I rarely shed tears for people, but hearing this news has really messed with my emotions today. I don’t think I ever had the opportunity to meet dude (despite having met Rob Swift, Joey Sinista, and Total Eclipse on separate occasions), but to say this guy had an effect on my life was an understatement.
The first DJ battle I ever attended was the Canadian DMC’s in 1996. The legacy of the Turnstylez (D-Scratch, Lil Jaz, and Grouch) began there with their 1-2-3 clean sweep of the standings (Kid Koala came in 4th!). I was going apeshit with the whole experience, but the emergence of this dude small in stature manhandling two copies of Sucker MC’s, Peter Piper, and Good Times melted my face off. This cat with a funny name was exposing me to a whole new realm of DJ’ing I never imagined. Roc Raida was my first DJ hero.
The late 90′s were when the turntablism scene was really picking up steam, and names like the Beat Junkies, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and Raida’s crew, the X-Men, were hitting their stride at just the right time. The infamous ISP vs. X-Men battle at Rocksteady weekend goes down in history as THE definitive battle to watch two different schools of freaking records go head to head. Roc Raida, being the ’95 World Champ, naturally headed up the East Coast’s ‘show and prove’ way of doing things. Q-Bert and his weird ass Piklz had their style that proved to be technically and sonically better, but it had gone over a lot of people’s heads. To be diplomatic, it’s safe to say the X won that battle but the PIklz won the war. But both teams benefitted and added to the culture’s folklore.
However, the X-Ecutioners still thrived with their growing discography and being the DJ’s for a shit ton of New York’s best MC’s. Roc kept it busy with the battle records, mixtapes, and Gong Show battle, putting on new cats on a come up. Learning about him added cuts on OC’s “Time’s Up” and a lot of early DITC cuts shows that he didn’t just serve for turntablism as niche culture, but for the whole of hip-hop as well.
Corny as it sounds, he had a swagger on the turntables. He was a showman on the decks, but also knew he was technically sound, as well. It was a confidence that came from him knowing that he had already invested countless hours cutting in front of a mirror, envisioning success through hard work. He earned the title Grand Master the only way you could: by working or it and letting your body of work garner a reputation.
Always be dope and original, always be ready to take someone out, stay humble and appreciate everything you get. It’s his model and school of thought that fuels and inspires me to this day. We love you, DJ Roc Raida. Rest In Peace.
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