"Ten years, two turntables, one mixer." Herein lies the heart of a Montreal-bred DJ's life as the youngest world champion record mixer.
"Sunglasses is a Must" is a documentary feature that compiles home video footage of DJ A-Trak as he pushes his way into the hip-hop limelight. His homemade documentary concoction has few redeeming qualities, as it presents a combination of fantastic mixing skills and extra footage in the vein of "Jackass" that is disjointed and frankly unfunny.
A-Trak, of course, gets points for his talents, and denying his place as a world record title-holder is impossible. The documentary follows his rise to power as a relevant hip-hop phenomenon. At 13, A-Trak (born Alain Macklovitch) uses Bar Mitzvah money to buy his first turntable and mixer. In two years, after much practice in his home basement, he wins the world title and is on the fast track to underground hip-hop stardom.
It is a fascinating story that interweaves special guest appearances from the likes of Kanye West and Q-bert. As his profile in the hip-hop world strengthens, A-Trak forms The Allies with his friend, DJ Craze. The Allies dominated the late '90s battle scene. Eventually, West spots A-Trak in England, and in 2004, takes him on tour as his personal DJ. Following the release of 2005's "Late Registration," West again chooses A-Trak to tour and serve as his main DJ. From his humble beginnings in 1995, A-Trak has come a long way. His life as a DJ has been an impressive one.
Alas, DJ A-Trak's remarkable skills in mixing do not translate into filmmaking ability. The story is loosely connected, and while it follows his rise to stardom in chronological order, it is disjointed and clich?. The home video footage gives it an assuredly cheap feeling, which could work if the footage had any relevance. He includes footage of "Jackass" antics with other DJ friends that comes off as irrelevant and stupid.
A-Trak sits in a bathrobe to introduce each of the three chapters of the movie (do not be deceived; this is a full-length feature film). It is tricks like this that make the movie more of an inside joke than a comedic and interesting portrayal of a pertinent life. While A-Trak may have incited some laughter in his best buds, those on the outside are not amused.
To be fair, taking a low-low-budget film and expecting it to impress with its story of a hip-hop mixer's slow rise to fame is harsh. The competitions and the spinning are well covered, watching the performances is redeeming. A-Trak is undeniably the world champion. He made a film about himself, which he knows is silly. That's the point, really.
While, as a film, "Sunglasses is a Must" is no masterpiece, the story it tells is nonetheless engaging. A-Trak is a bona fide talent and the inner workings of the underground battle scene are unknown and exhilarating. To say that the film is a worthy purchase is a lie, but getting to know A-Trak is worth the time.
