LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE

  Back and forth his hands fly with the speed of cheetah that will puzzle your eye” is a verse from the song “The Magnificent” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Once upon a time the DJ was the most important aspect of a group and as such in most cases the name of the DJ went first. Does anyone think that if they were to ever get back together that it wouldn’t now read Will Smith/Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff?  Everyone knows the foundation of Hip Hop was the DJ. While the title has evolved since the early days of Hip Hop originally the skills of the DJ on the turntable was the driving force. There are still DJs out there that can and do still put it down. However once upon a time it was all about the DJ. During those days there were names like DJ Hot Comb and MC Curling Iron, DJ Gravy and MC Turkey-Turk The skill of the MC was secondary not to say that there were not MCs that even now could destroy many current MCs. During those times all the MC needed to do was tell you his DJ’s name and give prompts to him with word play. There was not a rap album released during those years that did not feature a song displaying the DJ’s skills on the turntable. Here are some of the best ones that come to mind:

 Artist  >  Song  >  Year  >  DJ

Run-DMC  >  Jam Master Jay  >  1984  >  Jam Master Jay  

Steady B  >  Rockin Music  >  1987  >  Tat Money

Eric B & Rakim  >  Chinese Arithmetic  >  1987  >  Eric B  

Gangstarr  >  DJ Premier in deep Concentration  >  1989  >  DJ Premier

LL Cool J.  >  Go Cut Creator Go  >  1987  >  Cut Creator/Bobcat

Dj Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Prince  >  Rhythm Trax-House Party Style  >  1988  >  Jazzy Jeff

A Tribe Called Quest  >  Mr. Muhammad  >  1990  >  Mr. Muhammad


  The above songs were either all instrumental displays of the DJ or vocals proclaiming their DJ as the best in the world. As the music evolved it became less and less about the DJ’s skills and more about the M.C. As a former DJ I had mixed emotions about that. Many DJs decided that they would get into beat making and productions. Some of the most prolific producers in music started out as a master of the “Transformer Scratch” Producing became the logical next step because once the MC became dominating factor you no longer had a need to have a great DJ. Some DJs are still larger then life where as that you can still say their name and the name recognition is instant. Who can forget the way DJ Jazzy Jeff killed it during the tribute to Jam Master Jay? Some DJs are now mostly known for the skill at beat making. There wasn’t a New York/East coast MC that didn’t want a DJ Premier beat. The art of scratching is not lost as The X-Ecutioners have traveled the world displaying the skills of a DJ. But what is lost is the group dynamic of a DJ and MC. Here are some more instances where the DJ was either as prominent or in some cases more prominent then the MC within the group:

Freshco and Miz

DJ Cash Money and Marvelous

DJ Chuck Chillout and Kool Chip

Salt N Pepa

Whodini

Main Source

Showbiz and AG

The DJ lives on and even in its current form is still vital to HIP HOP.


I am Chuck Da Oldhead formally known as DJ EZ Chuck Money of the So Fresh Crew