Sometimes you might go to a hip hop show and the theme just might be singular. However, with the debut of The Beat Down, that dynamic may soon be changing. Austin, Texas artist Big Mic recently put on an event that not only featured some of the city’s polished spitters and beat makers. Big Mic explains that the showcase is needed to show the foundations of hip hop.

“I’m doing this showcase because I’m bringing back the elements of hip hop,” explained Mic. “I’m trying to help educate the youth because they need to know what hip hop was built on.”

And the show did exactly that. It opened up with the unorthodox sounds of the Beat Brigade, which featured local beatbox specialist, Filthy McNasty. The crew performed a plethora of old school hip hop as well as techno-like sounds to get the crowd going. After that, the performances began to pour in. Profit Z came to the stage and set things off with a few cuts from his latest project, Way We Live. Next, it was time for the producers to come in and rock the crowd. Kenny D out of Bastrop to hit the stage with his beats as well as lyrics.

Following him were S.K. and Flobama, who each had the only producer sets throughout the whole show. Towards the end of the night, everyone was treated to the R&B sounds of Upper Reality, who also showcased her beats as well.

The Beatdown definitely stands out as a rap showcase of its own in the Austin area. The main thing that it has going it, is the showcase of multiple elements of hip hop as well as various music genres. The talent in Austin is abundant to say the least, and this is definitely a place to check out for some of those faces that you might not have heard before, or, for artists, may not have had a chance to link u with.  Look for it to be held monthly at Kick Butt Coffeehouse and check out Rhymetime on Facebook for more updates surrounding the event.