This time the belgians were superior again as Jack took the title (again!) of King of the hill 2009. More on the battles in a later post, first I want to talk about the showcases.

Two world class pro’s were chillin’ in Utrecht to rock a couple of showcases: DJ Nelson, representing france, and DJ Taiji, hailing from japan. Thursday Nelson arrived and DJ Mseize (the engine behind Wax and the City) took him to the Hague to give a masterclass there.

Taiji also just arrived and needed a place to practice his set, which he was going to showcase the next evening. Luckily this place turned out to be my own crib.

Check Taiji’s practice in the video below:

DJ Taiji rockin @ my crib, full session from skidz on Vimeo.

Besides talkin’ with his hands a lot on the decks, Taiji turned out to be great company. We (me, niwa and qualitee) discussed a lot of things with him, from music to japanese customs and traditions. After a lot of drinkin’ and talking and giving him a couple of record store addresses, the evening came to an end. Hopefully we can see the proper set he did during Wax and the City online soon.

skidz, taiji, qualitee and niwa

Check Taiji’s myspace.

Taiji’s accomplishments:
‘98 TEENS DJ CHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPION
‘98 DMC JAPAN FINAL 5th PLACE (KANSAI BLOCK 2nd PLACE)
‘99 OFFICE GM DJ BATTLE CHAMPION
‘99 DMC JAPAN FINAL 3rd PLACE
‘99 B-BOY PARK DJ BATTLE CHAMPION
‘00 DMC JAPAN FINALIST (KANSAI BLOCK CHAMPION)
‘00 VESTAX EXTRAVAGANZA TEAM CATEGORY CHAMPION
‘01 OSAKA ROCK THE HOUSE DJ BATTLE CHAMPION
‘01 DMC JAPAN FINAL 3rd PLACE (KANSAI BLOCK CHAMPION)
‘02 VESTAX EXTRAVAGANZA ASIA CHAMPION&WORLD 2nd PLACE
‘04 DMC JAPAN CHAMPION (KANSAI BLOCK CHAMPION)

Credits to Yuri Linthout for cleaning up and editing the video material.

Another year, another edition of Wax and the City courtesy of DJ Mseize (Rof!, Habek).

This time the tables are turned (pun intended) and the concept is Digital versus Analog.

Ten turntablist will battle for the ultimate title of King of the hill 2009. However, for the first time in the netherlands, the contestants may bring their own weapon of choice in battle. The weapons are:
*conventional vinyl aka analog
*digital turntablism (timecode-vinyl)
*video scratching

Besides the title ‘King of the Hill 2009’, the winner will take home a price package composed of the following brands: UDG, Vestax, Shure and Drunken Munkey.

A professional jury, consisting of Dj’s Irie, Nelson and DNS will determine the eventual winner.

Showcases: Next Level Turntablism
The evening will be completed by a couple of showcases. Veterans from the international battle scene; Irie, Nelson and Taiji will showcase how they evolved their techniques.

Their achievements:
• DJ Irie (Netherlands)
4 x Dutch DMC Supremacy Champ en Vice Worldchamp
DMC Supremacy 2005.

• DJ Nelson (France)
3 x French DMC Supremacy Champ and Vice Worldchamp
DMC Supremacy 2008.

• DJ Taiji (Japan)
DMC Japan Champ 2004 and winner of many Asian battles.

where: Ekko, Bemuurde weerd wz 3, Utrecht
Date: 24th of april 2009
VJ: Escapation
Dj’s: Skidz & DNS
Live Painting: Skaffa
Damage: 8e
Open: 22.00 till 4.00

*UPDATE*
watch the trailer here:

On a side note, the analog vs digital issue remains an ongoing discussion. The next clip features Just Blaze adressing the issue and shares his thoughts:

This’ll be the spot where you can find all gigs, parties etc where people from thebeats.nl are involved. And we’re proud to announce the launch of a new party fueled by our own Skidz (thebeats/Spinnin’) and Utrecht resident Mseize (Habek/Wax and the City/Rof!) called ‘Back 2 The Breakz’.

The evening will not just be a hip hop party, it’ll be centered on the music that made hip hop possible: funk, soul, reggae and breaks. Ofcourse hip hop itself will be madly represented but in a broader form than it is at most parties.

The official announcement:

Back 2 the Breakz

Backspins on the ones and two’s while doing it back to back, trashing up the needles and tearing? down the grooves with a Lust for classic breakz, boogie, stripped down phunk, smelly reggae and rare originals. Blending it all down into one hiphop-based mix untill you can’t stand the smell any longer.

Chef’s Mseize, Skidz & Lavarock will be cooking it up for you into one big nasty piece of phunky pie!

Iz you hungry?!

So whether you want to bang out to the newest hits, chill on 70’s oldies or boogie to some funk and boom-bap: ‘Back 2 The Breakz’ is the place to be!

A lot of thanks must go to Joris Pol for doing the photography, flyer and poster. Ofcourse the flyer wouldn’t be as crisp without the dope graffiti-styled logo Black December delivered.

We’re counting on you to celebrate hip hop and the culture with us. The only thing you need to do is bring your smiles and good attitude. Be there!

First off, it’s time for the monthly Spinnin’ party @ Metropool, Hengelo. The eastern city has been known to draw big names to perform, and this friday (May 16th) the stage will be held hostage by Black Sheep. Being part of the Native Tongues family (can you say Tribe and De La?), and having a music carreer spanning over 2 decades, the group has been known to act lively on stage.

The gig’ll only cost you EUR 12,- at the door, or EUR 3,50 for the Spinnin’ afterparty that starts at midnight. As you can see on the flyer, our boy Skidz will be at the decks next to Sandman and Skivvy, and he’ll bring a shitload of copies of his mix “More Than Meets The Ear vol. 2“. You can get a CD for the meager price of EUR 3,-, OR you can be one of the 50 people that stay ’til the end of the party, and get it for FREE!

Don’t worry about missing Black Sheep if you live in the west of .nl, because on saturday they will perform @ Waterfront, Rotterdam.

In the centre of our country, Utrecht to be precise, Boemklatsch will once again present a dope hiphop act. The Canadian DJ A-Trak will be the one to show his skills on the decks @ Tivoli Oudegracht. Having won the 1997 DMC World Championship at the age of 15 and touring with the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, he set a base for his carreer which made Kanye West choose him as tour-DJ in 2004.

[edit] the Boemklatsch guys did a nice mix in honor of A-Trak’s appearance in Utrecht, download it here[/edit]

Since then he’s been touring with more dance-oriented acts like DJ Mehdi, Diplo and ofcourse 80s retro electro band of his brother, Chromeo. This will guarantee an evening of hot dancefloor tracks, but definitely not without a dope display of turntable madness. You can check some of his routines on YouTube