Hip Hop DJs and the Evolution of Technology

André Sirois (PhD, University of Oregon), a.k.a. DJ food stamp, is an instructor at the University of Oregon, where he teaches courses on filmmaking and popular culture in the media. He has over 17 years experience as a hip-hop, scratch, club, and radio DJ. His scratches have been featured on numerous artists’ songs, including the gold-selling single by Spose, «I’m Awesome.» He is one of the founders of DJistory/DJpedia, a non-profit organization and archive dedicated to preserving and telling histories of DJ technology and culture.

Contents: Re-coding Sound Technology and the Vinyl Archive – Exchange and Rights in the DJ Product Industry: Technics and Vestax Corporation – Exchange and Rights in the DJ Product Industry: Rane Corporation and Serato Audio Research – The Hip-Hop DJ as Intellectual Property: Research and Development – The Hip-Hop DJ as Intellectual Property: Branding, Endorsement, and the Nature of Convergence – Scratching the Digital Itch and the Cultural Negotiation of DVS.

«There are lots of excellent books about Hip Hop and DJing [...] but none analyze turntablism as a cultural and technical practice from such a fresh and nuanced angle within and without as this book. It might be the only text you need on the subject.»
(Roy Christopher, The Journal of Hip Hop Studies, Volume 4, Issue 1 2017)

Read the full review here