“I wouldn’t say we’re promoting a sound that is retro. While the art of DJing may be the nucleus, or the first element of hip-hop out of all the elements of hip-hop music, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily retro…that makes it look like it’s kind of outdated. I think what we’re doing is carrying on the traditions of the Grand Master Flashes, and the Grand Wizzard Theodores. We’re paving the way, and we’re continuing the legacy as far as I’m concerned,” remarks Rob Swift, on of the three-man turntablist ensemble, The X-Ecutioners.
Continuing in the traditions of the earliest rhythms of hip-hop, before MTV ushered rap into the mainstream, there were the DJs who let their record collections do the talking. These turntable maestros included Grand Master Flash, Kool Here, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grand Wizzard Theodore. Spinning, or cutting records as an art form, in it’s most purest state, helped lay the blueprints of the inevitably more recognizable sound commonly known today as hip-hop.
On the heels of the acclaimed feature film documentary, Scratch, which chronicles the birth and evolution of the hip-hop DJ, the Scratch Tour 2003 will visit 17 cities in November with an all-star DJ line-up which features QBert, Mix Master Mike, X-ecutioners, Z-Trip and the Original Jazzy Jay. Incorporating cutting-edge live video mixing, graffiti artists, breakdancers, and opening sets by local DJs before the needle drops with both old school legends and the turntable innovators of today, the Scratch Tour clearly stands out as a blast from the past. But it also provides an in-depth look at a thriving music scene that proves DJs are accomplished musicians, more than equal to their traditional peers – despite continued neglect from musical purists. After all, turntables have outsold electric guitars the past three years and counting.
Straying from the usual background rhythm section for charismatic MCs, Swift helped spearhead a new concept- a multiple DJ band – that eventually helped to develop multiple styles and unique methods of scratching. The Invisible Skratch Piklz (ISP) were the first to make this happen, and the trio featured non other than QBert and Mix Master Mike – both prominent names on the tour’s marquee.
Today the X-ecutioners – Roc Raida and Total Eclipse along with Swift – are making history of their own. Following in the tracks of Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith, with their rock-meets-rap version of “Walk This Way” released in 1985, that became the catalyst for bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, The X- ecutioners became the first DJ group to get regular rotation on MTV with their hard rock influenced single, “It’s Going Down,” a collaborative effort with Linkin Park, off of their smash album Built From Scratch. Presently, Swift and his fellow X-ecutioners are placing the finishing touches on their upcoming release – Revolution – which also features a unique guest appearance from Good Charlotte.
The rock-rap connection is no surprise to Swift, who was seasoned on a healthy dose of classic rock growing up. “I was eight or nine years old, listening to my brothers records and finding Queen and Aerosmith and Billy Squier and Rush and Black Sabbath…so rock was a part of me even [then]. What I took from it, maybe a white kid in Wyoming took something else. So I was listening to rock back then, but I truly didn’t start appreciating rock [until] groups like the Red Hot Chili Peppers came out and they did their own version or rock and rapping. Then I just started understanding, just how powerful the music was, and how many more people hip-hop was reaching because of groups like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”
DJ Logic, the improvisational-rock music scene’s most identifiable turntablist, whose played regularly with the likes of Ratdog, Medeski Martin Wood, and Galactic, has even had Swift do a remix for him. Although their audiences differ greatly, Swift more than acknowledges the respect Logic has earned as a pioneer. “I think that’s cool. Anybody that takes those kind of risks with music, pushes the envelope and tries to be different, I applaud. ‘Cause it’s easy to play it safe and do what you know people are going to like, but if you step outside yourself and try to do something that nobody expects you to do, that’s what makes the music fun and keeps it growing.”
Although the music speaks for itself and Swift is all about letting his record collection shine in the clubs, captivating his audiences in a live setting is always the goal. “The crowd plays a major role. The energy I get from the crowd allows me to perform at a level that is just intense. Not all of it is improv, man. We rehearse three times a week. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we get together at our house and try to develop new ways of performing on stage, so there is a basic understanding of what we are trying to accomplish on stage.”
Technology has played a large role in it’s rapid development, yet the term “old school” is still used generously when discussing traditional turntables. Swift, however, is cautious of the phrase. “DJing can be looked at like an old school skill only because it was the first element of hip hop. You have MCing, you have B-Boy which is breakdancing, you have graffiti writing, you’ve got DJing. DJing gave birth to all the other elements. From DJing came the dance, came the art, came the rapping, so that’s why there is an old school attachment. It was the first element. But what we do isn’t old school, what we do is a new wave of DJing”
