DJ Qbert
Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is a turntablist and composer who has heavily influenced the history of DJing. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in 1992 and 1993.
Also recorded as Richard Quitevis
DJ Qbert

Sylvain Habib · Cropped from IMG_0850 · CC BY 2.0
- Born
- 1969. · Daly City.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- club dj, disc jockey, composer and rapper.
- Fields
- turntablism and breakbeat.
- Education
- Balboa High School and University of Silicon Valley.
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Documentary summary
Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is a turntablist and composer who has heavily influenced the history of DJing. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in 1992 and 1993.
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Note VALÉORINE
DJ Qbert (born 1969) is an American club dj, composer and disc jockey, among other activities. The club dj was born in Daly City. DJ Qbert is also known as DJ Q-bert. DJ Qbert studied at Balboa High School and University of Silicon Valley. Genres include breakbeat and turntablism.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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technical hold · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
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Authority files
loc · no2006009935 · wikidata · Q963338 · wikipedia · DJ Qbert
In this article
Early life
Early life
Richard Quitevis was born on October 7, 1969, to parents hailing from the Philippines. Growing up in San Francisco's Excelsior District on Moscow Street, he graduated from Luther Burbank Middle School and in 1987 from Balboa High School. Qbert started playing with records at the age of 15, although he got his first Fisher-Price turntable as a toddler. He was influenced by the street performers and graffiti artists of the local hip hop community in the mid-1980s. Balboa's school cafeteria is where he first met Mix Master Mike in a DJ battle; the two have been good friends ever since.
Career
Career
Qbert started his musical career in a group called FM20 with Mix Master Mike and DJ Apollo in 1990. In New York City when playing a show, FM20 was spotted by Crazy Legs, who invited them to join the Rock Steady Crew. They accepted the offer to join the crew. Going by the name Rock Steady DJs, they then proceeded to take the 1992 Disco Mix Club World DJ Championships (DMC) world title. Qbert was also one of the founding members of the band Invisibl Skratch Piklz. Although there were other turntablist crews before the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, the Skratch Piklz were the first to apply the band concept to turntablism, layering drums, basslines, and scratch solos on top of each other. Qbert, along with other Skratch Piklz, created a series of videos entitled Turntable TV. Now out of print, the first 5 episodes were released on VHS and contained demonstrations, showcases, skits, and other DJ related content. Qbert's solo efforts include 1994's Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik, and 1998's Wave Twisters. The latter album was created mainly with samplers and beat machines versus the turntable, and later turned into an animated feature of the same title. He performed in the first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 1999, becoming the first natural-born Filipino and arguably the first Filipino act to perform at the festival. The 2001 movie Wave Twisters was somewhat unusual in that the animators and digital artists had to invent images and movements to the pre-recorded music, as opposed to the other way around (Disney's Fantasia was made the same way). More recently, he has worked with Vestax to develop the QFO, an all-in-one scratching instrument. The QFO combines a turntable with a mixer's crossfader. In 2006, he introduced the Qbert turntable cartridge, a model put out by Ortofon. • Illustration — Qbert performing in 2008 In May 2009, Qbert launched the Qbert Skratch University, an interactive online learning school and community for DJs through the ArtistWorks website. At the 2016 edition of the DMC World DJ Championships, DJ Q-Bert was awarded with a DMC Legend jacket. He performed again in the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2018.
Personal life
Personal life
In a 2011 interview with the website WeBeVegan.org, Qbert stated that he is a vegan.
Media appearances
Media appearances
Qbert's music was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground and he appeared as himself on the Slam City Jam level. He also appeared as himself in DJ Hero 2.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Library of Congress Name Authority File, DJ QBert, 1969- (no2006009935).
Unverified · Library of Congress
- VIAF cluster 406163706817929422103 for DJ Qbert, aggregating national library name authorities.
Unverified · OCLC
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q963338: DJ Qbert
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “DJ Qbert”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards and credentials
• America's Best DJ 2010 • DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) • DMC World Champion 1992 – Rock Steady DJs (Qbert, Mix Master Mike & Apollo) • DMC World Champion 1993 – Dreamteam (Qbert & Mix Master Mike) • DMC DJ Hall of Fame (along with Mix Master Mike) • Featured in Hang the DJ by Marco & Mauro La Villa • Cannes Film Festival, France • Appears in the documentary film Modulations • Sundance Festival, Utah • Appears in the documentary Scratch • Sundance Festival, Utah • Appears in his own animated/live action movie Wave Twisters
References ==== External links
References ==== External links
• Djqbert.com • Qbert Skratch University * • Full Discography • Video of Q-Bert Live Set in UK • Twitch page • DJ Qbert Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2020) • Interviews • Interview with DJ Times, 2001 • The Career Cookbook Interview with Qbert • Radio Feature The Some Assembly Required Interview with DJ Qbert (2008) • HHC Digital interview about his DMC legacy • Conspiracy Worldwide Radio October 2010 Uncensored Interview • Interview with We Be Vegan
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sacher, Andrew. Dr. Octagon playing NYC release show for first LP in two decades. Brooklyn Vegan. February 20, 2018.
- 2.Zhao, Xiaojian. Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History. ABC-CLIO. 394. November 26, 2013. 978-1-59884-240-1.
- 3.Imbong, Peter. DJ Qbert: Musician of the world. Rappler. December 21, 2013.
- 4.Chonin, Neva. A Dilly of a Career / The Bay Area's Invisibl Skratch Piklz have become world stars of turntablism. San Francisco Chronicle. November 1, 1998.
- 5.de Leon, Krishtine. Get on your P's and Q's : Ten Things You Don't Know About QBERT. Ruckus - Bay Area Rap Culture: July/August 2005. www.ruckusmag.com. 2005.
- 6.Banjoko, Adisa. The Trigger Man: Face to Face with Mix Master Mike.
- 7.DJ Qbert: A Legend In His Own Time.
- 8.Filipinos Have Been Performing at Coachella Longer Than You Think.
- 9.Vestax Corporation.
- 10.Djdeals.com. Ortofon OM Q-BERT Cartridge Free Shipping!.
- 11.DJ QBert - Coachella 2018 closing set
- 12.DJ Qbert: Connecting hip hop with veganism «. Webevegan.org. November 16, 2011.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Library of Congress Name Authority File, DJ QBert, 1969- (no2006009935).Library of Congress
Partially resolvedauthority file
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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