''Scratch'' is a 2001

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

, directed and edited by

Doug Pray Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, cinematographer, and editor who often explores unique subcultures in his films. His work includes ''Surfwise'' (2008), a portrait of the nomadic, 11-member Doc Paskowitz family (often referred to ...

. The film explores the world of the hip-hop DJ from the birth of hip-hop when pioneering DJs began extending breaks on records, to the invention of

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

and

beat juggling Beat juggling is a deejaying and turntablism technique in which two records are used to prolong an existing beat, or to create a new one. It is associated with the context of hip hop, but not necessarily limited to this genre. Definition Beat j ...

, to the more recent explosion of

turntablism Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA sys ...

. Throughout the documentary, many artists explain how they were introduced to hip-hop while providing stories of their personal experiences.

Content

Elements

In the first chapter, Grand Wizard Theodore explains the differences between

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and hip-hop, which are often confused. He explains that

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

, DJing, MCing, and the way you talk and dress are all elements of hip-hop. Afrika Bambaataa presents a neighborhood in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

which used to be called "the house of hip-hop" where violence and

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

s were common. After a trip to Africa, he created what is known as the

Universal Zulu Nation The Universal Zulu Nation is an international hip hop awareness group formed by and formerly led by hip hop artist Afrika Bambaataa. The Universal Zulu Nation promotes the idea that hip-hop was created to sustain the ideals of “peace, love ...

, a group of socially and politically aware rappers, B-boys, graffiti artists and other people involved in hip-hop culture. The importance of the DJ is shown by how he or she selects and controls the music with respect to the audience's needs. The relation and differences between DJs and MCs are explained, going through their roles in the music industry. Artists such as

DJ Jazzy Jay John Bayas (born November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is an American hip hop DJ and producer. Background Jazzy Jay was born into a Gullah family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his family to New Y ...

, Grand Mixer DXT, Almighty K.G., Kevie Kev, Dot A Rock, and Steinski explain the beginning of hip-hop and its evolution since the 1970s. Concerts of breakdance and DJ performances are shown such as The Herculords, Electronic Boogaloos, Original Graffiti Rock, " Wild Style" 1982 with

Busy Bee Busy Bee was an airline which operated in Norway between 1966 and 1992. Entirely based around wet lease, it conducted a mix of regional services for larger airlines and the military, as well as corporate, ''ad hoc'' and inclusive tour charters ...

& Grand Wizard Theodore and

Grand Master Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and Rapping, rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and audio mixing (recorded music), ...

Rockit

In the second chapter,

Mix Master Mike Michael Schwartz (born April 4, 1970), better known by his stage name Mix Master Mike, is an American turntablist best known for his work with Beastie Boys. Life and career Born in San Francisco, California, Mix Master Mike is of German and Fi ...

shares his first experience with scratch through the 1984 Grammy Awards with Herbie Hancock & Grand Mixer DXT. This is the evolution of a new hip-hop transmitted from DJs to DJs.

DJ QBert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is an American turntablist and composer. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in ...

explains how turntables function, describing each part. He compares it to "talking". When Mix Master Mike scratched with DJ QBert, they used their scratching to communicate together. They describe it as an art and a form of intelligence. Other artists describe the popularity it had in the 1980s amongst youth at parties and battles. Many of them achieved fame through their talent in battles. Some of them made the existence of the DJ without the MC possible. This chapter features DJ Marz,

DJ Eddie Def A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

, DJ Cue, DJ Quest (

Bullet Proof Space Travelors A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is Shooting, shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shap ...

), Billy Jam,

Dave Paul David M. Paul (born 1968) is a Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives. Paul, who worked at Skagit Valley College for a decade, was first elected to the state legislature in 2018, running against Republican incumbent Dave ...

, DJ Relm,

DJ Flare DJ Flare (born Sean Moran) is an American turntablist. He has been a scratch DJ since 1983 with many vinyl releases and was a member of the turntablist group the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, appearing in many of their '' Turntable TV'' videos and DJ Qb ...

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sh ...

, Apollo, and

Rob Swift Rob Swift (born Robert Aguilar; May 14, 1972), is an American hip hop DJ and turntablist. He was an original member of the turntablist group The X-Ecutioners until 2004. He has also released numerous solo albums and collaborated with various ar ...

( X-ecutioners).

Turntablism

This section describes the beginning of

, which involves the manipulation of the turntable.

DJ Babu Chris Oroc a.k.a. Melvin Babu (born September 17, 1974), better known as DJ Babu or DJ Babu the Dilated Junkie, is a Filipino-American DJ and producer. He is a member of the hip hop trio Dilated Peoples, with Rakaa Iriscience and Evidence an ...

was the first to describe this method using this term. He believes that the turntable can be a musical instrument “as long as you see it as ne” Babu explains that turntables have notes, measures, different beats, timing, and rhythms. An interview with

John Carluccio John Francis Carluccio (born May 14, 1969) is an American filmmaker, artist, and inventor. Carluccio is a two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker who is best known for documenting obscure pockets of urban society and the creative process. His docume ...

presents the method used to communicate compositions by transcribing scratching onto paper.

Battling

Battling became popular as a result of Steve Dee’s attitude that there is always room for improvement. Various DJs are shown commenting about the competitiveness of the industry especially now that there are competitions, such as the Disco Mix Club where DJs have six minutes to showcase their skills and abilities. Each competitor works on their set and practices their routine for months beforehand.

DJs with MCs

Scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

, like each of these elements, draws from all the others. By definition, scratching does not stand still. As Steve Dee puts it, "Hip-hop is asking you a question, and that question is, what are you going to do?" Discussing the ways that battling shapes his art and profession, Dee confesses, "I'm competitive. If it's drawing a straight line, I wanna draw the straightest line."

Digging

This concept of competition does not keep turntablists apart. Rather, they make a point of working together, sharing ideas, encouraging one another, and going on record "digging" jaunts.

leads the camera through a basement so stuffed with records that he can barely walk through, calling it "my little

nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

". Several scenes show artists playing with one another:

and

DJ Qbert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is an American turntablist and composer. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in ...

; Shadow and

Cut Chemist Lucas MacFadden (born October 4, 1972), better known as Cut Chemist, is an American DJ and record producer. He is a former member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He has collaborated with DJ Shadow on a number of projects. Early life Cut Chemist grad ...

working with Steinski; and

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic ( DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Ma ...

with Cut Chemist and

DJ Nu-Mark Mark Potsic, better known by his stage name DJ Nu-Mark (born June 10, 1971), is an American hip hop producer and DJ. He is a member of Jurassic 5, as well as the owner of Hot Plate Records. He has collaborated with and produced for a variety of ar ...

Making beats

The fifth chapter of the film explores the art of producing beats and examines the future of the DJ industry.

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

describes the evolution of beat-making throughout the past 30 years and his life as a record producer.

DJ Swamp Ronald K. Keys Jr. aka DJ Swamp is an American hip hop DJ, turntablist, producer and vocalist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He currently resides in Los Angeles, United States. In 1996, he won the title of US DMC Champion, his ...

from The Allies explains some of the beats that he has put together and describes how many artists have begun playing vinyls that are made specifically for turntablist and battle DJs. Doug Pray then goes to the 2000

NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Music Convention in Los Angeles, California. There they conduct a series of interviews that mostly aim at describing the optimistic future of the industry. The chapter closes by describing the influence that the

Invisibl Skratch Piklz The Invisibl Skratch Piklz are an American group of turntablists. The members of the group were originally hip-hop DJs, who were among the pioneers of the turntablism movement in the 1990s; turntablists create musical pieces by mixing sampl ...

has had on the industry.

Full circle

The final chapter of the film reviews the goals and aspirations of some of the most recognized DJs in the industry and what they hope to achieve via the distribution of their music.

explains his understanding of the interconnectedness of the human race and how his “destiny” is to better the lives of others through his music. Grand Mixer DXT describes how good he feels about being the role model of so many DJs.

states that his goal is to show the world that there’s “something really cool out there, you know, something different.” The film ends with

Z-Trip Zach Sciacca (born July 22, 1971), better known as DJ Z-Trip, is an American DJ and producer. He is a pioneer of the mashup movement. He was the 2009 recipient of the "America's Best DJ Award". As a producer he has worked with artists across di ...

and

performing together side by side on four turntables. This is also known as a 2 x 4 performance.

Interviews

Interviewees include: * Grand Wizard Theodore *

*The X-ecutioners (

, Total Eclipse,

Roc Raida Anthony Williams (May 17, 1972 – September 19, 2009), better known as Roc Raida or Grandmaster Roc Raida, was an American DJ, turntablist and producer. He was also a member of the DJ group the X-Ecutioners. He joined the X-Men in the late 1 ...

, Mista Sinista) *

* Afrika Bambaataa * Grand Mixer DXT *

* Steinski *

* Steve Dee *

DJ Craze DJ Craze (born Arist Delgado; November 19, 1977), is a Nicaraguan American DJ and record producer who plays hip hop, Miami bass, trap, breaks, dubstep, drum and bass, and practices turntablism. He was, until 2020, the only solo DJ in history ...

* Christe Z Pabon * Jon Bernson *

* Electric Boogabos * Almighty Kay Gee, MC with the Cold Crush Brothers * Kevie Kev and Dot A Rock, MC with Fantastic Freaks *

Naut Humon Naut Humon is a San Francisco-based composer, curator, performer, and leader in experimental electronic music and audiovisual projects such as Rhythm & Noise, Sound Traffic Control. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Recombinant Media Labs ...

* DJ Marz, DJ Quest, DJ Cue, and Eddie Def,

Bullet Proof Scratch Masters A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and ...

* Billy Jam *

* Mike Relm *

Madlib Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), ...

*Apollo * Melo-D * DJ Faust and Shortee * Feedback *Klever *

DJ Cruise A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

* Jay Slim * Snayk Eyez *

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...

* DJ Streak *

DJ Krush , better known by his stage name DJ Krush, is a record producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples. Early life Ishi was born in ...

* Swift Rock * Mark Herlitly * Doze Green

Direction

Doug Pray didn’t know much about hip-hop DJs before making ''Scratch''. He decided to make the movie after meeting

Production

''Scratch'' was produced by Brad Blondheim and Ernest Meza, co-produced by Heidi Rataj and executive produced by Allen and

Albert Hughes Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes (born April 1, 1972), known together professionally as the Hughes brothers, are American film directors and producers. The pair, who are twins, are known for co-directing visceral, and often violent, movies, inclu ...

. It was shot in 16mm film by Robert Porter Bennett.

Awards

''Scratch'' had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001 and was nominated for an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

by the

Independent Feature Project Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...

(IFP). In 2002, it was released in theaters nationwide by

Palm Pictures Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD-Video format. Palm places an emphasis on such pro ...

, distributed internationally by Intermedia Films. After its release, the film inspired two world tours of top DJs, and a performance movie named '' Scratch: All the way live'' (also directed by Doug Pray and produced by Brad Blondheim).

Critical reception

''Scratch'' was released to near-universal critical praise, with 93% "Fresh" on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. Stephen Holden in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote that, "Watching D.J. Qbert, a leading hip-hop musician from the San Francisco Bay Area, manipulate two turntables with one hand and a sound mixer known as a fader with the other to create a sizzling polyrhythmic landscape of sound effects is not unlike watching the fingers of a great jazz or concert pianist fly across the keyboard." He also called the film "exhilarating." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' said, "Scratch does what a fine documentary does best: It extends a warm invitation into an unfamiliar world, then illuminates it fully and allows the larger implications of the journey to sink in unobtrusively ... cratch isa highly entertaining and encouraging documentary."

Ain't It Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book pro ...

listed it as one of the Top 5 Films of the Year and wrote, "Scratch is like having a camera there when Robert Johnson went down to the crossroads. It's like having a camera there when BB or Miles played their first show. It's a record of living history - a very important history and don't let anyone, anyone, tell you otherwise ... Scratch is so strong ... it's beautiful and utterly, knowingly true. And that's about the most impossible thing to do on-screen ... I can't celebrate this film enough."

References

External links

*
Official Site @ Palm Pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scratch (2001 Film) 2001 films 2001 documentary films Documentary films about hip hop music and musicians American documentary films Films directed by Doug Pray Films shot in 16 mm film 2000s English-language films 2000s American films