Grand Wizzard Theodore Talks Birth of DJing, Legacy & 50 Years of Hip-hop | Artist Spotlight

Any genre space is beholden to the innovation and groundwork laid by its current practitioners’ predecessors, but Grand Wizzard Theodore holds the honorable distinction of singlehandedly inventing one of hip-hop’s central pillars and a core tenet of DJing: scratching. That’s right: Grand Wizzard Theodore invented the technique paramount to mixing and turntablism. The urban legend says it was pure accident, that his mom yelled at him to turn down the noise and resting his hand on the record to stop it from spinning produced the sound. The rest is history, and it’s a history Grand Wizzard Theodore sat down with Sweetwater to tell. From his time with the Fantastic Five to his enduring, multifaceted legacy, Grand Wizzard Theodore talks all things hip-hop, from its inception 50 years ago to the sonic landscape of today. Now, say, “turn it up!”

Want more on the 50th anniversary of hip-hop? Check out our interview with the legendary Ski Beatz