Jimi (Chopmaster J) Dright was surrounded by music growing up in Berkely, California. Sly Stone lived in his same fourplex, Tower of Power practiced in their garage and music promoter Her...
DJ Ken Heath grew up in a very musical family and was always encouraged to follow his passion for music. His mother and uncles performed on the radio over the years and Ken dreamed of per...
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 soun...
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 o...
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...
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 acco...
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, l...
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 ...
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 becom...
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 ...
DJ Arabian Prince had to get creative with his overprotective mother. He figured out that by utilizing his new interest in DJing he could be the first at a party and the last to leave whi...
DJ D-Styles entered the hip-hop scene B-Boying and popping but soon realized his strength was in DJing. He has pioneered many different scratch styles and techniques over the years and ha...
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 s...
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...
DJ Melo-D saw his first mobile DJ set up during a middle school dance and was more interested in the set up than the dance itself. He begged his parents for a turntable and would seek out...
DJ Sir Jinx’s uncle played an important role for him growing up and in inspiring his passion for music. His uncle possessed an eclectic record collection and a DJ equipment set up at his ...
DJ Grandmaster Flash combined his love of music with his passion for electronics to become one of the pioneers of Hip Hop music. His innovative style of mixing records and blending beats ...
Dave Lopez grew up in East Los Angeles and witnessed the explosive evolution of the mobile DJ, beginning in the late 1970s. During high school Dave was asked to provide the music for a da...
Christie Z is an arts advocate who, lucky for each of us, focused on encouraging young artists and musicians in the Bronx, New York. She organized park concerts and later DJ battles that ...
Stephen Webber is a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and helped create the Music Production/Engineering program. After working at Mid South Recording Studio in Nashvill...
DJ GrandMixer DXT brought the turntable front and center as a musical instrument! DXT is a proud member of the "first generation" of DJs in the dawn of Hip-Hop. When he recorded a sessi...
DJ Tony G pioneered many scratches and tricks as a DJ in the early days of Hip Hop on the West Coast. The art of turntablelism began in New York, but before long the sound and the style ...
Jim Tremayne is the editor of DJ Times magazine, a gig he landed just over two years after the publication began. DJ Times is the brainchild of industry publisher Vinny Testa, who was loo...
DJ Cash Money, one of the most famous Hip Hop DJs, hailing from Philadelphia, he began spinning records as a kid and soon found his musical expression by creating dance mixes for his frie...
Afrika Bambaataa, known as the godfather of Hip Hop, prefers to be referred to as the "Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture." He is one of the trinity of DJs known as the founders of Hip ...
DJ Jazzy Jay is the pioneering DJ and producer who helped establish Hip Hop as more than a musical form but rather a cultural experience. He began spinning records in the parks of the Br...
DJ GrandWizzard Theodore is world famous for inventing the signature sound of Hip Hop, The Scratch, and he was around 13 years old at the time! The story of how this came about 1975 is a ...
DJ Grandmaster Caz is the pioneering DJ also known as the Cassanova Fly who played a role in the early development of Hip Hop in his hometown of the Bronx in New York. While Caz is best ...
DJ Rockin Rob, from the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, was spinning records in the early days of Hip Hop, perfecting what has been a very important element to DJing, the art of showmans...
DJ Johnny Juice is perhaps best known for his work on such records as “Rebel Without a Pause” with Public Enemy and “Musica Negra” with Rob Swift. The musical integrity of his contributi...
DJ Jazzy Joyce, born in the Bronx, grew up in the era that ushered in the Hip Hop movement of dance, culture and music beginning in local parks. Joyce developed her style with her strong...
DJ Dr. Duss, known throughout the Hip Hop world as the Mixologist, hails from the Millbrook section of the Bronx. Not only is he known as fellow legend, DJ Hollywood's DJ partner, he also...
