Tech Styles II Hip Hip Turntablist Competition 28.8k Streaming Video 56k Streaming Video TechStyles II. (12 minutes) There's not much overlap between the turntable cultures of Seattle. The beatmatching techno-kids create one scene, parties every weekend: underground, clubs throughout Seattle, and the massive 1000+ Raves held by USC, Healthe, and others. The hip hop flavor, scratching, beat juggling, rapping, is smaller and it's harder to find. I've run into it in a few places: At the Seattle Center during the Folklife Festival. At an art show opening in Belltown featuring Cause B. and Brandon. At the far end of the Hempfest strip - beyond the main stage, a platform set up with a drum kit, a bass, some amps and about 7 microphones - kids jammin' and freestyling lyrical. Tech Styles II was another chance for me to learn about the other side, to get educated. Turntable Competition The event was a series of eliminations. A panel of judges graded the performances in a number of catagories including execution and originality. There were 13 original competitors, who were narrowed down to 8 on the basis of a 30 second set each. The 8 semi-finalists each got to play a minute. The 4 semi-finalists battled in pairs. The #4 ranked went against the #1 ranked, and the #3 went up against the #2. In the battle, each DJ played 2 sets, alternating with each other. Each set lasting 1.5 minutes. A call and response, if one DJ dissed the other, the other had a chance to make a come back. The 2 finalists battled with 2 sets of 2 minutes each. The competition was held at a EHAS, a community center in the basement of a Central District church. I arrived at 3:30, a half hour into the event, to a room full of about 150 people. Ages ranged from 10 to 30. DJ Ace was the event MC, keeping the flow smooth, telling jokes and dropping hiphop knowledge. It was very positive; focussed on the music, the community, and on the people showcasing their skillz. The video has excerpts from sets by DJ's Tre, Drastik, RedEye, Dyce, WD-40, and others. The event was put on by Eroc (sp?), look for the next one in March of '99. React, post a message.