Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 8/1/17

4 Stages. 4 Crews. 1 Winner—The world’s biggest music battle returns to the U.S. this summer. Inspired by Jamaican sound clashes, Red Bull Culture Clash heads to Atlanta on Friday, August 25. The massive musical battleground will feature four crews—EarDrummers featuring Mike WiLL Made-It, Enjoylife featuring Wondagurl, Unruly featuring Popcaan, and Disturbing London featuring Tinie Tempah—bringing exclusive music, special guests, surprises and more to win the crowd’s support. Watch the trailer and find more information on Red Bull Culture Clash Atlanta: www.RedBull.com/CultureClash.

 

Red Bull Culture Clash debuted during the 2010 London edition of the Red Bull Music Academy, bringing together the past and future of sound system culture. Since then, Red Bull Culture Clashes have continued to take place in the UK; in Los Angeles (2012), New York City (2013), Miami (2013), and San Francisco (2014) in the U.S.; and globally in South Africa, Italy and more.

 

Culture Clash is not a DJ battle or band competition—it’s about who has the heaviest sound, the best tunes, the most effective MC tactics, and the most entertaining presentation. While the competing sound systems respect each other and the competition is all in good fun, it is indeed a clash, so calling out opponents, mockeries, diss records, counteractions and the like are explicitly encouraged.

 

With a history of heavyweight competitors including A$AP Mob, Major Lazer, Wiz Khalifa & Taylor Gang, Just Blaze & Young Guru and last year’s UK winner Mixpak—who dropped a dubplate of Drake’s “One Dance” that made the rounds online instantly—the event is not-to-be-missed for music fans. Hear all of the surprises from the Atlanta event live, on Red Bull Radio (www.redbullradio.com).

 

To get ready for the battle, Red Bull Radio will be broadcasting live from Atlanta at Means Street Studios the week of August 21st. Tune in all week to hear Red Bull Radio’s daily live show, Peak Time, plus new live episodes of Bruh with Awful Records, as well as exclusive interviews and performances with some of Atlanta’s best and brightest.

 

 

THE CREWS

 

The first crew will feature Atlanta’s EarDrummers featuring Mike WiLL Made-It. Mike is one of the most in-demand producers in music right now—producing hits like Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” and “Humble,” Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles,” and Beyonce’s “Formation.”  He is sure to pull out all the stops for this hometown event.

 

Canadians are known for being nice but Enjoylife will be ready to fight. These contenders will be led by 20-year old Toronto-based production prodigy Wondagurl, who has worked with JAY-Z, Drake, Rihanna and more.

 

As part of last year’s winning Culture Clash UK crew and representing Jamaica—the birthplace of the sound clash—Unruly featuring Popcaan will bring serious Caribbean heat to battle.

 

The final crew is Disturbing London featuring Tinie Tempah. From Laos to London, the crew will bridge their Nigerian roots to bring fierce competition to Culture Clash Atlanta.

 

Four crews, one champion – may the best sound win!

 

 

THE HOST

 

Few people in hip-hop have had more of an impact on its sound and status than DJ Drama. The Philly-born, Atlanta-based DJ, executive, and mixtape master has been a force to be reckoned with since 2003. From his foundational Gangsta Grillz mixtape series to his two Quality Street Music albums and, most recently, his new label Generation Now with signed artist Lil Uzi Vert, Drama has dominated hip-hop for over a decade. As an Atlanta fixture and overall music head, Drama is the perfect person to preside over of the monstrous mix of musical styles of Red Bull Culture Clash as the event’s official host.

 

 

THE RULES

 

1. Red Bull Culture Clash is split into four rounds.

 

2. Crews can play dubplate specials and custom dubs, bring out special guests, and do special performances throughout the whole night. However, in Round 4, ONLY dubs or special guest performances are allowed. Playing a regular record will lead to disqualification from that round.

 

3. Strictly no repeats! If a crew plays a record already played earlier in the night, they’re disqualified from winning that round. Only exception: the record is explicitly announced as a counteraction and somehow altered (dubplate, remix, live performance, et al.).

 

4. Each round is won by crowd reaction via a decibel reader (highest average during the first five seconds). There is no winner for Round One. Round Four counts double. If two crews are held to a draw after Round Four, the host calls for the crowd to choose between the two crews in a runoff. Since the last round counts double, all four crews still have a chance to win until the very end.

 

 

THE ROUNDS

 

ROUND 1: TEMPERATURE’S RISING: Mic check? Sound Check? GO! Time for your crew’s DJ to warm up the crowd and establish who you are. It’s a setup for what you plan to do, but without wasting heavy ammo, as this round is not worth any points.

 

ROUND 2: THE SELECTOR: The DJs will all spin everything they got, and the crew better come correct on the mic! This is purely judged on your choice of songs and smack talk. Who has the best records and crowd control? (1 Point)

 

ROUND 3: SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY: Time to get versatile! You will be assigned another crew’s style and need to beat them at their own game. (1 Point)

 

ROUND 4: THE DECIDER: This is the time to play your biggest hits and call in your favors. The last round counts double, so ALL IN! (2 Points)

 

Tickets are $25.