Red Bull EmSee left no opportunity for impersonators at The Masquerade last night. The freestyle battle based on the mind’s eye brought the spirit of hip-hop to the stage in front of a full house.
The competition was judged by platinum producer Don Cannon, Red Bull EmSee ’09 champion Man Child, and hip-hop pioneer Bun B. At the end of the night it was Headkrack who came out on top after all three rounds; he will represent the ATL in Detroit next week at the Red Bull EmSee finals, which will be judged by arguably one of the best freestyle rappers of our time: Eminem.
“As soon as I heard [about Red Bull EmSee] I wanted to be down,” exclaims Headkrack. “To me this was more challenging – having to freestyle and make things up as its happening.”
Fresh off the top of the charts, hip-hop legend and original gangster Bun B (pictured below) took the stage to give Atlantans a rare experience. He performed audience favorites and hits off his newly-released album, Trill O.G.
Carlo Cruz/Red Bull
“Red Bull EmSee is freestyling 2.0 – the next level of the game,” stated Bun B. “It’s as interactive as a freestyle competition can get.”
The eight Atlanta contestants (StaHHr, 4ize, KP, DT, Headkrack, Me… That’s Who, Carter Deems, and Fattman) not only battled against each other but also the clock and their wit when they were put on the spot to create the hottest rhymes based off spontaneous visual cues.
The bracket-style competition put emcees head-to-head in three rounds, each with different challenges. In round one, they were confronted on their versatility as they were given five random images to base their freestyles on.
Emcees Headkrack, Fattman, HOT 107.5 wildcard winner StaHHr – the only female in the event – and Me…That’s Who advanced to the second round where they had to incorporate words that were texted to the screen by the fans. In the end it was Headkrack who took the title unanimously over Fattman in the final head-to-head battle .
Atlanta was the final of seven stops on the road to 8 mile. Emcees DNA (New York), Nocando (San Francisco), Philly Swain (Philadelphia), Jonny Storm (Orlando), Killa Chris (Greensboro, NC), Phranchyze (Houston) and Headkrack (Atlanta) will join the Detroit winner, who will be selected live on-air this Saturday on the D’s Hip Hop and R&B station, 98 WJLB.
All eight emcees will step on stage on August 26th at legendary St. Andrews Hall in Eminem’s hometown.
