Category: Battle Culture

Podcast Ep. 2: DF vs KOTD vs URL

Eurgh at Don't Flop's 5th Birthday Weekend - Photo by Charlie Hyams
Eurgh at Don’t Flop’s 5th Birthday Weekend - Photo by Charlie Hyams

Last weekend at Don’t Flop’s 5th Birthday event, three words stood out from all the others: “Suck my dick.”

In a 2-on-2 battle against Canadian MCs Loe Pesci and Bender, Don’t Flop founder Eurgh took shots at King of the Dot and Organik, and Twitter went crazy. With nothing more to go on than a few patchy quotes from social media and the forums, many North American battle fans and KOTD staff members fired back. Things have quieted down now, but we expect another firestorm once the official footage drops.

We talk about this issue and more in Episode 2 of the podcast:

-What’s behind the animosity between DF & KOTD?
-Is the DF/KOTD rivalry similar to the KOTD/URL dust-ups at WD4?
-Are league rivalries good for the culture?

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Battlers on battling: You never forget your first time

Last month’s KOTD Vengeance event was a who’s who of the battling scene. We used it as an opportunity to ask 14 rappers one question: What do you remember about your first battle?

FRESCO & RONE


Watch Fresco and Rone battle at Vengeance 2

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Universal BBoy League: All the right moves

130407 UBL Main Event Expo - 02

“I’m ending his b-boy career” says Brandon “Burn” Tumblod, a 20-year-old with floppy hair and a quick smile in a video aired ahead of a breakdance battle with Knowski - who had just accused him of stealing his hairstyle.

When the two meet on the dancefloor at The Great Hall, they go to touch shoes (as is UBL pre-battle tradition) but Burn pulls his foot away and twists it around Knowski’s. The crowd that surrounds them laughs and jeers.

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How to judge a rap battle

With battle rap reaching the competitive heights of organized sports, consistent judging is essential. When there’s money at stake and reputations on the line, a judge’s decision has to go beyond a gut feeling. But when faced with a split-second decision, a judge can often only choose on instinct and try to justify it after.

In KOTD, judges get two cards with a name written on each. They watch the battle and as soon as it’s done, they hand the winner’s card to the host. There’s no time for reflection. The battle ends, you decide.

Fans want an explanation for each vote and when they see the judgment as a robbery, they want blood. The thing is, every close battle looks like a robbery to half the fans.

U.K. battle league Don’t Flop has been experimenting with seven-judge panels and after-the-fact video judging, but still haven’t avoided accusations of bias. The URL never officially judges battles, which means the debate lives on for weeks in forums and through the battlers’ retweets.

The main problem is that judging is a subjective choice. Some judges prefer style over substance, while others reward the reverse. One judge might praise a specific scheme or line, while another will think it’s played out. It gets even more complicated when you have two different battle styles clashing. How can you decide if one guy’s jokes were funnier than the other guy’s bars were vicious?

In my limited experience as a judge (Notez/Yung Casper, Luciano Crakk/Kinaze and Chris Tipsy/StepEasy at Toronto’s GZGP), the choice was sometimes obvious and sometimes not. I guarantee that all three battles will be called 3-0 wins for both rappers by dozens of people online. Aren’t opinions great?

So for expert insight and advice, I reached out to three people who have judged some of the highest-profile battles in recent history:

From Don’t Flop - Steve “Stig of the Dump” Dixon

Winner of KOTD’s “So You Think You Can Judge” contest - Tasha “Baby T” Allen

From KOTD - Jacob “Knamelis” Karsemeyer

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WRITE CLUB: Strongest pen game in Toronto

This post is not about battle rap. Sorry.

But bear with us, because some of the city’s best battlers are completely unknown in rap circles.

Toronto is home to Canada’s first and only WRITE CLUB, a “bare knuckled lit” league with chapters in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Fransisco.

Two authors are each given an opposing idea and a strict five-to-seven minutes to persuade the audience, who ultimately choose which writer’s charity will get a donation. It’s a lot like rap battles without the rap (or the misogyny).

Gun bars give way to grammar. Punctuation replaces personal insults. But trash talk is still strongly encouraged.

The combatants are invited by the organizers or selected after applying. Mostly it’s a mix of literary writers, journalists, bloggers, and comedians. They duke it out over issues: Basement vs. Attic, Early vs. Late, Spontaneity vs. Planning, or Friend vs. Stranger. The writing can be funny, or sad, or touching, but it’s always entertaining, and seven minutes isn’t really enough time to get bored anyways.

Between battles, hosts Catherine McCormick and Alicia Louise Merchant keep the energy high with charm and hilarity.

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