2020 Red Bull Batalla World Champion Rapder Offers Advice For Ecuadorian Finalists

From the age of 14, the Mexican Eder Ernesto Lozano, better known by the stage name Rapder, was drawn to the style of hip hop. So much so that in his native Jalisco, Guadalajara (Mexico), then joined the collective Freechaps, who organized battles in this genre during the so-called recreational route (when the authorities close the streets for cars to give priority to pedestrians or bicycles during the weekends). “A pretty nice community was formed and that’s where we used to perform because we were more relevant when we were in front of an audience other than just rappers and that was where we got to battle ”, recalls the artist, who is now 26 years old.

What is the battle about? The name, while suggesting a bigger showdown, is actually a term that works as a hook to get people interested and want to witness that combat. “But basically it is a plot debate where you have to be answering what your rival is telling you”Explains Rapder. “What most caught my attention was reaching a culture and a musical genre in which To express what you feel you should not adhere to a guideline to give your message. For example, we know that in the pop or the rock there is a structure that must be followed when writing a song like a pre-choir, chorus, musical bridge, and so on. Here you can make the song and give it the format you want because it is the best way for you to deliver your message ”.

To date, Rapder already boasts several titles, including that of 2020 Red Bull Battle International Champion, the largest competition of this genre. He is also a two-time national champion for his country, with triumphs in 2018 and 2020.

His talent for improvisation turned into composition for your album Posdata (can be heard on Spotify). “It is an album that, as the name of the first song shows, helped me for a catharsis”, He maintains. “I was experiencing many family and personal situations, my friends, my work status and I needed to have that therapy and they are literally ideas that were born and took the form of songs. I like to say that the disk It is a reminder to myself of where I was at that time, of the ideals that I still hold.. Every now and then when I have a conflict I listen to songs from that album again and I get back on track”.

The next Saturday, November 13, Ecuador will choose your national champion Red Bull Battle and, from its experience, Rapder offers some suggestions to freestylers: “The Red Bull National It is not a competition where you can get to experiment, it is where you have to get to ensure your way of rapping”, He emphasizes.

“If the punch lines, come and do it or if the flows, do them, you should not change your style because you cannot experiment in a national competition. You have to give 100% of what makes you feel most comfortable and at the end of the day is what will end up being reflected for the judges’ decision. Arrive without fear, do what you know how to do, exploit it and I assure you that the results will be given”.