Red Bull Big Tune Crowns Frank Dukes in Atlanta
A crowd of 1,000 packed the main lounge and balcony boxes of Opera in Midtown Atlanta to cast their vote for the producer with the hottest beats in the 2009 Red Bull Big Tune Finals. Sixteen producers representing eight cities across the country battled it out in a head-to-head competition that came down to last year’s Red Bull Big Tune runner-up, Frank Dukes, and the man behind the mask representing The Big Easy, Hannibal the Beat Animal. The energy of the crowd elevated the performances and showmanship of both final contestants. Once the final track was played the audience was won over by Frank Dukes when he shook the house down with his low end bass and was finally crowned champion of Red Bull Big Tune after three years of competing.
In between rounds, fans were treated to a first-time-ever freestyle collaboration by hip-hop’s most iconic producers Alchemist and Just Blaze. They brought the house down and took turns showing off their discography as the crowd sang along in unison. Just Blaze has produced everyone from Jay- Z to Mariah Carey while Alchemist has been behind artists such as Nas, Lincoln Park, and Snoop Dog. This was a rare performance that may never be seen again. After the final round, controversial artist Jadakiss and his entourage closed out the night with classics “Put Ya Hands Up” “Knock Yourself Out” and “We Gonna Make It”
Toronto native, Frank Dukes, will receive the opportunity to record in the prestigious Red Bull studio in Los Angeles with an A-list emcee of choice in spring of 2010. In past years, some of the choices have included names such as Common, The Game, Ludacris, Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli. The 2008 Red Bull Big Tune winner, C-Sick, had a hands on personal recording experience with legendary lyricist Nas who together created the track “Film.”
“It would be really cool to chop it up with guys on that level,” said Frank Dukes. “In my session, I’ll try to push forward and hopefully it will stand the test of time. That’s my goal.”
INSPIRING FUTURE BEAT MAKERS
Red Bull Big Tune is beyond a beat battle, it is a full-fledged music program designed to inspire and educate the next generation of music producers. Each of the competing participants gained industry insight and production knowledge through a 2-day mentorship experience with Just Blaze, Mr Porter, DJ Toomp, Mr Porter and Red Bull Big Tune Alum Tha Bizness.
“It’s good for them to be able to pick our brains and it’s helps us to hear new talent and keep us on our toes,” commented Just Blaze.
Stay tuned for updates on the Red Bull Big Tune program at www.redbullbigtune.com.
Check hashtag #rbbigtune for my play by play of the event.
Follow these guys m Twitter:
@frankdukes, @alanthechemist, @TheMegatronDon (Just Blaze), @redbull
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I saw on twitter that you said that I had the best name of all the contestants…lmao!!! Your site is amazing & I just told all my FB friends to follow you on twitter!
Your awesome, Racheal!
Respectfully,
ILL Gaimez is HANNIBAL the BEAT ANIMAL
1/3 of MF’Ntertainment
(MF’N – We’re the producers)
504.722.3054
http://www.myspace.com/GAIMEZworld
http://www.youtube.com/user/mfntertainment
Hi! Really love your blogposts. I’m in music PR and would love to offer you guestlist / free CDs for you to write about some of our artists and events? If you’re interested, please email me lauren@jigsawhouse.co.uk and I’ll sort it out! Thanks! x
Thanks man! If it makes any difference, I actually dug your beats more than Frank Dukes’!
Hey Rachel! Ur so right! I was there & Hannibal was killin it thru the whole show! I’ve been seein articles and posts blastin Hannibal based on a biased edited vid that Red Bull posted on YouTube. To all those people (especially the ones who werent there!) I want to comment that the crowd was jus as crazy over Hannibal as Frank Dukes at the end! In fact, Hannibal was the ONLY ONE who got that consistent response from the crowd! They jus went crazy over that last beat u saw in the vid cuz Frank finally hit us wit something hard and finally displayed some swag (versus lookin all timid the rest of the night) by steppin out to the front of the stage! Not to hate on Frank cuz I’m from Detroit too but all his ish sounded the same thru the whole battle! The only beat he came wit that was fiyah was the one at the end! People can criticize Hannibal’s “antics” if they want to but dont hate cuz he is an entertainer as much as he is an incredible producer! There were several points in the battle when the crowds energy was dead and Hannibal’s presence brought it back up every single time he played a new track! He was CONSISTENT and he was versatile and he displayed tru musicianship and is clearly the most creative one of them all! Mask or no mask, he was KILLIN these dudes 4real! People that were there could see that, so pls dont hate based on a clearly over-edited video intended to show that “real hip-hop” aint dead by hyping up a dude jus becuz he continuously reuses the same typical hip-hop loops in all his tracks! Hip-Hop is a multi-faceted movement across the world, so why are u people limiting its scope? Why cant a dude like Hannibal be a great hip-hop producer just because his tracks actually have dynamic multi-layered instruments, build-ups, bridges and break downs? Jus like Hannibal’s fans were accused of favoring him bcuz of his showmanship and not his beats, I contend that those that are accusing him of not having talent are judging him unfairly just because he actually has PERSONALITY (whether u cared for it or not)! You are the ones who have totally disregarded the tru measure of a talented producer (which btw is far more than a just a beat-maker)!
It was an awesome event to be in attendance for. Frank & Hannibal really blew me away!!! I’m glad it came down to the 2 best guys.
It was a great event & much respect to all the producers that participated. Frank & Hannibal were both great & I enjoyed Marcus D from Seattle and J Mac from Chicago. Much love to Red Bull!
what it do!! congrats to frank dukes first off!! xtra love goes out to Hannibal!! if you were at the beat battle then you know who consistantly had the best beats all night….Hannibal cleaned house and shoulda came out on top, but people love to root for the underdog and against the bully…lol….Dukes the last beat was heat though.. lookin foward to seein more Hannibal in this industry!!
The beat battle was amazing!!!! Sorry Frank Dukes but by far Hannibal was the winner of that battle! Just from the consistency of the beats and the crowd- Hannibal is the official beat battle winner! He did a better job than the performers that night!
Red Bull Big Tune = Best beat battle EVER!!! My favorite contestants were Boon Doc, Deuno, & Hannibal the beat animal of MF’N! Alchemist & Just Blaze were amazing! Jadakiss was great!!! And the whole thing was free!!!!