Music
Four Atlanta crews go toe-to-toe for Red Bull Culture Clash
The soundclash-inspired competition returns to the ATL after five years with explosive tributes to African, Caribbean and Latin communities.
Since Atlanta isn’t showing any signs of giving up its title as the global capital for hip-hop, another side of the city wants to show the world that there’s more turn up going on outside of trap music.
Four of Atlanta’s well-known party rockin’ crews - Rum Punch Brunch, Perreo404, Bamba Tuesdays and Mashup Sessions - will each take a stage at Gateway Center Arena to battle it out as part of Red Bull Culture Clash Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 4. Returning to the A for a special one night only event after a five-year hiatus, the soundclash-inspired evening will spotlight each clique featuring special guest performers while going toe-to-toe spinning, remixing and mashing up Afrobeats, dancehall, reggaeton, hip-hop and amapiano to keep the crowd hype. The crew that earns the most points by the end of the night will take home the title as Red Bull Culture Clash champion and earn bragging rights as the A-Town’s definitive party crew.
Serani
© Courtesy of Serani
Since 2016, Rum Punch Brunch founders Allan “Boom” Williams and Andre “Dreggae” Ruddock have combined a range of Caribbean riddims with good eats and the signature boozy concoction for much-anticipated weekly Sunday day parties currently hosted at Believe Music Hall that have drawn more than 3,000 in attendance.
“Rum Punch Brunch is a getaway to let go, relax from the week and dance like nobody’s watching,” Williams said.
For Red Bull Culture Clash Atlanta, Rum Punch Brunch is coming out swinging with veteran World Clash Champion Tony Matterhorn, Remix King Willy Chin and singer Serani. The duo’s goal during Rum Punch Brunch’s set is to keep their moment as authentic to their Jamaican heritage as possible.
“This collective has never been seen on the same stage before,” Ruddock, also Rum Punch Brunch’s host, said. “It’s not a gimmick, a game or for likes. The crowd is gonna see our commitment to our culture and how passionate we are about what we do.”
DJ Luian
© Courtesy of DJ Luian
Perreo404 prides itself on curating all-inclusive block parties set to bouncy reggaeton and Latin grooves. Afro-Latin singer Nino Augustine, Red Bull Culture Clash’s champion in New York City in 2022, and DJ EU, Atlanta United’s official DJ and sound curator, is joining Perreo404 along with Bad Bunny’s former DJ, DJ Luian.
Taking the Red Bull Thre3style win in 2013, DJ EU says his competitors and the crowd can anticipate a lot of trash talk that’s all friendly competition, but also a celebration of the Latin community that he entertains during the soccer franchise’s games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It’s gonna be a very well-scripted show,” DJ EU, a Puerto Rican descendant, said. “I’m just gonna have a lot of fun with it. Atlanta United, to me, brought out all of the seeds that were planted already of all of the cultures in the city. It shows how multicultural the city really is and how we have a voice for it.”
Afro B
© Courtesy of Afro B
DJ Kash has hosted the groundbreaking Bamba Tuesdays since 2021 at Rock Steady Atlanta as a special weeknight theme to acknowledge Amapiano, or infectious South African house music. The confident New York-born producer and owner of M Bar Atlanta will stand along with DJs DangerVybz and Polish to take the audience on a sonic journey set to Afro-Caribbean melodies that resembles vacationing at a resort.
Another goal DJ Kash has is to encourage those not familiar with Amapiano to go dig for more after they leave the competition.
“Amapiano is so infectious,” DJ Kash said. “If you don’t dance to it, you don’t have a soul in your body. For the other crews, this is the championship and an away game. It’s a scrimmage and home game for me.”
To kick things up a notch, DJ Kash is introducing Afro B, who was a DJ before he dropped his infectious 2018 single “Drogba (Joanna), to kick it in the booth with him and set the stage on fire.
“He’s not just performing and leaving,” DJ Kash, also known as “The Fly Haitian” and “Big Bamba,” confirms. “He’s hanging out on stage, turning up and wildin’ out with us. That’s gonna be a treat and way more than what the crowd and other crews bargained for. People don’t even know what’s about to happen.”
Young Nudy
© Courtesy of Young Nudy
Though Red Bull Culture Clash Atlanta is inspired in part by the Jamaican party scene, the duo behind Mashup Sessions DJ Unruely and The Canterbury Talez are recreating its open format style from every first and third Sundays at Rock Steady Atlanta for the contest. East Atlanta’s own Young Nudy will grace the Red Bull Culture Clash Atlanta stage to assist the pair who opened for Grammy-winning producer/DJ Kaytranada at Milk and Cookies Festival earlier this year.
Preferring to center its repertoire on Atlanta’s ubiquitous hip-hop scene, the guys behind Mashup Sessions consider themselves the underdog out of all the camps: describing their approach as “a creative playground for DJs and music lovers.”
“Don’t sleep on us because we coming with the heat and the energy,” DJ Unruely said. “We have to represent for Atlanta, man. Our whole show is focused on ATL hip-hop, and that’s the peak of where the culture is now. We’ll see how it goes.”
Subsuelo performs at Red Bull Culture Clash 2022 in Los Angeles
© Carlo Cruz / Red Bull Content Pool
Aside from the boasting and special surprises in store for Saturday night, each crew agrees that Red Bull Culture Clash’s return to the A-Town is a super dope moment that will hopefully shine a light on how diverse Atlanta’s music community is. Each team also appreciates how Red Bull has given each posse a platform to celebrate their communities and come together to show how much they support each other outside of competition.
The teams competing in Red Bull Culture Clash each share and echo what Outkast member Andre 3000 said at the Source Awards in 1995.
“Red Bull is really highlighting the big cultures that are really makin’ noise in the city,” DJ EU said. “It's a competition, but in the end, we’re all family and friends except on that Saturday night. The South definitely has something to say, and we’re here to say it.”
*For a discounted ticket, use Special Crew Code RBCC23.