Hear me now, Miami. Big ups to Red Bull for putting on one of the livest parties we've ever attended. We'll drink our vodka and rum with nothing but your sweet rage juice if you promise to bring more Culture Clashes to the 305.
The chance to see Slow Roast, Eccentrix Sound with Black Chiney, Basshead, and Moombahton Massive -- four all-star crews who never lose -- was a treat in itself. But to see them go head to head at Grand Central was to see each bring their sound and style to new heights -- and the special guests, coño!
Everyone represented hard, and we've got undying love for them all. But in the end, no one captured the hearts and booties of the real Miami better than the Bassheads.
See also: Interviews: Red Bull Music Academy Culture Clash in Miami, Four DJ Crews Do Battle
Even before the party started, shit was wild. Each crew was set up in their own corner of the dance floor. We walked around chatting with representatives from each team, getting the skinny on how they would approach the challenge.
Oh, and Dave Nada's mom was on hand to make the tastiest Empanadas to ever grace our mouths. It was turning into a classic night for sure.
Things escalated quickly as the crowd filled the room and Pepe Billete announced the start of the competition. Four crews, four rounds, three chances to score some points.
Round One: Temperature Rising was just a warm-up teaser, to show off your style, worth no points. Round Two: The Selector, with judging based on the decibel levels of the crowd's reaction for each crew, worth one point. Round Three: Sleeping with the Enemy, during which each crew tries to represent the sound of another, worth one point. Finally, Round Four: The Decider, when each crew brings it harder than ever for two points, and a chance to win and play all night.
Moombahton Massive got the head start, taking round two, though Black Chiney had some choice words for Moombah's Nada and crew.
The Slow Roast peeps brought the best where hip-hop and electro meet. With DJ Craze at the helm, they were hard to beat and took round three for themselves.
Black Chiney even represented the crew's Major Lazer connection and brought out the boy Diplo!
But it didn't matter. Because Basshead took the night with the total Miami package. Their DJs Juan Basshead and Megalodon were going in, plus they had local artist Ahol Sniffs Glue on the stage for some live painting. They brought out the 69 Boys to do "Tootsie Roll," and in the final round, the one-and-only Trick Daddy appeared to do a medley ("In Da Wind," "Shut Up," "Nann," etc.) and it was over after that, as everyone chanted "Basshead" before the judging even started.
So Basshead takes the champion belt home and played through the rest of the night.
But real talk, there were no losers. Grand Central and Miami won big just for playing host to such a dope party, all the crews won for making it an unforgettable night, and Red Bull won our loyal consumerism for the rest of forever.
Now we're just on the hunt for more sound clashes. This is our new obsession. Who wants to go?
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Follow Kat Bein on Twitter @KatSaysKill.
