In the early 70's in the Bronx, Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc used two turntables to extend the instrumental part of records. This instrumental part, called the "break", was the part where the dancers on the floor went crazy. This gave birth to a craze called "breakdancing". It also was the start of a billion-dollar industry called hip-hop.

Afrika Bambaataa started out as a teenage gang leader in the Bronx. After winning an essay contest and a trip to Africa, he came back to form a positive community force called “The Zulu Nation”. Bam was also famous for mixing genres together, using records as tools for composition rather than dance cuts. Most of all, Afrika Bambaataa created a foundation for hip hop culture by encouraging graffiti artists, dancers and MCs to complement the music.

Grandmaster Flash was the first DJ to touch the turntable, to move the vinyl under the needle to change the sound waves. An electronics wiz and devoted music lover, Flash extended the break on time and invented DJ techniques like cutting, backspinning and a cueing system called peek-a-boo.

A 12 year-old kid named Theodore was playing with his brother’s turntables and his mom walked in. He stopped the record while he was talking to her. When she left he noticed that if he rubbed the record back and forth it made this cool new sound! This “scratch” technique became the key building block for turntablism and hip hop.

When Herbie Hancock performed his hit “Rockit” at the 1983 Grammy Awards Show, he came out with a full band that included a new kind of instrument: twin turntables. Join Cut Chemist, Mix-Master Mike and Q-Bert as they talk about how seeing this performance changed their lives.

Run DMC’s turntablist Jam Master Jay was instrumental in creating the band’s remix of Aerosmith’s rock hit “Walk This Way”. This is the story of how rock and roll made it onto the turntable and how this song introduced popular culture to hip hop.

Bay Area turntablists Mix Master Mike and Q-Bert led the way for a new generation of turntablists by creating the first DJ band – The Invisibl Skratch Picklz. They shared their knowledge and skills openly, creating a whole new era in hip-hop.

New York DJ band The X-Ecutioners have an arsenal of unique turntable techniques. They battle as a band and as solo artists. Spend 5 minutes of quality time with these turntablist superstars: Rob Swift, Mista Sinista, Total Eclipse and Roc Raida to find out how a DJ band works and why a turntablist is truly a musician.

California turntablists DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist are famous for digging. This is the art of finding just the right vinyl to complement a song made of many layers. Join KEXP Documentaries as we follow Cut and Shadow to their favorite record stores.

Japanese DJ Kentaro adds video, body tricks and props to his turntablist techniques to put on a show. He’s a master at the nearly impossible art of needle dropping. Check out how Kentaro breaks down barriers between musical styles, cultures and generations with the turntable as his mode of travel.