Kindred Journey 9 – Invisible Skratch Piklz
The “Invisible Skratch Piklz” are DJ D-Styles, DJ Mix Master Mike, DJ Shortkut, DJ Apollo, and DJ Qbert. There are more members, but I’m listing the ones I’ve seen perform together mostly as a crew or band. I cant remember the first time I heard of ISP, but I knew who DJ Apollo and DJ Qbert were when I was entering high school. They were famous in the Bay for mix-tapes and ripping shit up in battles like the DMC, ITF, New Music seminar, and more. Later, when I got into bedroom DJing and collecting I caught word of battling, the infamous X-Men vs ISP battle at Rock Steady’s anniversary, and a re-emerging culture. As I was getting into scratching, so was the whole Bay! Many continue to scratch , rock parties, weddings, your corporate event, classroom, or the lunch hour on your local radio station.
It is important to note that this crew made history because of millions of hours of practice, performance, and and building community with so many other DJs. They innovated so many aspects of performing, equipment, music, and learning because they shared their knowledge. Before people were really using the internet crews like ISP, Beat Junkies, and the X-Men were making VHS tapes with instructions. I’m sure many entered the class just by listening to them. They’re still rocking, still teaching, still touring, and when many left the underground culture of “turntablism” they kept going,; returning to party rocking roots and expanding to other crews and opportunities. ISP, a mostly Filipino American group is a pillar in the hip hop community and an timeless part of the Bay/LA music scene and Asian American history as a whole. Salute!
Oh and if you’re looking for that scratching itch, look up “Skratch Pad”!
Sources: Memory, Life, Experience
