MC Battle
Mic drop: one of these MCs will be crowned freestyle king this Saturday
Get to know the 16 participants set to do battle in the Dominican Republic on Saturday, December 12.
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The Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos International Final is almost upon us! This year, the freestyle Spanish-language MCs battle returns, filmed in a virtual arena in the Dominican Republic, on Saturday, December 12.
16 participants will represent their countries and bring everything they have to the stage to win the championship. But who are these MCs and what’s their pedigree? Read on for all the essential facts:
Acertijo
© Jürgen Westermeyer
Real name: Martín Antonio García Fuentes
Chile National Champion 2020
From: Concepción, Chile
Age: 26
Acertijo qualified for the 2020 National Final after coming in third place in 2019. This was his third consecutive National Final. He’s poured massive amounts of effort into his craft and is finally witnessing the fruits of his labour. He won his country’s championship after beating Rodamiento in the final round of the event.
Fast fact: He’s part of the rap 'boy band' Parley, where he shares the stage with fellow MCs Elemental, Joker, Andrés Slater, Freedom Morales, Tito Bruno and dip Silence.
Elevn
© Kevin Molano/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Bassil Giuseppe Castellanos
Colombia National Champion 2020
From: Bogotá, Colombia
Age: 27
Elevn is one of the best Colombian freestylers, known for his punchlines and technique. When it comes to the content of his rhymes, he’s fearless. In 2017, he won the National Final against Big Killa, and this year he won again against Carpediem in the final. This year, he was also a judge for Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos Exhibición. This will be his second International Final.
Fast fact: His name comes from his birth month, November.
Exodo Lirical on the stage in Santo Domingo
© Hilda Pellerano / Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Christopher Hannier Berroa Aquino
Dominican Republic National Champion 2020
From: San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Age: 18
This young Dominican freestyler began his career in 2018 while still at school. He competed in a National Final for the first time in 2019 and again in 2020 where he took home the championship after defeating Leamback in the final. This will be his first International Final.
Fast fact: Before going by the name Éxodo Lirical, he was known as ‘El loco de la bocina roja’ (‘Crazy guy with the red megaphone’).
Real name: José Miguel Rodríguez Oquendo
Ecuador National Champion 2020
From: Quito, Ecuador
Age: 20
Mac started in the freestyle world in 2015 at just 14 years old when he competed in the Ring Del Respeto National Final. Since then, he’s become one of the best freestylers in his country. In the 2020 National, he beat the former champion Switch and later Eppico, making him the country’s National Champion. Mac has previously never participated in a Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos event and he made it to the International on his first attempt.
Fast fact: He has a tattoo of Charles Bukowski on his forearm.
Naicen
© Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos
Real name: Andy Cristofer Balbuena Gómez Porto
Uruguay National Champion 2020
From: Montevideo, Uruguay
Age: 22
Naicen, a freestyler from Montevideo, took the crown at the Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos National Final in Uruguay after a heated final against Wordplay. It was his second time participating. Naicen has been rapping for many years in the plazas of Montevideo and has participated in competitions such as 3xFreestyle and BDM. This is the third time we’ll have an Uruguayan in the International Final, the first was R-Loko, and the second was Franco.
Fast fact: He performs his own music under the name Maldito Naicen and just released a single called Lazaro.
Rapder
© Marcos Ferro / Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Eder Ernesto Lozano Arias
Mexico National Champion 2020
From: Guadalajara, Mexico
Age: 25
The Mexican double champion recently took home the gold at the 2020 National Final. He began on the Red Bull circuit in 2017 when he competed in the Mexico National Final, losing the final round against Aczino. In 2018, he won the championship after beating Lobo Estepario, earning him a spot at the International Final in Buenos Aires, where he was defeated by the Champion Wos. Rapder joins a small group of 2020 double-champions in this year’s International Final.
Fast fact: He’s commonly referred to as ‘La Bestia de Occidente’ ('The beast of the east'), after a battle in Guadalajara against his friend el Gallo de Jalisco.
Skone and Jota in World Finals action
© Fabio Piva/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: José Miguel Manzano Bazalo
Spain National Champion 2020
From: Malaga, Spain
Age: 30
The freestyler from Malaga is a legend on the scene. At just 19 years old he participated in his first Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos regional semi-final in Barcelona. 2016 was a key year for Skone – he won the semi-final in Almería and then the National Final in Spain, leading him to the International Championship in Lima, Peru, where he took home the gold. Recently, he’s been found travelling all over the world as a judge for many competitions. He’s one of the three candidates up for the chance at becoming the first International Double-Champion in the history of the competition.
Fast fact: Before being recognised as one of the best MCs on the scene, he worked in the world of theatre.
SNK
© Red Bull Music
Real name: Sergio Guillen
Costa Rican National Champion 2020
From: Cartago, Costa Rica
Age: 22
SNK has won the Costa Rican National Final twice, in 2019 and 2020. After taking fourth place in the Madrid International Final 2019, he became the Costa Rican who’s gone the furthest in the competition. After an intense final round against P8, he became the National Champion for the second time this year, earning him a spot at the International Final.
Fast fact: SNK is an avid meditation practitioner and recently released a song called Meditación.
MC Stick wins Peru's Batalla de los Gallos
© Enrique Castro Mendivil/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Jordy Stick Renteria Reyes
Peru National Champion 2020
From: Lima, Peru
Age: 24
'The Plaza King' began his career on stage in 2013 when he debuted and won the Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos National Championship when he was 17 years old. At the International Final that year, he was defeated by Jony Beltrán. Seven years later, Stick returns to the International Final after becoming a double National Champion after defeating Skill during the national final.
Fast fact: He sells chocotejas (a chocolate dessert) before he raps in contests in the plazas. This is why he is also known as 'The Plazas King'.
TATA on the mic
© Gianfranco Tripodo/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Cristian Sosa
Argentina National Champion 2020
From: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Age: 32
Fondly referred to as an old-school rapper, Tata is the 2020 Argentinean National Champion. His first National Final was eight years ago in a packed Niceto Club in Buenos Aires. Three years later he returned to the circuit in an attempt to be the first Argentinean double champion, but he was defeated by Dtoke in the semi-final round. Two years later, in 2017, he was again defeated, this time by Dozer in the quarter-finals. Finally, in 2020, he’s become a double champion after defeating Wolf in the final round.
Fast fact: He performed the first 'doble tempo' in Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos history.
Yartzi at the Alamo Shock Studio in Madrid
© Gianfranco Tripodo/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: William Giovanni Manzano Serrano
United States National Champion 2020
From: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Age: 27
Yartzi is a Puerto Rican rapper and USA double champion, winning in 2019 and 2020. Aside from freestyle, he has an active music career and is constantly collaborating with some of the top producers in the industry. This year, he earned the championship after defeating El Dilema in the final round. This will be Yartzi’s second International Final.
Fast fact: After his first battle in Puerto Rico in 2015, he became known locally as the ‘Punchline master’.
Minos
© Yessica Cosio / Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Eduardo Sanchez Montaño
Bolivia National Champion 2019
From: Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Age: 21
Minos won the Bolivian National Final in 2019 after a tense first round against Shadow, the 2016 champion, and later eliminating Sasquatch. This Bolivian MC has never gone beyond quarter-finals in the International Final and that is Minos’s goal this year.
Fast fact: Last year he was unable to travel to the International Final due to visa issues, but his moment has finally come.
Shield Master
© Hilda Pellerano / Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Saimel Dionicio Pacheco
Dominican Republic National Champion 2019
From: San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
Age: 24
In the 2019 National Final, Shield Master surprised everyone when he defeated Gaudy Mercy in the first round, Lupo in quarter-finals, MC Jeral in the semi-finals and KDT (2018 National Champion) in the final round. This year, he’ll be competing in the International as he couldn't travel last year due to visa complications. It will be his first International Final and in his home country.
Fast fact: He’s been playing basketball for six years and is a member of his university team.
Aczino is ready for action
© Alfred Jürgen Westermeyer/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Mauricio Hernández
Third Place International Final 2019
From: Los Reyes de la Paz, Mexico
Age: 29
Considered one of the best freestylers in the world, Aczino is the champion with the most titles in the history of the league. He began rapping in 2005 and then began participating in cyphers and writing songs. He decided to try for the National Final in Mexico in 2008, and he went on to win the championship at nearly all of the competitions he competed in. He’s won four National Finals, and in 2017 he took the International championship. This will be his sixth International Final, and is one of the three MCs with a chance at a double championship this year.
Fast fact: He prepares for battles by listening to classical music.
Bnet took on Valles-T and won
© Jacobo Medrano/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Juan Camilo Ballesteros
Runner-up International Final 2019
From: Cartago, Colombia
Age: 24
Valles-T won his first National Final in Colombia in 2016 and again in 2018, which qualified him for the International Final in Buenos Aires where he took third place. During the International Final in 2019, he had one of his most memorable battles against Aczino and came in second after being defeated by Bnet.
Fast fact: Valles-T also has a successful musical career. In August, 2020, he released a song, Hola Hermosa, which has attracted more than 150,000 views on YouTube.
Bnet is Spain's national Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos champ
© Jacobo Medrano/Red Bull Content Pool
Real name: Javier Bonet González
2019 International Champion
From: Madrid, Spain
Age: 22
It’s safe to say that the young freestyler from Madrid is extremely lucky, having earned a spot as a reserve not only in the National Final in Spain in 2018 but also in the 2019 International Championship – winning them both. After defeating Carpediem in the first round, Yartzi in quarter finals, SNK in the semi-finals (with a noteworthy acapella) and ultimately Valles-T in a heated final battle, he’s the reigning World Champion. He’s decided to defend his title his year and will be competing in the International Final in the Dominican Republic on December 12.
Fast fact: This is the first time that he’s participating in a Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos final not as a reserve.
Watch the Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos International Final in the Dominican Republic via Red Bull TV, live on Saturday, December 12, here.
Be sure to download the free Red Bull TV app and catch unmissable action on all your devices! Get the app here.
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