TJ Martinez will be representing Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker at the national Belikin Belize DJ competition set for March 22nd in Dangriga Town, Stann Creek District. TJ, who goes by the stage name DJ Matrix, won the opportunity to participate in this event after competing in the districts/caye preliminaries held on Saturday, March 2nd in San Pedro Town. DJ Matrix competed against four other island DJs (DJ Shifta, DJ Sherman, DJ Fly, and DJ Garcia) emerging victorious after five rounds of intense musical mixing. The island DJ is now preparing to compete against the best DJs in the country at the finals where the grand winner will walk away with a prize of $3,000.
Held inside Fidos Courtyard and Restaurant and hosted by DJ Dalla, the event started shortly after 7PM. Tasked with the responsibilities of judging the event were Omar Arzu from Cloud Nine, Fada Stone, and DJ Odyssey. They looked at the participants’ knowledge of music, blending and beat matching, transitioning music, scratching technique, looping, use of the microphone and knowledge of equipment used. Judges could award each participant with up to 90 points in each round.
DJ Dalla explained to the competitors that they had five minutes to play hits in different genres. In the first round, the competitors were challenged to play Bruk down, Parranda and Punta music. DJ Matrix and DJ Shifta did very well in this round. The second round challenged the DJs to impress the judges by playing selections in Afro-pop, Latin, and Soca.
In the third round, DJ Garcia and Shifta drew loud cheers from the crowd as more people flocked to Fidos, while the DJs spun hip-hop, pop, and electronic dance music tracks. In the fourth round, DJ Fly and DJ Sherman upped their game as they played Dancehall, Reggaeton, and Reggae. The competition became very intense with DJ Shifta, DJ Matrix and DJ Garcia trying to overcome each other. At the beginning of the fourth round, the DJs were informed that only two participants would advance to the fifth and final round. Before selecting the last two DJs for the final round, 20 points were awarded to DJ Garcia as the people’s choice in rounds three and four. However, these additional points were not enough, and DJ Matrix and DJ Shifta were the two participants with the highest scores, and thus they advanced to the final round.
In the championship round, the audience would be the judge, and each DJ was challenged to briefly play one song that would captivate the crowd. The tune for tune segment saw DJs go head to head with DJ Shifta hitting a brief tune that begged DJ Matrix to answer. When he spun his track, the crowd went wild, earning him the win in the first song. DJ Shifta came harder with the second song, winning that around and tying scores with DJ Matrix. But the remaining points for the remaining songs were to those played by DJ Matrix, earning him the first place. DJ Shifta congratulated his opponent and settled for second place.
At the end of the event, all participants were commended and thanked for their performance during the competition. The competition had been carried out nationwide in search of the best DJs who will be representing their hometown at the national championship in Dangriga Town.
Organizers sends out A BIG thank you to the sponsors: Office of the Music Ambassador- Shyne Barrow, Government of Belize, The San Pedro Town Council, Maya Island Air, Diginet, Deputy Prime Minister, Prudential, National Institute of Culture and History, Honourable Manuel Heredia Jr., and everyone else who contributed in one way or another for another successful event
The San Pedro Sun wishes DJ Matrix the best at the national competition.
