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July 12 - July 18, 2002
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Itching to ScratchTop Bay Area DJs battle for a spot at the world championshipBy Jennie Sue
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Turntablism, as a movement, began about 15 years ago, arising from hip hop culture in tandem with b-boys/b-girls (breakdancers), graffiti artists and MCs.
Though hip hop was started in the African American community, APAs have long been an integral part of the scene. In 1991, Filipino American DJ Q-bert won the DMC World Championship, forever changing the racial path of hip hop and lending future generations of DJs an APA role model.
“When Q-bert won the championship, people were shocked to see an Asian [Pacific American] DJ win the competition,” said Japanese American DJ and promoter Mike Nice (Michael Tao). “A long time ago, DJing used to be black music … Groups like the Skratch Picklz and the Beat Junkies helped to erase those stereotypes.”
In fact, the evolution of turntablism has evolved into a racially negated community by focusing strictly on skills and creativity instead of popularity. DJ Virus (Michael Virrey), one of the competitors, said, “I don’t see any advantages or disadvantages [in being APA]. Nationality doesn’t matter; it’s all about technical skills.”
DJ Profile |
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DJ Streak |
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Judge at DMC San Francisco 2002 Age: 23 Number of years spinning: 10 How many years did you compete, and why did you stop: I competed for seven years and stopped when I was 20. I started making records. How did you get involved with DMC as a judge: DMC’s been around the scene, and they seem pretty good at what they do. What's your favorite pastime: Basketball. How did you get your DJ name: I made it up because I like to flash people. Advice to aspiring DJs: Start jerking off now. |
“I think it’s cool,” says Virus, about turntablism hitting the mainstream. “I’m down with people who say turntables are instruments. I’m glad it’s big. People who never knew about DJ competitions can come out and experience it.”
Similarly, guru DJ Shortkut agrees: “It gives a lot of DJs exposure. Exposure is long overdue. There are a lot of genres touching on scratching, as long as they don’t dis. However, there is still a lot to go in terms of mainstream acceptance …”Though the DJ community is embracing mainstream attention, there is an underlying fear that it might suffer the commercialized death of a momentary trend. Mike Nice says that with turntablism hitting the mainstream the way it has, it’s bound to happen.
“We saw it with breakdancing in ’84, ’85, and it killed it. You see it now on Juicy Fruit commercials and The Real World. I don’t have a problem with it as long as they’re not using it as a trendy thing. I like the Gap commercial with Rob Swift and Shortkut; they are not exploiting turntablism. [It allows] people who haven’t seen turntablism to get a glimpse of it …”
For those who are training for next year’s battle, Mike Nice advises, “Be as creative as possible. Don’t try to emulate others. You can be influenced, but take that influence and create your own style out of it.”
For more info on DMC and upcoming regional and championship battles, go to www.dmcworld.com.
Reach Jennie Sue at jsue@asianweek.com.
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