Deconstructing the DJ: Blending It All Together

Mick Boogie mixing it up in Cleveland

A good DJ knows how to keep the party going, right? What better way to show it than by blending all the cool tunes together? There's nothing like being at a party and hearing two of your favorite songs combined! Screw the scratching and fancy turntabl-ism; those are nothing without mixing the right cuts at the right times. That's the art of blending.

Now there are many ways to blend multiple songs and tunes together. One pioneering thing Grandmaster Flash started was adding the

beat machine to his turntable set. He would play a combination of snare and bass drums while a record is playing, which went unnoticed by the crowd. If anything, nine times out of ten, most people think it's a remix or something.

Another thing people enjoy the most about DJs is the blending of two records; not just scratching two of the same records and playing one after another, but also blending them together to play simultaneously. It may seem very easy, especially with games like DJ Hero in our possession, but it takes a lot of practice and knowledge about audio mixing before you can truly learning the feel of the turntables. You have to know -- or at least have the ear for -- pitches, tempos and volumes on any two or more tracks (and it can be songs, samples, voice tracks, beats, or whatever) they want to mix. Then you need to know how to manipulate each track so they line up. Finally -- and the most basic thing to know first -- is the timing. Nothing's worse than adding a song that is a second and a half off of the other cut!

After you get all that down pat, you have to know the other type of timing -- when to throw that blend in! It basically has to blend in with the crowd, you can't just throw in a blended cut when the crowd just wants to hear top 40 music. A dance club or party, or at least a spot where a DJ is appreciated is the best place to showcase those blending skills. You also want to watch what you mix - the last thing you want to do is mix songs with beefing artists, or a slow jam with a get-crunk song. It gives the crowd mixed feelings and wouldn't know whether to slow grind or fight.

All in all, DJing is about knowing your craft and knowing your crowd. It's cool to say, "hey I took "Electric Feel" by MGMT and mixed it with "Passing Me By" by Pharcyde," but will the crowd be as hyped as you? I think not.

One DJ that mastered the art of blending is DJ AM. He, along with drummer Travis Barker, made a series of mixes called Fix Your Face involving two ultimate instruments: the drums and the turntables. Not only did the mix sound awesome, but it took DJing and turntabl-ism to a whole new level! Another DJ who has mastered the art of blending is Mick Boogie. His best mix had to be Unbelievable and Dillagence, both being tributes to two gifted hip-hop artists (Biggie and J Dilla). Click their names for the mix tapes and see for yourself!

Photo from the cover of Fix Your Face Vol.2 by DJ AM and Travis Barker

Deconstructing the DJ: Forms of Scratch

OK, so remember when I told you about how Grand Wizard Theodore brought in the scratching technique (as well as the needle drop) into the art of DJing? After his discovery came the entire art of turntablism. And within turntablism, one of the playing techniques you have to know is the scratch.

There are over a dozen techniques within scratching, which is basically the art of moving a record back and forth on a turntable. I won't go into all of them, but I can get into the most widely used and innovative scratches in the history of hip-hop.

The first scratching technique is the Transformer scratch. The transformer scratch is where the record is moved (in whatever motion the DJ prefers) while the crossfader is rapidly tapped open and closed. Doing this will make the music go in and out of play, allowing the sound to resemble that of a Transformer (like the 80s cartoon it was named after).

Another scratching techniques is the Crab scratch. This technique is more for show than an actual technical sound creator because it exists when the DJ taps the crossfader open and closed with each finger while moving the record by hand. The motion made in this scratch will make the hand moving the crossfader resemble a crab. It does however provide an increase in sound or an easy fade out of a song, allowing the DJ to implement other techniques a lot quicker.

A third well-known scratching technique is the Flare. This is similar to how you would scratch using the Transformer technique, but the sound comes off as a flare (like you're throwing the sound out to the dance floor). To do a flare, a DJ clicks the crossfader twice while bringing the record forward (on the first click) then backward (on the second click). This technique also embodies the Chirp and the Orbit scratches.

The last technique is the Scribble scratch. Basically the DJ vibrates the record (or moves the record back and forth very rapidly) so that it makes a sound like someone is scribbling on a notepad. It gives one of the most distinct sounds in turntablism and, if done with the perfect record, will get the party amped.

All of these techniques combined can make party-goers go nuts, especially if the DJ does the right scratch with the right record. It is this form of DJing art that people in and out of the hip-hop community look forward to whenever they see a DJ around.

A good series of videos to watch on scratching is from DJ Qbert. If you start with one of the videos featuring him from the above techniques, you will be able to see his other demonstrations of the many forms of scratching.

The Basics: Deconstructing the DJ

"My contribution to this whole thing is that I was the first DJ to take an inanimate object called the turntable and play it like it was an instrument" - Grandmaster Flash, a hip-hop pioneer

Whereas the emcee uses his or her own words to identify themselves, DJing is basically the artistic element in hip-hop involving a turntable. Artists spin records in such a way that expresses their musical taste and can also express their views on a political or social issue. An advantage DJs have over emcees is that DJs can tell a story without saying a word; their stories are instead told through the records they play, samples used and many other techniques.

In the beginning stages of Ding, DJs used to just play disco records. What set them aside from disco clubs -- aside from having these spin sessions at a house or block party -- was that they would cut and blend two records together during a song's break. Everyone who attended the party waited for the break to come so they could hear the mixture of the bongos and drums flow together and dance the night away. Much credit for cutting and blending goes to Grandmaster Flash. During the mid 70s he took his family's turntables and would find as many ways possible to creatively repeat a certain line by James Brown or any other record with a break beat.

But it was during the mid '70s, a DJ by the name of Grand Wizzard Theodore discovered the "scratch" -- when a DJ would move the record back and forth to make a scratchy sound while keeping it in rhythm with the record, which was not being scratched. Once the scratch grew popular among the rest of the DJ's, many techniques formed out of it, most replicating sounds and motions of animals, cartoon characters, TV personas and political figures. This particular art -- the experimentation of music through multiple turntables -- is now known as turntablism, where all forms of expressing one’s self with a turntable is fair game.

The Entertainer

Although the three aforementioned rappers described can entertain a crowd, nothing moves any and every crowd like the entertainer. This person will do anything for a round of applause and some money. It doesn't matter if he or she has to battle, state a social or political issue or talk about selling drugs -- this person would do all three just for attention. They may even do a little more (i.e. publicity stunts, pre-packaged style mix tapes, and more) with teary eyes focused on fame.

Entertainers must have the talent to survive in hip-hop, as well as in the music industry, making songs that will please every person in and out of the hip-hop culture. They even go as far as doing things against their own community values and morals to keep things fresh for themselves. These people always get a bad rep in the hip-hop community for "selling out" for money, however there are some entertainers that cross over into the commercialized world and still manage to keep it real in the hip-hop community.

Some entertainers include:

• Jay-Z
• Lil Wayne
• Kanye West.

In conclusion, there are plenty of ways the emcees and entertainers I have named throughout this week (plus any other emcee in hip-hop) can go under several categories simultaneously. The ones who can intertwine with different combinations of types of rappers are usually the greatest rappers in hip-hop.

One of the most prominent rappers that comes to mind is Rakim of Eric B. & Rakim. He can take out any battle rapper from the 80s and now, plus he has the ability to make the crowd think about their social surroundings (with or without the grittiness), AND make money as an entertainer... all at once.

Another emcee who can be called the "combo emcee" (I term I've coined -- completely unofficial) is LL Cool J. He is the only emcee that's proved throughout his rap career that he can get all the ladies, put other emcees out of their lyrical misery and simultaneously make money. Just because the entertainers and combo emcees became financially stable from their talent, that does not mean the other emcees haven't found a similar kind of success.

If anything, all of the mentioned artists are prominent figures in the hiphop community because of their talent and respect for the culture of hip-hop. They have all become successful in expressing their ways and becoming the voice of the urban community through the poetry in motion that we call rapping.

The Battle Rapper

As for the battle rappers, their main focus isn't a political or social statement... well, in their content anyway. Lyrically, the battle rapper will move you through the most creative lines written and through freestyle. The way they keep the hip-hop community rotating properly is the constant flow of new ways to diss the next man -- it's a real creative way to say that person can't rap or to deliver a punchline that'll knock him or her into next week. A battle rapper is always polishing their skills and looking for a challenger of the lyrical kind.

Bottom line: the flow of lyrics is always creative and fresh, the attitude is always confident and the punchline is always strong. Each and every battle rapper will tell you they are the best. Although most of these kinds of rappers become commercial, they can always get the most respect from their community. And if they don't, they'll battle their way to it.

Some prominent battle rappers:

• Cassidy
• Eminem
• Rhymefest

Gangsta Rapper

Whereas a conscious rapper may want you to think about the issues and take a stance against them (whatever they may be), a gangsta rapper simply creates issues -- instead of just having the audience think about revolution, a gangsta rapper will make you want to actually do something. This can go one or two ways -- by painting the rawest picture imaginable or just plain ultimatum-style. These people are a lot more aggressive with their content, as well as with their lyricism and image.

The image as well as the content isn't what's especially important to a gangsta rapper. The purpose of a gangsta rapper isn't to brag about selling drugs and killing people; if that were the case they wouldn't be rapping about it, but out doing it.

The purpose of a gangsta rapper is to tell the story of what it's like in the streets from the street's perspective. He or she will become the voice of a drug dealer or gang member and paint vivid pictures of how to survive in the hood.

Why do they do what they do? It isn't to waste air. They are so raw, not only because they are the voice of killers and drugdealers, but because they want to invoke the same feeling of the hate and oppression the streets face every day.

Some gangsta rappers:

• NWA
• Immortal Technique
• Joell Ortiz
• Styles P.

The Conscious Rapper

This guy or gal has the ability to move a crowd in a way different than an MC.

If you love political and social issues dangling out of a record, then you would love a conscious rapper. A conscious rapper values his or message more than anything else. Yes, a conscious rapper wants people to be active in the community, but not without knowing why there is a problem.

These people highlight things like racism, sexism, homophobia, family problems, economic problems, classism and a host of other "isms" in the world. They want you to know about these issues and think about them.

Some conscious artists:

• Mos Def
• Invincible
• Talib Kweli
• Common