With only three episodes left, SMIRNOFF’s MASTER OF THE MIX is officially heating up as the remaining five DJs face their most demanding challenge yet: “bending the ten.”
After a brief meeting with MOTM judge Ben Maddahi at the top of the episode about long-term goals and branding, the “final five” were brought to Miami’s Club Frequency where show host Amanda Seales filled them in on their challenge for the week.
The “final five” DJs, which include Chris Karns, Incrediboi, JayCeeOh, Dynamix and Locszi, were tasked with incorporating ten songs, with varied BPM’s from multiple genres, into one cohesive set and play it for a packed house of club-goers and judges
After spending a few hours in the workshop crafting their sets, Kid Capri stopped by to help offer some wise words to the DJs. While the overall vibe of the DJs was uplifting, it was very clear that this would not be an easy challenge by any means.
DJ JayCeeOh, who has been one of the shows standout competitors this season, got things started during the showcase with Wilco’s “California Stars” that transitioned into Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” and Method Man’s “Bring the Pain.” Throughout his transitions JayCeeOh showcased his scratching skills as he moved through records from Mister Magic, Dennis Ferrer and Jessie J.
Despite the judges mostly straight faces, JayCeeOh knew he had to go out with a bang and that’s just what he did. Over Muddy Waters’s “Hoochie Coochie Man” he belted out a few lines of his own: “My name is JayCeeOh and I got all the tricks, after this show, I’m going to be Master of the Mix!” The judges ate it up and even Kid Capri was on his feet. “That set deserves a round of applause,” said judge Mia Moretti. “I didn’t hear one mess up.” However Ben Maddahi felt a little differently. “Some of your best and worst work was in this set tonight,” he said. “But you saved your ass when you got on the mic with Muddy Waters” –ben
Chris Karns was up next and kicked things off with Melanie Fiona’s “4 a.m.” record which went into Cham’s “Ghetto Story” and Ciclon Cubano’s “Echale Salsa.” The highlight came when Karns broke down and chopped up the guitar from Wilco’s “California Stars” and re-created his own version of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.” Moments after his set was complete Kid Capri exclaimed, “It’s not about feeling the music it’s about being a scientist with it and that’s what you did. It was dope!”
DJ Locszi got right into the swing of things when he launched the iconic Hip-Hop record “Bring the Pain” and he continued to move seamlessly between the challenge’s other nine records. “You impressed me incredibly,” exclaimed judge Ben Maddahi. Kid Capri felt similarly when he said, “to be able to manipulate records and make them your own and get the crowd feeling you is what you did so congratulations.”
Up next was DJ Dynamix who began scratching through Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” which he blended with Muddy Waters. Although the overall tone of his set began slow, he turned things up with some heavy drums once he got into tracks from Dennis Ferrer and Baby Cham. “I think some of the transitions were off and you lost the crowd at points in the set,” said Ben. ” But your scratches were clean and you made a great attempt.”
Incrediboi began his set with a blend of “Ghetto Story” and “Hoochie Coochie Man” and continued to scratch superbly through records from Queen, Grover Washington Jr. and Method Man. Incrediboi clearly met the challenge’s tasks better than any of the other DJs that night despite ending his set 12 seconds early yet his fate was ultimately in the hands of the judges. Luckily they felt a similar way. “You caught my attention off the top,” said Kid Capri. “That was a good set my G!”
Following the five sets the judges deliberated and discussed who they thought did the best and who did the worst. While there was no clear-cut loser there was certainly a unanimous winner in the form of DJ Locszi who prevailed at this week’s challenge and crafted a solid ten-song mix. Unfortunately for DJ Dynamix, his set just wasn’t up to par with that of his competition this week and he ultimately had his “record scratched.”
Next weeks challenge will find the “final four” battling it out with their own original remixes to a new single by Grammy Award-winning singer Estelle who will also be a guest judge.
Check out DJ JayCeeOh’s Ultimate Pre-Game Party Playlist below:
- Rocko – UOENO (DJ Wonder & Childish Major Remix)
- Trinidad James – Females Welcome
- Gents & Jawns – Turn Up
- JayCeeOh & B-Sides – Got My Gun (Unreleased)
- Keys-N-Krates – Treat You Right
- Busta Rhymes – Twerk It
- Kendrick Lamar vs Afrojack – Poetic Justice (JayCeeOh Trap Edit)
- TNGHT – Higher Ground
- Bunji Garlin – Differentology (Major Lazer Remix)
- Daft Punk – Get Lucky (eSQUIRE Remix)
Check back next week for another episode recap!
SMIRNOFF’s MASTER OF THE MIX Airs Mondays at midnight only on VH1.