Roc Raida at Ottobar from SENBaltimore on Vimeo.

In the late 1980’s, Roc Raida began to grow into prominence due to his groundbreaking style of DJing. As a member of the X-ecutioners, Roc Raida was one of the first DJs to implement beat-juggling and altering snare and kick drums to create real time beats. In 1995, he won the DMC World DJ Competition which defined his place in the world of DJs and hip-hop. Recently Roc Raida was appointed the title “Grandmaster” by some of the original founders of hip-hop. Then in 1999, Roc Raida was inducted into the DMC Hall of Fame at the DMC World Finals in New York. More recently, he was the first DJ to appear on stage performing on Saturday Night Live with the SNL Band.

On June 19 2008, Roc Raida performed at the Ottobar in Baltimore with DJ Q-Bert; SĒN Baltimore was there and has you covered. His style is flashy, whether he is spinning around while scratching behind his back or crossing over between turntables with his teeth, and that’s just to mention a few of his tricks, Roc Raida is not to be missed. So if you weren’t there you owe it to yourself to check out this video and see Roc Raida in action. With an added bonus, you’ll get to check out DJ Q-Bert after Roc Raida performs.

By: Dan Seubert