The Elemental Session: Wheels of Steel

Friday night, @NuuElementz hosted it's third Elemental Session: Wheels of Steel, the education of the DJ.

A diverse group of people from all over Tallahassee gathered together to be educated and to discuss the significance of the most important element of hip-hop, the DJ.

President of Nuu Elementz, Tallahassee native Lance Farmer known as @JetLifeLidz, opened up the educational and entertaining presentation on the history of the DJ.

The letter's DJ stand for disk jockey who mixes recorded music for an audience. Several types of DJ's are found on the radio, at the club or is mobile.

http://www.pitt.edu/~kaz44/anything.html

Hip-hop DJs use multiple turntables to back up one or more song and perform scratches to create percussive sounds.

DJ Francis Grasso popularized beat matching and developed slip-cuing, creating a continuous flow of music. Grasso was the first DJ outside of radio broadcasting to require headphones as part of his setup. Grasso passed away on March 2001. However, the techniques he pioneered remain the foundation of what is heard in a modern nightclub.

http://ped111251.tripod.com/francis.htm

Clive Campbell  AKA @DJ Kool Herc, the Father of Hip-hop, is credited with originating hip-hop music in the early 1970s. Herc developed a technique of mixing two identical records to extend the instrumental segment. His announcements throughout the music helped lead rhymed spoken words support what became rapping. DJs like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash were influenced from Herc's style.

DJ Grand Wizard Theodore discovered the scratching technique when he accidentally touched the needle and realized it made a cool scratching sound. Every form of music has at one time or another used the scratching sound in its music. Wizard Theodore explains the origin in the documentary, Scratch.

"The first DJ I consciously heard was DJ Canon," said @Rob_Yhung.

SS is short for Scratchenstein, the name he used when he was a hip-hop scratch DJ. He got his big break DJing at the big British raves of the early 1990s. Since then, he has gone on to DJ world wide.

"DJ SS used to come on the radio all the time," said @Back_Pack_Beatz.

"Like Jedi in Star Wars fighting against evil, enduring strenuous training, accepting a life-long commitment to obtaining the knowledge of the universe and being heard but never seen, the hip-hop DJ has very much the same destiny." described Grandmixer DXT about the underrated commitment of a DJ.

DJs are more important than ever. Many DJs have become international superstars and have changed the music industry forever.

http://www.magneticmag.com/2012/07/theres-more-to-picking-a-great-dj-name-than-you-might-think/

A great DJ can take the energy of a room from a one to a 20 in a set. A DJ not only has to be proficient in music, but also has to be able to read the crowd.

Due to the advancement of technology, many people are calling themselves DJs. However, DJing is a structured form of art and study. Most DJs are technologically savvy, have the skill to take apart and put back together a turntable quickly while under pressure, and must hold a musicologist's knowledge of names, dates, tunes and styles of music.

During the discussion it was established that DJ mixes are what brings awareness to a song.

"I heard most of Gucci Mane songs through DJ Spinatik mixes," said Vice President of Nuu Elementz, Vanity Duran (@vanitynosin) from Tampa.

You have a canvas of art, without color, there is no art. Without a DJs tools, there is no music, related Rob metaphorically. "DJ is a form of art, without turntables and music there is no DJ."

http://satisfyingretirement.blogspot.com/2010/12/start-with-blank-canvas.html

It requires a vast amount of knowledge to control music.

If DJing was a form of art, much of the audience agreed that it would be graffiti. "You can put anything together," said Lance.

"It'd be sculpted. You got the slab and you break it down," said @mkkenny13. 

DJing even plays a major role in the fashion model industry. Many models started off their glamorous career as a DJ.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/fashion/djs-make-the-music-to-move-fashion-shows.html?_r=0

Some DJs started off DJig after having breaking records, mixtapes and winning competitions when they were younger.

BET honored the 50 most influential DJs paying homage to all the legendary DJs of hip-hop history.

"DJ E-Zone did a mix on Micheal Jackson after he passed away. It had me tear up," said @NikeSmilez.

Shout out to all of the DJs listed about, DJ Screw, Mix Master Mike, Micheal Wattz, A-Trak, Jam Master Jay, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Trawe, DJ Lou, DJ Premier, DJ Mustard, DJ Lidz, and all DJs contributing to the music industry.

 Shout out to @CK_Lakers, @RaspyRapz, @gustavobyrdz, @knik_94, @mkkenny13, @frankreefa, @nikesmilez and @back_pack_beatz.

Shout out to the Nuu Elementz team @sundaedip4ya, @vanitynosin, @JetLifeLidz, @18UntoldStories, and @Rob_Yhung.