The evening of August 26th, Talk of The Town transformed our studio into an event space, and hosted a Kickback in collaboration with Major Playmaker, which saw almost 20 different artists perform their best tracks in competition, to be judged by the Talk of The Town Hosts (Lauryn Kay, Coey The Connect, Briana Imani, and Enrique Ortiz) and Major himself.
From 9pm until well past midnight, act after act continued to give their all, putting their pride aside and showing why they deserved to win the grand prize. Though they were all based out of the New York/New Jersey area, the competition saw the performance of artists who originally hailed from states as far south as Virginia, showing the impact, reach, and importance that New York City still holds on the genre it birthed.
Despite the abundance of talent that came through to compete, only three acts would get a prize, and only one of those would receive the grand prize. In 3rd place was Jersey’s very own Ru Savv. He wow’d the judges with his consistency and wordplay, and absolutely put on for Essex County. In 2nd place was Dripped n’ Filthy, representing East New York. His energy was absolutely top tier, as he didn’t bother to use a microphone left an impression on the judges thanks to his physical performance, as well as the quality of his music.
The night’s winner, though, was practically crowned after she performed, since only one other person came close to matching her confidence, energy, presence, lyrical skill, and overall musical ability. Coming from Yonkers is the event’s winner, Yaya!
Powered by her performance of the tracks “NYB,” and “Who’s That Girl,” Yaya absolutely commanded the crowd’s attention for the 10-15 minutes she held the stage. Encouraging audience participation, and displaying some impressive breath control, Yaya showed that she definitely has the potential to be a great performer, and a major player in the years to come. Proudly repping Yonkers, a place that is already the birthplace of many hip-hop legends, Yaya put on for her hometown, and showed us exactly why the ladies are killing it in Hip-Hop right now.
Be sure to check out the vlog from the event below, and be on the lookout for the next one!
🤝🏾🎥🔥🔥🔥