Morgan State students flocked to the Student Center patio for the first Reggae vs. Go-Go DJ competition last Thursday night. One of the more anticipated events of I Love Morgan Week, the competition showcased three of the school’s top disc jockeys in a test of their ability to mix two of the most popular music genres on campus.
“We noticed that the majority of the students on campus are into go-go and reggae, because it’s a heavy population of New York students and PG/DC students,” said Umoja council director Shakema Cyrus. “We figured, why not use some of the DJ’s that are very well known on campus and have them do a battle using those two genres of music.”
Host Kaddeem Myrie kicked off the event off at 7 p.m. by explaining the rules of the competition. Each DJ got two fifteen-minute rounds to mix their best selection of go-go, reggae and whatever other genre they chose. The crowd chose the winner. Contestants included DJ Claude the Martian, DJ Reflex and DJ Smooth Rell.
DJ Claude the Martian was the first on the tables, beginning his set with a number of old school go-go songs. “I’m going to see who all the real go-go fans are tonight,” he yelled as he mixed songs from go-go pioneers Chuck Brown and the Backyard Band before switching to reggae. DJ Smooth Rell followed suit, getting the crowd moving with a number of popular go-go, reggae and party mixes. The lineup continued with DJ Reflex, who impressed the crowd with his variety of old school and newer go-go and reggae.
DJ Claude began the second round with the same energy he had at the start, except this time he focused on more recent go-go and reggae hits. DJ Rell took the stage next, playing a few crowd party favorites before moving to his go-go and reggae mixes. DJ Reflex closed out the competition strong, winning the crowd over with his mixes and eventually being named the winner of the competition.
Although disappointed he did not win, DJ Rell, who won another Red Bull DJ competition at Morgan was happy with the way the event turned out. “I’m proud of DJ Reflex. I met him a couple months back and he’s definitely improving just like I am,” said DJ Rell. “We’re both young DJ’s trying to take over day by day.”
DJ Reflex could not be reached for comment.
