Grand Wizard Theodore

Some DJs couldn't be bothered with headphones and backspins, and just nailed the break by dropping the needle. A 15-year-old named Grand Wizard Theodore Livingston did this with frightening accuracy. In 1978 Livingston would also accidentally invent "the scratch" affectionately referred to as "zigga-zigga." With scratching, the mother of all invention was born from the mother of all interruptions. According to Theodore his mom barged into his room while he was skipping through one of his brother Mean Gene's records. Theodore put his hand on the vinyl and looked up, a startled piano player in a saloon. The music stopped. Zigga! The music started. Zigga!! Zigga! And so on. As with much else in Hip Hop, the scratch was exactly what you weren't supposed to do. The scratch was promoted from unplayable vinyl flaw to instrumental mark of virtuosity. The DJ's guitar solo. It was a way to mutate sound or just plain show off and depreciate the record's value. Long after this noise inspired many mothers to barge into many rooms, this no-no would be showcased for the hook and horsuses of Hip Hop.