DJ Kuttin Kandi’s Top 10 Body Trick Routines

For this week’s Top 10 Tuesday we have none other than DJ Kuttin Kandi! There’s a good chance you’ve seen her in old DMC, ITF and Tableturns videos, but for those who don’t know, Kuttin Kandi is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished female DJ’s in the world. She is a member of the legendary 5th Platoon DJ Crew, and Founder and DJ for the all female Hip-Hop group Anomolies. She’s the also first and only female DJ to make the DMC USA Finals. She put together this Top 10 of her most memorable body tricks for us, enjoy!

In today’s DJ competition, I see body trick routines but not with the classic style of funkiness and originality they once had. Body tricks in itself are a skillset, it has it’s own technicality to it that takes precision, timing, and a whole lot of practice. So much props goes to the DJ’s who can be original with them and who can do them really clean. I miss the battle days that were real raw and showcased this rare artform of body-tricks. They brought entertainment and it brought a different kind of funk to a battle which I feel is still very much needed in today’s battles.

I have so many favorite DJ’s that I could list and so many favorite/memorable body tricks routines that I’ve seen DJ’s do over the years. But I can’t list them all. I decided to list not necessarily my favorite but memorable Body Trick routines that I’ve seen/watched. Body tricks which would include flashes/speed, pause tricks, arm cross-overs, under the leg, behind the back, spins, etc..etc..etc…

Here are just a few of my memorable body trick routines…

1) GrandMaster Roc Raida, period –

GM Roc Raida is one of my all-time favorite DJ’s period. He was not only great because of his body tricks but great because he also did them as he beat juggled. He had amazing spins, under the leg fader movements, behind the back on the fader and etc. What made GM Roc Raida so relevant was the fact that he was able to have the classic style of body tricks and pause tricks while he continuously kept up-to-date with current juggles and speed. He was one of the only few battle DJ’s/Turntablists that did all of his body tricks clean, many times he was flawless and he was also up to speed. I can list almost every one of his body trick routines as my favorite from Ninja of Rap to Sucker MC’s to “Good Times” his “Ultra” pause tricks, and his sneaker routine with ED Og “Got to Have It”. But probably one of my favorite routines that had me become a fan was his “Going Back To Cali” body tricks with spins and reverses in the 1991 World Supremacy Battles. You can see it in this video (along with his other famed body trick routines) when he was competing against Grandmaster DJ Supreme (who also had a dope set). This battle footage is a rarity and if this was a Top Ten list of my favorite head to head DJ Battles this battle would definitely be listed as one of my favorite battles of all time:

2) DJ Scratch of EPMD –

If you’ve never seen DJ Scratch live then you’re missing out. He is definitely one of the most entertaining DJ’s out there who got real skills and a whole lot of creative body tricks and routines for his show sets. One of my favorite tricks of his are his “Pants are sagging routine” and his “Friday the 13th” routine where he wears the Jason mask. But definitely catching his shows are a treat and real live, along with other body tricks and routines that are always pretty clever and entertaining.

3) DJ Craze –

Hopefully you really know your DJ history and know about DJ Craze when he was in DMC back in 1994 before he won the DMC World Championships 3x in a row. If you did catch him in 1994 then you knew about his famous “Neighborhood Spiderman” routine where he did his classic body trick of jumping on the turntables set with is spidey mask on… I was a fan long before he took the world championships.

4) Pam the Funktress –

Of course, I have to list my DJ sisters up on here! Not only is she like fam to me but she is legendary. She’s a legendary battle DJ and legendary DJ for the Coup. Long before I was on DMC, Pam was right there paving the way for all of us women. So, I got to give it up for Pam in this 1994 DMC where she showcased some awesome body tricks with her mouth and her historical boob tapping/body trick.

5) Mista Sinista –

I love body tricks but I love it best when it’s done clean and with beat juggles as you break it down. And of course one of the funkiest beat jugglers who can really break down a song with body tricks is none other than Mista Sinista. I still love watching his DMC 1995 USA set filled with spins, behind the back, shoulder to fader, pause tricks and etc.. it also includes his SWAT routine which is also one of my favorite routines of his.

6) DJ David –

Who can forget DJ David DMC World Champ 1990 & 1991? He had quick flashes/speed with his backspins/loops and body tricks. He’s not my favorite DMC Champion but I couldn’t forget to list this entertaining handspin routine he pulled in 1991:

7) DJ Riz –

If you never heard of DJ Riz or MC Serch then you’ve got to dig a bit deeper into the Hip Hop archives. DJ Riz is a New York staple and when I was first coming up I’d listen to Riz’s cuts to learn how to skratch. Today, some people don’t know of Riz competing. Well, he sure did! I’m posting 2 videos of DJ Riz doing body tricks because I got excited they’re uploaded (btw thanks to Rob Swift for uploading many of the rare NMS footages). One is a footage of him competing in NMS and the other was Hip Hop at it’s finest that made it to Arsenio on television with a DJ rocking on stage… and it was DJ Riz. Again, I am not necessarily listing these videos cause it’s the best body trick routines that ever existed, I’m listing them because they’re memorable moments in DJ history. Anyhow, this footage is a blessing because you were only lucky to have caught this rarity of DJ Riz doing body tricks and to top it off on TV!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjy2O6evxR4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF-cWwVPOXw

8) Lazy K –

Many know of Lazy K as one of the Mixtape Queens but rarely does everyone know of her battle days. Yes, long before myself, DJ Symphony, DJ Pam The Funktress and today’s womyn DJ’s Lazy K was competing. Footages of her competing online are not online, and are hard to find. But I recollect her body trick routine “so suck up on these” where she grabbed her boobs. She did this routine at a few battles, one of them at the Rhythm Method DJ Battle in 1994. Definitely a memorable moment for me and had me wanting to start competing. If you ever get a chance to find this footage make sure you upload it for all to see.

9) Roli Rho –

Okay, so I had to list my 5th Platoon crew partner and mentor, the one and only DJ Roli Rho. To me, one of the best beat jugglers in the world. He does a bit of body tricks here but it’s the 900 # bodytrick/vogue-dance/pause routine that will always be memorable to me.

10) DJ Cash Money –

I had to list one of my favorite DJ’s and the one who changed DMC. There are so many great things to say about the legendary Cash Money but this footage speaks to how he was at a different level than other DJs at DMC during this time. And great to see how far body tricks has developed since Cash Money’s time of body tricks to today. Also, I couldn’t list GrandMaster Roc Raida without adding Cash Money on my list for Cash Money was a major influence especially with his original Ninja of Rap routine! Both of them rocked it but it’s always great to see the origins.

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Thanks so much to Kuttin Kandi for this awesome top 10, body tricks and showmanship are definitely under-rated in the current scene. Hope everyone enjoyed it, and for good measure here’s a video of Kuttin Kandi herself getting down at the 1998 US Finals for anyone who hasn’t seen it before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsQpp40UYB0