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Roc Raida
Roc Raida
Background information
Birth name	Anthony Williams
Also known as	Grandmaster Roc Raida
Born	May 17, 1972; Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Origin	New York City, U.S.
Died	September 19, 2009 (aged 37); New York City, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop; turntablism;
Occupations	DJ; turntablist; producer;
Years active	1989–2009
Labels	Asphodel; Loud/Columbia/SME; Ipecac; Epic; Fat Beats;

Anthony Williams (May 17, 1972 – September 19, 2009), better known as Roc Raida or Grandmaster Roc Raida, was an American DJ, turntablist and producer. He was also a member of the DJ group the X-Ecutioners.

He joined the X-Men in the late 1980s, but due to copyright reasons, the group later became known as the X-Ecutioners. The group released three studio albums, 1997's X-Pressions, 2002's Built from Scratch and 2004's Revolutions. In the 1990s he and MF Grimm were an emcee/DJ team, and his DJ contributions can be heard on MF Grimm's Scars & Memories compilation. In addition to his work with MF Grimm and the X-Ecutioners, Roc Raida released albums as a solo artist, his most famous being 2005's Rock Phenomenon, a mash-up album he released with DJ Vlad that blended rock and hip hop, which won the Mash-Up Mixtape of the Year at the Justo Mixtape Awards. He also produced songs for artists including Ill Al Skratch, Showbiz and A.G., the Jungle Brothers, Mad Skillz, Smif-N-Wessun, Jehst, and Big Pun, Linkin Park and he served as Busta Rhymes' DJ.

He won the 1995 DMC World DJ Championship and was inducted into the DMC Hall of Fame four years later. He was the DJ for rapper MF Grimm through the mid-1990s, during both of the early stages of their careers. He also appeared in the 2001 film Scratch and the international television series Kung Faux. He had made an appearance in Linkin Park’s album ‘Reanimation’ (2002) in participating in the song ‘X-Ecutioner style’.

He died on September 19, 2009, from cardiac arrest due to complications a few weeks earlier relating to an accident while training in Krav Maga.^[1]^[2]

Album

On March 20, 2012, Rob Swift released the album Roc for Raida, a collection of songs (some unreleased) and battle style routines that defined Roc Raida as an artist, lost interview archives (from John Carluccio), and other material, with proceeds going to Roc Raida's family.^[3]

Discography

Solo

1997: The Adventures of Roc Raida... One Too Many!
2000: Crossfaderz
2001: We Them Niggas
2003: Champion Sounds
2004: Kung Faux
2005: Rock Phenomenon which went on to win the Justo Mixtape Awards- Mash Up Mixtape of the Year w/ DJ VLAD
2007: Beats, Cuts and Skits

With The X-Ecutioners

1997: X-Pressions
2002: Built from Scratch
2004: Revolutions

References

^ Noz, Andrew (3 November 2009). "Roc Raida: A Grandmaster Gone". npr.org. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
^ Dombal, Ryan (21 September 2009). "DJ Roc Raida R.I.P." pitchfork.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
^ [1] DJ Rob Swift Releases Roc for Raida, March 20, 2012