What the hell happened last week between
DJ Sneak and
Tommie Sunshine
on Twitter? Within the blink of a tweet the two DJs squared off and
threw down on the social media network in a heated exchange. And it got
very
personal. Those who followers Sunshine know that he speaks his mind on a
host of issues in addition to music (drugs, politics, life). Regular
readers of
Big Shot will remember that in March, Sneak, the self-described House Gangster, got into a bitter
Twitter feud with Swedish House Mafia’s Steve Angello
over comments he made about the act in an interview. “If you are going
to do pre-recorded sets then call yourself a live act or a performer,
leave the DJing to real DJs,” an unapologetic
Sneak told us.
“There are many DJs out there that can rock a crowd and do what they
have to without faking it.” It seems that both jocks’ opinions clashed
in a perfect storm. But what instigated the virtual brawl on November
12?
On November 13,
Big Shot contacted Sneak and Sunshine to get
their side about what caused the war of tweets. Dan Ross of X-Mix
Productions, Sneak’s management company, said a comment would be
forthcoming but none appeared (we followed up three times and didn’t
receive a reply). Tommie Sunshine, however, told us his side of the
story.
Tommie Sunshine: “This [incident] seems petty but maybe there is something bigger to learn here.”
“[I was] enjoying the endless irony of
RichieHawtin‘s
CNTRL_EDM feed as he was one of the first producers with a publicist and an ‘act.’ It set off a
kid in Canada who then tweeted to Richie thus starting chaos. He then brought up Sneak in which I replied:
“I have had it with people talking about the good ‘ol days. I have
always had the utmost respect for DJ Sneak and his illustrious career.
He made many classic Chicago house tracks that have endured the ages.
That being said, I always am disappointed when he complains about the
state of our music. He has had a very amazing career in which he’s only
ever done what he wants to do and the industry has let him. Why would
someone like that have anything to complain about? It’s sad to hear
legends complain about what is coming next. The kids rule the world.
Without them, we don’t have careers. The whole vibe of this music has
been taken back to the feel of the rave days in the early ’90s some 20
years ago. I’m thankful for that and am enjoying it all over again with
the biggest smile on my face.”
Sneak then fired off a series of replies. Here are a few:
During the virtual fracas, a fan of both DJs pleaded for calm but received a Twitter smackdown from Sneak.
Later on, Sunshine took to Twitter to defend himself:
Though Sunshine has seemingly maintained nothing but respect for
Sneak’s career in his tweets, the tussle opened up an old wound:
Sunshine, who is now sober, accused Sneak of blowing pot smoke in his
face after crashing his DJ set in L.A.
In spite of the brouhaha, both jocks with Chicago roots are carrying
on. Sneak just played a show in São Paulo and remains active on Twitter.
Sunshine released his
Growth EP on November 15 and says his recent gig at EDC Orlando (
where his DJ bag was stolen) was amazing (“It was tremendous. These kids were having the times of their lives.”)
With a few days perspective from the scuffle with Sneak, Sunshine
seems now be in a pragmatic frame of mind about the feud. “This
[incident] seems petty but maybe there is something bigger to learn here
about us moving forward and the growing pains of it all.”
Credit : BigShot
DJ Sneak has criticised Armand Van Helden (pictured) after they appeared on the same bill in Miami.
