Los Angeles – Just two days into this past January’s NAMM convention, the attendees were beginning to run a little ragged at this, the M.I. market’s semi-annual product bacchanalia. From the manufacturer’s representatives to the mom-and-pop store owners and the powerful chain buyers, it seemed as if those roving the sound-and-lighting hall of the otherwise labyrinthine L.A. Convention Center were ready for a break from the talking – and especially the walking.

But cutting through the hall’s din of incessant sales conversation, a noise that didn’t exactly fit the trad bass-drum-guitar mold caught the attention of a good handful of the talked-out attendees. No, it wasn’t the familiar noodlings of an ancient bluesman or the speed-metal riffs of an Orange County shredder. It was more like the sounds generated from the landing of a small alien craft.

Wik-wik-thwik-swickkka-diddle-deedle-dee-swoooop!

A peek down the West Hall’s 400 aisle revealed a semi-circle of suits taking five at the Vestax America booth. Before them, at the far left of a Vestax-logoed dais, stood QBert, the best-known member of the world-famous Invisibl Skratch Picklz DJ crew. Despite his stoic countenance, QBert was squeezing enough sparks from his decks-and-mixer setup to restart the Chicago fire and leave it little left for a camping trip. Between his simple chirps and dynamic skronks, the Bay Area wonder kept an intriguing off-kilter rhythm that drew bodies to the booth like flies to a bug zapper.

To his left, ISP confederate Shortkut offered little more animation, but a much different series of syncopated sounds – for the moment, his scratches played more slow and low to Q’s otherworldly endeavors. Along with "honorary ISP member" DJ Flare, who, like QBert, was executing squalling scratches that would make Sonic Youth blush, the trio had an almost carnival-like show going for the M.I. industry types. ISP member Yogafrog played MC, giving time between the manic scratch routines to announce with no hint of irony or false bravado: "What you see here…
are the internationally renowned… Invisible…Skratch…Piklz – the greatest…DJs…in the world."

Almost immediately, QBert spiraled into a scratch symphony that landed somewhere between John Coltrane and the Chemical Brothers. The breakbeats were there, fractured though they were, but, like Coltrane, their launch pad was not of this solar system, certainly not this convention center. The "composition" obviously came from a brain that’s been wired differently and a perspective whose limits are only controlled by the imagination and the reality of only having two hands and 10 fingers. The industry types clapped politely, but they left the booth knowing that they’d seen something special.

It’s been said that, musically speaking, turntablism is treading the same road ventured by ultra-masturbatory virtuoso guitarists like Yngwie Malmstein or Steve Vai (i.e. – does it really matter how fast you can jack off?) There may be some truth in that; however, the reference points aren’t nearly the same. The Crisco Guitar Crew congratulates each other with often-pointless degree-of-difficulty stunts, while the turntablists seem more intrigued by severely deconstructed sounds and their manic on-the-fly reassembly. Sure, in turntablism speed kills, too, but it’s being applied in a new art form that’s still feeling its oats, still looking for acceptance, still seeking new applications.

If that’s the case, then NAMM is the perfect place for QBert and company because, if you haven’t noticed, the DJ market is the fastest-growing facet of the M.I. industry and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz have become its face. Sure, the embittered-musician-turned-pro-audio-lifer might be impressed by QBert’s manual dexterity. But here’s guessing he’s more taken by the profit margin he cops from the various Vestax scratch mixers and Shure phono cartridges endorsed by QBert and the ISP crew. And judging from other NAMM crowds watching hotshot DJs at the Rane, Shure, Numark and TASCAM booths, the interest level in DJs isn’t going away any time soon. And thanks to undeniable talents like the ISP quintet, DJs are now enjoying respect from a music market that once only lampooned them.

After years of effort – seriously, years – DJ Times finally nailed down all five Invisibl Skratch Piklz, America’s most influential DJ crew and unquestioned leaders of the scratch DJ movement. Since their frequent travels don’t often coincide, all five members of ISP are almost never in the same room at the same time – they’re like Wu-Tang Clan like that. Thus, we weren’t able to interview them in person. So, in separate e-mail dispatches, QBert (aka Richard Quitevis, 30 years old), Yogafrog (Ritche Desuasido, 25), MixMaster Mike (Mike Schwartz, 29), D-Styles (Dave Cuasito, 27) and Shortkut (Jonathan Cruz, 24) spilled their thoughts on scratch techniques, musical influences and turntablism’s newest terrain. (They also plugged their upcoming Skratchcon 2000 conference set to happen July 1 at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.)

So culled separately in five different "interviews," here they are – the Invisibl Skratch Piklz.

QBert

DJ Times: You say your scratching style is heavily influenced by Miles Davis. Is there a link between his modal playing and your scratching style?

QBert: I’ve learned to use silence as music, discipline in holding back, subtlety in the tiniest ways, and a whole lot more I can’t explain yet!

DJ Times: Is turntablism the next jazz? How?

QBert: I like to call what I do, "skratch music." There’s always a next phase in everything and all things can evolve and change.

DJ Times: Do you consider your scratching routines as compositions? Can you replicate these routines the same way each time? Or is it more dependent on improvisation?

QBert: Improvisation has a lot to do with it unless I’m trying to replicate a certain thing, maybe like a chorus, but even that can be flipped. I guess it depends on what the situation calls for. But since I like to be different all the time, I like to expand what I’ve already done.

DJ Times: You also cite the influence of Jimi Hendrix and Les Paul. How?

QBert: I love Hendrix’s freedom and soulfulness. Les Paul was an innovator with not only his music but with the equipment he used as well – he invented the electric guitar and track recording!

DJ Times: How does one incorporate the style of Thelonius Monk – flat keys, lots of space – into beat juggling, or scratching?

QBert: Again, the use of space in his music and funny-sounding tunes that came from left field. I also like how his choruses were flipped as the song progressed.

DJ Times: What is the current status of the four lost elements of hip hop?

QBert: In all four elements there are the true school heads, who will keep pushing their art further everyday. Outside of that is none of my concern.

DJ Times: How many copies were sold of your Wave Twisters album?

QBert: Enough for me to buy my own house, build my studio, and take care of another house where my family lives.

DJ Times: In terms of recordings, what are you currently working on?

QBert: I’m doing remixes for the Wave Twisters animation movie.

DJ Times: Describe how you typically record your tracks? What kind of equipment do you use?

QBert: I like to use tracks for recording scratched beats, scratched basslines, scratched vocals, scratched whatever.

DJ Times: Is sampler technology anathema to scratch jocks? Why?

QBert: I love to sample stuff to get it on wax, but for me, the main object is so I can just get it on wax to manipulate.

DJ Times: How many crossfaders have you gone through in your DJing career?

QBert: I don’t know, maybe less than 50.

DJ Times: Describe the technical
innovations on your upcoming new Vestax mixer?

QBert: You mean the ISP Pro Vestax that hasn’t come out yet? We can’t reveal too much yet, but it’s gonna be real expensive for the average guy.

DJ Times: Describe how you use the program reverse switch during a routine.

QBert: When I started scratching in ‘85, I had a Realistic mixer that didn’t have a crossfader, so I learned how to cut with the up and down faders. With the reverse switch on the pro mixers nowadays, I can replicate that feel of going up and down instead of the other way around.

DJ Times: Have you ever had a problem with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

QBert: No, I always take care of my hands with massages and know that too much of anything can hurt you. I just read my body and always send positive energy to myself as well as others.

DJ Times: Are you no longer eligible to compete in the DMC scratch competition?

QBert: I can compete if I wanted to, but now instead trying to outdo others, I want to just be better than I was yesterday.

DJ Times: When was the last time you judged a competition, and what are some of the criteria you’re looking for in a champion battle jock?

QBert: I, along with the X-Ecu- tioners and ISP, judged a competition in Japan two months ago for the Vestax World DJ extravaganza. I like to look for someone with soul, and new techniques to offer.

DJ Times: Describe the earliest scratches that you practiced.

QBert: Cutting (forward scratch movements), military scratches, chirps, transforms, scribbles, tears, etc. at that time in the late ’80s. That’s about all we had, so we worked on patterns and speed with those few techniques.

DJ Times: Where did you learn these scratches from?

QBert: From all the DJs, who at the time were with big rap groups, like Mix Master, Ice from UTFO, Cash Money with Marvelous, Jazzy Jeff with Fresh Prince, etc. I also learned a lot from Mix Master Mike, who in my first two years of DJing, pretty much taught me all the basics. Now we both teach each other.

DJ Times: Are there an infinite number of scratches that can be devised? Or is it a limited universe?

QBert: Infinity times infinity is the limitation.

DJ Times: What’s the latest scratch technique that you’ve been working on. Can you describe it?

QBert: I’ve been working on these new techniques and scratches that I’m still having trouble really defining. I can see them in my head as these chopped-up shapes and stuff, but as for explaining them, we may have to wait until the Skratchcon 2000 event happens. That’s gonna be the first ever seminar on scratch literacy this coming July 1, here in San Francisco [for the latest info, check out www.skratch.org and www.skratchcon.com] and there we should be able to break down all the newest stuff!

DJ Times: What’s up with Skratchcon 2000?

QBert: It’s a non-profit organization that wants to get the knowledge and literacy of the turntable as a musical instrument out to everyone who needs to know. We’re gonna show off the latest scratches that we’ve been holding in for a long time as we’ll have guests share their secrets as well. People will get to meet and mingle with all the best DJs in the world. There will be conferences on juggling, scratching, battling, turntable music philosophy, etc. DJs who are lucky enough to get to come in will receive so much that it greatly will outweigh the cost of getting in.

DJ Times: Do you think a talent for percussion is crucial to the success of a beat-juggling DJ? Why?

QBert: Yes and no. Some people like to know how things are broken down, like Miles Davis – he could read music – and others play by ear like Jimi Hendrix – he couldn’t read music.

DJ Times: Describe the flare scratch and when you like to use it.

QBert: The scratch invented by DJ Flare is like a transform scratch in reverse operation, where you start and end the scratch with the fader open, as opposed to regular transforming with the fader in the off position when you begin.

DJ Times: What did you do for the Dr. Octagon record?

QBert: I scratched in the places that [Dan] The Automator needed cuts and used my own judgement for what sounded appropriate in each given scenario.

DJ Times: Describe "Turntable TV #7."

QBert: That’s our turntable video magazine with tips, turntable skits, scratch nonsense, vinyl news, interviews and showcases with the world’s top DJs, etc.

DJ Times: What are some of the newer battle records on the market? What are the cooler features?

QBert: The new "Dirtstyle Records" has Skratchy Seal, who made a record strictly for drum-scratching DJs. It’s timed so that if it skips, it will just skip to another beat to scratch to! There’s also this new one made by the Wax Fondler and Butchwax! If you are hardcore into scratching, then you already have these two records – ’nuff said.

DJ Times: You had input into the creation of "Battle Breaks" in 1992. What was unique about the samples on that record?

QBert: It was the first record of its kind where the samples were close together, with no dead air gaps, along with beat pieces and juggle breaks linked for ease of transition with scratching, juggling and mix tricks.

DJ Times: The same goes for "Bionic Boogie Breaks." What did that record feature?

QBert: Same thing – more scratch sentences, beats to scratch too, etc.

DJ Times: What should an aspiring battle jock look for in a battle record?

QBert: Lots of sounds to experiment with and dope beats to scratch to.

DJ Times: Would you be interested in rocking a club for several hours? If so, what kind of material would you play? What do you think of club jocks whose job it is to get people to dance?

QBert: I used to do that, but I’d rather scratch and bring, like, a few records as opposed to bringing hundreds. I don’t like to be a human jukebox that plays everyone’s favorite tunes. I like to create my own music with what little I have.

DJ Times: What’s in the future for ISP?

QBert: Just continue and progress the art of scratching in our own ways.

Yogafrog

DJ Times: Describe your dream DJ mixer.

Yogafrog: My dream mixer is a Vestax mixer with removable parts to enhance a personalized touch to each DJ. There would be removable faders, so I can put my own fader with settings to my specs of curve adjustments, plus the knob would be molded to the exact measurements of the three fingers I use for scratching. Then there would be a foot pedal that would control the panning of the sound on a 5:1 speaker Surround Sound system – Flying Sound. You’ll actually find this in the next Vestax mixer, but I wanted it controlled by a foot pedal.

DJ Times: How would you describe your style within the Piklz?

Yogafrog: I call it the Turbofrog system of scratching, where one day, DJs may find it a benefit to scratch this way, to achieve a whole new vocabulary of scratches in their repertoire with the Turbofrog. I’m planning to reveal this scratch sometime this year, maybe at the Skratchcon2000 event.

DJ Times: Is turntablism the next jazz? How?

Yogafrog: Yes, it’s the next original music born in the U.S.A. since jazz. It is as free-form and improvisational as jazz is. Plus scratching is endless with the amount of musical notes that can develop inside of it. Imagine you discovered a piano with endless keys to play with.

DJ Times: Have you ever had a problem with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Yogafrog: No, no problems. QBert I know practices hours upon hours a day. If you love what you do, your body will give it the energy it needs. Typing, which is a common predecessor to CTS, no one likes doing, so the body gives you CTS to tell you to stop typing! This is hurting!

DJ Times: Is sampler technology anathema to scratch jocks? Why?

Yogafrog: No, not at all. We use samplers to loop beats to practice and perform to, though we never use samplers to enhance our scratching abilities, or scratches for recordings.

DJ Times: How many crossfaders have you gone through in your DJing career?

Yogafrog: For myself, in the span of five years, just two.

DJ Times: What should an aspiring battle jock look for in a battle record?

Yogafrog: That it has the Dirtstyle insignia on it. Those are my favorite records to use. A Dirtstyle record has been used by every world champion in every DMC, ITF and Vestax competition since 1992.

DJ Times: What’s the latest scratch technique that you’ve been working on. Can you describe it?

Yogafrog: It’s called the Turbofrog, and some people can do it already, though those people haven’t tapped in to its full potential. It should have been invented after the transformer scratch. That’s about all the information I can release on it.

DJ Times: What would you tell aspiring battle jocks? List some specific things they can do to improve their skills.

Yogafrog: Practice your scratching hand control. A lot of DJs just want to get really fast on their fader hand control, and then their scratches sound out of control. A good balance on both is necessary.

DJ Times: What’s your all-time favorite scratch?

Yogafrog: All the scratches are my favorites, though my all-time favorite scratch would be power scratches, which is scratching done at higher speeds. Higher control is needed for these scratches, and you can find scratches like these on older recordings like Alladin’s on a Rampage, or Magic Mike Cuts the Record.

DJ Times: Are there any battle jocks out there now who you think are introducing innovative scratches?

Yogafrog: Yep, the Skratch Perverts from the U.K.

DJ Times: What does the future hold for turntablists?

Yogafrog: More equipment made by Vestax that will cater specifically to a scratch DJ’s demanding needs to invent new sounds and techniques. More bands from different types of music genres that will utilize scratching into their music. More and more scratch DJs emerging out of the woodworks. There’s got to be a reason the scratch DJ mixer line for all DJ equipment manufacturers is their top-selling category.

DJ Times: Describe your favorite routine. What songs, or battle records, and what scratches are you using?

Yogafrog: Favorites have to be QBert’s one turntable routine with "Rock the Bells," QBert’s two-hand drumming juggle, and anytime D-Styles is scratching.

DJ Times: What’s next for ISP?

Yogafrog: We, of course, are leading the entire scratch DJ world into the first technological forum, lecture, presentation, seminar on the DJ arts of scratching, beat juggling, team DJ orchestrations, and battling. This event we call Skratchcon2000 to be held on July 1, 2000. At this event we are also premiering our first motion picture production "Wave Twisters," the accompanying concept animation movie that coincides with DJ QBert’s Wave Twisters album. D-Styles’ album and DJ Flare’s scratch exercise CD are due out this summer as well. We are also holding the (SFSF) San Francisco Skratch Festival, (LASF) Los Angeles Skratch Festival, (NYSF) New York Skratch Festival this 2000 year. Our "Turntable TV Video" series will continue to showcase the world’s legendary and upcoming scratch DJ/turntablists. Vestax will also release the official ISP mixer, though we have designed the 05 Pro, 05 Pro LTD, 06 Pro, and 07 Pro, this model will be called our own, the Vestax ISP Pro Mixer.

Mixmaster Mike

DJ Times: Describe how you came up with the Uzi scratch.

MixMaster Mike: Chillin’ at the gun range and I got inspired by the sound of the Mac11.

DJ Times: Describe how you came up with the tweak scratch. When do you use it?

MixMaster Mike: I tripped over the cord of my turntable and killed the power, so I just continued to scratch.

DJ Times: The laser scratch has been credited to you. What is it and when do you use it?

MixMaster Mike: It depends on the certain sound you use to get that certain laser effect. The power is usually off also.

DJ Times: What is a synchronized stab and how can three DJs do it?

MixMaster Mike: It’s continuous forward scratches, rhythmic chops used with aggression.

DJ Times: What level of battling are you at now?

MixMaster Mike: I’m at the bazooka canyon stage where I’m battling the Bermuda Tri-Axl.

DJ Times: Why did you pick Rush’s "Tom Sawyer" as a centerpiece to your show with the Beastie Boys?

MixMaster Mike: Because of its energetic recording.

DJ Times: A lot of people told us that the Beasties show was the first time they ever saw a "scratch DJ" tear it up. What was the reaction like on that tour for you?

MixMaster Mike: It was like me re-introducing a lost element of hip hop in front of 100,000 people in stadiums.

DJ Times: You’ve been fortunate to hook up with the Beastie Boys, but how can the average battle jock expect to practically apply his talents?

MixMaster Mike: By getting into the study of music.

DJ Times: Is turntablism the next jazz? How?

MixMaster Mike: I would say so. I wouldn’t exactly call it the next jazz. I would call it "the new hip-hop."

DJ Times: Have you ever had a problem with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

MixMaster Mike: Not at all.

DJ Times: Is sampler technology anathema to scratch jocks? Why?

MixMaster Mike: Well, we don’t play samplers, we play turntables.

DJ Times: How many crossfaders have you gone through in your DJing career?

MixMaster Mike: From 20 to probably 30 faders.

DJ Times: What should an aspiring battle jock look for in a battle record?

MixMaster Mike: Basic music segments that suit their style.

DJ Times: What’s the latest scratch technique that you’ve been working on. Can you describe it?

MixMaster Mike: It can’t be described on paper. I’d have to show you.

DJ Times: What function does ISP serve to the scratch DJ community?

MixMaster Mike: An outlet to the next dimension of instrumental hip-hop music.

D-Styles

DJ Times: You once lectured about the instrumentation of scratching at the Red Bull Music Academy in Berlin. Describe what you tell young kids who are looking to get into scratching.

D-Styles: You have to do your homework. Go back in time and study the foundation of DJing, from Grandmaster Flash to DJ Cash Money to the present. Listen to older songs with scratching in it and learn from that. Some kids try to just jump in this without knowing the basic scratches, learning crabs without knowing how to transform, putting speed before cleanliness – it’s like learning to play the blues before playing rock-n-roll. That’s why guitarists study B.B King. That’s why singers study Aretha Franklin. If you want to learn to scratch, you got to go listen to Jazzy Jeff, Alladin, Joe Cooley – all the innovators who redefined scratching.

DJ Times: When did you first get behind the decks? And was their someone who showed you the "scratching" ropes? Who was he and how did you develop your skills?

D-Styles: I got into scratching in 1984. Nobody really showed me how to scratch; I learned on my own. I had some older friends who were DJing, so that’s how I basically got into it. I used my dad’s old home turntable and bought a mixer from Radio Shack. I only had one turntable, so I would hook up a tape deck on one channel and just scratch to tapes. In my area, there were mainly mix DJs and only a few scratchers, so it was rare to meet another scratcher. Much respect to Grandmixer TDC, Chris Cut, Norison, Trixter D, QBert and RPM for keeping me inspired.

DJ Times: What do you think is the biggest misconception about turntablism?

D-Styles: That you have to battle to be considered good nowadays. There’s a lot of good DJs out there that don’t care about battling, just as there are a lot of surfers who don’t care about competing. It’s good that there are more outlets like Tableturns, open turntable night events where anyone can go up and cut.

DJ Times: Describe some of your favorite scratches and when you like to use them.

D-Styles: I think certain rhythm/beats call for certain scratches. It’s like a mood thing. An aggressive drumbeat would call for an aggressive style of scratching. At least that’s what I hear in my head. I like cutting to slow beats most of the time, but it depends on my mood. Fast beats are more of a challenge to me because you want to be aggressive and funky at the same time.

DJ Times: Lately, what is your preferred battle record that you’re using?

D-Styles: Bullet Proof Super Duper Duck Diaper Sperm Gambling Unearthed Dirtstyle Brakes.

DJ Times: Who is the fiercest battle jock, in your mind? Why?

D-Styles: I can’t think of just one. Besides, I’m not so into the competitive side of this art. There’s too much music to create than to worry about who’s better than who.

DJ Times: Describe how one of your routines is born.

D-Styles: Usually by accident or by mistake. I try to record myself more often now when I practice because I realize that those sloppy mistakes sound better after you give your ears a day of rest. And sometimes those can be good ideas.

DJ Times: How would you describe your style within the Piklz.

D-Styles: I think I’m like the equivalent of a backup singer or the guy who plays the tambourines in the back.

DJ Times: Is turntablism the next jazz? How?

D-Styles: They have a lot of parallels with each other. When you think of DJing, you think of a DJ at a club making people dance, sort of like the Big Band Swing Era of jazz. With turntablism, it’s become listening music just like bebop. The bebop movement of jazz would be the same as this turntablism movement – emphasis on listening to the music and the soloists rather than dancing to it. Bebop broke away from the Big Band Swing Era just as turntablism has broken away from its DJ roots. Some say that this turntable stuff has strayed away too far from its traditional roots; some say that we are just at the beginning of something new.

DJ Times: Have you ever had a problem with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

D-Styles: No, not yet. Kid Koala would know the answer to that.

DJ Times: Is sampler technology anathema to scratch jocks? Why?

D-Styles: No, I use a sampler as another tool to make music with. I think it sounds funny as hell when keyboards have that imitation scratch sound effect built in so fools can put a generic scratch in their songs.

DJ Times: How many crossfaders have you gone through in your DJing career?

D-Styles: Fifteen, probably.

DJ Times: What should an aspiring battle jock look for in a battle record?

D-Styles: Dirty, distorted-ass beats.

DJ Times: What’s the latest scratch technique that you’ve been working on. Can you describe it?

D-Styles: I’m still doing my research, studying other peoples’ music, trying to gather up some info so that I can try and come up with a style. I wish I could scratch as good as I do mentally. I don’t mean this in an arrogant way. Everyone has patterns that they think up in their head. My problem is trying to get those ideas to come out as scratches. I’m not at all where I’d like to be in scratching. I’ve got a long way to go.

DJ Times: What’s in the future for ISP?

D-Styles: DJ Flare’s album, QBert’s Wave Twisters animated movie, Shortkut’s Rekonstrukted Elements, my own stuff.

Shortkut

DJ Times: You’re credited with coming up with the crab scratch. How did you develop it, and why?

Shortkut: I wasn’t the actual inventor of the crab scratch...it was originated by a DJ in the U.K. named Excel who called it the "twiddle" by using the thumb, index and middle finger. It was then elevated by QBert by using all his fingers, which he called the crrrabbb. I tried adding that into my juggling routines just to experiment.

DJ Times: Describe your dream DJ mixer.

Shortkut: I got a diagram...wanna see?

DJ Times: How would you describe your style within the Piklz?

Shortkut: A little bit of everything. I mix, scratch and beat juggle when I do a set. Just trying to stay well-rounded.

DJ Times: Is turntablism the next jazz?

Shortkut: You can say that. Scratching is definitely a form of self-expression and you can improvise your sounds just like jazz. With beat juggling, it’s re-creating existing sounds and drums with your own personal touch.

DJ Times: How many crossfaders have you gone through in your DJing career?

Shortkut: I dunno, around five or so.

DJ Times: What should an aspiring battle jock look for in a battle record?

Shortkut: Different sounds, also, try using original songs.

DJ Times: What’s the latest scratch technique that you’ve been working on. Can you describe it?

Shortkut: QBert and D-Styles are the masters at this...I actually learn from them.

DJ Times: What would you tell aspiring battle jocks.

Shortkut: Mixing. I think mixing is a good skill to have while making up a routine. It also makes you practice staying on beat, and you find a lot of sequences on accident when you practice. And digging for records is a must, too. It makes you appreciate all types of music and you can utilize new records you’ve never heard before in new routines.

DJ Times: What’s your all-time favorite scratch?

Shortkut: Transforming, but no one does it too much nowadays.

DJ Times: Are there any battle jocks out there now who you think are introducing innovative scratches?

Shortkut: I’m sure there are a lot of DJs out there who’ve made scratches up that none of us heard yet. Maybe we’ll see it at a ITF or DMC battle soon.

DJ Times: What does the future hold for turntablists?

Shortkut: More work, collaborations with different musicians, and hopefully more acknowledgement within the music industry.

DJ Times: Describe your favorite routine. What songs, or battle records, and what scratches are you using?

Shortkut: Too many to mention. It’s like asking a kid who their favorite parent is.

DJ Times: What function does ISP serve to the scratch DJ community?

Shortkut: Spreading new techniques and appreciation for all styles of hip-hop DJing – a new and old.