Born in the
Bronx, New York, Theodore's brother, Mean Gene, was his
mentor, who began teaching him the technique of DJing at an early age. In 1975, Theodore was playing records in his bedroom with the volume all the way up. Furious with the noise, his mother entered the room and told Theodore to lower the volume, or she would turn off the music. According to Theodore, while his mother was standing in the doorway scolding him, he was still holding the record down with his hand, "rubbing the record back and forth", causing a scratching sound. After his mother left, Theodore realized he liked the sound, and thought it would be a good idea to incorporate it into his DJing. After practicing for a while, he threw a party where he introduced the technique known as scratching. A dramatization of Theodore's invention of the record scratch was featured on
Comedy Central's television show
Drunk History, narrated by
Questlove. ==Career==