Street artists to battle it out in Leake Street Tunnel
- Text by Alex King
- Photography by Marc Vallée and Joe Epstein of LDN Graffiti
Battling is at the heart of hip hop culture. Full-on gang warfare in the Bronx during the late ’60s and early ‘70s evolved into local kids battling it out on the mic, on the dancefloor or with spray cans on the walls and subway cars of New York City.
The Battle of Waterloo 2015 channels this warrior spirit to pit forty of the highest calibre street artists head-to-head in the notorious Leake Street Tunnel on Saturday August 22. Organisers Chrome & Black whittled down the select list of entrants and are putting up £250 cash and a goody bag of prizes.
Artists such as Pow, Slam, Diet, She, Dan Kitchener and Korsa, will be judged on a number of different factors and whoever has the highest number of points at the end of the day will be crowned champion.
Entry is completely free and on the day there’ll food from Mama’s Jerk, music from Itch FM DJs and free graffiti workshops for under-twelves.
The Battle of Waterloo 2015 runs 10am-6pm on Saturday August 22 at Leake Street Tunnel.
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