Sixteen warriors will enter a battle royale tonight armed with nothing but an arsenal of music.
Red Bull Play & Destroy challenges DJs to compete in a one-on-one music-playing competition. The event involves two DJs per round going head-to-head by playing 30 seconds of a song on their playlist for the specified “battlegory,” or category. Battlegories include ’80s montage, stripper anthem, dirty dubstep and “I’m ashamed to have this on my iPod,” among others.
Cat Dinan, event coordinator, said the competition will be the second Baton Rouge has hosted, although similar events have been held by Red Bull across the country. She said the first-place winner will receive a pair of Voodoo Fest weekend passes and a weekend campsite. The runner-up will be awarded a pair of one-day Voodoo Fest tickets.
Hunter Esmon, digital arts junior, plans to compete in the music-playing competition under the alias DJ Ginja. Esmon said he prepared for the event by prepping not only his music selections, but also his visual presentation.
“I got a haircut, and I’m dressing up as Macklemore with fur coat and all,” Esmon said.
Esmon’s strategy to appeal to the crowd is important because the audience response, as gauged by the emcee, decides the winner. Esmon said he plans on recruiting friends to attend the event for “the built-in support.”
Larry Scrubbs Jr., Baton Rouge Community College alumnus, won the competition last year as DJ Mikelarry. He said the key to his success was playing songs that the audience could relate to. Scrubbs said this strategy rang true when he approached the “best song to sing in a car alone” battlegory.
“I played the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ theme song,” Scrubbs said. “Everyone grew up with that song, so they were singing and clapping along.”
Scrubbs said he was unsure whether he would be allowed to defend his title in the battle tonight because it’s specified as a collegiate competition, and he is no longer a college student. The DJ said he planned to attend the event regardless and cheer on the competitors.
“Above all, it’s about having fun,” Scrubbs said.
The DJ battle begins at 9 p.m. tonight at Bogie’s.
