With all due respect to the city that I love, Shreveport has never been a hotbed of avant-garde hip-hop and turntablism. At least, it wasn’t until the last few years. Someone at Eldorado Resort Casino in downtown Shreveport must have an interest in hip-hop, because some of the greatest DJs in the world have been making random tour stops there (see our 2015 post about DJ QBert playing there). At 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, DMC world champion DJ Shiftee will make a tour stop at Celebrity Lounge. Here’s the official event page and here’s the Facebook event.
If you’re a casual fan of hip-hop or electronic music, no one could blame you for not knowing Shiftee. But if you’re a hip-hop head – or someone who’s into artists like DJ Shadow, A-Trak, DJ Craze, DJ QBert or Mix Master Mike – this is a big deal.
It would absolutely not be a stretch to say that DJ Shiftee is one of the most accomplished DJs on the planet. He holds seven DMC titles. He is the only American ever to win the largest global title in DJing, the DMC World Championship. His award for that title is a crazy thing to see: a pair of solid gold Technics turntables and a gold-plated cross-fader. He tours with DJ Craze, teaches turntablism courses at Tisch School of the Arts and his music has been featured in Broad City as well as other shows. Check out his Wikipedia page.
At the DJ QBert show in 2015, there were a few dozen hip-hop heads and a few hundred completely average folks who had no idea what to make of the abstract, mind-bending turntable tricks performed by QBert. Confused bridesmaids tried to climb onstage to request booty music. It was wild. The DJ Shiftee show ought to be a lot like that. If electronic music is your thing, his abilities to combine live turntable tricks with on-the-fly beat production are a thing that must be seen to be believed.
Visit the official event page for DJ Shiftee at Eldorado Resort Casino.
See DJ Shiftee in action (warning: strong language) in the clip below.
