Getting wired with Professor B at Red Bull's Battle

By Ellen Liu     9/14/11 7:00pm

Houston's Red Bull EmSee, an invitation-only freestyle rap battle, drew in over 800 audience members on Thursday, Sept. 8  for a free night of rapid-fire lyrics and equally amazing competition. Most of the attendees were local rap lovers, but some were oblivious first-timers like myself.

The Red Bull EmSee is a national rap battle, and Houston is only one of eight cities that hosts a semifinal round. The battle was hosted by rapper Bun B, known at Rice for his Religion and Hip-Hop class, and featured three local rap artists as judges – hip-hop producer and emcee Alchemist, hip-hop sensation Trae Tha Truth and Houston's own Chopped and Screwed pioneer E.S.G. The eight competitors from all around Texas sported similarly interesting and esoteric names: Phranchyze, O.N.E., Playdough, G-Baby, Hoodstar Chantz, Mad One, Go Hard Jetson ?and MC Kane.

They paired up and battled head-to-head, with the judge-selected victor of each match advancing to the next challenge. After three rounds, Phranchyze emerged victorious for the second year in a row, earning the chance to face the other regional winners in Atlanta in November for the chance to record at the Red Bull Studio with a headlining producer of ?their choice.

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The format of the Red Bull EmSee competition was its most impressive aspect. Rather than giving participants an open stage and free rein, the EmSee challenged them with constraints. During the first round, competitors had to memorize a series of pictures and incorporate them into a minute of opponent-destroying verses, and in the second, the pictures were replaced with random words ranging from "Texas Ranger" to "minimize." The style of these challenges, along with the confrontational nature of each battle, tested each rapper's versatility and flexibility in the face of hostility that was literally in their faces.

The mixed success of each contestant was determined by the reactions of the crowd, making the entire concert an interactive experience. When the last round, between Phranchyze and Hoodstar Chantz, closed with a climactic tie-breaker, the crowd decided the verdict by booing the loser down. Each round proved more enjoyable than the last, and by the end, the audience left feeling that the winner's victory was ?well-deserved.

Between each round of competition, the three judges performed their most popular songs, which provided an exciting intermission for many of the audience members who knew the lyrics by heart. For someone unfamiliar with the rap genre, I did not find the breaks as enjoyable but understood the exhilaration of those ?who did.

As an overall concert amateur, I went to  the Red Bull EmSee expecting to spend the night in an obscure, overheated room listening to rappers insult each other with equally obscure, overheated lyrics. Instead, the EmSee presented an innovative demonstration of originality, rivalry and fraternity that spoke to rap enthusiasts and ingenues alike. No matter who ultimately won the battle, it is certain that the Red Bull EmSee gives wings not only to its participants but to the genre of rap as a whole.

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