This year Rumble in the Jungle is looking to have a more consistent cartel of judges, with a core group of three Judges covering the events.

The three core judges are:

• B-Line
• JMC
• Solid State

Due to costs and time constraints, it is impossible to have all judges travel to all events, but we feel we have a good mix of experience and talent judging at each event.

Judging Schedule

Auckland

B-Line
D-Rave
Static

Dunedin

Solid State
JMC
Jayji

Wellington

Solid State
JMC
B-Line

Christchurch

Solid State
JMC
B-Line

Solid State

Has judged every Rumble in the Jungle final since the event was taken over by Bassdrop in 2004, along with every Christchurch Regional event ever held.
A long standing citizen of the DnB scene in Christchurch, Solid State has a massive knowledge of Jungle and Drum and Bass. The genres that he holds close to his heart are Jungle and funky tech. Expect State to be up to the decks watching every fader cut and eq tweak as he likes to see everything the DJs do down to the final detail.

B-Line

Returning back from a 2 year stint in London, B-Line is welcomed back into the fold to once again judge Rumble in the Jungle. Having judged two Rumble Finals and a Wellington and Auckland regional, she is well suited to be one of the core judges for the 2009 competition. B-Line describes her style as full spectrum, but loves the heavier beats and her philosophy in mixing is to have fun, and smash it.

"I'll be looking for technical skills and mixing ability, how the DJ reads and plays the crowd, and how they bring it all together to entertain and bring the vibe! I'll also be looking for an understanding of the music and varied aspects of the genre, after all, DnB is more than one sound and to be the best you need to know what it is you're the best of!"

JMC

Bringing youth and exuberance to the judging table, JMC is the least experienced in terms of judging, but having become the 2007 national champion, he is very experienced in knowing what it takes to win the competition. Currently working at Samurai Store in Wellington, JMC is up to date with all the latest releases and currently plays out at many bass frontiers gigs. His mixing style is very tight, with lots of double drops that seem to eventuate from nothing, and plays tunes from Dillinja to Calibre.

Jayji

Jayji is a Dunedin local who won the Dunedin heat in 2007 and judged the regionals in 2008. His comments on the competition are;

"RITJ is competition for the top 'Drum & Bass' DJ. Not the top Gash, Party or X Sub Genre DJ. Firstly I look the ability to take the listener on a journey through all different styles (it's all Drum & Bass after all) with combos that work musically, have a good flow of energy & aren't all obvious choices.

Secondly I look for contestants that recognise RITJ is a battle. You aren't alone in your room anymore & performances should reflect this. I’ll choose someone who is leaping around the stage putting on a show but is slightly out on their beat matching over someone that is bullet tight, head down & boring any day. Bring the battle heat!"

Static

Static has unfinished business in Rumble in the Jungle, but this year he’s hanging up the turntables to help out in the judging desk. Having come agonisingly close to winning the comp 2 years in a row, having finished 2nd at the grand final twice, static knows both what it takes to win, and what it’s like to lose. With this experience under his belt, as well as his DJ experience with the Mash Up Mafia crew, Static will be a worth judge for the Auckland competitors.

D-Rave

Having run Subtronix for 10 years, and being involved in promoting some of the biggest DJs in Drum and Bass, D-Rave has seen it all. Coming from the promoters perspective, D-Rave will give a critical eye that other DJs don’t posses and will add plenty of balance to the Auckland judges.