DMC World DJ Championships

2012 DMC US Finals presented by Rane and Serato

Christie Z-Pabon: DMC USA / Tools of War

Aug. 4, 2012

Photo of Precision by Ignacio Deejaysol Soltero www.deejaysoul.com

Photos of I-Dee and Manwell by Christie Z-Pabon - https://www.facebook.com/groups/dmcusa

Saturday’s 2012 DMC US Finals battle was truly amazing! I am glad I wasn’t a judge. There were just too many incredible routines!!! The bar has been set markedly higher for the skill level required to battle in the DMC US Finals!!! We had many of the best active battle DJs in the US in the competition!

We started off the show with partyrocking by DJ Fatfingaz followed by 1986 DMC World Champion: DJ Cheese and went straight into the battle!

The DJs went in this order with DJ Precision requesting to go first!

DJ Precision: NYC - 2007 DMC US Champion

Waystyles: Seattle WA

DJ Concept: Cape Coral FL

DJ Fascinate: Tilton NH – 2011 DMC US Supremacy Champion

DJ Manwell: Los Angeles CA

DJ Sol Rising formerly known as Skwint: Oakland CA

DJ I-Dee: Sterling VA – 2005 DMC U S Supremacy Champion

DJ Donnie Dee – San Antonio TX

DJ Immortal – Miami FL

DJ Lodus – Los Angeles CA: 2008 DMC US Team co-Champion: Angry Exs

DJ Cocheze: San Francisco CA

Our esteemed panel of judges included:

1986 DMC World Champ: DJ Cheese

2008 DMC World Vice Champ: DJ Slyce

2001 DMC US Supremacy Champ: DJ Snayk Eyez

2005 DMC US Champion: DJ Perseus

1999 DMC US Vice Champ: DJ Spictakular (Allies)

Former DMC US Finalist, Battle Aficionado: DJ Fatfingaz (Heavy Hitters)

Judges names have been omitted and their scores are not in the order that their names have been announced above. It is a small scene and we want to avoid backlash, revenge scoring, hurt feelings between friends, etc.

1st place = 3 points

2nd place = 2 points

3rd place = 1 point

Seriously, any of the competitors in this year’s US Finals could be next year’s DMC US Champion – there were so many excellent routines. I gotta shout out DJ Concept because this was the best, funkiest US Finals set he has brought yet (and he’s been in quite a few US Finals!). Disclaimer: I am not a play for play, technical type of reviewer of DJ battles so I will leave that to you all to see first hand, on the dvd filmed and edited by Noisemaker Media. I hope everyone battles next year and that we have even more former champs (from DMC, ITF, NMS and more) returning to the battle!

Some concern was expressed about the judges being more from the East Coast/NYC/NJ but these were most of the same judges who presided over the 2011 DMC US Finals (with the exception of Mista B, Donnie Dee, Billy Jam). Last year, they voted DJ Vajra from Denver as 1st, I-Dee from Sterling VA as 2nd and if NYC’s Precision was anyone’s boy last year, it certainly didn’t show as he placed 3rd. It is my hope, that over the years, we have found a great selection of judges that we can go to. Of course we want to have qualified judges from other cities but while we are still struggling just to fly the champs to the World Finals, it is not always affordable. Since Precision has returned to the battle scene, we have not been able to use any of the Lo Lives or X-ecutioners as judges in DMC NYC or the US Finals. Thank God for sponsors like Rane and Serato because DMC USA has to fly not the usual 4 but this year a grand total of 6 DJs to the World Finals = $5787 and that’s not including hotels.

Marilyn Alonzo – my right hand at most every battle since I’ve been back to DMC! Not only is she mad cool and without ego, she helps me find DJs, gets them to sign releases, live tweets, flies herself to regional battles and even the World Finals! She is right there with me when we see completely crazy scoring and placement too, DJs who are ego trippin, lol. She helps me sort out the scores, points and checks the math so we are 100% sure who won!

Our incredible host: Lord Finesse (DITC)! He kept the audience more than entertained and kept the battle moving!

Sharon and the crew from Rock & Soul Records NYC who came through to help us vend DMC/Technics gear and dvds!!

Dubspot DJ & Production School and Carlos from DJ Pro Lab who top notch turntables, emergency mixers and tech support!

Our # 1 videographers, the good folks at Noisemaker Media – who have been making movie quality DMC US Finals dvds since 2009!!

Darnell Franklin aka DJ Dopeman for doing us the service of keeping time on the DJ sets. That freed Marilyn’s phone up for live tweeting and mine up for whatever!

All of the promoters who brought DMC to their cities, not only making it possible for turntablism to progress in those areas, but also who made it possible for the regional champions to get to the US Finals! Shout out to Miami’s B-Boy BeBe (Ground Zero Crew), Mia Johnson (San Antonio), Greg Schick & The Trinity Hip Hop Fest (Hartford), Tony Skratchers (New Orleans), Guy Godfrey & Trinity Nightclub (Seattle), Charles Angeles & Spintronix (San Francisco), Richard Mook (Phoenix), Emily Wessel & Urban Artistry (Washington DC), DJ Lazy Eyez (Denver), Ron Sterling & Original Glaze LA (Los Angeles), and DJ Chuck Maurice (Puerto Rico)!

People please understand, in advance, that DJ Battling is not a multi million dollar industry. When we, as promoters, do as little as break even, at the door at a DJ battle we are relieved. I even lost $ on the DMC NYC battle this year. If you love the artform and the battles PLEASE SUPPORT! Pay to get in, buy advance tickets, offer to sponsor if you have a company, buy a battle dvd, help spread the word about the battles online or with flyers if you can. If you can’t afford to pay to get in a battle, contact the promoter and offer to help pass out flyers or invite your whole friends list on FB to the battle (the promoter will tell you how to do that easily if you don’t know the tricks). If it wasn’t for the sponsors, I don’t even know if any of this would be possible!!

Major thanks to our sponsors for the 2012 DMC US Finals and American Battleground Tour including presenting sponsors: Rane and Serato. Seriously, without this power couple of presenting sponsors, I could not make these battles happen on any big level. Special thanks to major sponsor: Stanton who liked our work last year so much that they were even more involved this year!! Mucho thank yous to 12inchSkinz, IDJNow, Def Jam, Shure, Odyssey, Scratch DJ Academy, DJ Pro Lab, Dubspot DJ & Production School, HipHopDX.com, Noisemaker Media, Ignacio Soltero, Joe Conzo, Bobby Sparks, Haks 180, TurntablistNetwork.com, DJWorx.com and Rock & Soul Records.

Big LOL about the woman who got kicked out by Le Poisson Rouge security! To me it is amazing that a woman was the first to get removed from a DJ Battle but apparently – she refused to move over – so that one of our videographers could have room! First we announced for everyone to move 2 steps to either side. Everyone listened. She ignored! Then when she was asked directly, she made the excuse that she was the skinniest in the front row (something us thicker gals thought was very funny) … so security graciously offered her boyfriend the opportunity to escort her out of the club, before they did it and it would be embarrassing. I have never seen anything like it – especially from a woman who I never met – who was this passionate about watching a DJ battle!

A Rane Sixty-Eight Mixer
2 Stanton STR8.150 Turntables
Shure SRH750DJ Headphones Shure Custom Gold M447s (2)
Shure Record Bag
Shure Cartridge Carry Case
Shure Reverb T-Shirt
Shure Commander Cap
Ableton Live Producer's Certificate Program (online) from dubspot
Two Odyssey Black Label Turntable Cases
Odyssey's Redline™ Series BRLRMXBP1 "S1" DJ Backpack
an Odyssey Laptop Stand

2012 DMC USA Runner Up aka Vice Champion: DJ I-Dee Wins
Stanton: SC System 3
Shure SRH550DJ Headphones
Shure Pair of M447
Shure Cartridge Carry Case
Shure Reverb T-Shirt
Odyssey's Redline™ Series BACKSPIN2 DJ Backpack
an Odyssey Laptop Stand

a pair of Stanton 890 FS MP4 Cartridges
a set of DJ Pro 3000 Headphones
Odyssey's Redline™ Series BRLBACKTRAK DJ backpack

Due to his busy schedule since winning last year, the 2011 DMC World Champion: DJ Vajra from Colorado, will not be defending his title.