If you've been following me, you may remember I came 2nd in a DJ battle in the metaverse last year (Beat Trekkers by Meta Trekkers). Well, I am back in the final again this year. However, this year's series came with a twist - the DJs were paired up randomly and have been competing as a team.
Our team is called 88 Miles Per Hour and consists of me and Phuture Music from Russia. We named the team after Back to the future, on the previso that once we reached 88 miles per hour, you would see some serious sh!t. And so far, the competition has seen us collaborate in all kinds of ways and also introduce AI rappers, beatboxing, guitar and rapping into the mix. I love it because this competition gives you a creative platform to take DJing in whatever direction you want - there are no limits on what you can do so innovation is critical.
There are 3 rounds in the final as there are 3 finalists and it will be winner takes all. The 2 rounds that we are in are taking place at midnight (UK time) on the 16th and 30th August. Each DJ team has a 30 minute set and then everyone goes to the Meta Trekkers club house to vote for the team they enjoyed the most. This is crucial as the team with the most votes over the 3 rounds wins.
If you’d like to come and watch, there are a few things you need to do. It’s simple enough so don’t worry.
1. Get a crypto wallet.
I recommend getting the coinbase wallet on your phone as it syncs nicely with Decentraland and acts as your passport when you go back in. Just go to the app store and search for “Coinbase Wallet” (not "Coinbase"). Open it up and set it all up with the onscreen instructions. Don't worry, you don't need to link any personal documentation or financial information to get the wallet ready - you also don't need to put any money on it.
If you don't want to use Coinbase Wallet, you can use ‘Metamask’, which is a Chrome broswer extension. Just go to https://metamask.io/ and click ‘download for Chrome’. Follow the instructions to install and setup the wallet (5 minutes).
2. Go to www.decentraland.org.
Choose 'open in browser'. Then select 'Play using your wallet'. Sync up your wallet on the main screen by scanning the QR code from within the Coinbase Wallet app. Wait a couple of seconds and a dialogue box will appear. Select 'sign' and you should be directed into Decentraland.
If you chose to use a MetaMask wallet with the Chrome extension, a dialogue box will appear on screen and you just need to login and it'll take you through to Decentraland.
3. Build your avatar.
It’ll be pretty limited at first as you won’t have bought anything extra. That’s cool though - you don’t need to buy anything to take part! You'll be able to choose their skin colour, their hair do, their facial features, clothes, basic accessories, etc. When this is done, you just need to put in your email and it will save your account. From there, you will be transported into the spawning site in Decentraland.
When you land in Decentraland, there is a short tutorial to help you get to grips with the interface. It is not complex but a few things...
- Moving is done using the up, down, left and right keys. Tap the space bar to jump.
- Use your mouse to look around. You need to click your mouse to activate this and then hit the ESC key, if you want to use your mouse to navigate to some of the menus, chat, etc
- There is a chat functionality and other functionality in the bottom left of the screen. Navigate there with your mouse to see what you can do
You can skip all of this by jumping to a location of your choice (below)
4. Navigate to the venue
Once in, click the top right (the image of your avatar) to bring up a menu and navigate to the map (it is across the top of the screen). Then you just need to find the right coordinates for the battles. The battle on the 30th August is at 88,77. Click on the correct co-ordinates to jump there.
This can also be done by navigating to the chat function (one of the buttons on the bottom left of the screen) and typing in the location of the battle (for the 30th August it is 88,77). This will then appear as a link in the chat window that you can click on to be jumped there.
5. Find the stage and start dancing
Find the stage and start to dance! Decentraland has “emotes”, which are dance moves your avatar can do. You can buy more and lots of people design their own and give them away. Activating these is done using the menus by the chat functionality in the bottom left of the screen.
6. Make sure you vote for 88mph!
The actual battle has each DJ doing a 30 minute set. There are no rules on this set - it’s just whatever the DJs think the crowd will like as ultimately, once the 2 sets have been played, all the participants can transport to the Metatrekkers Clubhouse (-69,-139). and cast a vote for their favourite DJ. Please vote for us. The winner is the team with the most votes so every vote counts.
The journey so far...
Below are our shows from the first round, the semi final and the first leg of the final. You can expect turntablism, live performances, rapping, beatboxing and even AI routines to give it that future focus and push the boundaries.