In 2002, Rob Principe partnered with the great Jam Master Jay of Run DMC to bring his long held vision to life. If jazz can successfully be taught at every major university around the world, why isn’t the same done for the art form of the DJ? After all DJs are musicians and turntables are bestselling instruments. It was this question and the ensuing tireless work that spawned the now famous Scratch DJ Academy.
With the goal of lowering the barrier of entry to the art form of the DJ, Scratch’s historic first semester received media attention worldwide with instructors including Jam Master Jay, DJ Premier, A-Trak, Evil Dee, and many more. Scratch DJ Academy went on to sell out every semester during its first year and eventually moved to a permanent location in the East Village (where it is located today).
Over the next few years, Scratch opened additional locations in Los Angeles (2004), Miami (2005), Chicago (2013) and coming soon to Atlanta (2014) as well as expanded its course offering to include music production. Today, Scratch teaches over 50,000 people how to DJ annually through its physical locations and national tours. Scratch has taught students from all 50 states, 35 different countries, and is widely recognized as the world leader in DJ and music production education.