Last Friday (June 17) saw Brooklyn-Jamaica crew Mixpak turn the O2 Arena on its head at this year's Red Bull Culture Clash with MCs Popcaan, Serocee, Kranium, Tony Matterhorn, Spice and of course Sneakbo, J Hus, and Big Narstie. The favourites to win switched, at times, between the UKG Allstars and Eskimo Dance. Few, if any, thought Mixpak (and indeed Taylor Gang) would come as hard as they did, and no one thought Mixpak would snatch the crown. Still, as soon as Spice leapt onto the stage into a split, accused Wiz of eating the "pum pum" and then closed with Big Narstie and a "One Dance" dub, there was no doubt in anyone's mind as to who the clear winners were.
The running theme of the night was each crew claiming to have never heard of Mixpak. No doubt this was a lie designed to goad the crew, but we can't help but think the crew aren't quite as known to UK fans as they should be. Anyway, they absolutely destroyed this year's Red Bull Culture Clash so we decided to give you a rundown of highlights not just from Mixpak, but also from the war-ready MCs that led the charge.
Palmistry — "Lifted"
Keida — "Never Lose" (Prod. By Douster)
Jubilee — "I-95"
Murlo — "Moodswung"
Ms Thing & Psycho Tanbad — "Bonify"
Gaika — "PMVD" f/ Mista Silva
Poirier — "Bring It On" f/ EJ Von Lyrik
Sticky — "Look Pon Me" f/ Natalie Storm
Kranium — "Nobody Has To Know" f/ Ty Dolla $ign
Jamie xx — "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)" (Dre Skull Remix) f/ Assassin, Kranium, Konshens And Popcaan
Spice — "So Mi Like It"
Not strictly a Mixpak release, but considering Spice delivered some of the most brutal attacks to their opponents, we had to share one of her videos with you. A highly prolific artist, there was a lot to choose from in her vast back catalogue but we just had to go with "So Mi Like It (Raw)", the tune she marched out to before doing that split. It's worth digging really deep into Spice's output, not least for her wild, idiosyncratic videos—there's really nothing quite like them.