There are very few success stories of weekday-themed club nights actually being successful in Austin. But Thursday Uprock at Texture has been consistently attracting Austin's hungry hip-hop heads since its maiden voyage with DJ Z-Trip last November. While most people might sigh and shrug their shoulders at yet another club night throwing hip-hop on the decks, Thursday Uprock has dedicated itself to putting the focus on the DJ and the hip-hop culture. In other words do not come to Thursday Uprock if you want to hear Jay-Z's "Big Pimping," or "Break You Neck" by Busta Rhymes yet another wearisome time. You won't hear completely ghetto "screw" music but you won't hear frat-hop either. What you will hear are DJs being creative within the hip-hop discipline playing both widely recognized tracks and underground installments.
So in the character of Thursday Uprock, special guest Deejay P will be commanding the vinyl tonight. He became a DMC (Disco Mixing Club) championship finalist in 1999. Now what that should tell you is that he is quick on the switch and scratches like a murderous tabby. The DMC championship is like the Super Bowl combined with Mortal Kombat for turntablists and the trash talking of a WWF match. In fact, at the DMC Championship '99 Deejay P could be seen mouthing the words "get a job" to the other competitors while he mixed Run DMC's "It's Like That" with Bruce Hornsby's "That's the Way It Is." How Deejay P can mix Run DMC with Bruce Hornsby and make it sound good is only one example of the turntablist's persona.
While Deejay P is undoubtedly a hip-hop DJ, he is not bound by any genre to keep a party going. He creates a musical collage driven by a hard beat as people stare and wonder how it's happening right in front of them. His scratching skills are second to none but he doesn't fall into the trap of making scratches and beat juggling his entire show. Some turntablists are impressive enough in the first 10 minutes by astonishing the crowd with the speed of their hands but forget that their set still has to flow and make musical sense. The X-ecutioners are very impressive for the first 10 to 15 minutes of their show but you can only take impressive scratching for so long before you wish they would let go of the record and have a discernible beat. Deejay P delivers the complete package with precise scratching, imaginative mixes, and a good sense for the overall performance. Tonight should be a credit to what Thursday Uprock is trying to create a dynamic range of music with a block-party feel.
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