Grand Master Roc Raida—turntablist, producer, and one of the founding members of the almighty DJ crew The X-Ecutioners, passed away this weekend at the age of 37. (2009—officially the worst year ever?) Hailing from NYC, Raida came into the DJ battle scene in the early ’80s, and along with fellow X-Men Rob Swift, Mister Sinister, and Total Eclipse, he did much to elevate the art of turntablism to a brand new level.
Roc Raida’s 20-plus years in the game also included production duties for such artists as Big L, Smif N’ Wessun, Fat Joe, Ghostface, Black Thought, and Linkin Park. As the hip-hop community mourns his tragic death, Complex pays tribute to the master with highlights from his career behind the decks…
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DJing’s been going through it over the last 10 or 15 years. First came CD turntables, which are just disgusting and only fit for eurotrash dance music. Then came vinyl-substitute software like Serato'and while it threatens the vinyl market, we give it points for preserving beat-juggling skills and keeping the turntable itself alive (plus our resident DJ Treats swears by it).
But now some cat going by the name DJ MoCap (Yeah, we get it, “motion capture”'demerits for the needlessly precious moniker, homie) has rigged up some technology that could make Technics and Vestax a truly endangered species. All one needs is a high-contrast surface, like a piece of white paper, and a finger, and voila'full scratch control without vinyl, CDs, or any other analog object. MoCap made his setup using Native Instruments’ Traktor Scratch software and a camcorder. Watch a video of the astonishing phantom turntablism below
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