The Needle Drop

Recently I featured OXYGEN's "Chemical Breakdown" radio show from mid 90s New York Radio, where he needle drops a segment of a break. For those that don't know, a needle drop is a technique using just one copy of a record, and lifting the needle slightly to drop it back a revolution onto a specific part of the break where the beat can be caught in time and creating a loop. Sounds complicated I know but the technique is fairly simple yet tough to perfect and requires a steady hand and pinpoint accuracy.
Back in the days this was a technique that you could apply with the minimum of equipment, and no doubt first developed by someone before crossfading mixers were widely available - that's Hip Hop being creative once again. This of course was the origin of sampling before DJs had even begun to spin 2 copies of the same record. We are talking innovative shit right here people! Enjoy this footage of GRANDWIZARD THEODORE (the inventor of the scratch) as he needle drops blindfolded, plus a short burst of Q-TIP from A TRIBE CALLED QUEST needle dropping in the studio trying to find a dope loop/groove.