On Nov. 8, PlaqueBoyMax hosted the finale of his Rising Star competition at the Belasco in downtown Los Angeles. Six emerging artists performed for a live audience, competing for $25,000 and studio time at Red Bull Music Studios. Remixd Magazine attended the finale and spoke with PlaqueBoyMax before the show.
The three-day livestreamed music competition, in collaboration with Red Bull, featured contestants who lived together under one roof to showcase who would be the best of the best. The competition consisted of days filled with creating original music, artistry challenges and critiques from celebrity guests like Coi Leray, Lil Yachty and Wiz Khalifa.
Going into the final night, PlaqueBoyMax said he was watching for one thing above everything else.
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“I want to really see who they are, because once you’re on that stage, that’s you,” he told RemixdMag. “I want to see who are you? Like, show me what you got.”
Fans picked the finalists in real time
While the competition streamed, fans voted for the artists they wanted to see on Day 3 at the Belasco, and each artist was ranked by those votes. Raud had three stars on the ranking chart, Earfzilla had four, Boohavinn had six, Hawsa had eight, Matt Proxy had 12, and Tana led with 13 stars at the start of the final day.
That setup is the point for PlaqueBoyMax. He thinks the era of discovering talent behind closed doors is ending.
“I think it’s definitely all going to be in front of everybody,” he said. “You’re gonna see people’s journey all the way coming up. To a casual music listener, they will find out about people out of nowhere, like, oh, they’re just the biggest in the world. But you definitely get to see more development now, because everything is broadcasting.”
“Creators are the new broadcast”
Artists used to hand their CDs to radio stations and DJs. Asked whether streamers are replacing that system, PlaqueBoyMax widened the lens. He also had a clear read on why fans gravitate toward rising artists over the mainstream.
“Mainstream music is focused on hits because that’s what the labels are pushing. They’re putting so much money into them,” PlaqueBoyMax explained. “I feel like that’s why people mess with underground music and upcoming and rising artists, because they just like making music. They just don’t have the platform to show it yet, and you can definitely tell that there’s time being put into this art.”
When asked which is worse, terrible music with amazing marketing or amazing music with zero personality, he didn’t pretend there’s a single answer.
“It’s cool to have zero marketing and amazing music, but no one’s gonna see it,” he said. “We’ve seen superstars have amazing marketing, bad music. At the end of the day, it just depends. You want to be a superstar? Or do you just want to make what you love?”
The final night
The Day 3 lineup was Boohavinn, Hawsa, Matt Proxy, Raud, Earfzilla and Tana. Each artist took the stage to perform original music for the title of 2026 Rising Star, bringing their own sound, energy and entourage while fans watched the stream and voted.
After the performances, Tana and Matt Proxy had the most votes. PlaqueBoyMax asked the crowd to pick a favorite, and the room was into both, but only one could take the title.
PlaqueBoyMax named Matt Proxy the 2026 Rising Star.
“I’m giving Matt Proxy my five-star award because he came on stage and tweaked the f**k out in front of all of y’all, and y’all didn’t even know his lyrics,” he said. “He came on this s**t and rocked out, and that’s what it takes to be a star.”
It was the exact thing he said he came to see: who you are once you’re on that stage. Matt Proxy walked away with the title, the $25,000 prize and studio time at Red Bull Music Studios to keep building his sound.
As for what’s next, PlaqueBoyMax isn’t naming new collaborators yet. “I can’t [say who] yet,” he said, “but I do got some streams coming up.”
