Scratch
From DJ Battles to The Movie
July of 2001 saw the first annual Allies All Star Beatdown DJ Battle in NYC,
which sought a new vision in turntable battles. An "outlaw" atmosphere
ruled; this wasn't a DMC event, this was to be a battle without politics and
without egos. Coordinated and executed by The Allies (A-Trak, Craze, et
al.), finally a battle by DJs for DJs.
But even in this atmosphere, the performances were haunted by the same
problem/curse troubling all of the DJ world today. It seems that many DJs
have yet to move on to the next level, even though it's obvious that at
today's battles, wars are no longer won with beat juggling quickness or the
same old fader trickery. And from the first round, Dopey (Turntable Monks,
Toronto), the obvious and inevitable winner, proved he came with more than
the usual bag of tricks. Using tracks form the entire musical spectrum,
foreign sounds and showmanship hand in hand with flawless scratching and
timing, Dopey challenged the status quo, blazed his own trail, AND moved the
crowd.
Without invention as their greatest weapon, the losers and most battle DJs
seem to be treading water. What this genre needs is a spark of inspiration.
And oddly enough, it seems that inspiration may have arrived just in time,
and from a very unlikely source: the documentary film. Now showing in
select art house theatres across the country, Scratch looks be this
generation's Wild Style, but delivers much more.
Director Doug Pray's (Hype!) newest "scene" film looks into the past,
present and future of the scratch DJ, from the frontlines of the battles,
streets, and basements of the DJs and producers that have made a difference.
But unlike Wild Style's patchwork plot, Scratch's documentary format
allows the history to flow from the mouths of the legends themselves. Pray
uses these first person accounts and anecdotes to deliver an interesting,
yet coherent and informative ride accessible to even the uninitiated. While
covering 20 + years of historical accounts, the documentary never slips into
a overly technical voice, and brings the humor, philosophy and enthusiasm to
the forefront. At a time when the future of turntablism seems bleak, this is
just the kind of film the scene needs to remind itself of its origins.
The film also balances enough fact and folklore to enlighten everyone from
the neophyte to the expert. For those with no knowledge of turntablsm or
its leaders, the film gives a detailed timeline and an entertaining look at
the spectrum of players and their philosophies. For those with some
exposure, Scratch puts faces with the names and provides the bridges from
acts like GrandWizzard Theodore and Grand Mixer DXT to the likes of DJ
Shadow, the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and the Xecutioners. But, luckily,
Scratch does all of this without forgetting to enlighten and inspire the
expert as well. Do you want to know why there are so many Philipino DJs?
Do you wonder where the inspiration for the DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist "Lesson"
series lies? Or what TV moment inspired most of today's best DJs? All of
this and more are finally explained.
Besides these specifics, though, Scratch's most important aspect is its
ability to transfer the world's best DJs' enthusiasm and inspiration. With
each story, the similarity in each DJs life is the happiness DJing brings
them and the excitement that lies in experimentation and creation of new
styles. Scratch is not filled with stories of rock excess or "Behind the
Music" tales of fame and fall, but instead a vision of a music scene
propelled by invention and enthusiasm. Let's hope the scene's current and
future battle DJs are listening.
