- 2001 World DMC champion, DJ Plus One, represents for the Scratch Perverts on DMC's first hip hop, drum'n'bass and turntablist mix CD. Fitting that they chose to give it the title of Champion Sounds as it is a salute to reggae - a sound which spawned hip hop and drum'n'bass.
CD 1. 095 Side featuring Rodney P.
95 bpm's being around the usual tempo of hip hop tracks, this side is mainly on the hip hop tip, however it's good to see the hip hop and drum'n'bass forces unite as Adam F, Die & MC Dynamite from Reprazent and junglist MC GQ contribute efforts to this mix. All tracks are from the UK hip hop scene and production is kept nice and tight.
Exclusives from Adam F, Skitz and Rodney P make an appearance as well as No Strings Attached a hard rock/Cypress Hill influenced exclusive from Blade featuring DJs Plus One and Tony Vegas on the scratch. Seems that the Feeder remix of Ya Don't See The Signs has made an impression on one of the UK's best MC's.
Roots Manuva's Witness makes an appearance yet again and can be found on a lot of hip hop mixes nowadays... well done Mr. Smith!
UK's version of Rahzel, Killa Kela makes an appearance with some beatbox action - Check One - at the end of this mix - the whole compilation representing all elements of hip hop.
All through the mix, Plus One cuts and scratches his way through the set even including a few routines, one being aptly titled Routine 1 - possibly a teaser to his set to defend his title in 2002! Accompanying him on the mic is Rodney P adding in a live element MC to the mix.
All in all a good mix set and Plus One fully represents the UK scene without the need for a US track included in the mix. Not that US tracks are bad, just that each country needs to fully represent it's own scene without having to always hark back to the hip hop motherland.
CD2. 175 Side featuring Rodney P.
175 bpms being the usual tempo for drum'n'bass, Plus One speeds up the pace selecting some fine jungle tunes and exclusive tracks for his mix. Doing a little math, it's easy to see that drum'n'bass tempo is around double the hip hop tempo, so it comes as no surprise as to why the two sounds go well together - one style can mix into another, simply a matter of counting 2 jungle beats as one hip hop beat - and also why turntablists out there choose to embrace the jungle as much as the usual hip hop offerings.
Similar in style to the DJ Craze Nexx Sound release from last year, Plus One starts off his mix with a scratch routine, Routine 2, heavily featuring a sample from KRS-One. Winding it up to start off the mix, Plus One chooses to get a little atmospheric with his selection of jungle tracks.
ILS's No Soul (High Contrast Remix) kicks things off and can lull the listener into a sense of ease and the mix continues so until DJ Clipz' Witchdoctor with the heavy rolling breaks kicks in. Total Science's Squash V.I.P is a remix of a track from DJ Hype's Fabriclive mix, however it does not make much of a dent on the original track.
Not much scratching or MC'ing involved in the first half of the mix, however it's when the second half kicks in that Plus One and Rodney P start to find their groove.
Mampi Swift's Rebirth is a tech flavoured jungle track and Plus One cuts up the scratches on top.
Always known for an awesome drum'n'bass track, Dillinja offers up Thugged Out Bitch which leads into The Lizard (VIP Mix) an exclusive from J Majik.
Ram Records' Moving Fusion offer up Thunderball and it's good to see some turntablist skills at the end with a little bit of juggling at the end. Q Projects' Champion Sound (Hardcore Will Never Die)(Remix) is a classic in the jungle and breaks scenes and is a good inclusion here.
Finally to end all the madness, the final exclusive track on offer is Sentient's Delerium (featuring MC Trip) shows Rodney P and MC Trip going off on the mic with some tricks from Plus One.
A good mix however does not really stand up against Craze's Nexx Sound which seemed to incorporate more tricks and turntablist sessions throughout.
Tracklisting:
095 Side featuring Rodney P:
1. Plus One - Intro
2. Adam F - Listen Here (Instrumental Mix)
3. Skitz feat. Dynamite & GQ - We Make Them Make Noise
4. New Flesh feat Blackitude - Lie Low
5. Skitz & The Extremists - Shine On
6. Die & Skitz feat. Dynamite, Rodney P & Tali - It's On
7. Blade feat. Plus One & Tony Vegas - No Strings Attached (Demo Mix)
8. Plus One - Routine One
9. Blak Twang - Tricksta
10. Jehst - Return Of The Drifter
11. Roots Manuva - Witness (One Hope)
12. Rodney P - Trouble
13. Cold City Rockers feat. Skeme - Something Beautiful
14. Fallacy & Plus One - Special
15. Fallacy & Fusion - The Groundbreaker
16. Killa Kela - Intro (Heavy Artillery)
17. Killa Kela - Check One
175 Side featuring Rodney P:
1. Plus One - Routine 2
2. ILS - No Soul (High Contrast Remix)
3. Accidental Heroes - Even When it Rains (Superdisco Mix)
4. DJ Clipz - Witchdoctor
5. Total Science - Squash V.I.P
6. Krust - Kloakin' King
7. Mampi Swift - Rebirth
8. Origin Unknown - Truly One (Remix Part One)
9. Zero 7 - End Theme (Roni Size Mix)
10. Dillinja - Thugged Out Bitch
11. J Majik - The Lizard (VIP Mix)
12. Adam F & J Majik - Metrosound
13. Moving Fusion - Thunderball
14. Q Project - Champion Sound (Hardcore Will Never Die ) (Remix)
15. Sentient - Delerium (Exclusive featuring MC Trip)