There’s a raw energy in the air—a palpable, jittery anticipation as the old guard of hip-hop production gets tossed aside by the relentless force of technological innovation and cultural upheaval.

You might say it was Drake, DJ Premier, or Ice Cube. But the real idea of a beat flip starts with the DJ. In the early days of hip-hop—when DJing was the center of the action and park jams at rec ...