Rockit
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- For The similarly-named music festival that is held every year in October in the center of the Hong Kong's Victoria Park, see Rockit Hong Kong Music Festival.
"Rockit" was a single from Herbie Hancock's 1983 album Future Shock.
The single was written by Hancock, bass guitarist Bill Laswell and synthesizer /drum machine programmer Michael Beinhorn.
Recorded live in the studio, "Rockit" was perhaps the first popular single to feature scratching and other DJ techniques—courtesy of Grand Mixer DXT who is one of the most influential DeeJays according to many who credit his scratching in this song as a starting point to many who followed the craft of turntableism —as a musical instrument outside of a hip hop music context. Many later turntablists have cited "Rockit" as revelatory, inspiring their interest in the craft.
The single was a major radio hit in the United Kingdom and an underground hit in the United States. The humorous music video, directed by duo Godley & Creme and featuring robots moving in time to the music , was among the earliest videos to feature African Americans on MTV and garnered five MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, including Best Concept Video, Best Special Effects, and Most Experimental Video.
In 1985 at the Grammy Awards, Hancock performed "Rockit" in the infamous synthesizer jam which also featured Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones and also Stevie Wonder.
It was also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and is included in its soundtrack box-set. It was also featured in the movie Zoolander, in the final runway scene. [1]
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