Young Seph

Yesterday, we wondered about who had the illest beats in the Valley's hip-hop community.

Today, we've got our answer: Lifted. At least that's according to a crowd of more than 500 strong at PHX Nightclub last night, as they chose the 29-year old beat-maker/producer as the regional winner of the Red Bull Big Tune beat battle.

"I'm so effin' stoked right now," he says. "I was up until 6 a.m. this morning banging out some beats until dawn. It was mother effin' worth it."


Carlo Cruz
Lifted enjoys his moment of triumph.
Lifted, a vocalist/producer for the recently-defunct hip-hop group Tha Formula, outlasted 11 others during the single-elimination affair, which consisted of four rounds of one-on-one match-ups.
Each battle featured competitors playing their best beats and the audience's reaction determined which track was more dope. Lifted vanquished such local beatsmiths as Trauma and DJ BattleCat protégé Amplified with his self-created instrumental tracks before besting Young Seph (who collaborated with Jim Jones earlier this year on the song "Pop Off") during the finals, in what he describes as "raw battle."

"It was pretty fierce," Lifted says. "Everyone had heat, but Seph was definitely one of the biggest one's out there last night."

With the win, he'll be flying to Atlanta for the Big Tune national finals in October for a shot at producing a song for a major label hip-hop/R&B artist. (As runner-up, Young Seph will also get a berth in the competition).

If you'd like to wish him luck, Lifted will be performing with hip-hop outfit The New F-O's on Thursday, June 18, at Dirty Pretty in Scottsdale. It's his newest project, which formed after he and the other members of Tha Formula decided to "go their separate ways" around three months ago. - Phoenix New Times