Four stages, four rounds, featuring four different sounds and styles with a laundry list of guest appearances.

There was enough bass blasting through the speakers to compress all the air in your body. Roseland Ballroom was host to the first New York City edition of the Red Bull Music Academy’s Culture Clash. Hosted by Miss Info, each stage featured DJs of the highest quality and expertise in their respected genre of music. Battling all night were Federation Sound, Trouble & Bass, Just Blaze & Young Guru, Que Bajo?!, blessing the crowd with Island Reggae, Electronic, Hip-Hop, and Latin sounds as they playfully but vigorously scratched records.

The rules were simple:

In round one, dubbed “Temperature Rising”, each crew had fifteen minutes to play whatever they liked. A friendly round where no winner was announced but they got to season the crowd and introduce themselves to the audience. They were meant to indulge in friendly banter, but each crew through shots at each other. No shot more memorable then Just Blaze dawning a cassock style preacher’s suit asking for the crowd for a moment of silence for the other crews, commencing their funerals with Guru dropping the beat. So grim reaper-esque and creative of them.

The Selector round was up next where the crews were judged on song selection and presentation. With Twelve minutes each, they carefully selected tracks and brought out guest appearances along with stage props. Que Bajo?! handed out glow sticks as they infused Salsa, Reggaeton, Heavy Bass, and Cumbia – Colombia’s traditional music. Bringing out a Dominican rap duo and a girl busting moves, the infusion had the crowd in a state of delirium, endlessly cheering as their set came to a close. Just Blaze and Young Guru brought out legends to score presentations points. They had the likes of Freeway, Memphis Bleek, Pharaoh Monch, and Wale as they shot rolls of dollar bills out of an air gun. Federation Sound wanted to acknowledge their reggae roots bringing out Tifa – a reggae giant in Jamaica, amongst other artists who collaborated with them. Trouble & Bass had Telli from Ninjasonik as their hypeman and brought out the Flatbush Zombies in this round, gaining admiration from the crowd. The winner? Trouble & Bass despite the star power of the hip-hop duo.

The third round made things very interesting. Sleeping With The Enemy, as they called it, was the round where each crew was assigned to play another crews music. Que Bajo?! played hip-hop and tried to play Just Blaze, coming out with a prop coffin and when they opened it his name was scribed on the top. Young Guru let the crowd know that whoever gave him reggae did not know what they were doing. Just Blaze interrupts by saying “Y’all know hip-hop and reggae are cousins right?” Enter Jadakiss and Styles P as they rhymed over reggae beats. Trouble & Bass was assigned with playing Latin sounds and brought Nina Sky to the stage, which took the crowd by surprise. Closing the round was Federation Sound playing Electronic music infused with some reggae. Again, Trouble & Bass scored the points as the decibal meter ruled in their favor.

The last and deciding round was where each crew could only play special remixes, original songs, or have exclusive live performances to accompany their set. This round seemed to have come down to Just Blaze and Young Guru and Trouble & Bass. Hip-Hop’s elite DJs brought out Bun B, Raekwon, and 2 Chainz to the stage as the crowd adamantly cheered in favor of the two. Trouble & Bass had Robin S. sing the timeless “Show Me Love” and brought out Cam’Ron which closed the deal as they took home the crown.

Check out  photos from the event in this slideshow.

Virgilio Mendez (@REGULARGUYV)
Photos by Don Morris