Courtesy of Red Bull
Audio By Carbonatix
The largest Spanish-language rap battle in the world is hosting its national competition in Dallas this weekend. On Nov. 11, South Side Ballroom will present 16 of the nation’s top MCs in the USA National Finals. The winner will go on to compete in the World Finals in Colombia. And some of the current competitors are from our very own state.
This worldwide tournament is a big deal in South American rap. In the U.S., there have been three qualifiers in Houston, LA and Miami; those winners will compete in Dallas this weekend. While the U.S. finals take place in Dallas, other national competitions will be happening in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and all other Spanish-speaking countries involved in the Batalla. All this is building up to the international World Final in December in Colombia.
The Texas MCs include Irving’s own MC Betho, a Tijuana-born rapper who placed fourth in last year’s competition. The other Texas competitors are Honduran rapper Lies and Venezuelan MC White Caracas, both from Houston; Magimbri, from San Antonio; Estany, representing Venezuela, from Kingwood; and from McAllen, MC Cuban, a Cuban native who placed third in the 2022 national finals.
“For Spanish freestylers, the Red Bull Batalla is the ultimate goal,” says Cuban, who is back for his third Batalla USA National Final. “I can’t speak for all of them but for a lot of us, it’s battling at a Red Bull competition, because the Red Bull Batalla is like the biggest competition for Spanish freestylers in the world. It’s the ultimate goal. It’s something you already have in your mind when you start battling. It’s, ‘I want to make it to Red Bull.’ Having that mindset got me there, I was doing everything I could until I had the tryouts.”
Like MC Cuban, many rappers tune into the competitions in other countries, both for fun and for practice preparing for the final event.
“It’s one of the biggest events for the Spanish freestyle community,” says Cuban, who first learned of the event in 2014 when he saw a livestream of the international competition in Spain.
“I like watching Spain, they’re really smart in what they say when they freestyle,” Cuban says. “I like Argentina. I try to watch most of them because it’s always an opportunity for me and my friends to get together, like watching a game, but watching the freestyle competition.”
Each year, when gearing up for the competition, Red Bull gives a worldwide open call to Spanish-speaking freestyle rappers to apply online; the best of those become qualifiers for the early rounds. Red Bull Batalla is growing in the U.S., but it’s massive internationally. In South America, the event fills 60,000-capacity stadiums and larger. The 2022 World Final had over a billion streams last year. And winners go on to become international celebrities, acquiring record label contracts and sometimes coming back as judges.
“It’s the ultimate goal. It’s something you already have in your mind when you start battling. It’s, ‘I want to make it to Red Bull.'” – MC Cuban
Dallas itself is unique in the Spanish rap scene, with one of the largest underground Spanish rap leagues in the country, Urban RapStars, a DFW collective that battles each week and runs the local Spanish rap scene. As one of the main cultural arbitrators in the market, Urban RapStar’s influence laid a lot of the groundwork for Red Bull Batalla to bring the event to Dallas. DJ Lobo is serving as the official DJ for the USA National Finals in Dallas.
This year sees the most Texas MCs ever in the USA finals. The 2023 national winner will join the 2022 title holder, Oner, on the World Final stage in December. If a Texas competitor moves on to the next round, it’ll mark the first time in Red Bull Batalla history that two national champions will represent the USA in the final round of the global competition.
MC Cuban, who’s back for his third national, says his mindset has changed. A lifelong recreational freestyler, this year he wants to win it.
“I would say the competition itself is what I’m most excited about,” says Cuban. “It’s my third year in the nationals and this year I feel different, because the past two years I was just having fun, and now this year I kind of want to win it. It’s my third year, I want to win it.”
Originally from Havana, Cuban moved to the U.S. in high school and starred in local battles with the Latin rap community. He began his journey with Red Bull three years ago and has had success that he hopes extends after this competition.
“It’s not one specific competition, it’s rather the combination of a lot of competitions, being consistent and pretty much taking advantage of all the opportunities presented,” says Cuban. “There’s a lot of freestylers who have a lot of opportunities but they don’t really take advantage of them, and when they have to do good at a certain point they don’t really do it.”
The event, which kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday, will feature a string of events and rap battles. The show will be hosted by Rasco White Lion, the creator of the Indigo Freestyle League based in Orlando, Florida. The competition will be judged by five Spanish freestyle legends: Chester, Moises, Akapellah, Barba and the 2021 National Final winner, Skiper.
