You have to get the DJ Dusk Root Down Sound Clash DVD

Since I'm late discovering Mochilla's work, I know there are others who don't know about this duo so I thought it was only right to mention the ill "DJ Dusk's Root Down Soundclash" DVD.

You've probably heard of The Rootdown club in Los Angeles which was founded by Music Man Miles of Breakestra fame which regularly hosted funky parties. Back in 2001, a few years before I moved to the city, The Rootdown put on the first of a three-series DJ battle: Madlib vs. Cut Chemist. The second battle had Will.I.Am vs. Thes One, with Oh No vs. Exile in the finale. Luckily Mochilla were there to put these historic hip hop moments to video and now the DVD is available to buy here.

Read a great interview about the Soundclash here at the awesome LA Record magazine as well as the idea of documentation and how the Smithonian Museum should acquire the archives of certain hip hop DJs!

"In 2001 Los Angeles club, The Root Down put on their first of a three part series called “Sound Clash”. It featured Madlib and Cut Chemist going head to head, beat for beat for respect in front of a packed club. Each of the tracks had never been released. Each of the three rounds saw the excitement rise. The last round unleashed a partisan celebration from the captivated crowd. It was a beautiful underground hip hop moment.

Mochilla founders, Coleman and B+, went to the first round with their Sony PC100 single chip prosumer cameras with intentions of trying out their, then, new toys. “It wasn’t until afterwards that we put both cameras on the floor, rewound the tapes and played them in sync that we realized we might have something.”

Approximately a year later, the Root Down organized the second battle. Round Two featured Will. I. Am and Thes One. Both Mochilla founders duly attended with the aforementioned cameras and caught the entire nights proceedings again. The drama and controversy of Round Two with huge aesthetic differences on display as well as the theatrics of clothes being taken off and ludicrous names made the night a talking point in Los Angeles to this day in beatmaker circles. And Will I Am wasn’t a multi-platinum artist yet!

The last battle featured Oh No and Exile in 2003. With a relatively dignified display by the youngest pairing of the three, they closed the series with good music and much respect. 

Mochilla never intended to release this DVD. However, since the tragic passing of DJ Dusk they felt it was important to honor his legacy and share his gifts. This is for him, no edits, no overdubs, no interruptions just raw hip hop at its most exciting, vital and real. " Mochilla