Pic Credits – Justin Renney/Red Bull Photofiles

Back again for the second time the Red Bull Big Tune competition is in full swing, with Philly and Oakland already a wrap and Houston taking place TODAY, June 25. It doesn’t seem that long ago that Sabzi, of Blue Scholars and Common Market fame, edged out the competition to take the crown in the debut nation wide search, but with eight cities to hit you have to plan ahead. What begins as a regional battle of 12 producers in which the crowd elects their winner and representatives (two from each city), each region is represented in a 16 man final bout that will take place in New York this December.

Philadelphia was first out the gate and came in force and represented, nearly packing the Filmore at the TLA to capacity on May 21st. I wasn’t there personally, but judging from the video the competition went over well with the audience. Not only was the event free with an RSVP, and aside from being treated to a battle of the areas rising producers (in this case however it was more was an established producer from Jersey) they were also blessed with a performance by Freeway and Bahamadia, a featured producer DJ set by 9th Wonder, and lastly Rich Medina rocking the decks before and after the show. As hinted, the winner of the Philly leg of the tour was Jersey native Illmind, who has produced notable joints for cats like Little Brother and Akrobatik, but is also an in house producer for G-Unit.

I was there to bear witness to the Oakland showdown, which didn’t feature any prominent local producers than could potentially have an edge up on the others, but did show promise in a diverse cast of producers. Oakland was also out in numbers as well, from turf cats to backpacks, and while there was a divide amongst the crowd, the love for slumping beats was unanimous. An unassuming whiteboy named Hitmaker won the crowd over with his eclectic slumpers to the point that the all Hyphy cats lead a chant of “go whiteboy, go whiteboy.” Truly, one of the most surprising and comical moments in all my years of live Hip-Hop. In the end it was Hitmaker and Oakland native Marc Garvey (which set up an awesomely awkward moment in race relations), and when it was all said and done, Garvey took the title (check the Oakland video, he is the one gigging throughout.) Personal and local favorite Turf Talk rocked a half-hour set, and Rick Rock stunned the crowd with a featured producer DJ set of all of his hits…Cause if you didn’t know, dude has hits!

And here comes Houston, third in the line of eight cities. The event is being held June 25th today at 719 Main St. at a spot called Venue. Willie D will be the guest rapper, Mr. Lee will be the featured producer, and if Mike Watts wasn’t the feature DJ, you’d have to question the credibility.

Thankfully, you don’t have to, but you do need to bring ya ass out there if you’re in the area. Doors open at 8:30. You can RSVP at www.redbullbigtune.com, and that goes for any of the upcoming shows in Detroit, Chicago, Seattle, D.C., and Los Angeles. Enjoy the videos, keep an eye out for Big Tune in your city, RSVP early, and if anyone makes it out the Houston show, let us know how it went.

Red Bull Big Tune Philadelphia

Red Bull Big Tune Oakland