Daaaamn Gina, the DJ beef is heating up!
In a jaw-dropping display of knob twiddling and record skipping supremacy, DJ Craze made a dramatic case towards the #RealDJing movement. It’s a polarizing topic circling the web deciphering who has the maddest of skills and who would be better off tying their shoes and leaving the big-kid sandbox.
As the only DJ to win the DMC World DJ Championships 3 years in a row, DJ Craze has a leg to stand on in the industry, and masterfully executes his “New Slaves” routine in the attached video, letting the art of the spin do all the work for him. It’s a proverbial cannonball towards the balsa-wood fort of electronic wannabes.
It’s kind of like what the clip of Daniel Tosh says in the opening seconds of the DJ Craze video, “You want to know why everyone thinks they can be a DJ? Because they can … 90% of what DJs do is pretend to touch stuff. Stop acting like you are so busy. You aren't hacking into the main frame of the pentagon. You are a professional iPod controller.”
Daaaaaaamn.
The back and forth beef isn’t a new squabble by any means. The age-old talentless case against all DJs is as old as digital music itself, and continues to be one of the few topics asked of people behind the decks, especially in the newly revived EDM formats. the critiques force some to work harder, and others to just collect the check with both long fingers in the air.
The latest hashtag, however, is a beefed up jab coined by A-Trak, a Canadian turntablist, producer and label executive of Fool’s Gold Records. He says he’s frustrated by the new-age DJs spraining all of their phalanges with the over pushing of buttons and little else to lean on.
The beef revival all started a few months ago when A-Trak took to his webs and posted an uncluttering photo of a simple font highlighting the polarizing hashtag #RealDJing. The photo was accompanied by a synopsis of what A-Trak means by it all:
“There's a lot of talk lately about what DJing is becoming. I've seen it evolve a lot over the years. I started DJing when I was 13, scratching vinyl and playing strictly hip hop, winning championships. The DMC judges thought I was pretty good at it, but think my definition was narrow back then. I remember when my aunts and uncles found out I was a DJ they assumed I was the guy talking on the radio. So to define who we were, we called ourselves turntablists. We wanted legitimacy. As I grew up I got into more sides of the craft. Party-rocking and mastering different musical genres … Then I got into electronic music. I remember seeing Mehdi, Boys Noize, Feadz playing on CDJs and thinking: these guys are turntablists too. Surkin was the first guy I saw DJ on Ableton in a way that felt like true DJing too. Now there's a whole new cast in electronic music, and it's still exciting to me. I've seen a lot of fads come and go over the years. And I don't think my way of DJing is the only way. I wish I could also play like Carl Cox and DJ Harvey too. But I have my style and it's my passion. I love standing for something that means something, as Pharcyde would say. When you come to my show you know you'll see me cut. And take risks. DJing is about taking risks. I represent #RealDJing #YouKnowTheDifference”
It stings, the words sting the heart so bad. It’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out in the future. It's a war out there. Until then, more videos like this one, please!
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