ChiStepper’s assertion that Mellow Khris might be responsible for the World’s Largest Steppers Contest running late didn’t sit well with the #1 Steppers DJ in country. Mellow Khris called me after reading the article to discuss the roll of the DJ in Steppers competitions, and where he feels the production went wrong.

Addressing his arrival time, Khris says, “I was never given a time to arrive at the World’s Largest Steppers Competition. At 6 o’clock I was finishing up a mix at my house. I got to the contest a little bit before 8pm and the first person that I saw was Pete Frazier. I set up in the DJ booth and I spent my first record at 8:05pm. No one asked me to do anything. I got on the mic and asked all of the contestants to bring me their music and all I got was 4 or 5 cds. I played an entire hour without Pete asking me to do anything. At around 9pm I see this long line of contestants trying to give me their music.”

Khris says that past competitions should have given Pete a prototype for the way in which music should be handled. Khris explains, “You don’t put all of that pressure on the DJ at the last minute. The contestants should have handed in their music a week in advance. Those who didn’t have their music in should have been forced to allow the DJ’s to select their songs. That would helped the contest flow along much faster."

In post competition conversations, both Mellow Khris and DJ Steve Breeze share the idea of the DJ picking the music. With a steppers mix all of the music is blended together and the crowd doesn’t get a chance to react when a jam is played. In previous contest years, when a jam is played it was common to hear the crowd let out their “ohhs” and “ahhs.” With a blend however, the contestants don't get a chance to hear the songs drop.

Mellow Khris apologizes to anybody who thinks he might be in some way responsible for the lateness of the contest, but he did want to deliver the facts from his end of the spectrum. On a different note, the contestants also share a responsibility. A number of contestants waited until the last minute to have their music completed and many didn’t arrive at the contest venue until well past 8pm. For that, neither Pete or Mellow Khris is at fault.

One thing is certain; the issue of contestant’s music will be solved next year. There are a number of potential options to rectify the music situation and I’m sure that Pete will select one of them.

Vote Result

Score: 7.0, Votes: 1