Under the direction of Christie Z-Pabon, the new DMC events coordinator, the 1998 West Coast DMC was (for the first time in a long time) organized.

This was the year Shortkut, the 1994 West Coast champion and Skratch Piklz/Beat Junkies member, came back into the spotlight on the battle stage. Sure, this was intimidating, but Swift Rock and Streak decided to play their cards anyway.

Streak made it into the finals and Swift Rock turned out a crowd-bobbing performance that won him second place and the chance to compete in the US Finals later in the year alongside Shortkut.