob Swift, is an American hip hop DJ and turntablist. He was an original member of the turntablist group The X-Ecutioners until 2004. He has also released numerous solo albums and collaborated with various artists, including Mike Patton, Patton's project Peeping Tom, Dan the Automator and Handsome Boy Modeling School, Lords of Acid, Portugal. The Man, and Herbie Hancock.
Jazzy Five was a hip hop group founded in the mid-1970s.
Jazzy Jay, born on November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is an American hip hop DJ and producer.
Kool DJ Red Alert is an American disc jockey who rose to fame on 98.7 Kiss-FM in New York City, and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music and culture. His weekly radio show airs on WBLS 107.5 FM Saturday evenings from 6pm-7pm EST.
"Funky President " is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1974, it charted #4 R&B. It also appeared on the album Reality. According to Brown the "funky president" of the song's title was meant to refer to U.S. President Gerald Ford, who had succeeded Richard Nixon in the White House shortly before it was recorded.
Transmutation Live is a live album by experimental rock band Praxis, recorded during a performance in Zurich, Switzerland, in the summer of 1996.
DMC World DJ Championships is an annual DJ competition hosted by Disco Mix Club (DMC) which began in 1985.
Afrika Bambaataa is an American disc jockey, singer, songwriter and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop culture. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing and is respectfully known as "The Godfather" and "Amen Ra of Hip Hop Kulture", as well as the father of electro-funk. Through his co-opting of the street gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Universal Zulu Nation, he has helped spread hip hop culture throughout the world.
On May 6, 2016, Bambaataa left his position as head of The Zulu Nation due to multiple child sexual abuse allegations dating as far back as the 1970's.
Return of the DJ, Vol. 1 is a 1995 compilation released by Bomb Hip-Hop Records. This project was the first all dj/all scratching (turntablist) album ever released. It has been re-released in 1997 with new album artwork,Return of the DJ, Vol. 1 compilation and a collection of beats for DJ's. Return of the DJ is known as the first all-DJ album, helping to start the careers of turntablists such as DJ Q-bert, Cut Chemist, DJ Z-Trip, and others.
Wild Style Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack to the 1983 hip hop film Wild Style. It was originally released in 1983 via Animal Records, and re-released twice: in 1997 via Rhino Entertainment, and in 2007 as 25th anniversary edition via Mr Bongo Records. The album was produced by Charlie Ahearn and Chris Stein with Fab 5 Freddy, who served as musical director of the project. It featured appearances from Busy Bee, Cold Crush Brothers, DJ Charlie Chase, Grandmaster Caz, Grand Mixer DXT, Grand Wizzard Theodore & the Fantastic Five, Double Trouble, Prince Whipper Whip, Rammellzee, AJ Scratch, D.J. Stieve Steve and Shockdell.
