This is the big one, ten men compete and there can be only one winner. This is what separates and elevates the Hip-Hop DJ from the house DJ. This is the raw street element of Hip- Hop, natural selection, survival of the fittest, last man standing. You can see the appeal to testosterone everywhere, the ultimate test of nerves, to battle against allcomers, in front of judges and a crowd armed only with your selection of records, the decks, your imagination and your dexterity.

Times have changed, the last time there was a DMC mixing championship in Belfast it was on a Sunday night in Vico’s and only about a hundred people turned up to see it. That was the Northern Ireland final.

Tonight the Limelight is full and there is an air of expectation as the Belfast heat of the competition gets underway.

The competitors are marked in four main areas, scratching, tightness and creativity, beat juggling and crowd reaction.

The standard of performance was on all accounts very high, the Hip Hop DJ has become a more common occurrence in Belfast of late and as some of the best DJ’s in the world have performed here of late then there has been plenty to inspire.

The winner of the night will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen him in action, when DJ Kato took to the decks he touched the needle and some distortion ripped around the room a cheer went up.

He didn’t disappoint; he launched into his six-minute set and proved himself in all areas. The scratching was tight, musical and rhythmic, the beat juggling with a jungle tune in the middle was awesome and his use of samples inspired. The crowd went wild and for his six minutes the room was truly taken.

Full Results Belfast Heat All Ireland DMC Final

1st DJ Kato

2nd Nik Muzka

3rd Paul Huan

4th Brian Phat Beats


All Ireland Final is in Limelight on Sunday 27th August