FAMOUS & HISTORICAL DJs (25)

Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in the West Bronx, Clive 'DJ Kool Herc' Campbell threw the historic Back to School Jam at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on August 11, 1973. Noticing dancers waited specifically for the percussion breakdown of funk records, Herc used two identical copies of the same record to loop the break indefinitely — birthing hip-hop DJing, b-boying, and MCing.

A technical electronics student in the Bronx, Joseph 'Grandmaster Flash' Saddler engineered headphone pre-amp cueing, calculated exact backspin rotations ('Clock Theory'), and recorded 1981's 'The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel' — the first commercial record documenting live multi-deck cutting and scratching.

In 1975, while practicing in his Bronx bedroom as a teenager under the mentorship of his brother Mean Gene and Grandmaster Flash, Theodore Livingston held a spinning record with his hand when his mother knocked on the door to turn the music down. Moving the record back and forth under the stylus, he discovered the rhythmic sound that became the Scratch.

Dubbed the 'Master of Records' in the Bronx for mixing James Brown, Kraftwerk's 'Trans-Europe Express', Ennio Morricone, rock, salsa, and TV themes in the same cipher, Bambaataa teamed up with producer Arthur Baker and keyboardist John Robie in 1982 to record 'Planet Rock' — fusing the Roland TR-808 with German electronic music.

Widely regarded as the Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen of the turntable, Daly City native Richard 'DJ Qbert' Quitevis won the 1991 DMC USA title and 1992–1994 DMC World Titles alongside Mix Master Mike and Apollo. Qbert invented and codified dozens of multi-click fader techniques including the Crab Scratch and Flare, and released 'Wave Twisters', the first feature-length animated film scored 100% on turntables.

Co-founder of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz and 3-time consecutive DMC World Champion (1992–1994), Mix Master Mike became the official turntablist for the Beastie Boys in 1998 on 'Hello Nasty', performing 'Three MC's and One DJ' across stadiums worldwide and getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Harlem native Anthony 'Grandmaster Roc Raida' Williams led The X-Ecutioners, won the 1995 DMC World DJ Championship, was crowned a true Grandmaster by hip-hop's founding fathers, and toured the world as Busta Rhymes' official stage DJ.

Raised in Jackson Heights, Queens and mentored by his father and Dr. Butcher, Rob Swift joined the X-Men in 1991 and helped author the visual and sonic language of East Coast turntablism. Today he also leads Brolic Arm DJ School and teaches turntablism at The New School in NYC.

Founder of the World Famous Beat Junkies (1992) and official third member of Jaylib (with J Dilla and Madlib) during live performances, J.Rocc is universally revered as the 'DJ's favorite DJ' — seamlessly weaving rare 45s, Detroit beat tapes, house, and boom-bap with surgical cuts.

In 1995, Chris 'DJ Babu' Oroc inscribed 'Babu the Turntablist' on his 'Comprehension' mixtape, giving a permanent name to the global movement of DJs who use turntables as musical instruments. Winner of the 1997 ITF World Beat Juggling Championship, he is also the backbone of Dilated Peoples alongside Evidence and Rakaa.

One half of Gang Starr alongside the late Guru, Christopher 'DJ Premier' Martin created the definitive sound of New York boom-bap at D&D Studios. Using an Akai MPC60 to trigger drums and an Akai S950 to chop dissonant jazz, soul, and classical phrases, Preemo crowns every beat with an unmistakable chorus of scratched vocal quotes.

Raised in Mount Vernon, NY with a father who collected thousands of rare jazz and soul records, Peter 'Pete Rock' Phillips revolutionized hip-hop production in the early 1990s by layering lush horn stabs, filtered upright basslines, and ghosts notes on the E-mu SP-1200.

Mentored in Detroit by Amp Fiddler on the Akai MPC, James 'J Dilla' Yancey refused to use the MPC3000's timing-correct feature — tapping snares slightly early and hi-hats slightly behind the grid to create a polyrhythmic feel now studied in conservatories worldwide as 'Dilla Time'. His final album, 'Donuts', was crafted on a Boss SP-303 and portable turntable from his hospital bed.

Working out of his legendary 'Bomb Shelter' studio in California surrounded by over four tons of vinyl records from Brazil, India, Zambia, and Blue Note vaults, Otis 'Madlib' Jackson Jr. crafted much of 'Madvillainy' in a São Paulo hotel room using only a Boss SP-303, a portable turntable, and a cassette deck.

Mentored early by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill and Evidence of Dilated Peoples, Alan 'The Alchemist' Maman bridges raw 1990s Queensbridge street anthems (Mobb Deep, Nas, Prodigy) with modern underground classics alongside Earl Sweatshirt, Freddie Gibbs, Boldy James, and Action Bronson, while also serving as Eminem's official tour DJ.

Representing Miami and The Allies, Aristh 'DJ Craze' Delgado achieved the unprecedented feat of winning three consecutive solo DMC World DJ Championships in 1998, 1999, and 2000 (plus the 2000 DMC World Team title with A-Trak), shocking judges by blending ruthless hip-hop beat juggles with 175 BPM Drum & Bass scratch compositions.

In 1997, at just 15 years old, Montreal prodigy Alain 'A-Trak' Macklovitch became the youngest DMC World DJ Champion in history, soon invited by DJ Qbert into the Invisibl Skratch Piklz and forming The Allies with DJ Craze. After serving as Kanye West's first tour DJ ('Gold Digger'), he founded Fool's Gold Records and Goldie Awards.

West Philadelphia legend Jeffrey 'DJ Jazzy Jeff' Townes popularized the 'Transformer Scratch' (named after the robotic sound effect of the 1980s cartoon), won the 1986 New Music Seminar Battle for World Supremacy, won the very first Rap Grammy Award in 1989, and founded the famed 'A Touch of Jazz' production house that launched Jill Scott and Musiq Soulchild.

In 2002, representing Japan, Kentaro Okamoto made history as the first Asian DMC World DJ Champion, earning a unanimous perfect score from every judge on the panel with a breathtaking 6-minute routine performed without ever changing the two records on his platters.

Digging through the legendary sub-basement of Rare Records in Sacramento alongside Lyrics Born, Blackalicious, and Cut Chemist, Josh 'DJ Shadow' Davis built 'Endtroducing.....' (1996) entirely on an Akai MPC60, proving that collage sampling could achieve the emotional depth of a film score.

Co-founder of both Jurassic 5 and Grammy-winning Latin-funk collective Ozomatli, Lucas 'Cut Chemist' MacFadden teamed with DJ Shadow for the legendary 'Brainfreeze' and 'Product Placement' tours — performing intricate scratch routines exclusively on fragile 7-inch 45 RPM funk singles.

Before co-founding Detroit's militant Underground Resistance with 'Mad' Mike Banks and Axis Records, Jeff Mills electrified 1980s Detroit radio as 'The Wizard' on WJLB — applying hip-hop backspinning and scratching to industrial, electro, and Chicago house records before pioneering 3-deck + live TR-909 techno performance.

Moving from New York's Continental Baths (where he played alongside childhood friend Larry Levan) to Chicago in 1977 to open The Warehouse at 206 S. Jefferson Street, Frankie Knuckles spliced reel-to-reel tape edits and layered a Roland TR-909 drum machine (purchased from Detroit's Derrick May) underneath disco, soul, and Euro-synth records — giving birth to House Music.

For a decade from 1977 to 1987 at 84 King Street in SoHo, Lawrence 'Larry Levan' Philpot presided over the Paradise Garage — tuning the custom Richard Long & Associates ('Bertha') sound system between songs and inventing the modern remix by stripping tracks down to bass, percussion, and dub echoes.

Starting out as a championship b-boy and iconic UK graffiti writer (featured in the 1986 documentary 'Bombin'') before discovering London's Rage club night with Fabio and Grooverider, Goldie pioneered metallic breakbeat time-stretching on 1992's 'Terminator', founded Metalheadz in 1994, and released the 1995 masterpiece 'Timeless'.