Ropeadope
The Embodiment Of Instrumentation
by Scratch
The Embodiment Of Instrumentation
by Scratch
RELEASE DATE: 2002-06-04
From the world famous Roots crew, Scratch brings his solo debut by dropping the world's first true beatbox record. stepping away from his full-time gig as the human turntablist for the roots and as a sideman for Jay-Z, Pink, Talib Kweli and more, Scratch takes center stage on his Ropeadope debut. Featuring special guests Jill Scott, Bilal, Black Thought, Malik B, Rich Medina, Dice Raw, Flo Brown and the rest of his philly crew.
Track Listing
- 01. Start'n From Scratch
- 02. U Know The Rulez
- 03. That's What We Talkin' About
- 04. We Got What You Want
- 05. Lookin' For The Hot Shit
- 06. Sumthin' That U Missin'
- 07. Com'n Alive
- 08. Exhibit One
- 09. U Don't Talk Much
- 10. Peoples Gettin' Rich
- 11. 3 Barstoolz Away
- 12. Breath of Fresh Air
- 13. What Happ'n
- 14. The Morning After
- 15. World Iz...
- 17. U Though Wrong
About the Artist
1/3 beat boxer, 1/3 vocal turntablist, and 1/3 organic producer, member of The Roots, Scratch brings his unique vocal styling’s to Ropeadope with his first solo release, the embodiment of instrumentation. Scratch has performed live with De La Soul, Pink, Jay-Z, Jill Scott, Jaguar, Moss Def, and is a member of Grammy award-winning hip hop band the roots, Scratch steps to the front, leaving instruments and effects behind, for a vocally driven album featuring Jill Scott, Black Thought and Mali B (of the roots), Bilal, Rich Medina, and a whole crew of underground Philly cats including Flo Brown, Schools of Thought, Dice Raw and more. The organic producer: "every beat on the embodiment of instrumentation was specially crafted with a vocalist's personal style in mind,” explains Scratch.
"U know the rulez," the album's lead single, was a beat Scratch created for black thought and fellow roots crew member Malik B. "when I started working on the beat for "square one," I knew Bilal would sing on that track, too." recording each beat in one take, Scratch refused to punch in vocals or loop his beats or Scratches. He brought in horns and congas on "that's what we talkin' about" and trombone and guitar on "breath of fresh air," and the result is raw beats and hot melodies in which the listener looses sense of which sounds Scratch is making and which he's not.
Craving the hip hop sounds he could only hear 2 hours a day on the radio, Scratch learned to imitate not just beats, but the sounds interspersed with his radio listening, such as moms calling him for dinner, doors creaking, cats screaming, and of course, the DJs Scratching. Inspired by Doug E Fresh, Darren "the human beat box" Robinson (of The Fat Boys), and Michael Winslow (of Police Academy fame), Scratch developed a unique style that mimics the turntablist's vinyl movement. He listened to records carefully, moving them back and forth at different speeds, learning how to recreate the sounds. "I wanted to sound convincing, so people would hear me and be like "where the DJ at?" "You ain't ready," Scratch explains when asked about his arsenal of sound weaponry. Neither were the roots when they first ran into Scratch in 1990 at a Philadelphia talent show held at the urban education center. The Roots and Scratch were in awe of one another as Scratch performed with his other crew, Schoolz of Thought and went head to head with the band then known as The Square Roots. Scratch and his crew won the contest and won The Roots attention. His first track with the band, "? Versus Scratch," pit him against roots' drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson on Illadelph Halflife. Scratch has been a band member ever since, touring relentlessly throughout the United States and the world.
"U know the rulez," the album's lead single, was a beat Scratch created for black thought and fellow roots crew member Malik B. "when I started working on the beat for "square one," I knew Bilal would sing on that track, too." recording each beat in one take, Scratch refused to punch in vocals or loop his beats or Scratches. He brought in horns and congas on "that's what we talkin' about" and trombone and guitar on "breath of fresh air," and the result is raw beats and hot melodies in which the listener looses sense of which sounds Scratch is making and which he's not.
Craving the hip hop sounds he could only hear 2 hours a day on the radio, Scratch learned to imitate not just beats, but the sounds interspersed with his radio listening, such as moms calling him for dinner, doors creaking, cats screaming, and of course, the DJs Scratching. Inspired by Doug E Fresh, Darren "the human beat box" Robinson (of The Fat Boys), and Michael Winslow (of Police Academy fame), Scratch developed a unique style that mimics the turntablist's vinyl movement. He listened to records carefully, moving them back and forth at different speeds, learning how to recreate the sounds. "I wanted to sound convincing, so people would hear me and be like "where the DJ at?" "You ain't ready," Scratch explains when asked about his arsenal of sound weaponry. Neither were the roots when they first ran into Scratch in 1990 at a Philadelphia talent show held at the urban education center. The Roots and Scratch were in awe of one another as Scratch performed with his other crew, Schoolz of Thought and went head to head with the band then known as The Square Roots. Scratch and his crew won the contest and won The Roots attention. His first track with the band, "? Versus Scratch," pit him against roots' drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson on Illadelph Halflife. Scratch has been a band member ever since, touring relentlessly throughout the United States and the world.