The scratch was conceived, like all good ideas and many great people, by accident. A kid had his record player blaring a tad too loud; his ma yelled at him; he stopped the record by hand and pushed it back and forth absentmindedly while pretending to listen to her. Thus the scratch was born. So was the wizardry of GrandWizard Theodore and the vinyl-scratching hip-hop DJ culture that he (and his mother) helped create.
The first installment of Offscreen's Music Film Series, "Scratch" is a fast-paced new documentary from Doug "Hype!" Pray. With "Hype!," Pray explored the pre-Nirvana grunge movement in the Northwest. In "Scratch," Pray shows the evolution of The Scratch DJ from his unfamiliar first embodiment as GrandWizard Theodore to what he is now, a known and respected artist still in his mid 20s.
Acting as biographer, Pray takes the scratch and examines it from birth to adolescence to adulthood, where it now continues to develop and mature. So although scratch culture hasn't yet reached old age and is nowhere near dying off, all biographies are incomplete and Pray's film has done a thorough job by the end of its 90-minute run time.
Born at home, the scratch goes through puberty on turntables at parties and grows up during DJ battles where scratching is art, each beat is a canvas and DJ Q-Bert and Mix Master Mike throw down like Pollock. Pray meets up with Grandmaster DXT, DJ Jazzy Jay (part of Afrika Bambaataa's team), Jurassic 5, the X-Ecutioners, DJ Shadow and everyone else who has had major influence on scratch culture so far and continues to do so. Among the treats: Shadow takes us to his favorite record store to dig for samples, the X-Ecutioners freestyle and Mix Master Mike discusses the possibility of his music's extraterrestrial origins.
What works so well in Pray's film is its relentless momentum. He covers underground scenes from the South Bronx to San Francisco, gives screen time to 30 or more significant hip-hop figures and discusses everything from turntablism to beatboxing to battling, never missing the beat and often playing around with it. Parts of the film are edited as visual stutters, with cuts matching the scratches being performed on soundtrack or live on screen.
Most of "Scratch" is original footage of DJs speaking and scratching (shot on 16mm by Robert Bennett), but it's apparent that Pray did his own digging. The live footage in the movie is integral to its subject. Much of turntablism has to do with performing and improvising live, reading a crowd and getting them energized. That's where the battles come in. As far as skill goes, battling is the ultimate test of it, and the DMC (DJ Mixing Competition) footage here holds testament.
And, as is to be expected, the soundtrack is phenomenal. Scratch hip-hop is non-stop, pervading the entire film and helping out with its fast pace. Never a dull moment with Doug Pray.
The mastery of "Scratch" lies in its ability to document a sound movement via film and to inform and educate its viewers without losing them for a second. As the start of Offscreen's music film series, "Scratch" should light the fire and spread it for the other upcoming films. Those with any interest in music, especially hip-hop, should do their best to make it on Sunday night.
Showing at Newcomb Hall Theater this Sunday at 7 and 9:30 p.m.
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