On the 11th & 12th of September 09 DJ Impact from H-town NZ set for the UK to compete in the World DMC championships. I caught up with the brother to talk about his experience and placing 4th.
SMV Sup Brother...Congrats on placing 4th in the world DMCs last weekend! How does it feel?
IMPACT Sup uso, it's crazy man. I never wouldve thought this would ever happen to me aye, just really blown away. It was real unexpected, especially being a nobody from litte ol H-Town haha. Just really stoked bro!
SMV Were all proud of you in the H. But lets take it back aye...
SMV What Nationality are you?
IMPACT I'm half Samoan, half Palagi aye. My mum is from Si'ufaga, Savai'i, Samoa and my dad is from NZ.
SMV Where were you born & raised? & where do you reside now?
IMPACT I was born down in the 03 (Christchurch). Spent half of my childhood down there and moved up to the H (Hamilton) around 96' when I was around 10, been here ever since. H-Town all day! Hahaha, i still got got a soft spot for Chch though. Crusaders hard!
SMV how did you & I meet? No homo...
IMPACT Haha I heard of this guy around 2003 just before i started to get into dj'ing through one of the bros at high school, He always used to talk about the Tok stories hahaha, but i didnt finally meet the uso until the 2006 Last Man Standing Battles (Welli Battles). I think it was my 3rd battle and SMV was one of the judges!
SMV What crew you reppin'? Who are the members of that crew?
IMPACT I'm reppin "Elite Forces", we own this shit! Since we formed we've taken out every battle in NZ haha! It's just a little crew of 3, Wil K, Truent and myself.
SMV No Doubt
SMV How many years have you been DJing for? & what made you want to be a DJ or more so a Tablist?
IMPACT I've been dj'ing for over 5 years now, started around early 2004 on these fuckin wack ass Numark Battle Pack belt drive things haha! Back around 2002 my older cousins scored these DJ Rectangle mixtapes, i think it was Vinyl Kombat and I had a listen. I didnt really know what dj'ing/scratching was at the time but when i heard heard all those back to backs, scratch breaks and tracks being mixed together, i was like dayymn this is really dope. Not long after that they scored a copy of the 1999 DMC US Finals on vhs. After watching that whole battle i was hooked and said to myself, i gotta start doing this shit.
SMV What did you learn the most from your experience in the UK?
IMPACT They have heaps of beautiful women in the UK haha! Nah but for real, i feel like i've gained alot more experience and confidence from the battle. I saw alot of different styles/techniques at the DMC's this year so it's back to the lab and drawing board to improve on this years performance.
SMV Did you get to meet Qbert? Any other legends? What was that like?
IMPACT It was awesome to get to meet the guys you've looked up to on the video tapes. I got to meet Qbert at the DMC's, He was a real down to earth guy aye, hardcase too. He was reminiscing hardout about the show he did back here in 2002 and how he had a dope time in NZ. Got to meet Rob Swift too, he was the man! Did a showcase to kick off the night before the battle started, the homie smashed it. There were alot of other legends around too that i didnt expect to be there but were because it was the 25th Anniversary so it was a big one. Some of them were Qbert, Rob Swift, Prime Cuts, Tigerstyle, Woody, Blakey, Sparky T, Supreme who was competing, there were alot more.
SMV How do you feel about the Turntablism / Battle scene in Aotearoa right now? Whats good & whats lacking?
IMPACT I feel that it's getting stronger. This year there was a big improvement in the skill level, everyone switched up their game hard. I wont say too much about whats good and whats lacking because everyone will practice those things hardout and i'll get smoked next year haha!
SMV I've always wondered what the likes of yourself P-Money, CXL & Manchoo would be taking in from been in a world class environment like the DMCs. Does it have an effect on the way you put your future sets together?
IMPACT Yeah definitely.
SMV If you could time travel to an era of any DJ battle which era would it be & why?
IMPACT I wish i started dj'ing a bit earlier because i missed out on alot of good stuff. I wish I could time travel back to the Golden Era of DJ Battles. Around the mid 90's to early 00's (95 to 01). Back then there was so much funk and stuff in the battles. I reckon it's moved away from that direction, don't get me wrong i really get into whats going on currently but i wish it returned back to that funky, raw, original hiphop flavour.
SMV Who are your favorite DJs to watch right now? Whos hot?
IMPACT Shiftee from the US, he killed it at the worlds. Same as Coma from Japan and Switch from the UK. Kireek (Hi and Yasa) from Japan and all the french dj's in Traumateam.
SMV Who are the DJs you look up 2 past n present?
IMPACT Grandwizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, Joe Cooley, Jazzy Jeff. Cash Money, Aladdin, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, The Allies, Slyce, Swift Rock, Scratch Perverts, Troubl, Rafik, Ie.Merg, Netik, too many to write.
SMV Aite now... Steiny Pures or Coronas?
IMPACT Hmmm decisions, both haha!
SMV Allies or Perverts?
IMPACT The muthafuckin Allies.
SMV Chiefs or Crusaders?
IMPACT Crusaders.
SMV FAIL!
SMV DMC or IDAs?
IMPACT I've done the DMC's a couple of times now so i'd have to say the IDA's because I wanna bring that shit home to the H from Australia.
SMV Shot uso all the best for the future.... HTOWN!
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