Courtesy of Palm Pictures DJ Qbert
performs in Doug Pray’s DJ documentary "Scratch."
By Mayra Marquez
Daily Bruin Contributor
Eight tracks and tape decks may be a thing of the past but good
old vinyl has never gone out of style.
In fact, it has spawned a renaissance in hip hop with the disc
jockey taking center stage. This return to the beginnings of hip
hop has inspired the new documentary film
“Scratch” and its director Doug Pray to bring attention
to the world of scratching from the DJ’s eyes. From what
began as an accident on a record player to the makings of DJ-driven
albums, “Scratch” captures the passion and pure energy
that has fueled this art form and its creators over the last 20
years.
“Scratch,” which opened Friday at the Nuart Theater
in West L.A., doubles as its own riveting soundtrack and takes the
viewer on a journey from the birth of hip hop, to the coverage of
modern DJ battles like Skratchcon 2000, the first of its kind.
Innovation is no stranger to the DJ with the likes of GrandWizzard
Theodore, considered the granddaddy of scratching, taking the old
idea of “rubbing” a record and infusing it with beats
and rhythms.
“Scratch” features interviews from the godfathers of
DJing and hip hop including hip-hop artists Theodore and Afrika
Bambaataa, to the new generation of turntablists like DJ Qbert, Mix
Master Mike, and Rob Swift and the X-ecutioners among others. Many
also perform in the film in hopes of bringing appreciation for this
type of music and its artists.
“I had no idea hip hop was like this. Even if you hate the
music, I want people to open their minds on what music can be made
from,” said Pray, who received an MFA from the UCLA School of
Film and Television.
 Courtesy of Palm Pictures MixMasterMike, from the Beastie
Boys and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and his hand, is featured in
Doub Pray’s "Scratch."
DJing has come a long way from its origins which involved merely
playing music and looping tracks, to the creation of a pure DJ
album from the X-ecutioners, a group consisting entirely of DJs.
More and more, DJs are out to prove that the turntable has infinite
possibilities.
“The turntable is the instrument of the future and the sky
is the limit. Guitarists are limited by strings, drummers are
limited by drums but with turntables, it’s whatever you can
put on wax,” said DJ Babu of Dilated Peoples, which appears
in “Scratch.”
Prior to “Scratch,” Pray worked with another group
of musical innovators in the highly acclaimed film
“Hype!” which documents the Seattle grunge scene from
beginning to end. Although they deal with two completely different
genres, “Hype!” and “Scratch” carry the
same theme.
“All music movements are similar. What happened to jazz,
happened to rock, grunge and hip hop. Both movies are about groups
of musicians who want to take it back to what it used to be,”
said Pray.
Graduating from the producers program in 1992, Pray has been
able to carry on and apply the philosophy taught at UCLA.
“At UCLA, it’s more about trying to teach us that we
had something to say and that you can go out, make a film and
control it. And I totally took that to heart,” said Pray, who
also worked on the independent documentary “American
Pimp” in between “Hype!” and
“Scratch.”
“UCLA is strong at teaching you to be an independent
thinker and filmmaker, and that’s what Sundance is all
about,” he added, referring to the film’s premiere at
the Sundance Film Festival last year.
“Scratch” pushes to expose the soul of DJing with
just the basic ingredients: a camera and performers.
Using 16mm color film, “Scratch” visually mimics a
record at play, sometimes being scratched as if it were in the
hands of a DJ. While it is musically appealing, it also serves as a
course in hip-hop history 101.
 DJ Qbert performs live at Symphony Space
in New York City as part of John Carluccio’s Battle Sounds
fund-raiser event in Doug Pray’s feature documentary "Scratch
According to Pray, few actually are aware that DJs not only gave
birth to hip hop, but also created the environment that allowed rap
to thrive. In just two decades, hip hop has reached international
prominence.
“A lot of people complain about the hip-hop scene, but
I’m happy with it. It’s a huge money-making machine and
it’s bigger than it’s ever been. I never imagined as a
kid it would be this big. I’d have the tape deck ready so
when hip hop came on the radio, I could tape it. Now it’s
everywhere,” said Babu.
According to Babu, however, mainstream hip hop can be difficult
to take in when the same songs are exploited by the record industry
and over-played on the radio.
“I’d like people to completely change their minds
about hip hop. What is mainstream, like Eminem, I like those guys
but they are so unbelievably narrow. This is totally open-minded.
It’s not what people think. It’s about being
connected,” said Pray.
Through interviews, performances and demonstrations,
“Scratch” attempts to clear up any misconceptions about
DJs or any stereotypes that may exist.
It introduces everything from the simplest concept to the more
elaborate mixes of DJing.
“One question people always ask is, “˜When you
scratch, does it mess up the record?'” said UCLA
fourth-year Asian American studies student and DJ Eric Tandoc.
“It doesn’t,” he clarified.
Tandoc, who’s been DJing for four years as DJ E.T. is
optimistic about what “Scratch” can accomplish for a DJ
scene just beginning to see the limelight.
“Scratch was seen as noise and people just wouldn’t
want to hear it,” Tandoc said. “But now people are
becoming more open to it. They don’t understand what it is,
but want to know and I think this movie can do that.”
Both fans and non-fans of hip hop can take away a lot of
information from this film. A deep love of hip hop and DJing is not
needed to enjoy “Scratch” but there is no guarantee
that one won’t result from it.
“Hip hop is on the brink of really being here.” Babu
said. “It’s etched its place in history.”