The Solo category is the classical beatbox battle format, the oldest beatbox category of GBB, and it is happening for the 15th time. GBB started in 2009 and was invented by the beatboxer Ciaccolo (also known as Claudi Rudin), who is the Swiss vice beatbox champion in 2004.

In 2024, there will be a group of a minimum of 16 beatboxers entering a showcase elimination round of 4 minutes, inspired by a showcase concept from the beatboxer and national champion Primitiv from Belgium. The judges will select eight beatboxers to enter the battle stage. This phase follows a classic beatbox battle format, where each beatboxer is given two rounds of 90 seconds. There will be a small and big final after the quarter- and semi-finals. The rules for all categories will be declared in the official GBB24 rule book coming out a few weeks before GBB happens.

For the solo category, qualification is possible through the official GBB24 wildcard contest run by SBX or one of the qualifying events held globally in cooperation with our partners. Additionally, the recent GBB 7 To Smoke Champion and the top 3 of the last GBB23 solo edition are usually invited to rejoin the competition. The addressed solo artists can decide whether to enter the contest or not.

The tag team category joined the Grand Beatbox Battle as an inspiration for the event format La Cup in France back in 2013. This unique and original team event for countries in Europe included a crew category that motivated the current SBX and GBB workforce to focus on tag teams. In 2016, this new category was finally introduced.

In the tag team category, two beatboxers team up for a 4-minute showcase elimination together. The judges choose the best four teams that will enter the battle stage. There, they battle two rounds of 90 seconds. After the semi-finals follows a small and big final.

Qualification for the tag team category is possible through the official GBB24 wildcard contest. Also, the recent top 3 of the last GBB23 tag team edition are usually invited to rejoin the competition. The addressed loopers can decide whether to enter the contest or not.

The Loopstation category is the second-oldest category of GBB. It was introduced by SBX in 2013 as a loop category allowing any form of looping and solely having showcase rounds. In 2023, this category celebrated its tenth anniversary. It evolved over the years, focusing on using the loop station, the RC-505, from the company BOSS from Japan. In 2024, the format will be purely a battle where participants use the same gear, the RC-505 Mark ii. Besides that, each participant is allowed to use one MIDI controller. The battles start with a quarter-final and then move on to semi-finals and small and big finals. In each battle, the loopers have two rounds of 03:00 to 03:40 minutes.

For the loopstation category, qualification is possible through the official GBB24 wildcard contest or the Beatland 2023 Battle that happened in November last year. Also, the recent top 3 of the previous GBB23 loopstation edition are usually invited to rejoin the competition. The addressed loopers can decide whether to enter the contest or not.

The crew category was introduced only in 2021 and started as a showcase category. The GBB23 crew videos are still about to be released. The crew category generally includes and allows 3 to 5 members, meaning a crew can consist of 3, four, or five members. In 2023, the crew category included an elimination round of 4 minutes followed by a small final and a big final where each crew performed two rounds of 3 minutes against each other.

In GBB 2024, the crew category will include four crews to perform a seeding round (which means no crew will be eliminated, but they all reach the final battle stage), followed by a small and big final of two rounds of 3 minutes against each other. For the crew category, qualification is possible through the official GBB24 wildcard contest. Also, the recent winner of the last GBB23 crew edition is invited to rejoin the competition. The addressed crew champion can decide whether to enter the contest or not.

The producer category was officially introduced in 2023 and is the newest category at GBB. The official videos of the GBB23 producer category are still about to be released. After the loopstation category evolved over the years with all the new technology aspects, SBX teamed up with as many loopers and producers as possible to discuss the best formats to develop.

The result is one category that is a battle with the same gear: the loopstation category. The other producer category allows the participants to use more than one gear. Everything must be vocally sourced and vocally triggered. The planned equipment participants want to use must be listed and discussed with the SBX team and the judges before the competition in Tokyo happens.

For GBB24, the producer category allows 4 participants to enter a longer showcase round. The judges then rank the producers, and they meet in a small and final battle where they perform two rounds of 03:30 minutes to 04:00 minutes. The judges then decide the winner.

For the producer category, qualification is possible through the official GBB24 wildcard contest. Also, the recent winner of the last GBB23 producer edition is invited to rejoin the competition. The addressed producer’s champion can decide whether to enter the contest or not.