rap battle
It’s a stormy night in Miami on Saturday (Oct. 12), but the atmosphere inside Factory Town was sweltering as the Red Bull Batalla USA National Final 2024 touched down. This celebrated annual event has grown to be a cultural phenomenon, bringing together 16 of the illest, most clever improvisational wordsmiths in the country — all hailing from different Latin American backgrounds — to compete for the best lyrical face-off.
Now in its final round to determine this year’s national winner, it was up to Freites, originally from Venezuela, and Venezuelan-Dominican rapper AdonysX to take the trophy. With the crowd growing thicker, and the atmosphere turning electric, each lyricist ratcheted up the intensity, spitting bars that echoed through the charged air. The spectators, gripped by each piercing line and sharp retort, were witnesses to an epic cultural clash that transcended just words.
Ultimately, AdonysX claimed the title of the best Spanish-language freestyler in the nation. The stage also featured prominent competitors including last year’s National Final runner-up, Zazowan, Miami’s Colombian sensation Nico B, seasoned Mexican rapper Jordi, New York City’s regional champion AdonYS (distinct from the national winner AdonysX), and more
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“The atmosphere of a battle can vary; it might be charged with energy or more [subdued], but either way, it remains intense,” says AdonysX, speaking a few weeks after winning the regional event in his native New York. “At every moment, the energy can [fluctuate], but overall, the environment demands a lot from you.”
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The evening was also highlighted by a performance from Akapellah, one of the best Spanish-language rappers of all time, who additionally took a seat at the judges’ table for the event alongside Reverse, Dilema, and Snow QLQ.
“The pioneer that started it all was Red Bull Batalla. It has been a launching pad for many, including myself,” Akapellah tells Billboard Español, who assumed the role of judge this year for the USA National Final. “I believe that 80% of the biggest artists in Latin hip-hop and Spanish-speaking music, we all come from battling, we all grew up watching Red Bull Batallas. It was our influence, it was our bridge to jump into the world of the music industry.”
Originally known as Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos, the stateside competition was established in 2019, though the entire franchise was created in 2005, following the success of the Eminem-starring blockbuster, 8 Mile. It’s now approaching its 17th installment, which will take place in Madrid, Spain on November 30. Every year, the international competition takes place in a different Spanish-speaking country.
“We all grew up watching those battles. For me, it’s incredible that today I am a judge after when I was a kid, the first time I tried to do it compete I was underage. I didn’t have a passport and they let me participate in the regional competition in my city at that time, but just for fun,” says the Venezuelan rap titan, who mentions he won but wasn’t able to advance to the next level due to visa constraints.
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Over the past three years, the Red Bull Batalla U.S. championship trophy has been claimed by residents of the state with notable wins from Oner and last year’s champion Reverse, who, after his victory, became a U.S. double champion — like Puerto Rican MC, Yartzi, who won in 2019 and 2020.
“The first time there was a Red Bull Batalla in the USA, it was something historic. It was the last location to be added to the battle circuit. And the inclusion of the United States, giving the opportunity to all immigrants and all Latinos in the United States, was really significant,” Yartzi tells Billboard Español. “Every year more talents, more personalities, and more MCs are added. Each year the competition becomes more intense in terms of retaining that title.”
Outside of the freestyle scene, Yartzi today leverages his highly touted lyrical skills to compose for some of the biggest names in Latin music. He’s collaborated with producers such as Jorge Miliano, DJ Blass and Major Lazer as well as reggaetón superstars like Anuel AA, Wisin y Yandel, Nicky Jam, Ozuna, Lunay, Tainy and more.
As all national finalists from the Americas and Spain turn their focus to the global stage, Akapellah also offers a reminder: “Freestyle has developed its own siginficant identity and somewhat diverged from traditional hip-hop, which is a delicate topic. There are incredibly talented artists who would benefit immensely from a broader vocabulary to enrich their rhymes,” he offers, citing the ingestion of more literature.
Echoing the broader benefits of participating in Red Bull Batalla, AdonYS emphasizing its role beyond merely providing a stage. “It gives you a lot of connections, countless opportunities and doors that can open to a wider world of music and the industry,” he says. “The idea is to continue helping the guys that are coming up in any way we can. The idea is that we all come up together so freestyle continues to grow.”
“As the saying goes, and not to sound cliché, but it truly gives you wings because it exposes your talent to the world in a way you might not achieve on your own,” says Yartzi, reflecting on the transformative power of the platform. “As an independent artist, it helps to propel you and captures the global spotlight. Participating as a rapper from Puerto Rico also drew attention from reggaeton artists, my compatriots, leading to many relationships formed through this achievement.”
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LL COOL J is a first-ballot Hip-Hop Hall of Famer and his career is far from over with the impending release of The FORCE album in September of this year. In a recent interview, the GOAT himself reacted to Hip-Hop Wired‘s Rap Battles That Shifted Hip-Hop Culture cover story and also revealed his favorite battles of all time.
LL COOL J, 54, sat down with the Hip-Hop Wired team and gave his thoughts on our recent cover story detailing the historic beefs and back-and-forths that have transformed the very landscape of the culture. The Queens native, clearly a historian of Hip-Hop and four decades in, shared his reaction to the Rap Battles That Shifted Hip-Hop Culture featuring cover art by the legendary André LeRoy “A.L. Dre” Davis while adding his thoughts on Hip-Hop’s greatest battles.
“I think that they’re all different,” LL began. “Battles pre-Internet and post-Internet, the world is gonna know more about them. I enjoyed the Nas and Jay [JAY-Z] battle on one level, but obviously, you didn’t have so much of that social media amplification.”
Continuing his observation, LL added, “The one thing I would say about the Kendrick [Lamar] and Drake battle was that it got the benefit of all of social media. It was layered beyond the music in the music in a different. Similar way to 50 [Cent] and Ja [Rule] except there is a little more social media [now] than even as it was back then.”
LL was then asked about his favorite battles of all time. Naturally, the battle-tested LL COOL J named himself and all the battles that he emerged victorious in. Can’t argue with that.
Check out the exclusive Hip-Hop Wired and LL COOL J clip below. LL’s The FORCE album drops on September 6, 2024.
Additional reporting by Weso.
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Photo: Getty
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Lupe Fiasco has long owned the distinction of being one of the sharpest lyricists in Hip-Hop, and also showed and proved that he is adept at the art of battle. During his set at Coachella over the weekend, the Chicago rapper put any rapper who wants to test his pen on notice in a defiant speech with folks online reacting in kind.
I’m going to break the wall here and state that I feel that Lupe Fiasco might very well be the best on-paper lyricist in modern Hip-Hop. Songs like “Mural,” “The Cool” and countless others demonstrate his immense ability as a writer but also reveal the deep layers of his skillset.
As I’ve written about before, the quick back-and-forth between him and Royce Da 5’9 was largely ended by an inspired Lupe Fiasco on the track “Steve Jobs: SLR 3 1/2” which I still believe was largely freestyled or, at the very least, delivered in one take. Everyone should know and understand that Lu is a dangerous MC if one is a student of this game.
During a pause at his set at Coachella, Lupe addressed the crowd as only he could and let off a profanity-laced barrage by saying that under no uncertain terms can any rapper on the planet take him out when it comes to rhyming.
“Hear me clearly when I say this and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. When it comes to this art, and I quote, I will battle any motherf*cking rapper. Anywhere. Any motherf*ckin’ time,” Lupe said to an uproarious crowd.
This declaration from Lupe has the culture in a bit of a daze considering the mock meat shenanigans between Drake, Rick Ross, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar with K-Dot the only one putting a strong bullet on names while the antics are front and center from everyone else. Even proponents of battle rap culture like Aye Verb got involved and seemingly called out Lupe via X but that was shut down somewhat quickly.
However, Lupe did join Aye Verb in a Twitter Spaces conversation and explained his position on Kendrick Lamar and other rappers.
On X, we’ve got some reactions to Lupe Fiasco putting the game on notice, Aye Verb’s Twitter Spaces chat, and more.
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Photo: ANGELA WEISS / Getty
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Red Bull Batalla, the largest Spanish-language freestyle competition in the world, concluded its 2023 season with Spain’s Chuty taking the world title. Applications are opening up for this year’s competition, and the stakes are even higher with new countries added to the mix.
Red Bull Batalla has opened its application channels from Feb. 19 until March 21, giving prospective battlers an opportunity of a lifetime. With 18 countries participating this year, which include the United States, Mexico, Spain, and regions across Central America, South America will also have its countries represented for the first time.
Participants can upload video submissions via the all-new Batalla app, which is available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The submissions will be observed by veterans of the Spanish-speaking freestyle scene, along with experts from within the industry.
For the battlers that make it through, the MCs will face off in one-on-one freestyle battles via a bracket-style format with the winner advancing to the next level of competition.
Two Qualifier events will take place in the United States this summer before the Red Bull Batalla U.S. National Final, which takes place in Miami, Fla. this October. From there, winners of their respective country’s battles will go on to the Red Bull Batalla International Final, which will take place in Chuty’s hometown of Madrid, Spain.
Last year, talented battlers Oner and Reverse represented the United States in the World Finals in Bogotá, Colombia in 2023, which was the first time that’s ever happened. More of the same should be expected this year as well with the pool of Spanish Freestyle talent expanding year to year.
To learn more about Red Bull Batalla, click here.
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Photo: Red Bull
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