Turntablism

Turntablism is a form of hip hop musicianship in which the DJ treats turntables and a mixer as a lead instrument, building new compositions from existing records through scratching, beat juggling, cutting and body tricks. Practitioners such as *Grandmaster Flash*, *DJ Q-Bert* and *DJ Shadow* manipulate vinyl in real time, isolating drum breaks, transforming short fragments into melodic and percussive material and layering samples into dense collages. The practice grew out of Bronx block-party DJing and battle culture, and its album form, heard on "Endtroducing.....", presents the turntable as a complete compositional tool rather than a playback device.