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DMC Scratch Face Off!

Calling all DJs, calling all DJs. Have you got what it takes to be the baddest scratch DJ in the land?

Have you got the skills to pay the bills? If so, then bring it - the time has come for this year's DMC UK DJ Championships.

The annual event brings together turntablist terrors from all over the land to pit their freshest techniques against each other in a mammoth battle from which there can only be one victor. Scratch DJs are preparing their top secret methods for the seven date nationwide DMC UK DJ tour, which culminates in the final at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on Friday 29th June. The tour will be hosted by MC Trip and renowned, seminal scratch king Cutmaster Swift. Also joining them will be last year's world champion DJ Netik.

In our increasingly digital environment, DMC remain defiantly old school. There's no synthetic CD scratching here! Instead, true to the ethos of hip-hop, contestants will compete with the stripped back equipment of Technics SL1210 MK2 turntables, one mixer with no effects or modifications and only a pair of styli from the Ortofon range allowed per competitor. This way, only the truly skilled can step up to the plate.

Split into two categories, each will test different aspects of the competitor's mettle. The first, Battle for World Supremacy, is a solo head to head bout where DJs are given only 90 seconds in which to demonstrate their hottest tricks. The second is the more traditional Individual Event where the contestants are given six minutes to demonstrate both their turntablist and mixing skills to earn the title of UK DMC champion.

This infamous battle is about to kick off big style, with the first heats beginning at Bagman @ The Croft, Bristol on Thursday 17th May, and continuing at the Tuesday Club, Sheffield on Tuesday 22nd May, Doctor's Orders @ Plan B, London on Thursday 24th May, No Fakin'/Common Ground @ The Magnet, Liverpool on Friday 25th May, Afro Dizzy @ The Rainbow, Birmingham on Saturday 2nd June, and The Consortium, Bournemouth on Saturday 16th June.

The final at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, on Friday 29th June, will offer the winner the chance to represent the UK in the World DMC Championships to be held in September. They will also win the prestigious Golden Technics turntable and Ortofon prizes worth £10,000.

Tickets for the final are £12.50, and are available from the following outlets:

www.dmcworld.com 01628 667124

www.ticketweb.co.uk 08700 600100

www.ticketmaster.co.uk 0870 1514444

And direct from these record shops:

Wyld Pytch Records, Swag Records and Banquet Records.

WIN!

We have two pairs of tickets to give away for the London date at Plan B, Brixton.

To win, simply tell us:

What year did Cutmaster Swift win the World DMC Championship?

Email your answers to [email protected]. Closing date is Wednesday 23rd May.