The only thing that should ultimately matter when playing for a battle is the energy the music provides for the dancers. A battle is much different from getting down in a cypher, you are there to prove to the judges that you are the better dancer/crew at that very moment. Something uptempo, strong, and hype is going to fuel the dancers to go off and do what they do.
Whatever the DJ plays is pretty much what's going to go. Not to mean this in a "oh I'm the DJ you dance to what I play" way, but more so in the fact that you (a dancer) don't exactly get to choose your music to battle to. And in many cases, bboys are FORCED to dance to some half-assed track(s). Now with the dancer not having much of a choice, they pretty much have to do with what they got. And that's not fair. You are playing for them. They are not dancing for you. Put some effort into finding music that will amp them up to bring out the best in themselves.
When I discover records, I decide whether I would play it in a battle or a cypher. For myself, when it comes to playing jams those are the two categories it comes down to. That's more of a personal preference. But to me, there are some songs that should never be played in battles (though I would and do play some "battle" songs during cyphers), but I would play them all day during cyphers. People are getting away with this constantly.
For example, here is a final battle I spun the other day, now obviously with a final battle you want to make it hype as %^*@! This should really be the mentality for all battles, but you catch my drift. People need to wake up and realize that DJing is a lot more involved than just playing whatever. I constantly go back and forth before I spin a jam on what I would want to play for the battles to make sure whatever it is I end up playing, its going to create that spark..
I do the same thing. I've noticed that a lot of other breaks DJ's who are also dancers tend to appreciate the difference between Battle tracks and cypher tracks much more so than those that simply know good breaks. It's one thing to recognize a good break, but it's something totally different to know the right time to use that break. I think that knowledge really only comes either when you're a dancer yourself or you make an effort to connect with the dancers in your scene. I've seen way too many DJ's out there take the attitude of "This is dope. I know it's dope. So you should enjoy dancing to it and if you don't, well, you're ignorant." The best breaks djs out there have a conversation with the dancers in their scene both in the literal sense and in the sense that they pay attention at jams and cater their set to how the b-boys are reacting to the music.
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