As proven by the success of Afrika Bambaataa, the DJ--disc jockey--is of supreme importance in hip-hop culture.
The DJ is the master of the technology required to make his music--turntables, amplifiers, and mixing equipment. The DJ, as a creator, has been considered the death knell for the traditional rock 'n' roll superstar. Writer Hugh Gallagher goes so far as to link Kurt Cobain's suicide to the end of the rocker image as perpetuated by mass media outlets like MTV; lacking the channels to communicate directly to his desired audience due to his transformation from a human being to an icon, Cobain literally destroyed his image when he shot his face off in spring 1994 (Gallagher). The DJ, Gallagher argues, is the antithesis to the superstar rocker because the focus is upon the music and not him/her, who is largely hidden behind the technological equipment required to produce the music.
The DJ is the future because the DJ takes advantage of the information age. Using a personal collection of music--ideally a large and diverse collection--the DJ uses records- nothing more than "stored information"--and manipulates them for a desired effect (Gallagher). The DJ mixes and blends a variety of stored information to "'transmit'" rather than consume passively, according to DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid; if the DJ can subtly weave himself into the mix (s)he performs "'reality hacking'" (Gallagher).
DJ Spooky is a particularly interesting DJ, in that he is a renaissance man: a major in French and philosophy, Spooky is also a sci-fi writer and prominent conceptual artist in New York City who does gigs around the world. Spooky goes against the DJ grain in that he does not focus solely on one musical style--hip-hop, techno, or ambient--as many do. Instead, as he is fond of saying, "'It's all in the mix'"; he effortlessly mixes hip-hop, techno, ambient, dub, and variety of other styles and noises into his music. Mixing is more than a technological process, it is a lifestyle (Baruth 26). The implications of this approach are more upsetting than one might expect, as Spooky has noted that it is "shocking" how limited people prefer to keep their music as well as their lives (Baruth 26). But for DJ Spooky, deejaying is "'like a cybernetic reincarnation'"; he points out that the "'human mind itself is electronic. The neural networks, the synapses, the electric sparks that fly through your brain...All this [electronic music] is just another way to engage the brain'" (Baruth 26).
DJ Spooky's approach to music suggests a way to approach life more fluidly--not only are the artistic traditions and values of the West called into question, but technology ceases to be frightful or the domain of the white male human being. It need not be a case of humankind versus machines; dualities impede progress. Disc jockies undermine authority on a variety of levels, the least of which are not patriarchal and capitalistic.
Baruth, Seana. "Hang the DJ?" Gavin. 15 November 1996: 26.
Gallagher, Hugh. "'Gimme Two Records and I'll Make You a Universe.'" http://www.hotwired.com/wired/2.08/features/spooky.html