DJ Cheese (born Robert Cheese) was an American DJ, who was the First World Champion of the DMC World DJ Championships in 1986 (and the first to feature scratching). He appeared in the 1986 UK tour with Run-DMC. An important figure in the history of turntablism. His winning performance from the UK Disco Mix Club (DMC) 1986 competition incorporated scratching, which initiated a different approach to deejay battling and changed the course of DMC competitions moving forward. Eventually, his innovation modified the meaning of DJ battles, turning the DMC into a competition largely focused on turntablism (scratching and beat juggling), which had a significant impact on helping spectators perceive turntablists as musicians.
Cheese released 12" singles with his group Word Of Mouth entitled 'Coast to Coast' and 'King Kut' in 1985 and 1986 before disbanding. Cheese also worked as an incognito scratcher with lesser known groups such as Z-3 MC's ('Triple Threat'), Rap-O-Matic ('Lies, Lies'), Point Blank MC's ('What The Party Needs'), and K-Rob (I'm A Homeboy). Fats Comet used his techniques on the UK Worlds Records label with the 1986 song 'Eat The Beat' and also provided the scratching on the DJ version of Princess 12" single and top 20 hit "I'll Keep On Loving You".
Links to Peel
Word of Mouth & DJ Cheese 1986 Town & Country club London intro by John Peel
Peel was impressed with DJ Cheese's work with Word Of Mouth and interviewed the artist for the Rock Around The Clock: Hip-Hop Grandmaster Class, as part of the Rock Around The Clock TV programme in 1986,
On his 23 September 1986 show, Peel mentioned DJ Cheese as being rude when interviewing him on Rock Around The Clock, but it didn't seem to stop him playing his music on his radio shows, even in the 90's and early 00's, when turntablism was considered old fashioned in the hip hop world.
Shows Played
- 22 May 1985: 'King Kut (Vocal) (12")' (Beauty And The Beat)
- 1986
- 11 August 1986: Coast To Coast (12") Profile
- 02 September 1986: Coast to Coast (single) Champion
- 10 September 1986: Coast To Coast (7") Champion
- 16 September 1986: Coast To Coast (12") Profile
- 23 September 1986: Coast To Coast (12") Profile
- 1987
- 27 January 1987 (with Tackhead): King Of The Beat (Remix)
- 19 June 1989: Coast To Coast (12") Profile
- 1990
- 16 August 1990: 'Coast To Coast (12")' (Champion)
- 1997
- 04 March 1997: Coast To Coast (12") Profile
- 2000
- 23 March 2000 (Radio Eins): King Tut (12”) Beauty And The Beat
- 06 April 2000: 'Coast To Coast (Compilation LP-Ultimate Trax)' (Champion Records)
- 13 December 2000: Coast to Coast (12”) Champion
- 14 December 2000 (Radio Eins): Coast to Coast (12”) Champion
- 2001
- 08 March 2001: King Kut (12") Beauty And The Beat
