The best student DJs hit the decks and battled it out in the final of the Red Bull Thre3style university competition at Randlords in Johannesburg last Friday. The DJs were mixing, scratching and remixing for the title and grand prize, a state of the art turntable worth R100 000.

There were four judges to determine who would be the 2016 Thre3style champion. The judges were DJ Switch, DJ Richard the Third, Themba Lunancy from the Kitcheners and Tha Cutt, the 2012 Red Bull SA Thre3Style Champion. After Red Bull had held countrywide auditions there were only six still standing. The DJs competing for the title were DJ Natty from University of Forte Hare, DJ Sakhamen from University of KwaZulu-Natal, DJ Gremlin from University of Cape Town, DJ Enodeepflow from University of Limpopo, DJ Liquidator from Tshwane University of Technology and DJ Cheezo from University of the Witwatersrand. Each DJ was judged based on their technical skills, track selection, originality, personality and crowd response.

First to perform was DJ Natty. At the start of his performance he experienced some technical issues however that did not stop him from turning up. As DJ Natty played into his set, the crowd started gathering. The crowd became livelier when Natty mixed in a bit of “Sister Betina”. Second to perform was DJ Sakhamen. DJ Sakhamen got the crowd going when he mixed in a bit of Bob Marley’s “One Love”. During his performance the crowd dissipated a bit but then picked up towards the end of his set.

Following after DJ Sakhamen was DJ Gremlin. DJ Gremlin was a crowd pleaser as he got the crowd laughing and dancing more than the DJs before. Gremlin got the crowd laughing with his reference to Kanye West which essentially mocked well-known South African rapper Cassper Nyovest. During his performance DJ Gremlin mixed some old school music, Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody”, with some trending songs such as Drake’s “One Dance”.

Fourth to perform was DJ Enodeepflow. During this performance some of the crowd left while others stayed and sang along. Despite everyone not being gathered around the stage, those that were outside still enjoyed DJ Enodeepflow’s set as they too jammed.

Next to hit the deck was DJ Liquidator. During his set the crowd went from dancing to screaming and jumping. DJ Liquidator impressed the crowd with his unique DJ abilities as he scratched the turntable with his elbow and nose.

Last but not least was DJ Cheezo’s set which began with “But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you”, a well known line from the movie Taken. During his set, Cheezo played “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weekend and “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson.

After all the DJs had performed their set, South African hip hop artiste MTee performed for half an hour from 11pm. eMTee entertained the crowd with some of his well-known songs such as “Pearl Thusi”, “Kuze Kuse” and “Vuka”.

At midnight the judges announced that DJ Liquidator was the winner of the Red Bull Thre3style University competition. Overall the event was well organized with everyone receiving a Red Bull on arrival and there were two TV screens showing the DJs on the deck. This was the first year that Red Bull has hosted this event. With a decent turn out and a happy crowd, the Red Bull Thre3style University competition was a success.

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