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“THE TALIBAN TURNTABLIST” & OTHER
SKRATCH STORIES
Newsweek has reported that John Walker Lindh, the Taliban
Turntablist, sold off his hip-hop collection online, prior to
joining Osama Bin Laden's Al-Queda network. Walker was apparently
a serious head before his conversion to Islam, and would regularly
visit various hip-hop websites, posting messages under the pseudonym
"doodoo." He then changed his Internet handle to "Prof.
J" when he sold his collection of albums, 12" singles
and videos. Among his collection of classics which included: Boogie
Down Productions, 2 Live Crew, Run DMC, Too Short, and Ultramagnetic
MC's, Walker also had several DJ produced pieces of wax in his
crates such as: Dr. Octagon, The Egyptian Lover, DJ Hurricane,
Mantronix, and Uncle Jamm's Army. Walker also sold his video copies
of Wildstyle and Style Wars. Production on “Kandahar
Breaks” has been put hold, pending his trial.
Linkin Park, the 6-piece alternative-rock/hip-hop/electronic
band (feat. DJ Joseph Hahn), are hosting DJ battles as part of
their Projekt Revolution 2002 tour. The battles are scheduled
to take place following Cypress Hill’s set, right before
Linkin Park goes onstage. Winners receive Vestax gear, and the
chance to play with Linkin Park and Korn in Mexico City. DJ Z-Trip
has the opening slot on the tour. To find out how to compete,
call your local hip-hop radio station and ask if they are involved
in the Linkin Park DJ competition. And while you’re at it,
ask them if they’ve ever played any of Linkin Park’s
music. Finally, ask them if they even play any real hip-hop on
their radio station because the only thing I hear is bullshit!
Pioneer has unleashed another CD mixer for the digital deejays.
The brand new CMX-3000 DJ Unit apparently does everything an old-school
vinyl DJ does—including automatic beat matching! For $1,099.00,
you can rock the next party by doing absolutely nothing. Includes
built-in sampling, effects, and fade cues. Street credibility
not included.
Vice magazine puts hip-hop on the map. Vice magazine recently
published an article entitled “The Geography of Hip-Hop”
which includes a map of the U.S. pinpointing where various hip-hop
crews are located. Surprisingly, they were gracious enough to
make sure that the deejays were represented as well, by including
the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, Marley Marl, DJ Premier,
and Jazzy Jeff. Take that, Vibe!
Rane, one of the leading manufacturers of DJ mixers, decided
to pay homage to some of hip-hop’s old-school pioneers by
sponsoring them with their newest performance mixer, the TTM 56.
The list of sponsored deejays includes DJ Quest, Eddie Def, Ming
& FS, and originators Grand Wizard Theodore, Jazzy Jay, and
Steve Dee.
Mista Sinista has reportedly left the X-ecutioners, right before
their new album, Built from Scratch is to be released on
Loud Records. Damn, more drama for your mama…
Mixwell, the DJ clothing company that dresses the Beat Junkies,
is having a mixtape contest. The winner receives $100.00, some
Mixwell gear, and one month worth of hype on the Mixwell USA website.
Mixwell will also press up 1,000 copies of the winning mixtape
for use as a Mixwell promotional giveaway. Submission will be
accepted till March 15, 2002. For more details, peep out www.mixwellusa.com.
Scratch the Movie is being released in movie theaters
this month by Palm Pictures. The official theatrical premiere
will happen on Feb. 15th in NYC at the Sunshine Cinema and the
AMC Empire. Scratch will make its way into the Bay Area on March
8th with showings at the Lumiere Theater in San Francisco, and
at Landmark’s Shattuck Theater in Berkeley.
Wild 94.9 has decided to follow the current turntablist trend
and is planning to start a new radio segment called Turntable
Tuesdays with Jazzy Jim. With hopes to “keep it real,”
the Clear Channel operated radio station has enlisted the expertise
of DJ Relm to act as a consultant. Let’s just hope they don’t
do him like they did Davey D…
The long overdue Tablist magazine has finally dropped,
making it the first magazine ever dedicated to the art of turntablism.
Articles include a cover story of the Allies, an interview with
Z-Trip, and A-trak’s scratch notation.
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