LL Cool J has announced a hip-hop festival at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens this Summer. And not surprisingly he asked longtime friend and collaborator DJ Scratch to participate. It’s one of many projects Scratch is juggling these delays.

He makes beats for some of the biggest names in hip-hop, spins, scratches, and produces platinum albums. But even with a new radio show on SiriusXM, DJ Scratch knows he has to constantly reinvent himself.

“Every three years is an era in hip hop. So every three years, the whole climate changes. So you have to figure it out and you have to stay on top of it,” said Scratch at the Sirius/XM studios in Manhattan. 

What You Need To Know

  • DJ Scratch grew up in Brooklyn and captured the attention of hip-hop pioneers with his wild shows that included scratching records with his back and elbows and climbing on the turntables

  • Scratch has since DJ and produced for a who's who of hip-hop greats

  • On his new radio show on SiriusXM, Scratch explains the history and creative process of hip-hop from a music producer's point of view

  • Scratch also has a new album out with The RZA, he's a DJ on Verzuz, and will appear with LL Cool J this summer at the Rock The Bells music festival in Queens

Born George Spivey, the Brooklyn native started out in the 80’s as a club DJ and quickly found ways to stand out.

“I started doing crazy tricks that I do, cutting with my elbows, my feet. Scratching with my back, my elbow. Stood on top of the turntables,” said Scratch about those early days.

He opened up for acts like Run-DMC, then joined EPMD. Over the next 30 years he DJed and produced for the likes of DMX, Jay Z, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, LL Cool J, and many more. And as LL developed his Rock The Bells channel, he asked Scratch to be part of it.

“‘I want you to do a show’ and I'm like, of course like, you know, LL is like a brother to me. So I'm like, ‘absolutely. Let’s do it,’” recalled Scratch.

Scratch is also a DJ for the rap and singing battle series VERZUZ created by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on Instagram Live at the start of the pandemic.

“Before social media, we would have to go to the radio station, then we’d have to go to record stores. Now with social media, it puts us directly in contact with our fans, with the people who actually supported our careers throughout these years,” said Scratch about how much social media has helped him and others.

And even though DJs often went from being the stars of rap music to the supporting players, Scratch is still a sought after DJ and prolific beat maker, creating music for rappers. And he says each beat can only go to the rapper he has in mind.

“Once the beat is done, then I figure out who it sounds like. ‘Okay, this sounds like something that Snoop would rap off of’, so I'll send it to Snoop. I can be just sitting at the table. When I get up, a squeak in the chair will make like, ‘yo, what was that sound?’ You get up and that's an idea! I'll put a mic to this and sample that and then boom, there’s a beat,” said Scratch about the many places he finds inspiration.

Seeing as that idea was still up for grabs I asked if the chair sound could be mine.

“You can have co-production on that,” said Scratch with a laugh.

It’s hard to know exactly when that next three year cycle is up, but Scratch just produced a brand new album with with longtime friend and collaborator, Wu-Tang clan leader, The RZA.

“As a Wu-Tang fan, I want to hear the Wu-Tang sound. I want to hear the kung fu skits, the kung fu dialogue, the sound that made us fall in love with Wu-Tang. So I wanted to bring that sound back while I was producing this album and of course, infuse my signature sound as well,” said Scratch.

And he knows to stay relevant, he has to always be open to new ideas, technology, collaborations and inspiration. The infamous shower scene in the film “Psycho” inspired his work on Busta Rhymes' "Gimme Some More."

“I went and found that scene and sampled that one part, and that became one of the biggest hit records of my career,” said Scratch.

Maybe the chair sound is next!

The DJ Scratch Show is Saturdays at 6 p.m.

The Rock The Bells Festival takes place this Aug. 6 at Forest Hills Stadium.