George Spivey (born June 21, 1968), known professionally as DJ Scratch, is an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

DJ and producer from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. DJ Scratch is the 1988 New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy DJ champion, the 2010 Master of the Mix winner and the 2012, 2013 & 2014 Global Spin Awards' "Turntablist of the Year". 19 albums produced by DJ Scratch were

certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in United States, seven of them were certified as Platinum.

Career

DJ Scratch was introduced to

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

Jam Master Jay Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician, record producer and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC becam ...

at the Run's House Tour after DJ K LA Boss left EPMD. Impressed by his skills, the two designated DJ Scratch as their official D.J. by their second album '' Unfinished Business'' in 1989. His presence was felt with his powerful cutting and scratching techniques that are heard on various tracks. Aside from scratching, on '' Business As Usual'', he produced the track "Funky Piano", "Rampage" and in 1991 worked on a remix for "I'm Mad" off the "Rampage" 12" single. In 1992, Scratch produced "Scratch Bring It Back, Pt. 2 (Mic Doc)" and briefly worked with his cousin

DJ Magic Mike DJ Magic Mike (born Michael Hampton, May 9, 1966) is a Miami bass record producer, rapper, and the first platinum selling recording artist from Orlando, Florida. He is also a former member and former lead vocalist of the rap trio Vicious Bass alo ...

after EPMD broke up. Soon Scratch made a name for himself as a producer for

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

and the Flipmode Squad off Busta's debut album in 1996. By 2003 DJ Scratch became a well distinguished and revered

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

producer after working with

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

, DMX,

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

Q-Tip Cotton swabs (American English) or cotton buds (British English), also Q-tips ( proprietary eponym), are wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod made of wood, rolled paper, or plastic. They are most commonly used for ear cleaning, although th ...

and other notable acts. Scratch was the

resident DJ In the DJ culture, a resident DJ or local DJ is a DJ who is employed by a dance club, unlike a guest artist, who works as freelancer and therefore play at several clubs. Obtaining a residency implies being part of the salaried staff of a co ...

for three nationally aired TV Shows: ''Hip Hop Hold Em'', Fox 5's ''Uptown Comedy Club'' and B.E.T.'s ''Rap City: The Basement''. Scratch's film credits include ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

'', ''The Original 50 Cent'', ''Backstage'', ''Fly By Night'', '' Rhyme & Reason'' and

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's film ''

Bamboozled ''Bamboozled'' is a 2000 American satirical black comedy-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the resulting violent fallout from the show's succe ...

''. In addition,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

commissioned Scratch to produce & feature in their first DJ commercial, "3 DJs". According to

PMD PMD may refer to: Government and diplomacy * Pakistan Meteorological Department * Performance Management Division, of the Cabinet Office, Government of India * Possible Military Dimensions of a nuclear program (specifically that of Iran) Heal ...

of EPMD, DJ Scratch left the group in 2015. Scratch posted on his Instagram page words of resentment towards former participants on January 2, 2017. In 2016, DJ Scratch helped fill in for

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

's DJ

Ali Shaheed Muhammad Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, rapper and bass guitarist, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip (musician), Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the grou ...

on their final album '' We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service'' due to Ali producing the soundtrack for the ''

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...

'' TV series with

Adrian Younge Adrian Younge (born May 7, 1978) is an American composer, arranger and music producer based in the Los Angeles area. Background Younge grew up in Fontana, California, United States. His father is a lawyer and Younge himself earned a Juris Doct ...

at the time. As of 2022, Scratch hosts The DJ Scratch Show on LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells Radio, which is a station on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

. It is a mix show that features the DJ curating a selection of classic hip-hop. Scratch calls

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...

his mentor.

Awards and nominations

*1988 — New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy DJ champion *2010 — Master of the Mix winner *2012, 2013 & 2014 — Global Spin Awards' "Turntablist Of The Year" ;DJ Scratch-produced works nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

award: *

— song "

Gimme Some More "Gimme Some More" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the second single from his third studio album '' Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front'' on October 26, 1998, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. ...

" (1998) ("Best Rap Solo Performance") *

— album '' E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front'' (1998) ("Best Rap Album") *

— album ''

Phrenology Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...

'' (2002) ("Best Rap Album") ;Albums, produced by DJ Scratch, which were certified Gold in United States: *

— '' Unfinished Business'' (1989) * EPMD — '' Business as Usual'' (1990) * EPMD — '' Business Never Personal'' (1992) * EPMD — '' Back in Business'' (1997) *

Flipmode Squad Flipmode Squad is an American hip hop collective formed and fronted by Busta Rhymes. History In 1993, Busta Rhymes first introduced the Flipmode Squad when he still was a part of former group Leaders of the New School, with the members bei ...

— ''The Imperial'' (1998) *

— '' Amplified'' (1999) *

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1967), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Ho ...

Big Kap Keith Carter (February 26, 1970 – February 3, 2016), also known as Big Kap and The Wardin, was an American hip-hop DJ who was born in New York City and was later based in Atlanta. Career In 1995 he was a member of hip hop supergroup The F ...

— '' The Tunnel'' (1999) *

— '' G.O.A.T.'' (2000) *

— '' It Ain't Safe No More...'' (2002) *

— ''

'' (2002) *

— ''

Quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory *Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...

'' (2002) ;Albums, produced by DJ Scratch, which were certified Platinum in United States: *

— '' The Coming'' (1996) * Busta Rhymes — '' When Disaster Strikes'' (1997) * Busta Rhymes — '' E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front'' (1998) *

DJ Clue Ernesto Shaw (born January 8, 1975), better known as DJ Clue (often stylized as DJ Clue?), is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, radio personality and record executive. Early life DJ Clue was born in Queens, New York City to Pana ...

— '' The Professional'' (1998) *

Method Man & Redman Method Man & Redman (also referred to as Meth & Red, Red & Mef, John Blaze and Funk Doc or Funk Doctor Spock and Johnny Blaze) are an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Method Man (of Wu-Tang Clan) and Redman (of Def Squad). They are sig ...

— '' Blackout!'' (1999) *

— ''

Anarchy Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...

'' (2000) * DMX — ''

Grand Champ ''Grand Champ'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on September 16, 2003 by The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. The album was produced by multiple producers, includin ...

'' (2003)

Discography

References

External links

* * * *
DJ Scratch
at Rapgenius *
DJ Scratch Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (June 19, 2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Scratch, DJ 1968 births Living people American hip-hop DJs African-American DJs Musicians from Brooklyn East Coast hip-hop musicians African-American record producers American hip-hop record producers EPMD members Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Hit Squad members