Grand Wizard Theodore

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Grand Wizzard Theodore (right) with hip-hop historian Shawn G. Chittle (left).

Grand Wizzard Theodore (born 1962, Bronx, New York as Theodore Livingston) is an American hip hop DJ. He is widely credited as the inventor of scratching.^[1]^[2]

His brother, Mean Gene, was Theodore's mentor, and began teaching him DJing before Theodore was even a teen. In addition to scratching, he achieved renown for his mastery of needle drops and other techniques which he invented or perfected. Theodore also apprenticed under Grandmaster Flash.^[2]

In the early 1980s, Theodore was a part of the group Grandwizzard Theodore & the Fantastic Five. They released "Can I Get a Soul Clap" in 1980. He was also featured in the 1983 film Wild Style, as well as contributing to the film's soundtrack. He explains the origin of the scratch in the documentary film Scratch.^[2]

Grand Wizzard Theodore's mixing style is still innovative, as he does not simply stick to baby scratches and cuts - his mix sets sound similar to extended DMC routines, using all of the current up to date DJ tricks and styles. This is in contrast with other old school DJs, such as Grandmaster Flash or Kool Herc, whose mixing style and music selection has remained basically unchanged for the past 30 years.^[2]

Theodore's phrase "Say turn it up" from his track "Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie" was widely sampled by hip hop and rap acts such as Public Enemy (on the track "Bring the Noise"), Bomb the Bass (on the track "Megablast") and many others.