Tune your ears

While Red Bull Big Tune made it's American television debut on April 11, the winner of the 2008 Championships – 17-year-old Charles ‘C-Sick’ Dumazer – went into the studio with platinum recording artist Nas to work on a track.

On April 11 Red Bull Big Tune made the leap from bass pumping clubs to the living rooms of 340,000 music fans during its American television debut on the BET network. The 30-minute TV show chronicled the adventures of 16 up-and-coming music producers as they embark on the final battle to determine once and for all who has ‘the big tune’ and who will walk away with the coveted title of Red Bull Big Tune Champion and a chance to collaborate with a well-known recording artist in Red Bull Studios.

When the final battle ended the crowd determined that the producer with ‘the big tune’ and the ultimate winner of the competition was 17-year-old Charles ‘C-Sick’ Dumazer of Chicago, Ill. In the time immediately following the final battle, C-Sick had a lot to contemplate. Who would he select to work with in the studio? After some deliberation he selected Def Jam recording artist Nas, one of hip-hop’s most profound lyrical poets. Nas is well known for his 1994 debut album Illmatic, which many consider to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. His upcoming tour and album with Damian Marley has many on the edge of their seats.

Just as the Red Bull Big Tune T.V. show was premiering to a national audience on Saturday night, C-Sick was cashing in on his grand prize – inside Red Bull Studios with Nas working on an original track. Before Nas settled on which of C-Sick’s tracks he wanted to rhyme over, he listened to an array of his beats that ranged from triumphant, club anthem-styled, bass thumping beats to gritty, hypnotic overtures. When asked about how he ultimately made a selection, Nas mentioned: ‘I listen to a lot of tracks from a lot of different guys. When I was able to figure out … that this producer made this track specifically for Nas, then I can hear what he might want out of it. It gets me excited to do something cool on the track.’

The lyrics Nas composed over C-Sick’s beats take listeners on a film-like visual tour through the highs and lows of fame, friendship and transformation.

This was a fairy tale adventure for high school senior C-Sick, who is originally from the south of France and moved to Chicago eight years ago. He has been working earnestly on beat creation for about two years, in between his studies. His diligence and natural talent landed him an opportunity to play his music for live hip-hop audiences in Chicago and New York and ultimately afforded him an unforgettable trip to Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world.

The studio collaboration between C-Sick and Nas was captured on video and will be released in three segments at the end of the month on www.redbullbigtune.com. The track itself is currently being tailored and mixed.