Mix Master Mike is the Jimi Hendrix of the turntables." - Kurt Loder (MTV) 
“The world’s greatest DJ” - USA Today

     This year’s Technics DMC World Championships on November 3rd will be special for many reasons. It is the first live final since the Pandemic, the first time DMC have ventured to American soil since Craze’s infamous victory in New York in 1999 – and it will be the evening where Mix Master Mike will join the likes of A-Trak, Cash Money and the late great Roc Raida by being awarded the most prestigious award in DJ culture – the DMC Legends Lifetime Achievement Award. 

     “DMC saved Mike’s life” admits his manager Dianne Copeland. “It gave him a platform, a purpose and a focus. There would be no Mix Master Mike and no Mike in the Beastie Boys without DMC. That’s how integral DMC has been to his career. So to be awarded the Legends Award will mean everything to him. It is going to be a very emotional night.”

     After being exposed to the deep funk crates of his uncle as a kid, DJing became a lifelong passion when he caught Herbie Hancock and Grandmixer DST performing their hit “Rockit” by chance one night while watching TV. He soon burst onto the turntable scene in 1992 when winning the DMC World Title with Qbert and DJ Apollo as the Rock Steady DJs. It was the start of a glittering career for the San Francisco born artist, giving him the confidence to successfully audition for a place in the mighty Beastie Boys. 

     “DMC has been waiting for the perfect moment to inaugurate Mike with his Legends Lifetime Achievement Award – and where better than in the city where he was born” admits DMC President Dan Prince. “Mike has ticked every box a DJ could ever wish for - from world titles, being part of one of the biggest ever hip hop bands on the planet, playing to packed out stadiums around the globe to winning a Grammy. Mike’s career is the stuff of dreams. He is a role model for every aspiring turntablist and it is an absolute honour for DMC to award the greatest accolade in DJing to him.”

     Growing up Mike would witness Jam Master Jay filling stadiums with Run DMC, soon he would be stacking arenas with Beastie Boys and more recently with the likes of Metallica and Cypress Hill.

     But at the heart of everything is that magical night in London when Mike lifted that famous DMC trophy. “DMC is quite simply the benchmark for all DJs” admits Copeland. “I have lost count of how many times I have explained to stage managers whilst on tour with these huge bands that Mike is touring with, that when he is announced it has to be the DMC title first and then his involvement with The Beastie Boys! DMC is everything to these DJs.”

     Friday November 3rd will be a night when the DJ world salutes a titan of the scene, a living legend. A boy who aimed for the stars and caught them.

Don't miss the Technics DMC World DJ Finals feat. Dilated Peoples, Mixmaster Mike, UZ, Invisibl Skratch Piklz (DJ QBert, D-Styles + Shortkut), DJ Kentaro, DJ Rena & more TBA. Hosted by Babu & DJ Rhettmatic of the World Famous Beat Junkies @ The Midway, SF (Friday, 11/3). Buy tix here: tixr.com/e/78999