VU Takes 2nd Place in Local DJ Competition

Many students from colleges in the O.C area lined up last Thursday night at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana to watch four student DJs compete in the “Red Bull Thre3Style U DJ Competition.”

A student was picked from Vanguard University, UCI, Cal State Fullerton, and Chapman to compete and showcase their talents on the turntable in order to win the prize purse and a title of the best college DJ in OC.

The DJs included Cloud 10 of Vanguard University, Dyphekta of CSU Fullerton, Swoondef of Chapman, and DJ Chitz of UC Irvine.

Doors opened at nine with just a few people filing in as the finishing touches were being done. As the clock struck ten, the area was packed with an abundance of Vanguard students in addition to several from other schools.

The event was held in the upper balcony of Yost Theater. The area was significantly smaller than the larger downstairs area that enabled it to have more of a VIP feel. The balcony included two; small lounge-like areas that directly overlooked the event going on in the downstairs area, while a wall with glass windows blocked the small stage and dance floor. Lights were focused on the stage with the exception of a large Red Bull emblem being projected on the wall.

DJ Redak opened for the night and got the crowd of young adults to turn the area into more of a “club-like” atmosphere: dancing, singing along, etc. The competitors joined the party until it was their turn to show their skills.

Each DJ was given 15 minutes to combine three different genres and create a mix that can keep the party going. Cameras were pointed on the turntables that directly showed the audience exactly what the DJ was doing to create the sound.

The DJs seemed relaxed as they sat around waiting for the completion to start. Cloud 10 didn’t seem to have any anxiety before going on stage. “I’m more excited than nervous,” he said, as he leaned back on the couch.

As the DJs took the stage, the crowd cheered on throughout the mix to show their support for their classmates.

The scores came back with a surprise tie between CSU Fullerton’s Dyphekta and Vanguard’s Cloud 10 with a total of 93 points. Next was Chitz with 84 points and last was Swoondef with 69 points.

“I know the guys from Fullerton and I heard they were pretty good,” said Cloud 10 before the competition started.

To break the tie, the three judges voted between the two ending in a split decision; two votes for Dyphekta and one vote for Cloud 10, giving Dyphekta the win.

Hip Hop artist Bodie Wade from Vanguard University was asked to be a judge and commented on the decision by saying, “It came down to Dyphekta had better transitions. Cloud had better music choice and crowd response but Dyphekta was more smooth overall.”