RECAP: Red Bull Big Tune DC 9.24.08

[Disclaimer: All pictures taken on my iPhone. Better quality pics coming soon.]

Last night at the 930 Club in DC, Red Bull hosted another regional edition of their popular Big Tune series, which pits 12 producers against each other and lets the crowd decide who deserves to be the champion. The winner of the DC battle heads to New York in December for the national finals. If he wins that, he gets to produce a track for the artist of their choice from this list: Nas, Common, Talib Kweli, & The Game. Wale and Nottz headlined the event as the resident DC/MD/VA emcee and producer, respectively. Let's get down to business and detail the round-by-round results.

Round 1: Alright, I'd show you who went up against each other in the 1st round, but my notes/memory do not extend that far, lol. But here are the original 12 producers, in no particular order: Oddisee (Low Budget), K Murdock (Panacea), J Laine (ill DC drummer/producer), Mark Henry (DC), Israel Music (no idea), Algorhythm (DMV), J.E.C. (again, nothing), J-Wheels (working w/ Edgar Allen Floe), Young Slim (this dude was great), Leron Chambers (nah, no idea), Remont (sleeper pick), Best Kept Secret (DC, think Wale all day). 

Round 2: Okay, here's who went against who in Rd. 2. 

Algorhythm vs. Mark Henry

Young Slim vs. K Murdock

Remont vs. Best Kept Secret

Round 3:

Algorhythm vs. Remont (Remont was brought back by the crowd)

K Murdock vs. Best Kept Secret (one of the best battles all night, it went into a bonus round)

Finals:

Algorhythm vs. Best Kept Secret 

(this one also went into a bonus round, and I'd argue that B.K.S. were the rightful winners, but I guess the crowd disagreed. Man, even Wale was cheering for B.K.S., lol)

Winner:

Algorhythm (good luck in NY, homie!)

NOTES: The first amigo I saw last night was X.O.; first I interrupted his Red Bull interview and then I used my media pass to get him backstage to see his old friend Wale...I also ran into Kenn Starr, who was there to support his Low Budget cohort Oddisee. Kenn told me he's got an album down the pipeline with sought-after producer Black Milk, so I made him promise me a studio appearance...I spoke to K Murdock as well, and for all you Panacea fans, the new album is coming soon. They've got a new label, a new outlook, new everythang. Shout out to Raw P, who made a rare public appearance (Kyle said it! lol)...I had to make a visit to the green room to say whaddup to the homie Wale. It was good to see Jay Promo again, and I should also mention that I met Kingpin Slim for the first time and he is NICE on the mic. Wale performed a few joints, including Nike Boots and W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E....We linked up with Nottz management at the end of the night, so cross your fingers for an in-studio sometime soon...And last, but not least, a huge thank you goes out to the entire Red Bull team. In particular: Lameen, Laura, and Victor. Of course I have to give a shout out to Vitamin D and Jonathan Moore, who started the whole thing in Seattle a few years back....One last thing, Jake One was also in the house. Look for his album White Van Music on October 6th....

Mark Henry vs. Oddisee in Rd. 1

Wale on stage during his performance (shouts to Vic and Laura for the view)

Wale with the crowd