"If a guy wants to be a DJ, he's already a dreamer." - DJ Max

Ten DJs from Sao Paulo's "periferia", or poor neighborhoods in the outskirts of Brazil's largest city, compete for the first prize at the Hip Hop DJ championship, one of the most important DJ competitions in Latin America.

Every year young, talented DJs from Sao Paulo dream of competing at Hip Hop DJ, a DJ tournament founded in 1997 by Hip Hop artist Xis and legendary DJ KL Jay from the Brazilian group Racionais MC's. Drawing inspiration from the most diverse musical genres, these passionate DJs mix samba with sertanejo, American funk with pop music, and even Brazilian music superstar Roberto Carlos' songs with yoga records.

Eager to launch a successful music career that would improve their living conditions, these young artists polish their skills at night and on weekends, practicing at home or mixing at local clubs and parties. However, their DJ skills are not in high demand and these young men must work during the day to support their families. A few lucky ones have a day job they like, but most of them struggle to find employment, working odd jobs or not working at all.

Winner of the Audience Award at the In-Edit Brazil Music Documentary Festival, ME, THE VINYL AND THE REST OF THE WORLD mixes footage of live DJ performances, interviews with DJ Basim, DJ Buiú, DJ Damente, DJ Davi, DJ Erick Jay, DJ Max, DJ Pow, DJ Pudim, DJ RM, and DJ Sleep, as well as short interviews with past champions DJ Hadji, DJ Tano, and DJ Cia and the founders of the tournament, Xis and KL Jay.

ME, THE VINYL AND THE REST OF THE WORLD is part of the H2ONewsreel series, a film series curated by NYU Hip-Hop Education Center's Founding Director Martha Diaz.