No Long Talk wins Red Bull Culture Clash NYC 2024 (2024)

The “Battle of the Parades” pushed the best of New York City’s culture to the forefront and Caribbean culture took the crown.

On June 1, No Long Talk, a crew championing the Caribbean sound around the world, was crowned the winner of the 2024 Red Bull Culture Clash New York. After a four-round battle against fellow local cultural giants — Remezcla, Papi Juice, and Eastern Standard Times — yellow streamers filled the air to signal a new champion ruling the scene. Fans blew horns, waved a sea of flags, and cheered in support as the sun set over 1 Noble Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

“We represented the whole Caribbean,” said Rhea Prendergast, captain of the No Long Talk crew, following the win. “Everybody's pride coming together is one big strong force — a strike force.”

Inspired by Jamaican sound system culture, this clash was the city’s first since 2022. For its big return, RedBull honored four vibrant parades of the Big Apple. The winning collective, No Long Talk, represented the West Indian Day Parade, which takes place on Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway on Labor Day.

Their challengers included, Remezcla, a media platform reflecting the diverse voices of the U.S. Latine culture, repping the Puerto Rican Day Parade held on Fifth Avenue in June. Another crew, Papi Juice, an arts and music collective that celebrates the lives of queer and trans people of color, honored the New York City Pride March, which notably passes the Stonewall National Monument and AIDS Memorial on its route. The fourth crew, Eastern Standard Times, who are creating a unified voice for Asians throughout the diaspora, revered the Lunar New Year Parade & Festival held in Chinatown.

Each crew’s stage was set against four corners in the battle zone. Walking in you saw Papi Juice’s stage in the nearest right corner, adorned with pink and white airbrushed illustrations of their crew members and dozens of plants. In the left corner was Eastern Standard Times’ stage, featuring a red DJ booth, a color that symbolizes good luck during the Lunar New Year, and gold dragons to celebrate the current Year of the Dragon.

Remezcla’s stage on the far right took us to El Barrio, where Puerto Rican flags hang from proud boricua fire escapes. Their DJ booth was a Piragua cart surrounded by Bombas and giant dominos. No Long Talk crafted their booth from massive trucks that accompany Carnival bands during the West Indian Day parade. Their platform also had Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway street signs, to pay homage to the Crown Heights neighborhood that hosts the festivities.

At around 3:20 p.m., doors to the “Clash of the Parades'' opened to hundreds of fans who descended onto outdoor grounds with views of the East River and Manhattan skyline. As attendees awaited kick-off, they enjoyed an opening set by The Large, who spun a meláge of dancehall, afrobeats, house, and global club music.

Other revelers checked out the Marketplace featuring The West Indian Carnival Association, NYC Pride, BreadxButta, Everything Oxtail, Forsyth Fire, and Boba Guys. These businesses and organizations, amongst others, reflected the diversity of the crews. Pairing these sights and sounds with sunny 80-degree weather sets the perfect scene for a face-off for the ages.

Starting at 5:22 p.m., hosts Devin Halbal, a TikTok sensation, and Mel Ottenberg, editor-in-chief of Interview Magazine, made their way to the center stage to explain the rules: “You, the audience, decide who wins.” A decibel reader would measure the cheers at each stage. Round 1 was a warm up so no points were given for it. Round 2 and 3 winners received one point each. Round 4 winners received two points. Other rules: no crew was allowed to repeat songs played earlier in the event unless it was a counteraction in the form of a remix.

Finally, Habal reminded the crowd that no hate speech or violence was allowed before passing the mic to Papi Juice to start Round 1.

Each crew now warmed up their supporters and established who they were.

“It’s the first day of PRIDE,” said the Papi Juice host, Maya Margarita. “Just know that we’re turning it up!” They did just that with a mix of upbeat hip-hop anthems and mashups, such as a house remix of Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” and Nicki Minaj’s “Starships.” Dancers came to the front of the platform with confident twerks and poses while their supporters waved silver fans in unison. The transition was smooth over to the Remezcla stage. They told a story that began with honoring traditional songs and Conga percussionists giving spirited performances. A notable DJ selection was Puerto Rican rap legend Tego Caulderon’s massive reggaeton classic “Pa' Que Retozen.” Lemon Andersen, a Puerto Rican spoken word artist, evoked boricua pride with his rhymes. Break dancers made acrobatics on the small stage look easy.

“If you love reggae music, put your right hand in the air,” yelled No Long Talk’s Kevin Crown, as the crew took over third. They quickly juggled a medley of bass-rattling dancehall and reggae standard cuts like Damian Marley’s “Welcome to JamRock,” Buju Bunton's “Driver” and Aidona’s “Yeah Yeah.” The dancers took us to a Saturday night bashment with recognizable and unifying choreographed moves to “Bad Man Forward, Bad Man Pull Up.” Jamaica’s culture would set the tone for many other islands they’d shout out on stage that evening.

Finally, Eastern Standard Times showed love to all the other crews, while declaring they were ready to courageously compete: “It’s the year of the dragon!” They gave their spin on hip-hop culture by playing Higher Brothers’ “Made In China” and bringing out current hitmakers in the Asian rap scene, Jay Park, who rapped “Dance Like Jay Park.” The crew acknowledged that the past few years had “been a rough time for the Asian community” so having this positive moment of representation was incredibly meaningful to them.

After back-to-back bangers from each stage, the hosts tested the decimal meter. No Long Talk took the first round, but no points just yet. After this, the battle got more intense.

To achieve the first point of the day, each crew dug deeper to showcase what makes their parade unique.

Remezcla upped the ante by bringing out a string of their country’s hitmakers like Nina Sky, who DJed this round as well, Lumidee, and Judy Santos, showcasing the soundtrack to their parade. No Long Talk followed up with a homage to Trinidad, the originators of Caribbean Carnival, with the biggest soca chunes including Problem Child, “Holiday” as masqueraders dressed in carnival costumes hyped up the people. They aimed at the Remezcla crew with a dubplate from soca veteran Alison Hinds: “Nina Sky. You ain’t had a hit since 2005!” which evoked gasps.

After the intensity of the previous performers, Eastern Standard Times took us to the Lunar New Year parade, as dancers appeared on stage donning Chinese dragon costumes. Filipino artist, Slay Rizz, another crew member, rocked an elaborate dress modeled after a gold dragon. She gave us a catwalk, rapped, and left their audience feeling seen, heard, and uplifted. Papi Juice’s DJ Mazurbate took us through another round of Pride anthems resonating with their crowd. Sounds of Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé's Renaissance era emphasized the importance of Black female rappers and singers as icons in queers spaces. The crew also gave some catchy quips and chants: “Don’t be scared the gays are here” and “Everybody's a little gay!” And with that, Papi Juice gave the show the people wanted as they took round 2.

By Round 3, the teams had to re-interpret a New York anthem in a way they saw fit. For this battle, that song was “New York Groove” by Hello. No Long Talk kept it short but sweet with a reggae remix, and Eastern Standard Times' remix had more hip-hop flare. Papi Juice took us to Ballroom Culture for their performance by bringing out the voguers and rapper Precious who bigged up each dancer that twirled across the stage. Over on the Remezcla stage, DJ Bembona brought out J.I the Prince, for a reggaeton rendition of the track. They even had some lite feet dancers and closed out holding up a sign calling for freedom of expression and autonomy for the Puerto Rican people. No Long Talk won this round which tied them with Papi Juice.

The final challenged crews to bring the best of the best in special guests to the stage, and they all delivered. Eastern Standard Times featured Philadelphia crooner Pink Sweat$. Papi Juice gave rapper Ms. Boogie the floor, and she delivered powerful verses over a hard-hitting NY drill. Remezcla invited Laura Styles, DJ Tony Touch, and Jim Jones, and the stage was filled with the sounds of horn blowing, while also incorporating folkloric characters integral to Puerto Rican festivals on stage in an effort to show love to their heritage.

Although these crews all put on an exciting show for their respective cultures, No Long Talk made an offer that the audience couldn't refuse. They brought out YG Marley to perform "Praise Jah In The Moonlight" and paid homage to Haiti with the island's own Wyclef Jean. He then played exclusive dubplates he recorded of Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson more than 20 years ago. To secure the win, No Long Talk ran another dubplate with dancehall artists Skillibeng, Mavado, and Bounty Killer, set to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”

With bragging rights until the next RedBull Culture Clash, this victory is a win for the No Long Talk crew and Caribbean culture as a whole.

"I'm blessed to be able to do this for our culture, especially on a scale like this," said Prendergast. "We don't get these opportunities very often, so it's an honor."