Scratch - The Origins of Turntablism

Scratching, like each of these elements, draws from all the others. And, as this vibrant film makes abundantly clear, by definition, scratching does not stand still. As much-respected Steve Dee puts it, "Hip-hop is asking you a question, and that question is, what are you going to do?" And you need to come up with an answer, day after day. Discussing the ways that battling shapes his much-adored art and profession, Steve Dee confesses, "I'm competitive. If it's drawing a straight line, I wanna draw the straightest line." Believe it: this guy draws seriously insane straight lines.

This concept of competition, wanting to be "the best," does not keep turntablists apart ("It ain't like real beef"). Rather, they make a point of working together, sharing ideas and encouraging one another. They go on "digging" jaunts (DJ Shadow leads the handheld camera through a basement so stuffed with records that he can barely walk through -- he calls it "my little nirvana," then warns the crew: "Careful, I once found a mummified bat under one of the records"), perform together: several of Scratch's most exciting scenes involve artists playing with one another -- Mix Master Mike (perhaps most famous for his work with the Beastie Boys, and also a member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz) and the popular Filipino DJ Qbert (also of Invisibl Skratch Piklz); or Shadow and Cut Chemist working with Steinski (a.k.a. David Stein), or Jurassic 5 on stage with Cut Chemist and Numark (who says of working with these pioneering MCs, "It's fun, but it's always a challenge").

Such collaborative brilliance is integral to the movement over time, as Scratch lays out.

from Dailymotion

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