The use of record turntables as musical instruments, first developed by hip hop DJs in the late 1970s (see Dj(ii)) who developed rhythmic backing for early rappers by pushing and pulling records on the turntable to create backward sections, short stabs, loops and musical bursts. This worked to best effect when using two turntables and a mixer to cut and fade between the two. It also provided the backing to the break dancers who emerged at the same time. Malcolm McLaren's single Buffalo Girls (1982) introduced scratching to UK audiences, and by the late 1980s thousands of dance records had been produced using this technique, and many more incorporated short samples of scratching in their production. Notable early scratch DJs include Shortkut, DJ Flare (inventor of the ‘flare’ scratch) and Mix Master Mike. The annual Disco Mix Club (DMC) DJ championships were founded in 1987, most famously launching the 1991 winner, Q Bert. Its own terminology and styles range from the ‘baby scratch’ (a sharp forward, backwards movement) to the ‘crab scratch’ (a complex four-finger movement of the fader at the same time as the record is scratched).
C. Kempster, ed.: History of House (London, 1996)
J. Lopiano-Misdom and J. De Luca: Street Trends: How Today's Alternative Youth Cultures Are Creating Tomorrow's Mainstream Markets (New York, 1997)
IAN PEEL