The X-ecutioners

It's been five years since the X-ecutioners released Revolutions, and six years since the DJ collective last toured North America on the Scratch tour. In other words, this old-school turntablist crew is long overdue for another town-to-town live showcase of talents. Formerly known as the X-Men (the members changed their name in 1997, when they signed a record deal with Asphodel to avoid copyright infringement), these scratch-masters have been battling it out on the decks since the late '80s. The group — Grand Master Roc Raida, Rob Swift, Boogie Blind, Total Eclipse and Precision — has expanded and contracted through the years and collaborated with a host of artists, including Ghostface, Rob Zombie, the Roots' Black Thought, Linkin Park and Slug. But the X-ecutioners are at their best when doing what they formed to do: juggling mad beats in a live setting.