Sunday night marked the 1st annual Sipp Hop Beat Battle “Night Of Champions”. After a whole years worth of qualifying, 4 of the hottest producers in Mississippi were gathered on stage to square off for the right to call themselves Champion. The finalists were Gutta Boy, Alumni Beatz, Traxx on Deck, and D-Ray. They would each pick 3 beats and getting 1:30 they went back and forth. Then a panel of judges would make their selection on who went to the final round.

Round One featured Gutta Boy vs Alumni Beatz and Traxx on Deck vs D-Ray. In the first match-up Alumni Beatz came out swinging but Gutta Boy responded with an incredibly diverse repertoire. Gutta Boy, who took pride in the fact he played his own instruments and did not use any samples, took the round based on the diversity and quality of production. It was very close and I actually had Alumni Beatz ahead until the last song. Alumni still had the best single track performance of the night, with his second song Mathematics something-something-something. If you can inbox me that joint so I can listen to it in the comfort of my own home, I’d appreciate it. The second match-up was not as close but D-Ray put up a good fight. He received some pointers from the judges after the contest and I’m sure he’ll be back strong. In the end off the strength of an Allan Parson’s Project sample from a track called “Sirius”, yeah I know it’s the Bulls intro theme to just about everyone out there, and a eclectic batch of production Traxx On Deck moved to face Gutta Boy.

In The Finals, Traxx won the coin toss and Gutta went first. First song in my opinion ended in a tie, although Traxx seemed to have the crowd on his side. The the Championship was won in the second round. Gutta elected to show his versatility by playing a Pop style track and Traxx responded with a Django sample that caught fire to the crowd. Gutta fired back on the last track but Traxx responded with a solid and soulful effort. Traxx was crowned the first annual Sipp Hop Champion, although I’m sure he will be called upon to defend it early in 2014. I’m looking forward to another Gutta Boy vs Traxx battle.

Overall, the event was cool. I was very impressed by the level of skill the participants showed. All 4 producers showed a lot of pride in their work and rightfully so. If this was any indication, next years series of Sipp Sop Beat Battles will be something you will not want to miss. They also announced they will be adding some elements to the show, including Spoken Word and Dance portions, incorporating even more Hip-Hop elements. I look forward to covering the 2014 contests. Congratulations to all the participants for making it to the end and showing what Mississippi has. Special shout out to the Champ, Traxx On Deck, job well done.