Nobody likes a cheat, nobody except lets say the cheat. Mista Bishi recently single handily brought an entire line of artists into dispute. Djing in its own right is a dying art. There are computer software that pretty much beat matches for you, c.d's have replaced the vinyl the list goes on. But the one thing you try to hold onto is at least the Dj is earning his money, at least hes actually mixing....
Well
Mista Bishi while supposedly mixing a 2hr set was filmed without his knowledge, during this film it was clear to see he wasn't in fact Djing he was in fact, texting on the phone, and twiddling with nobs on his mixer, which were switched off. That's right.
A pre-mix C.D.
Here you can see the cdj is infact turned off.
It wasn't an isolated situation, Chase and Status also were recorded without their knowledge and for the first 15-20 mins they didn't switch the cd in their mixer once, the pair were also guilty of twiddling nobs in the event the audience thought they were mixing. That's right, you pay £20 to get into a club to see your favorite Dj's doing their thing, except, their not doing a damn thing except take your money and stick on pre-mix c.d's. These guys get in excess of £1200 a night for a set.
Which in the end begs the question, how many other Dj's are doing this.
Torches and nooses at the ready, its a witch hunt boys.
AGENT B
Mista Bishi sounds kinda like FAIL. Playing a deck that's not even on? Maybe the pic was out of context. Who knows. Just seems like such a STUPID mistake.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the Chase and Status thang - meh. Being a digital/electronic/dj/composer person myself, I don't see too much wrong with 'djing' with premixed stuff. Personally, I think it'd have been cooler if he'd used *4* pre mixed cds instead of one.
I mean, maybe it's not really djing anymore, but the start of something new. DJing has got such a rich history of pissing people off by simply building on what's already been made:
USA: 50's 'disc jockeys' would take these small 'plates' to play 'pre recorded music' at house parties (oh, you need a 'real' band to entertain)
Jamaica: in the 60s DJs were super competitive to get the latest tracks from the US, sometimes just going ahead and recording new 'versions' with crews they'd hire, before the first shipments of those records came in
New York City: In the 80's Afrika Bambatta's 'Planet Rock' blended Kraftwerk and an old country Western cowboy movie made in Italy - it was a bridge to bring electronic music to America and make mainstream
USA:90's DJ Dangermouse remixing the Beatles' White Album with Jay-Z's Black Album - the Recording Industry Association of America tried to sue the heck out of Dangermouse because it took money from the artists.
You can kinda see from these seeds how DJ culture has influenced so much of contemporary music by doing seemingly 'unartistic' things.
DJs constantly battle the 'oh, there's no talent to simply pushing play on the tunrtable!' Any DJ knows the nuances of the particular turntable, mixer or even knob/fader styles. A good dj will also know the nuances of their tracks. Great DJs will know the nuances of their crowd (and be able to respond accordingly:)