Our next Spanish-speaking rap superstar could come out from the Red Bull Batalla, the world’s largest Spanish freestyle rap battle. This international competition unites Latin American and Spanish artists since 2005 and has also served as a platform for young MCs to train, perform, and improve their improvisation and rapping skills.

The beauty of this improvised rap scene is that although it is deeply connected to hip hop and its improvisation styles of traditional folk troubadours, it has evolved into a style utterly distinct from the rhyming speech originated in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s.

Thirty-six of the country’s most dynamic lyricists have been selected to battle it out in this year’s competition, following a record-breaking 2020 season, in which Red Bull Batalla chose the latest batch of top Spanish-freestyle MCs from every pocket of the U.S.

Fan favorites, such as OG Frases from Miami, Boss and Chester from Los Angeles, plus new talent, will have the chance to compete to take the Batalla 2021 crown, the biggest prize in Spanish-speaking freestyle rap. Each MC submitted a freestyle video flexing their lyrical skills during the application phase in April.

In addition to these up-and-coming hip-hop stars, the top three finalists from the 2020 competition— Yartzi, last year’s U.S. Champion from Puerto Rico, El Dilema, a 2020 finalist from New York, and Jordi, who ranked third in 2020—are all invited to return directly to the U.S. finals.

The event will be held during the anniversary season, and the U.S. Finals will take place in Los Angeles, CA, on September 18, ahead of the Batalla World Finals. However, the Qualifier Phase will begin on August 12th. Here the 36 ferocious freestyle competitors face-to-face in battles captured in Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York.

A special panel of judges, including former Batalla competitors Tito Yang, who was the first MC to represent Puerto Rico in a Red Bull Batalla International Final; Kim MC, Venezuela’s only female contestant to ever to win a National Championship; and two-time Latin Grammy-nominated Cuban rapper, El B, will review these battles during a live event on the official Red Bull Batalla Twitch channel at 4 pm PST / 7 pm EST: https://www.twitch.tv/redbullbatalla.

The 13 finalists who emerge from Red Bull Batalla Twitch Day victorious will compete with the three returning finalists from 2020 for the U.S. Red Bull Batalla Championship on September 18 in Los Angeles. During the competition, 16 will become one as the 2021 U.S. Red Bull Batalla Champion is crowned.

But that’s not all! Following the U.S. National Final, the respective champions from over ten countries, including the U.S., Mexico, Spain, and Colombia, will square off for the Red Bull Batalla World Final – where only one contestant can be crowned the 2021 Red Bull Batalla World Champion.

Complete List of Qualifiers & Returning Finalist

1. Adonys: New York, NY IG: @adonys_ys
2. Animal: Miami, FL IG: @animalFL
3. Boss: Los Angeles, CA IG: @bossmtc
4. Chester: San Diego, CA IG: @clapchester
5. Cuban: McAllen, TX IG: @cuban.mc
6. Eckonn: Orlando, FL IG: @eckonn
7. El Dilema: New York, NY IG: @el_dilema
8. El Poeta: Phoenix, AZ IG: @pots.poeta
9. Faby: Lewisville, TX IG: @faby.mg01
10. Freites: Orlando, FL IG: @freites_hc
11. G.I.O.: Houston, TX IG: @gio.vsc
12. Heavy Bars: Miami, FL IG: @heavybarsoficial
13. J Luna: Las Cruces, NM IG: IG: @jluna.nm
14. Jahn Alenó: Ponce, PR IG: @jahnaleno
15. JAYCO: Yonkers, NY IG: @yosoyjco_official
16. Jordi: Austin, TX IG: @jordi.esparza
17. Kcique: Miami, FL IG: @kcique24
18. Klaze: Miami, FL IG: @klaze_sr
19. Levi Kun: Miami, FL IG: @chelsea_kun_
20. LinkOne: Puerto Rico IG: @link_one
21. Luis Alenó: Ponce, PR IG: @luisaleno
22. Magimbri: San Antonio, TX IG: @juanpablort27
23. Maluque: Oxnard, CA IG: @lemaluque
24. MAU: West New York, NY IG: @Mau_d1az
25. McBetho: Irving, TX IG: @mcbetho
26. Nico B: Miami, FL IG: @nicob.official
27. OG Frases: Miami, FL IG: @ogfrases
28. OneR: Tamarac, FL IG: @onerodriguez
29. Pazy: Miami, FL IG: @pazyy
30. Pharaon: Las Vegas, NV IG: @pharaon_lv
31. Pich1to: Miami, FL IG: @pich1to
32. PIWIE: Puerto Rico IG: @diegopiwinskii
33. Reverse: Orlando, FL IG: @reverse_mc7
34. RuRa: Las Vegas IG: @rura.mc
35. Snow: Denver, CO IG: @snowqlq_
36. Stu: Los Angeles, CA IG: @stu.mentendes
37. Yartzi: Puerto Rico IG: @yartzirial
38. Zazo Wan: Dallas, TX IG: @kush.hashman
39. Zeu: North Bergen, NJ IG: @eduzeu