I wanna give a big shout out to Claude at With These Hands and all of the competitors from last nights event. DJ Ease (Follow him on Twiiter, he's a bad, bad man on some 12's) took home the top prize just edging out DJ SPS (who was on all vinyl I might add). DJ Aquaria, DJ Scooby, DJ Manish, DJ Jaybee, DJ Q-Base, DJ Gabie The Gift, DJ Bamboo, DJ Moto and DJ DA Smooth all did their thing. I unfortunately stunk up the place. I'm not ashamed to admit it but here, but who gets riding a bike right the first time! I took a few flicks but not many and I will post them here. The event was top flight though.</p>So, yeah, I'm nervous. I'm about to walk into an arena with some of the top DJ's in the world to compete in a field that has been a staple of hip-hop for over 20 years. If I had eaten some spaghetti before hand, it probably would have been all over my sweater. Thanks for the heads up Em. So I arrive at UNC Charlotte... on the wrong side of campus, but thanks to a beautiful young co-ed, whose name I did not get because I was FOCUSED MAN, I made my way to the theater at McKnight Hall. Once inside I was introduced to the man of the hour, Claude Whitfield, founder and director of With These Hands DJ Academy and his team. Mr. Kevin Hyrams of Softwired Syetems assisted in directing the battle. We were all read the rules of the competition and re-familiarized with the format... One 30 second scratch round for each competitor and then a 3 minute battle elimination round followed by a special performance by guest judge Chris Karns. After that, the 3 minute championship round for the grand prize of $500.
Since I had the fewest votes online, I got to go first in the scratch round... Way to throw me under the bus people. Anyway, my entire battle segment was plagued with off timing. I didn't do the one thing I kept telling myself over and over to do... keep it simple stupid. Anyways, my scratch round was anything but spectacular and my three minute round was so off that even I didn't want to finish it out. But I'm giving myself points for showing up and trying. I know that with a little more practice and effort, I can make a decent showing. Practice being the optimum word here. But the truth is that all of the other competitors showed up. And not only that, they introduced the world of turntablism to college kids and some younger kids who might have never known this world existed. From Chris Karns' magnificent display to SPS and Ease's sudden death round thriller, the crowd was captivated. The online twitter and text voted provided by Sprite kept the crowd engaged and gave a live contrast to the Judges, all of whom were turntablist champs in their own rite, DJ Skillz, DJ REd, DJ Mvee, DJ EU, DJ, SOden, DJ Dexter Dynamite and DJ Chuck T.
The battle between International DJ Ease (NY) and DJ SPS (Orlando, FL) was intense. SPS on all vinyl showcased the skills that make for legendary DMC champs. Ease, however, came through with some wicked mixes and cuts that entertained and showed that he can do this, with ease.
The first round of the championships ended in a draw. The second round was even closer but a few needle skips gave the edge to DJ Ease and he took home top honors.
Topping the night off, we headed downtown to Snug Harbor to watch Stranger Day and Elevator Jay do their thing with backup from A Huf, J. Overcash and Famous Jason. Live hip-hop, yeah! The night was closed out by Chris Karns on the 1's & 2's rocking hip-hop, trap, club and electonica. Needless to say, it was dope.
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