“Where does DJing come from?”
That was a question a viewer of my YouTube channel posed to me the other week, & you know what – it got me thinking.
So much so that it quickly turned into one of ‘those’ thoughts.
You know – the type that you can’t expel from your mind until you’ve gone out of your way to track down the answer.
Plus, as much as DJing is a huge part of my life, I’ll admit, until that the origins of DJing hadn’t really crossed my mind.
Nevertheless, it did intrigue me, to the point that I decided to go out of my way to learn more about the origins of DJing, as well as its deep affiliation with Hip Hop Music.
Hence this blog… & why I urge you to read on, because the origins of DJing aren’t perhaps what you might think (spoiler alert). Info that’s useful to know, regardless of whether you’re a hardcore Hip-Hopper or not.
So without further ado, here’s a deep dive into the origins of DJing…
When did DJing officially begin?
Kool Herc first began his career as a DJ playing Funk music in his local apartment building, where he would use two copies of the same record (both on independent turntables) to emphasize & elongate a song’s drum break.
A technique that was soon dubbed as “The-Merry-Go-Round” because of how it allowed the music to keep seamlessly looping for minutes on end.
Herc first introduced it into his sets in 1972.
It was here you could say was the first occurrence of DJing as we know & love it today.
Then, how did DJing trigger the birth of Hip Hop?
That’s where DJ Kool Herc grew up. Emigrating from Jamaica at the age of 12, he grew up on the projects & became leader of a well-known graffiti gang.
This was where his name Kool Herc first came about – ‘Herc’ being a reference to his stature, as to many of his friends, he went by the nickname of Hercules.
From here, DJ Kool Herc laid out the blueprint for Hip Hop music by experimenting even more with elongated breaks behind his decks, to the point that it actually evolved into a trend.
Many of these breaks could last a whole 5 minutes, which subsequently led to the evolution of another iconic part of Hip Hop culture: B-Boys & B-Girls.
Street dancers, who became known for busting sensational moves throughout the duration of each break.
And as you expect, this trend was something that quickly caught on across the nightclub scene in NYC. A move that suddenly nudged the art of DJing into the spotlight, where it has remained (& grown) ever since.
How was Djing back in the late 70s/ early 80s different?
Not only was the tech ‘old skool’, but the art of juggling records was the real artform.
DJing in the 80s was very hands-on, as a lot of the most popular techniques were yet to be formed.
For that reason, I guess you could call DJ sets of the 80s some of the most organic examples of DJing to ever exist!
Safe to say that DJing has come a long way since the 80s. In fact, you could say it’s been completely reinvented.
With that in mind, here’s 3 ways that DJing was different back in the 80s…
1. Djing culture was far more underground
Unlike today, where almost everyone knows a talented DJ, back in the 80s, talented Disk Jockeys were thin on the ground.
What’s more, DJing wasn’t a cheap pastime either.
Equipment was expensive, especially when you consider that there was very little money in DJing at the time.
Most were DJs simply out of their love for music & an effort to expand the newfound Hip Hop culture. Hence why the majority of DJs (even in the 90s) were operating out of basements or restricted to playing at specific underground clubs.
A key example in 90s Hip Hop being Big Tigger, who hosted his iconic Rap City freestyle series from his basement in NYC.
To get a feel for what this was like, jump into this video… (you’ll see the DJ in the first couple of seconds)
2. DJ tech was seriously ‘old skool’
Cast your mind back to the 80s, & DJ equipment was another level of simplicity. A level that makes even the most beginner gear you find today look mind-bogglingly complex.
Back then, DJs were equipped with 2 analog turntables & (if they were lucky), a decent pair of speakers.
Just one of the reasons DJ shows were more or less confined to clubs & studios, because at that time, speakers were significantly less powerful!
To get the real impact of DJing, you’d need the acoustic gear you find in a club, studio, or venue.
Compare that to now, where virtually anyone can learn to be a DJ in their bedroom with reasonably small setup costs, & you begin to see just how far DJ tech has come.
Modern decks, for instance, can communicate with your laptop + through midi or RCA, and other gear/ instruments in your setup.
CDJs have made DJing super portable. And access to computer software like DAWs means a DJ can have their samples, loops & effects all arranged prior to a performance.
Pretty rad if you ask me!
3. DJing was far more organic… but less refined
Enter an underground DJ rave back in the 80s & you’d likely experience a couple of things:
- Muddy bass
- Manual transitions between tracks
- Very little in the way of effects
And that’s because the whole art of DJing was a lot more manual; today the scope for sound has got exponentially larger! So DJing back then was more about song choice & making a seamless transition between the two.
Effects were few & far between. The closest many DJs got was a couple of scratches.
So while DJing in the 80s was nowhere near as refined as the ‘perfected’ mixes we come across today, many argue that’s what made it so great.
Classic DJing had a raw originality to it; DJs were less about professionalism & more about entertaining & creating a vibe that aligned with the current culture.
Other iconic DJs everyone should know (& why)
Grandmaster Flash – Famous for pioneering many DJ techniques including scratching, clock theory & backspin, Flash is arguably one of the greatest DJs to ever live. In terms of innovating the concept of DJing, few DJs can match his level of input. If you want to really check out
Flash’s skills behind the decks, be sure to check out this demo he did with Hot 97…
Lil John – Despite being most well known for his hit song, ‘Get Low’, Lil John’s music career actually started off behind the decks. Originally, John worked his way into the music industry by spinning at both parties & clubs, before he was scouted by executives at Def Jam records. The rest – that’s history.
Calvin Harris – As one of the most popular DJs of the digital age, Calvin Harris has done all he can as a DJ to smash records in every sense of the word. Not only has this Scottish DJ managed to 1-up Michael Jackson by having the most top 10 hits on a studio album, but he’s also dominated the Dance/ Electronic charts across the UK & US. It’s little wonder he’s no stranger to a a Brit Award.
