Author Archives: Rob Sickelco

A California judge has ordered Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to pay nearly $5 million in damages over similarities between “Blurred Lines” and Marvin Gaye‘s “Got To Give It Up.”

In addition, Gaye’s estate will also receive 50 percent of future songwriting and publishing royalties from the 2013 hit.

The ruling ends a landmark five-year legal battle in which Gaye’s family alleged that the artists were guilty of copyright infringement. The pair filed for an appeal in 2015 after a jury ordered them to pay $7.4 million in damages, later reduced to $5.3 million.

Related: Watch N.O.R.E.’s ‘Uno Más’ Video Feat. Pharrell Williams

Battle Avenue director Antriks is back with a new episode of DJcityTV’s Fresh Press. This time around, he reviews DJ Woody‘s vintage-style scratch record, Scratch Sounds No. 1.

Woody worked with a team of musicians to produce the scratch sentences on the record, which were recorded live. It was released through his label, Woodwurk Records, and is available on both 12-inch and seven-inch vinyl.

Watch Antriks’ review above.

Related: Antriks Reviews Dusty Donuts’ Seven-Inch Vinyl

Poland’s DJ Keeper and France’s DJ Saligo have advanced to the final round of the 2018 IDA World Online Scratch Battle. They’re up against the defending champion, DJ Pan Jaras.

The winner will be announced at the IDA World DJ Championships in Kraków, Poland on Saturday, Dec. 8. The battle will be streamed live on DJcity’s Facebook page.

Watch their final routines below, which use DJ Odilon’s “Imma Beat You” instrumental.

Related: 2017 IDA World Online Scratch Battle: Final Routines

San Francisco-based producer DECAP recently broke down the making of his and Damianito‘s track “BRAZIL.”

The behind-the-scenes look took place in a workshop at the 2018 Music Expo in San Francisco. DECAP explained how they made the different elements of the track, using both Ableton Live and FL Studio.

The 34-year-old beatmaker has worked with artists like Joyner Lucas, Talib Kweli, and more. He is also the creator of the popular sample pack series Drums That Knock.

Watch the video above and download “BRAZIL” here.

Related: Watch Boi-1da and Jahaan Sweet Explain How They Produced Eminem’s ‘Lucky You’ Feat. Joyner Lucas

Nicki Minaj has released a video for her single “Good Form” featuring Lil Wayne. The track was produced by Mike Will Made It and Pluss, and appears on Minaj’s latest album Queen.

The NSFW visual sees the rappers performing alongside a crew of dancers. Minaj and Wayne’s former Young Money labelmate Tyga also makes an appearance.

Watch the video above and download “Good Form” on DJcity.

Related: Watch Lil Wayne’s ‘Uproar’ Video

Legendary producer Timbaland recently stopped by the Drink Champs podcast for an interview.

The Grammy award-winner has worked with superstars like Beyonce, Jay Z, and Justin Timberlake, among others. During the interview, Timbaland talked about getting his start as a DJ, the collaborations that defined his career, and more.

On how he got his start in music:

“I was beatboxing… [but] my main passion back then was DJing. And how I got into making beats is… let me try to make a beat so I can blend my records too… so I just took what I had, and I was passionate about sounds. I love noises.”

On first finding success in the industry:

“We weren’t thinking like, you know, ‘this is a hit,’ we’re thinking ‘we’re getting recognized… our passion is getting looked at, it’s not taken for granted…’ because we put in a lot of work, and our work was accepted.”

On working with Dr. Dre, and his influence on hip-hop’s sound:

“Dr. Dre. was the God of rap… he made rap sound clean, he made it sound so clean… I wanted to know like ‘yo how do you mix that drum, how do you get them drums to sound like [that]?’”

Watch the interview above.

Related: Watch: Marley Marl Talks Producing Electronic Music, Current State of Hip-Hop

Kodak Black has dropped a video for his hit song “ZEZE” featuring Travis Scott and Offset. The track peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was the fourth most-downloaded song of October on DJcity.

The visual, directed by Scott, takes a comical look at low-budget music video production. The rappers perform in front of a green screen as the set gets increasingly chaotic.

Watch the video above and download the track on DJcity.

Related: Watch Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars, and Kodak Black’s ‘Wake Up in the Sky’ Video

Tall Boys perform at Alta House in Hermosa Beach, California.

DJcity’s in-house production team the Tall Boys have dropped an uptempo mix for the DJcity Podcast. The half-hour mix is full of high-energy house and pop remixes, including the duo’s own bootlegs and DJcity exclusives.

Tracklist:

1. Silk City & Dua Lipa – Electricity – Tall Boys One Kiss Bootleg
2. Mallada vs Lil Pump – Flute – Tall Boys Gucci Gang VIP
3. Justin Timberlake – Sexy Back – Scissors Remix
4. Chic – Le Freak – Oliver Heldens Remix
5. Kaskade, BROHUG, & Mr. Tape ft. Madge – Fun
6. The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army – Tom Hall Elbows Bootleg
7. Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani – Done For Me – Charlie Lane Remix
8. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood – Tall Boys Old Days Bootleg
9. Marshmello ft. Bastille – Happier – Kahikko Remix
10. FISHER – Losing It
11. Otto Knows – Million Voices – Nelsaan Remix
12. Junior J – Back In Your Heart
13. Loud Luxury ft. brando – Body
14. Paul Johnson – Get Get Down – William Matthew Remix
15. JOYRYDE & Skrillex – AGEN WIDA
16. Valentino Khan – Lick It
17. Cazztek ft. Kiyoshi – If You Really Wanna
18. Maroon 5 – Girls Like You – Ship Wrek Remix
19. Tiesto & Dzeko ft. Preme & Post Malone – Jackie Chan – Trentino Remix
20. Benny Blanco & Calvin Harris – I Found You – Tall Boys Horns Bootleg

Follow the Tall Boys on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, and Twitter.

Related: J Rythm Delivers ‘DJcity Podcast’ Mix

Sonny Kraft, a turntablist/producer from Budapest, Hungary, delivers a beat juggling routine for DJcityTV’s Bedroom Sessions. In the video, Kraft flips his remix of Michael Jackson‘s “Smooth Criminal.”

Kraft began making beats in 1999, and got into DJing shortly after. Since then he has become a three-time DMC Hungary champion. He also teaches at Karkosoc Klubja, a monthly scratching workshop in Budapest.

Watch above.

Follow Sonny Kraft on Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud.

Got what it takes to be featured on the next “Bedroom Sessions” episode? Send a sample video to brs@djcity.com.

Related: Watch Doc Trashz’s ‘Bedroom Sessions’ Routine

DJ Delta has dropped a creative routine flipping Dave Brubeck’s jazz classic, “Take Five.” The former Red Bull Music 3Style Italy champion recreates the track by scratching and looping four different instruments.

“Take Five” was released in 1959 and eventually became the highest selling jazz single of all time. It has been covered and sampled by dozens of artists across genres.

Watch Delta’s routine above.

Related: Watch DJ Delta’s Showcase Set From the Red Bull Music 3Style IX Italy Finals