Remembering Roc Raida On The 13th Anniversary Of His Death

On this 13th year anniversary of Raida’s transition, I’d like to honor him with the following words.

I met Roc Raida at the 1991 East Coast DMC qualifying round. It was the first competition I ever entered. As I walked in there with my mentor Drew, better known as Dr. Butcher, I recall encountering the mighty X-Men for the first time. They all were there, Steve D, Johnny Cash, Diamond Jay, Sean C and Roc Raida [at the time he actually spelled it Rock Raider]. They [the X-Men] were loud and drawing attention to themselves. You’d hear them laughing and joking throughout the entire preliminary. But what I found interesting about Raida was he was the complete opposite of his crew. Raida was the quietest one of all. That really intrigued me and his silent temperament made him stand out even more than his rambunctious partners.

Steve D, Raida and the rest of the X-men entered the competition so there was an air of intimidation affecting the competitors. But as much as we respected them, Drew and I were confident we trained hard enough to impress the judges (Clark Kent, DJ Word and Rose, who ran DMC NY at the time) and place somewhere in that top 8 slot. 

I recall getting up on stage and hearing Drew tell Clark Kent “watch my boy Rob!” As I looked into the audience of DJs competing for the same exact thing I wanted, I noticed the X-men throwing up their X signs. Publicly displaying their brotherhood connection while putting fear into the hearts and minds of the other competitors. Once I dropped my first routine, “Eric B. For President”, the only people that existed though were Drew to my right and me on the turntables!

After the battle, Drew introduced me to Steve D who happened to be standing right next to Raida at the time. I shook hands with Steve and we exchanged a few words. I then turned to Raida and introduced myself. I don’t remember him saying much, LOL. But I do remember the head nod and grin he gave me, it was classic Raida. He was always a bit standoffish when you first met him. About 1 week later Steve asked Dr. Butcher and I if we’d get down with the X-men. I was honored because Steve opened the door to an exclusive clique of DJs anyone would have been honored to be a part of. What’s more, my induction into the X-men set the path for Raida and I to form an unbreakable bond.

When I visited Raida’s pad for the first time and saw his set-up I thought, “there’s no way I’m gonna be able to practice on this dude’s set.” That’s because he had two belt driven turntables. Belt driven turntables are the worst, especially for DJs like us who need strong, durable, direct drive turntables to take the physical abuse we unleash on them during a practice session. But nope, he had belt drives! See, Raida didn’t have it so good as a young kid. He was a product of Foster projects (Harlem, NYC). Consequently, it’s not like Raida grew up around the type of money needed to purchase direct drive turntables like Technic 1200s. But that didn’t stop him. I’d watch Raida in his bedroom, on these horrible turntables and shitty mixer, defying all the odds. I’m sorry but no man is supposed to do what Raida did on those B-1s. If you turned away, it sounded like he was using Technics.

That’s what impacted me most about Raida. He worked with what he had and made the most of it. It didn’t make a difference to him. It’s a true testament to how dedicated and focused he was. You could put him on a bullshit pair of turntables and he would figure out a way to use them to the best of his abilities. When you think about it, it’s pretty symbolic of his life as a Harlem youth. In the grand scheme of things, Raida did a lot with very little!

Raida loved being on turntables, whether they were belt or direct drive. In front of a crowd or in his bedroom, it didn’t matter. His passion for Djing, specifically battling, was contagious. Raida was one of those battle DJs who’s name will stand the test of time. People will always study him in their own pursuit of a championship. It’s like boxing. If you want to be a good boxer, a champion, you study Muhammad Ali. In that same way, generations after Roc Raida will study him. I say that because that’s how Raida learned, by studying cats.

If Raida saw someone do a trick where they spin their body clockwise while back spinning LL Cool J saying “rock the bells… rock the bells,” Raida would figure out a way to spin clockwise AND counterclockwise while catching “rock the bells”. If he saw you do a trick he liked, he’d learn it, do it better and add his personality to it. Thus, intensifying it. And at the end of the day, that’s what DJing is. None of us would be scratching if not for the likes of GrandWizzard Theodore passing the technique down to his peers. The point is to add on to what you take from watching another. Therefore pushing the art forward. Raida’s style was symbolic of that.

Aside from turntable skills, the one thing I’ll always remember about Raida is he loved being around us. Especially on tour. For Raida, it wasn’t so much about being on stage or seeing other parts of the world. I think he was simply happy to be with us, sharing a tour bus, eating as a group, hanging out and laughing. He thrived off getting everyone together and watching movies on the bus. Raida truly appreciated the camaraderie we all developed from touring. That’s one of the things I feel I took for granted during the X-ecutioners days.

I was always the one who hated touring. To this day I have my moments on tour where I feel like… “Man, I just wanna be home”. But Raida would drop everything the minute he heard about a tour opportunity. He’d get all giddy. I think more so because he knew touring meant quality time with his crew. At the time I didn’t really understand it. I would be like “Oh man! Another tour? Fuck, alright, we gotta work, we gotta promote this album.” It was more of a drag for me. But for Raida, it was the exact opposite. He’d come ready with all his video camera and commence taping every second of our lives on the road.

Where as I felt a tour was forcing me to leave home, maybe in Raida’s mind he was bringing home with him in a way. It’s as if he saw the road as an extension of home because he was around us and he saw us as family. That’s something that I’ve really come to understand and appreciate more after he passed away. Man, “…after he passed away” I still haven’t accepted it completely.

If you’ve been under a rock the past 13 years, Raida was a martial arts student at a school in Maryland where he resided with his wife Tyeasha and 3 children (Asia, Nyra and Tia). On the night of September 3rd, 2009 (a Thursday) Raida suffered a horrible accident during a sparring session with a classmate at his martial arts school. The classmate fell on top of Raida’s spinal cord (near his neck) causing sever misalignment. I’m not sure if the classmate fell on top of him to counter a move, slipped and fell, or if he fell after a take down by Raida. Raida didn’t remember the exact details of the incident. The accident caused the loss of feeling in his lower extremities. Raida was rushed to the hospital.

I remember receiving the news on my way to the 2009 World DMC Finals in London the following morning, Sept. 4th. Needless to say, I was a mess. That weekend doctors performed two surgeries on him. Raida the competitor battled through and he was moved to a rehab facility in Maryland about 1 1/2 weeks after the accident. I remember being on the road throughout the entire ordeal, getting hourly updates from his wife Tye. I was calling her from London, Seattle…

Fresh off the road, on September 18th (a Friday night), I drove down to visit with Raida and I brought some of the guys with me – Mista Sinista, DJ Precision, Dr. Butcher, and Gudtyme. After the 4 hour trek, it felt good to enter his rehab room and let Raida know, in person, we were all pulling for him. His spirits were up and although you could tell he wasn’t 100% himself we were still optimistic about Raida walking again. In a raspy voice, Raida said “look, I’m not sure why this happened, but I accept it. if anything I gotta figure out why, maybe there is a reason behind all this.” Makes you think twice about the everyday problems you stress about right?

After 10 minutes or so of visiting with Raida we were back to our joking ways. The crew being together reminded me of occasions we’d be on the road, hanging out backstage or in one of our hotel rooms, shootin’ the shit about whatever. It’s like I forgot why we were there. It was like old times again. It was beautiful!

Raida pretty much kicked us out cause it was approaching the end of visiting hours and we were getting louder and louder by the minute. Joking, laughing at fond memories we all shared. None of us were ready to leave but we knew he needed his rest. So we all gathered around Raida while Dr. Butcher led us in prayer. As we left, each of us gave Raida a big hug and said our goodbyes. I left thinking I’d see him again the following week but approximately 14 hours later (Saturday, September 19th) he suffered cardiac arrest and passed away. Getting the news was confusing. I couldn’t comprehend how Raida could go from “yo they’re gonna teach me how to get into my wheelchair and I’ll be able to cruise around the rehab facility on my own…” to physically leaving us hours later? The key word in my previous sentence is PHYSICALLY though. Let me explain.

When you think about it, Raida is still here. His presence surrounds me and you everyday. Each time I turn my 1200s on in my studio I’m reminded of the countless hours we spent practicing. Perfecting our skills! Each time you log on to youtube you have the opportunity to be visually graced with his eXtraordinary skill. Whenever I get on turntables I feel Raida’s spirit guiding me through my performance. Raida’s energy was coming through that peace you see me standing in front of…

So with that, I say Roc Raida FOREVER and EVER. Never forget ya’ll!!!