Grandmaster Roc Raida born Anthony Williams (May 17, 1972 – September 19, 2009) was an American DJ, turntablist and producer. He was also a member of the legendary DJ group, The X-Ecutioners.
He joined the X-Men in the late 80s, but due to copyright reasons, they 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 addition to his work with 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 songs with hip hop songs, 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 and Big Pun, and served as the DJ for Busta Rhymes.
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-90s, during both of their early careers. He also appeared in in the 2001 film Scratch.
He died on September 19, 2009 from cardiac arrest due to complications a few weeks earlier relating to a mixed-martial-arts accident. Anthony "Grand Master Roc Raida" Williams is survived by his wife and three daughters Asia, Nyra and Tia.
It's been a year since he's gone. But his legacy will always be there and will never be forgotten. He's one of my inspiration of what I do. And so as many other turntablist out there. A legend of his own time. One of the greatest lost in the Hip-Hop community.
Grandmaster Roc Raida.
Rest In Paradise.
