DJs duke it out in dope battle of the beats

Last Thursday night, Hopkins students who double as DJs performed their own sets in a competition with a grand prize of $300. The event took place in the Levering courtyard from 9 to 11 p.m.

Students flowed in and out of the event over the course of the evening with a total attendance of between 150 and 200 students. In addition to the music, attendees were provided with food and beverages.

The behavior of the students in attendance ran the gamut from groups of students nodding their heads and holding conversations to various students letting loose with gusto from a stressful week.

“For the past month and a half I have been traveling the world,” sophomore Morgan McCarthy said. “I’ve seen the DJs in Amsterdam, I’ve seen the DJs in Berlin and I want to see the DJs at Johns Hopkins. I think we’ve got a pretty eclectic scene here at Johns Hopkins but I think there is some real potential, some unsung DJs here and I hope to see them come out and do their own thing tonight.”

The majority of the sets played at the event featured electronic dance music (EDM). EDM is a popular genre of fast-paced, percussive electronic music that is often played in club and concert venues. EDM has under its umbrella several sub genres, including trance, house and techno.

The winner of the event was determined by audience response, with the prize going to whoever received the largest applause.

The set of junior Jerald Liu, the winner of the event, included songs from artists such as Flux Pavilion, Dog Blood, Knife Party, Alvin Risk, RL Grime and TNGHT.

“The ambience was interesting. I wish more people could have come out to support all the DJ’s, but overall, the energy was there from the handful of people that showed up. I didn’t really expect much other than putting on a great performance, which happened,” Liu said.

In regards to the popularity of EDM on the Homewood campus, Liu said he felt there were a lot of EDM fans.

“I think Hopkins has a solid EDM community of listeners. After all, EDM has sort of become the new pop music. They’re almost indistinguishable these days,” Liu said.

This was not the first time that Hopkins has hosted an EDM DJ performance in the Levering courtyard. Last spring, several hundred Hopkins students gathered to attend a show put on by the Dutch EDM DJ, R3hab.

“I started DJ’ing when I realized I didn’t have enough time to continue practicing classical piano,” Liu said. “It was a good alternative because of the time limitations I have being a Hopkins student. Also, I had never really delved into mainstream music, so it was a good way to get accommodated with it.”

As for the $300 prize, Liu plans on going to the Guitar Center and buying some new speakers to further his art.