Every Summer, Hip Hop and beat heads flock to NYC for the Summer Park series. It’s a chance for the public to get up and personal with Hip Hop’s heroes and founding members in places such as Crotona Park in the Bronx to see everyone from Grandmaster Caz to Kid Capri get on and do their thing. This past week, however, a certain Hip Hop legend made quite a stir with some special equipment. The internet went crazy for a few days, after the Diabolical Biz Markie brought out a prototype pair of Technics SL-700’s, custom made straight arm turntables for playing 45s. Everyone and their mother was salivating at the sight of these in public. Was it a case of “Mardi Gras” without the bells once again? FMF wanted to take a closer look at this sudden phenomenon.

Biz proves once again he is the king of collecting everything from sneakers to records to toys, and now: Technics 45 turntables. These turntables, custom built for Biz have been in the works for a while, possibly even a few years. While they may have been new to the public, the scuttlebutt around the DJ set up is that he has been sitting on them since they were custom made for him in Japan, with a straight arm modification added in as well by another company. We’re not too sure here what the chance of Technics making these custom turntables really is though. There has been no word from the company that they will be anything but a one off, just for the Biz. Haters are gonna hate, and just like the backlash Biz has gotten from fans, celebrity diggers about some of his claims, there is no denying now that the Clown Prince of Rap has got some coveted gear in his possession and that the phrase “Nobody Beats The Biz” has never rung so true.

With the price of Technics 1200’s in the $600 plus range, these 7″ platters would be estimated near a grand a piece. Everything is custom, from the platter to the case to the tone arm to accommodate 45 rpm records. Even with the current 45 craze (on it’s third wave), there has to be a lot of demand for the company to even think about putting these pieces into production. Here’s where a 45 head would say: am I crazy to get these (and drop a lot of loot on 45 only turntables) if they go into production? Is it just a fantastic dream to think I need a pair of these? They’re definitely dope, and if you did enough gigs I think it would be worth it, but do you really need them? Whatever happens will happen with the SL-700. The cat is now out of the bag to the public. Let the debates begin. For now, the Biz has the turntables that rocked the internet, and almost a week later continues to do so. Bow down to the king of all collecting, Biz Markie. You better get up early if you want to one up him.

Vinyl Stash (Scion iQ Project Museum)



Keep Diggin’!