Richard Quitevis was born on the 7th of October 1969, but his destiny was sealed before he could even walk. As a toddler, he received a Fisher-Price turntable, a toy designed for children, yet it became the first instrument of a future legend. Growing up in San Francisco's Excelsior District on Moscow Street, he was surrounded by the vibrant energy of street performers and graffiti artists who defined the local hip hop community in the mid-1980s. This environment did not just inspire him; it forged his identity. By the time he graduated from Balboa High School in 1987, he had already begun manipulating records at the age of 15, transforming a simple toy into a serious pursuit of sound manipulation. The journey from a child playing with a plastic record player to a global icon began in the school cafeteria of Balboa, where a chance encounter changed the trajectory of his life forever. It was there that he met Mix Master Mike during a DJ battle, sparking a friendship and creative partnership that would dominate the turntablist world for decades.
Champions Of The Vinyl
The year 1990 marked the beginning of a musical revolution when Richard Quitevis formed the group FM20 alongside Mix Master Mike and DJ Apollo. Their performance in New York City caught the eye of Crazy Legs, a legendary figure in hip hop culture, who invited them to join the Rock Steady Crew. Accepting the offer, the group rebranded as Rock Steady DJs and immediately set their sights on the highest stage in the industry. In 1992, they secured the Disco Mix Club World DJ Championships title, proving that turntablism was not merely a party trick but a legitimate competitive art form. The following year, 1993, saw Qbert and Mix Master Mike forming the Dreamteam to win the DMC World Championship again, a feat that cemented their status as the premier duo in the field. These victories were not just about winning trophies; they were about redefining what a DJ could be. They moved beyond simple record spinning to complex manipulation, layering sounds and creating rhythms that had never been heard before. The DMC USA Championship in 1991 and the subsequent world titles established a new standard for technical skill that would influence generations of musicians to follow.The Band That Was Not A Band
While other groups existed before them, the Invisibl Skratch Piklz were the first to apply the concept of a band to turntablism. Qbert and his fellow members did not just play records; they constructed entire songs using turntables as their primary instruments. They layered drums, basslines, and scratch solos on top of each other, creating a dense, orchestral sound that defied the expectations of the music industry. This innovative approach led to the creation of Turntable TV, a series of videos that were released on VHS and contained demonstrations, showcases, and skits that educated and entertained the community. Although these tapes are now out of print, they remain a crucial historical document of the early days of turntablism. The group's influence extended beyond live performances into the realm of education and media, showing that DJs could be composers and performers in their own right. The Skratch Piklz proved that the turntable was not a one-person instrument but a versatile tool capable of carrying the weight of a full band, changing the perception of what was possible with vinyl.