Erie, Pennsylvania may not necessarily be “on the map” of hot spots for up-and-coming hip hop artists. It certainly has yet to become a regular stop for national touring acts, but it is surely making its way. Within the last two years the city of Erie has hosted multiple well-known artists including Chief Keef and Jaquees to name a few. However, what has been the main drive behind this sudden push to hold hip hop concerts comes from the city’s diverse underground hip hop artists that are trying to make a name for themselves.

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On January 19, Basement Transmissions Theater held an event geared to help Erie’s underground hip hop community establish themselves and showcase their talents with the Erie’s Best Rapper contest. The event was hosted by Shaun Buck Benjamin and his crew and featured DJ Nitro on the tables. The contest held not only a cash prize for the winner but also offered a free recording session with Erie hip hop legend NickIAmADon. Each contestant on the bill was given the chance to perform a handful of songs that they would be judged on by a panel of established DJ’s, artists and producers from the Erie area that also helped organize the event. There was a grand total of fifteen local artists who competed for the number one spot of the night. The contestants consisted not only of artists who have already been involved in Erie’s scene, but also had a few newcomers who were putting on their very first performance.

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Although there were plenty of talented acts that were worthy of being crowned, in the end it was the fresh voice of newcomer HB Stackz who won over the judges and took home the title of Erie’s best rapper. The other three finalists in no particular order from the night were C. Brown, Rook Thompson and female rapper Z-Killa.

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Although competition was fierce it was still interesting to see a well-sized gathering of folks who all shared the same interest: putting our city on the map of established hip hop scenes. Events such as this help demonstrate the potential a city like Erie has as well as remind the artists that are already involved in the scene of the work that still needs to be done to allow it to flourish. It is refreshing to see newcomers get a proper platform and chance to do what they normally cannot. As Erie picks up steam we can only hope this momentum is not short-lived.