You unlocked the secret of the crayon, but that’s only the first step.
Now once you’ve marked the get-down part, you must dig.
Dig, dig, dig a tunnel where the get-down sits.
All right, now pay attention and listen to this.
– Don’t go breaking my heart – Now you hear that? That is a void of useless nothing.
The wackness.
But here we go.
That is life and destiny.
That is the get-down beat.
That is what the B-boys get down to.
Now, because he possesses two turntables, a DJ exists in two time zones, all right? One turntable plays music that the dancers are partying to right now, and the other is playing music that they will be partying to in the imminent future.
Now Future.
All right? Check this out.
Now pay attention, and watch my hands.
Remember, Grasshopper, it’s all about math.
Watch the mark.
– So, be in the moment, yes.
– But give the future your attention.
Exactly, wordsmith.
Making sure the get-down part is ready to depart, all right? One, two, three, four One, two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
Wait.
What is What does “under the needle” mean? That means the beat is locked, loaded and ready to go.
Now that beat is fresh, right? But you’re racing against the imminent wackness.
So, remember it’s all about math, Grasshopper.
Two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
One, two, three, four.
– Ooh.
You see that? – Two, three, four.
Check.
Under the needle.
One, two, three, four.
You must be like Bruce Lee, young Grasshopper.
Flow like water.
It must be zen, in the moment.
It’s a sonic and physical fight.
Whoo.
Look at him go, Books.
Never in disarray.
Every time.
Arrive, depart.
Arrive, depart.
Now first you must master one record.
Manifest one single, infinite beat.
And, Grasshopper choose one you can live with for a looonnnng time.
So choose wisely, or madness be thy name.
– Madness? – You’ll see.

The above is from the script of season one, episode two of The Get Down, an original show on Netflix that follows teenagers in the South Bronx in the mid 70’s and loosely documents the origins of hip-hop. Being a huge hip-hop fan, I’m totally loving it. In the scene above, Grandmaster Flash gives a DJ lesson to his protege, Shoalin Fantastic. (I couldn’t find a video of this scene yet, which is too bad because it’s so awesome!)