A sound system-style experience proved to be a victorious night for a spirited Carribean crew that made entranced attendees want to wine pon’ di dance floor.
Red Bull Culture Clash, the groundbreaking live music experience featuring four opposing crews across four stages, recently returned to Atlanta and the Gateway Center Arena with an event celebrating the city’s influence on music and culture.
Source: Stephanie Eley / Red Bull Content Pool
Four dynamic crews; Bamba Tuesdays, Mashup Sessions, Perreo404 and Rum Punch Brunch represented Atlanta’s hottest parties and brought their fiercest competition alongside their freshest sounds.
Source: Neriyah Mastriani-Levi / Red Bull Content Pool
Source: Red Bull Media House / Stephanie Eley
Ultimately, Rum Punch Brunch took the victory after electrifying the crowd with all things representing dancehall culture varying from fashion to stage presence, and of course, music that offered adrenaline-pumping excitement.
The crew, known for years of entertaining hoards of people in Atlanta, took the title, marking this the third consecutive ATL Red Bull Culture Clash won by a Dancehall crew.
As always at a Red Bull Culture Clash there were several special guests including BRS Kash who brought his hit “Throat Baby” to Mashup Sessions’ stage, Serani who played “No Games” onstage with Rum Punch Brunch…
and award-winning violinist Mapy who joined the Carribean culture crew.
In a surprise twist, Crime Mob also surprised the packed crowd with their nostalgic hits that included “Stilettos”, “Knuck If You Buck” and “Rock Yo Hips.”
Before hitting the stage they also told BOSSIP exactly what the fierce four crews would need to do to potentially score a win.
“All of the above, it’s like a gumbo; you gotta bring the energy, you gotta have the songs and you gotta feed off the people,” said Money Blac.
His words were echoed by his groupmate Princess.
“I would say one of the keys to performing is the energy,” the rapper told BOSSIP. “Because every space is different, the performance is different from an intimate setting to a stadium and you have to give enough energy to fill up each arena. For me, I can always tell by the first two seconds of stepping on the stage how the rest of it is gonna go.”]
The “Stilettos” emcee also noted that their high-energy songs get played all across the globe by various artists and entertainers.
“Our songs—you can just play them for themselves,” said Princess. “Other artists use our songs in their sets, DJs use our songs in their sets; [Lil] Jon, Jermaine Dupri, Khaled, everybody that uses “Knock If You Buck”, “Rock Your Hips” and “Stilettos” in their sets.”
In addition to offering tips to the battling crews, Crime Mob also dished to BOSSIP about the undeniable influence of ATL culture that was being celebrated during the fiercely competitive night.
“For me, this is really my first year of realizing who we are and who I am individually and accepting it,” said Princess. “We do have a duty, we do have fans and it would be messed up if we just stopped here so we’re pushing forward and we’re going to give you projects and music. So when you see one, it’s still the group.”
“We still putting on, we still putting on for the city, with the Lil Babys, the Young Thugs, the Futures, we still got the ball,” said Lil Jay who noted that the crew was recently celebrated with a plaque to mark 50 years of Hip-Hop and their impact on the city.
“I just love the fact that Atlanta still got the ball, we got a new crop coming ,” he added. “The young guys coming in, still putting on for the city. New York had it, L.A. had it, Atlanta still got it. We’ve been running things for 22 years. We the s***, we been the s*** and we always gonna be the s***.”
