UK DJ Championship Review 2008
Rasp was a perfect start for the competition, he opened up with a simple but to the point intro and unleashed plenty of beat manipulations with some scratch compilation - his performance kept perfect timing and there was a groove with a musical taste of 80's electro, house beats and even a big band jazz theme!
Next up came 2005 UK Champion Asian Hawk miming the first fifty seconds of his vocal intro into a spaghetti-western themed track that was accompanied by beat chopping the Fat Boy's sample 'Human Beat Box' then a drum kick n' snare alongside a collection of scratches, ending in a gun shot. He also cleverly manipulated on one deck a drum beat with assortment of bass synths, guitars, strings and stabs. Apart from the intro, great - especially cutting up Jimi Hendrix's 'Voodoo Chile' at the end.
Third along was DMC's first entry into the UK Final coming way back from the Plymouth heat - DJ Pandamonium. He introduced himself with a smooth, mellow lyric cutting set with a name check too and proceeded into another jazzy instrumental to perform a scratch piece - this again had the now expected collection of samples being arranged as a verse & chorus but Pandamonium added extra gaps in the beat to allow the scratches impact to be greater. Precise timing is crucial when exercising this feature and Pandamonium didn't give that total 'in control' feel throughout this piece. It was nice to hear original records being used and to his credit, by that point in the competition he was the DJ who had played the most hip hop records.
Loop Skywalker also decided to intro himself using the 'Can Battle Breaks' LP electronica beat with a collection of bass n' synth samples rearranged through a manipulation of flared, transforming and orbit scratches. Its obvious this style has become standard in scratching presentations amongst Turntablist's and that the musical taste has shifted from a Drum & Bass groove to a rapid European electronica sound. Nevertheless, Loop was clean and his Game juggle kept a good bar arrangement and groove - the lyrical cutting ending was cool amongst the string of disses and effects with the most notable the Star Wars 'Darth Vader' quote "Now I Am the Master" coupled with the Vincent Price laughter from Michael Jackson 'Thriller'.
Bournemouth heat winner Jeppa was up next and we all wondered whether he could back up his earlier evening show, coming runner up in the DMC Battle of Supremacy 2008. Opening up with a Drum & Bass version of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature", he scratch manipulated a solo saxophone over it which was so refreshing to hear that The Academy crowd was immediate in letting Jeppa know their approval. Watch out for this kid in the future.
London heat winner Furious P was up next and grabbed The Academy's attention with a super head nodding P-Funk style groove. Of course there was a collection of vocal samples plus a rock guitar all being transformed and flared in various patterns. There was also a drum roll surprisingly inserted and cleverly cut back which excited the whole arrangement. His chase/back cueing juggles were seamless through the use of a very energetic electronica grooves which unfortunately was again followed by a just too familiar scratch routine session over the same type electronica music.
Birmingham winner Switch had already reclaimed the Battle for Supremacy title for a record breaking successful third defence. Opening up with a short and to the point scratch session, he was juggling synths with beats as well as dropping out the beat at the same time - without doubt Switch's energetic style is a very action packed set that requires you to pay very, very close attention or you'll miss the fine detail. Summary: this performance clearly puts Switch, at this point, in the driving seat. Without doubt a huge highlight was the Nina Simone 'Feeling Good' juggle.
The crowd was still going crazy when the man Skully walked onto the stage. Skully's reputation is well known and his 2000 Supremacy Title saw him beat UK heavyweight Plus One to become the 1st UK Supremacy Champion and gain entry into the World Battle for Supremacy & defeat the 96' World Champion DJ Noize to reach to the Supremacy final. He's also what I call a 'traditional Turntablist' - this is someone whose music roots are firmly based in the foundations of Hip Hop so you can expect 100% original records being selected and not simply a recompiled battle LP. This 'no compromise' attitude brought back a very much missed musical flow to the event, his set had everyone nodding their heads throughout and most importantly, there wasn't any out of place bars in his beat juggles. He had stage presence and a totally new set developed just for the final showing that this guy is very serious about winning this competition. The ongoing applause as he left the stage said it all - he was the one to beat!
One of the most difficult decisions to make in any competition is to make a title defense. The expectancy level means there's so much to prove and it was JFB - the defending champion's turn to step into the limelight next. JFB had obviously spent a lot of time planning the content, he took full advantage to the facilities around him by pressing exclusive vocal punch lines designed to inject humor throughout the performance, technically the skill level was totally on it - there wasn't a beat or sample that wasn't manipulated in some form or another! So in came a difficult decision for the seven judges.
3rd Place - Supremacy Champion Switch
2nd Place - JFB
1st Place - Skully
Cue camera flashes and stupendous crowd noise!
Cutmaster Swift
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