"Rockit" is a hit song recorded by Herbie Hancock. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed Herbert Jeffrey Hancock ("Herbie" born April 12 1940 is a Jazz Pianist and Composer. It was released as a single from his 1983 album Future Shock. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Future Shock is Herbie Hancock 's thirty-fifth Album and the first of his Electro - Jazz era The song was written by Hancock, bass guitarist Bill Laswell and synthesizer/drum machine programmer Michael Beinhorn. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Bill Laswell (born February 12, 1955 in Salem For the early "drum machine" computers that used a rotating cylinder as their main memory see Drum memory A drum machine is an Michael Beinhorn is an American Musician and Record producer.

Constructed and composed during the recording process at various studios, including Martin Bisi's in Brooklyn NY, "Rockit" was perhaps the first popular single to feature scratching and other turntablist techniques, performed by Grand Mixer D.ST - an influential DJ in the early years of turntablism - using turntables as a musical instrument. Martin Bisi is an American producer and Songwriter. He is known for recording seminal records by Sonic Youth, John Zorn, "Scratching" is also a Present participle of " Scratch " and may also refer to a form of street art Scratching Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer. DJ Grandmixer DXT (formerly Grandmixer DST, born Derek Showard) is an American Turntablist. Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Many later turntablists have cited "Rockit" as revelatory, inspiring their interest in the instrument. Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.

The single was a major radio hit in the United Kingdom but more of an underground hit in the United States. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The humorous music video, directed by duo Godley & Creme and featuring robot-like sculptures (by Jim Whiting) 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 and Best Special Effects. A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics Godley & Creme were a duo of English Pop musicians and Music video directors Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. The MTV Video Music Awards were established in the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top Music videos of the year Hancock himself appears and plays keyboard only as an image on a television, which is smashed on the sidewalk in the closing shot.

In 1985 at the Grammy Awards, Hancock performed "Rockit" in a synthesizer jam which also featured Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones and Stevie Wonder. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Thomas Dolby (born Thomas Morgan Robertson, on 14 October 1958) is an English Musician, producer and inventor Howard Jones (born John Howard Jones, 23 February 1955) is an English Singer and Songwriter who gained acclaim in Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13 1950 name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris) is an

In 1986 it was featured in the Soviet film The Courier alongside a hip hop dance sequence making it one of the songs to introduce hip-hop to the USSR. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The song was later remixed by V-Video, an early Russian video company, to be played with its logo.

It is also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and is included in its soundtrack box-set. Grand Theft Auto Vice City is a sandbox-style action-adventure computer and Video game designed by Rockstar North (formerly The song was also used in the movies Zoolander and Kickin' It Old Skool. Zoolander is a 2001 Comedy film directed by Ben Stiller. The film is based on a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and Kickin' It Old Skool is an American comedy film directed by Harvey Glazer and written by Trace Slobotkin. It is also used in the video game NBA Street: Homecourt when a gamebreaker move is activated. NBA Street Homecourt is the fourth game in the NBA Street series A remix of "Rockit" is one of the playable songs in the PlayStation 2 game Amplitude. Amplitude is a 2003 PlayStation 2 musical video game It was developed by Harmonix and is the sequel to the game FreQuency It also appears in The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror XVI. " Treehouse of Horror XVI " is the fourth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons, as well as the sixteenth " Treehouse

"Rockit" lends its name to a range of vintage stores in London, as well as a Toronto music venue.

"Rockit" has also been featured in numerous commercials.

The comedian-pundit Stephen Colbert has used 'Rockit' on his television show The Colbert Report, usually in conjunction with a video of conservative radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh mocking the involuntary convulsions of Parkinson's sufferer Michael J. Fox. Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( born May 13 1964 is an American Comedian, satirist, Actor and Writer, known for his ironic style The Colbert Report (/kolˈbɛr rəˈpɔr/&mdashthe t is silent in "Colbert" is a Peabody Award and Emmy Award winning American Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American radio host and conservative Political commentator. Michael J Fox (born Michael Andrew Fox; June 9 1961 is a Canadian / American

External links

• Song Review from All Music Guide
• Rock On The Net: 1984 MTV Video Music Awards