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Abstract

The article explores hip-hop turntablism as a response to the constricted roles offered to racialized Americans in commercial music culture. Drawing on postcolonial theory and critical musicology, the article looks at the means by which turntablists such as DJs Qbert and Kuttin Kandi confront internal forms of American cultural imperialism. More than ornamental fixtures for mainstream rap artists, turntablists are soloists with a range of specialized techniques through which they combine recordings into new works (mixing, beat-juggling) and pull expansive timbral sequences from the vinyl (scratching). These processes enable a broad spectrum of sounds and references, opening the door for turntablists to play with memory and with imperial narratives of progress. In performance, turntablists blur external racial definitions while paradoxically reinforcing subnational communities. In addition, because they appropriate commercial recordings and use primarily independent means of production and distribution, turntablists subvert a market powered by a handful of multinational companies.

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Scratching the Surface

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