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Bio From AllMusic.Com
Roc Raida's Bio From Wikipedia
Mista Sinista's Bio From AllMusic.Com
Official Site: X-Ecutioners, DJ Roc Raida's MySpace,
X-Ecutioner's MySpace,
Total Eclipse's MySpace,
Boogie Blind's MySpace,
Mista Sinista's MySpace,
DJ Precision's MySpace,
DJ Rob Swift's MySpace,
DJ Rob Swift,
Dr. Butcher's MySpace,
Blaze's MySpace & Blaze
(Originally The X-Men)
Roc Raida (Born Anthony Williams in New York, NY)
Total Eclipse
DJ Boogie Blind
DJ Precision
Boogie Boy
Diamond J
DMD
Dr. Butcher
Exotic E
Johnny Cash
Mista Sinista
Rob Swift (Born Robert Aguilar in Queens, NY)
Sean Cee
Steve D
X-Ecutioners - Built From Scratch
X-Ecutioners - Revolutions
Black And White
Immortal Technique - Revolutionary Vol. 2 (DJ Roc Raida)
Pharoahe Monch - Where Is Monch?
Pharoahe Monch - Y'all Know The Name
Tash - Rap Life
New York-based turntable group the X-ecutioners were, along with San Francisco's Invisibl Skratch Piklz, among the first all-DJ outfits to sign a recording contract, and the first to release a full-length album focusing on the art of turntable tricknology. Formerly known as the X-Men (they changed their name, for copyright reasons, when they signed with the Asphodel label in 1997), the four-person group consists of Mista Sinista, Rob Swift, Total Eclipse, and Roc Raida — a world-renowned crew whose past credits include national and international titles for trick and battle DJing, as well as live and studio work with artists such as Organized Konfusion, Large Professor, the Beatnuts, and Artifacts. Originally formed in 1989 by Roc Raida with Steve D, Johnny Cash, and Sean Cee, the group adopted the name X-Men on the occasion of a battle with another New York crew, the Supermen (that battle never happened). They've since focused on returning the DJ to a position of prominence in hip-hop, a position largely usurped in the '80s and '90s by MCs and producers, as rap grew into one of the largest and most profitable genres in the American music industry. Making entirely new tracks from bits and pieces of other records manipulated by hand (rather than with a sampler and sequencer), the X-ecutioners combine state-of-the-art scratching with the hip-hop DJ's bedrock of cutting, mixing, and beat juggling. The group play live often, and have performed in clubs, exhibitions, and competitions on four continents. — Sean Cooper
Anthony Williams, better known as Roc Raida is an American DJ, Turntablist, Producer and member of legendary DJ group, The X-Ecutioners. Roc Raida is considered to be one of the greatest DJ's in hip hop history and has won many awards including the 1995 DMC World DJ Championship. In addition to his work with The X-Ecutioners and as a solo artist, he has worked the likes of Show & AG, Jungle Brothers, Smif-N-Wessun, Pink and Large Professor.
Roc Raida began his DJ career in the early eighties at the age of ten. Surrounded by such inspirations as his father, a member of the Sugar Hill Records act Mean Machine and hip hop impresario Grandmaster Flash, Raida cultivated his interest into an absolute passion. Now, Roc Raida is considered among the best of the contemporary DJ's and has brought the underground art of Turntablism to a fresh new level.
In the late eighties Raida gained prominence as a member of the New York-based crew the X-Men who, for copyright reasons, later became known as the X-ecutioners. Champions of furthering the turntablist movement, the X-ecutioners made their reputation by utilizing the techniques of beat-juggling; the manual alteration between individual kick and snare sounds to create original drum patterns in real time. This practice has been an inspiration and a force in Roc Raida's style. Later, he was the DJ of the shortlived group called The Gravediggaz (not to be confused with RZA's group) with rapper MF Grimm.
In the beginning defeat was commonplace, as battles were mainly popularity contests. The more contests he entered the more the competition began to appreciate his style and determination. Pushing his limits and raising the standard with which DMC's are judged, Raida began to get noticed. His impressive finishes in some of the premier DJ battles; first place in the 1991 "As One"; second place in the "Superman Battle"; and second place in the 1992 DMC US Finals were just the beginning. In 1995 Raida, was crowned the DMC World Champion in front of a massive London audience.
The past several years have seen Raida traveling around the globe promoting the art of Turntablism in such exotic locations as Singapore, Turkey, Japan and Australia. Last year on a panel at the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Raida was appointed "Grandmaster", by some of Hip-Hop's founding fathers. Rules for this dubious honor state that one may only be bestowed with the approval of another Grandmaster, Raida was not only approved, but welcomed by Kool Herc, Grand Wizard Theodore and scratch evolutionist DST. To round out a phenomenal decade, Raida was inducted into the DMC Hall of Fame at the 1999 DMC World Finals in New York City.
Turntablism has come up through the rave culture and is now showcased at every Electronic Music happening with crews such as The X-Ecutioners, Invisbl Skratch Piklz, Allies and Beat Junkies headlining events nationwide. In the new Moonshine Mix Series Crossfaderz, Raida solidifies his "Grandmaster" status by creating a vibrant mix of underground hip-hop skillfully creating a fantasy mix-show with a tongue-in-cheek look into the hip hop world.
Roc Raida was recently featured on an episode of "Saturday Night Live"; the first DJ to ever share the stage with the fabled SNL band. Proving, once again, that Raida is the perfect example of a master perfecting his art.
by Heather Phares
New York-based turntablist Mista Sinista was introduced to DJing by his father, who would spin breaks in the family's basement while Sinista was still a little boy. He started spinning on his father's turntables at age 6, and by 14 earned his own pair, with which he began spinning at parties. He honed his craft throughout the '90s with the help of friends and fellow DJs Dr. Butcher and Rob Swift. In 1997, he joined the acclaimed DJ crew the X-Men, soon rechristened the X-Ecutioners. Along with appearing on the group's singles and their full-length album, X-Pressions, Sinista also collaborated with Common, The Beatnuts, Al Tariq and Princess Superstar among others. 2000 was a busy year for Sinista, with both a solo single and the X-ecutioners' major-label debut arriving, as well as new collaborations with Cella Dwellas, Dead Prez and Common. He left the X-Ecutioners by 2002, just before the release of the LP Built From Scratch, to pursue other projects.

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