Sixteen freestyle rappers battled it out in Miami this past weekend for the Red Bull Batalla Regional Qualifier, testing their quick wits and killer lines for a chance to make it to the world stage and take home the title of best freestyler in the Spanish rap world.
Sixteen freestyle rappers battled it out in Miami this past weekend for the Red Bull Batalla Regional Qualifier, testing their quick wits and killer lines for a chance to make it to the world stage and take home the title of best freestyler in the Spanish rap world.
Attendees during Red Bull Batalla Miami Qualifiers at Skatebird in Miami, Florida on 26 of August, 2023 // Ian Witlen / Red Bull Content Pool
We all know Red Bull gives you wings, but did you know that it can also help people spit out fire?
That was the case in Miami this weekend when the top Spanish-language lyricists from all over the country delivered some brutal and precise lines at the Red Bull Batalla Regional Qualifier.
Now celebrating its 16th year, the Red Bull Batalla boasts the largest freestyle competition in the world, and the talent that flocked to Miami for the Regional Qualifier had The Knockturnal questioning if we were at the National Final instead.
Sixteen rappers, freestylers, dancers, and artists all around compete in three different regional qualifiers– with the previous qualifiers taking place in Los Angeles in July and Houston in August– to test their quick-witted rhyming strengths and prove why they should advance to the National Final in Dallas in November. The winner of the National Final will go on to test their chops with top MCs from all over the world in the Red Bull Batalla World Final, taking place in Bogotá, Colombia on December 2.
Sara Socas performs during Red Bull Batalla Miami Qualifiers at Skatebird in Miami, Florida on 26 of August, 2023 // Ian Witlen / Red Bull Content Pool
Ahead of the Miami Qualifier, Red Bull welcomed several journalists from across the country to stay in the art mecca neighborhood of Wynwood in Miami. This year’s contestants stayed at the Arlo Wynwood, a hotel with killer views of Wynwood Walls murals, and a gorgeous rooftop pool complete with occasional guest DJ parties. With the surrounding area of Wynwood full of art, culture, and great food, and with the influx of murals, graffiti, dancing, and Spanish-speaking hip hop heavyweights intersecting at every corner, the stage was certainly set for the world’s largest freestyle competition.
In between graffiti workshop classes and Asian-Latin fusion dinners, the stage was also certainly set at an unsurprising venue where often these subcultures intersect: a skatepark. That’s right: the Red Bull Batalla Miami Regional Qualifier was set right in the middle of a half-pipe ramp, letting the crowd there certainly match the energy of the contestants freestyling for the Red Bull red, yellow, and blue-colored Batalla trophy, featuring a recording mic.
Apache performs during Red Bull Batalla Miami Qualifiers at Skatebird in Miami, Florida on 26 of August, 2023 // Ian Witlen / Red Bull Content Pool
The weekend started with a graffiti workshop class at the Miami Art Society, which detailed how the Wynwood neighborhood came to be, artist works in the gallery, and how graffiti often intertwined with hip hop and freestyling. This was then followed by a graffiti lesson by Entes, a Peruvian-born graffiti artist who not only enlisted in the help of Red Bull staff and reporters to ultimately make a freestyling avian he cheekily called “Rooster,” but also created a spot-on Red Bull logo just by using his naked eye.
The night concluded with an Asian-Latin fusion dinner at El Chinito, just down the block from both Arlo Wynwood and the Miami Art Society. The dinner consisted of mixed fusion dishes such as carnitas shumai and watermelon “tuna” pizza; and Red Bull-inspired drinks such as the Chinito Summer (Red Bull Red Edition– watermelon – Tanqueray Gin, Peach Schnapps, lime juice and simple syrup) and Buru Loko (Red Bull Coconut Berry, Tequila Blanco, Peychaud’s Bitters), as well as the standard Red Bull Vodka.
Before the show started on Saturday evening, several emcees chatted about their upbringings and how they got into freestyle, as well as what they had on their minds ahead of the competition. The scene was set once the show began: Red Bull brought out the Secret Walls crew to enter a real-time live painting battle during the qualifier. Artists Ruth Burotte Tamfee (@rutamfi) and Marlon Pruz (@marlonpruz) battled it out against artists @chnkfondue and @zoegen, unveiling an emcee-inspired work of art.
Judges for the qualifier included MC Snow, Chester and Sara Socas, with co-hosts Racso White Lion and Sonja La Makina
Sourius competes against VNZ during Red Bull Batalla Miami Qualifiers at Skatebird in Miami, Florida on 26 of August, 2023 // Ian Witlen / Red Bull Content Pool
leading the show and accompanied with DJ Cesar’s mixing abilities at the turntable. After the emcee was crowned the winner of the Miami Regional Qualifier– with a special guest appearance by El Misionero right before the final round– a Venezuelan rapper Apache gave the crowd a closing performance.
The fantastic weekend truly showcased the opportunity young emcees have to hone in their craft at the Red Bull Batalla, and unite emcees from not only all over the country but around the world as young emcees in the United States make their way to the global stage.
Read our interviews with AdonysX, JD and Crown here, and with Jay_Co “El Leon” and Link One here.
CMG has been a primary experiential production agency and partner of Goldenvoice since the inception of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival®. CMG also remains Goldenvoice and AEG’s official annual partner for off-site Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival® events, focused at ZENYARA® luxury estate, while simultaneously producing official on-ground festival sponsorship for over two decades. CMG is the Agency of Record for three Coachella Festival® annual sponsors inclusive of Heineken®, Adidas® and Red Bull®. They are the only location off grounds to have festival artists perform.
ZENYARA® is an impressive 70 acre desert estate located in the heart of the Coachella Valley, whose recognition continues to gain visibility through the programming of CMG, which kicked off in 2018 when the estate first debuted. An unmatched oasis and uber exclusive destination, ZENYARA® achieves continuous global recognition in the real estate sphere for its design and grounds offerings, with its annual Coachella programming produced by CMG responsible for building year round desire. The annual programming over the festival weekends by CMG establishes it as an in-demand mainstay, the most desired of off-site VIP event destinations to those in the know year after year.
“We cannot help ourselves to continue making our after parties the most anticipated year after year. Desert Dreams with Rufus Du Sol, Tale of Us, Keinemusik, Gordo, Fisher, Kaytranada, Hot Since ‘82 and more make every night at ZENYARA® estate the next level. We are also very fortunate for our partners Framework for talent bookings, TAO, Wynn, Tequila Don Julio®, Heineken® Silver and Red Bull®, as they make it all possible. Most of all, kudos to the CMG team of creators, producers, thinkers and doers! – CMG Founder and CEO, David Corso
Guests at the CMG Presents ZENYARA events on Saturday and Sunday enjoyed signature Tequila Don Julio cocktails and the newest offering in the portfolio, Tequila Don Julio Rosado which is an exquisite reposado tequila aged for four months in Ruby Port wine casks along with Tequila Don Julio 1942, to ensure an epic night of celebration in the desert.
Guests at SHEIN Zeuphoria partook in fashion and accessory gifting during the daytime activation which took over the waterfront and ZENYARA beach.
Photos courtesy of CMG.
Celebrities, influencers, and VIPs came out to the luxurious Cavallo Ranch in Coachella Valley to party with Tao Group Hospitality all weekend long. The Cavallo Ranch is a stunning venue that features a sparkling blue lake, adorned with a golden TAO logo in the middle.
@theknockturnal.com We got to check out Red Bull Dance Your Style secret party in Downtown Los Angeles! #theknockturnal #vlog #redbulldanceyourstyle #redbull #danceyourstyle @Red Bull Dance #bts #fyp #foryou #dance #streetdance #party #losangeles ♬ original sound - rennyxaudios
On Wednesday March 23rd, The Knockturnal got an exclusive invite to a secret party taking place in Down Town Los Angeles. This secret party which included cocktails, food, performances and more was held by Red Bull for their “Red Bull Dance Your Style” campaign. The long awaited premiere one-on-one street dance competition Red Bull Dance Your Style returns for its 2022 season. Red Bull Dance Your Style is a competition which challenges the best dancers and entertainers around the globe in epic 1-on-1 battles and Red Bull Dance Your Style brings improvisation to a new level. Red Bull Dance Your Style is a global all-styles street dance event series with a unique battle format. From hip hop to house, to locking to popping. The onsite and incredible DJ provides the dancers and audience with unpredictable tunes from mainstream hits to timeless classics and fire up the dance floor, allowing dancers to showcase their skills and wow the crowd! Because this competition incorporates the world of street dance the catch is that the crowd are the judges! The dancers participating in Red Bull Dance Your Style need to ‘wow’ the crowd and ultimately win their vote. We got to experience the Red Bull Dance Your Style first hand and were not disappointed at all.
When I was told we would be attending a “secret event” I had no idea what to expect at all. After confirming our attendance through email I was sent a phone number I had to message through which I would receive the address within 24-hours of the event. This definitely added to the “secret” aspect of the whole event and help build up our excitement of what was to follow. After receiving our text and heading over to Los Angeles, we had to walk through an alley in Down Town to get to the party and were almost sure we had gotten lost until we could finally feel the ground vibrating with a heavy bass and saw staff outside of the party. After we checked in with staff and got our wrist bands, immediately we were transported to another world. The neon lights all around the venue set the mood for the night and also offered some amazing sets to snap some pictures for social media. We were greeted by a group of dancers already beginning to tease their skills on the dance floor while a crowd slowly began to build around them. We grabbed some drinks, complimentary of Red Bull Dance Your Style, and started exploring the venue.
In this building, split in three parts, there were so many things to see. First we walked through the main room with DJ and dance floor to the back room where there was a giant neon sign wall and photo booth. We couldn’t help ourselves and had to snap a couple of photos before the major crowd arrived. Through that same room there was an upper level were you could be a spectator and get a birds eye view of the dance battle. We headed back downstairs and walked into another room not knowing what to expect and there was a red and blue lit hall of mirrors. We took some photos and headed back out to the main room just in time to see some of the battles start. After more dancers and spectators arrived the battle began. There were two teams consisting of four dancers in total who all took turns individually showing off their unique moves and showing the crowd why they deserved to win. I had never witnessed something like this before and the energy was absolutely unmatched. The crowd was so expressive and completely feeding off the dancers in a symbiotic excitement. After the dancers finished they exchanged some hugs and laughs in the name of sportsmanship, and the winner was crowned. After that, the real party began with the dance floor opening up to everyone.
Immediately as the hypnotic music began to play, everyone began to slowly get into the music and found their rhythm, and eventually the swaying turned into actual dancing. After completely exhausting ourselves while trying to keep up with the real professional dancers we headed out for some cold night air to cool off and were immediately greeted to the heavenly smell of tacos. We headed over to the taco truck, complimentary of Red Bull Dance Your Style, and quickly refueled before heading back in to continue the dance party. The energy of the whole night was absolutely electrifying and it was so amazing being in such a creative and expressive space like that.
Red Bull Dance Your Style is actually an event that takes place all over the United States between January 1st and May 31st 2022. By visiting https://www.redbull.com/us-en/event-series/dance-your-style you can some of the top dancers from around the world in your city while they connect and celebrate the diverse dance community. For its 2022 season, Red Bull Dance Your Style will amplify dance scenes from all corners of the country, traveling to Tampa, Chicago, Washington D.C., Oakland, Atlanta and New Orleans to determine who will go on to represent the country at the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final.
Check out our Tik Tok on the event for some behind the scenes of the Red Bull Dance Your Style event and let us know what you think!
Photo credits: @joshaikin
New York City’s own Salinas, played host for Red Bull’s annual Spanish Freestyle Battle Olympics Dinner. The event in celebration is commonly known as Red Bull Batalla.
Kyle McKenzie is an up and coming filmmaker and photographer from Los Angeles. He has had the privilege of working with major celebrities from all around the world. His exceptional skills behind the camera has shown the world priceless moments and captivating views.
This Friday, April 17th at 12pm PT/3 pm ET, Red Bull is hosting the 2019 Red Bull Rampage watch party hosted by TV personality Sal Masekela along with special athlete guests Carson Storch, Darren Berrecloth, Tyler McCall plus other special guest appearances.
Red Bull’s New York office was bustling with producers, writers, and affiliates eager to listen to the 15-minute playthrough EP, Lifetime — a fresh release from the Chicago veteran, Twista.