In our latest podcast, we talk about the announcement of Eminem’s Total Slaughter battle league (in a much different tone than our satirical piece on it) and give our thoughts on the battles from KOTD’s recent Vendetta 2 event.
Scroll down for TOBB’s interviews from V2R.
Bigg K used to be one of the top up-and-coming MCs in the scene. After his 2013 clash with Illmaculate, which many called battle of the year, he exchanged “up-and-coming” for “established.”
The Norfolk, Virginia MC first caught people’s attention in URL’s Proving Grounds, then solidified his name on the main stage against Rosenberg Raw. Since then, he’s squared off against Real Deal and Shotgun Suge in upstart leagues. In the ring, he cuts an imposing figure and attacks his opponents with an onslaught of street slang and heavy haymakers.
This weekend in Los Angeles, KOTD hopes to catch lightning in a bottle again by matching Bigg K up with Illmac’s former WRC partner, The Saurus.
Corey Charron became an elite MC in 2013. The 22-year-old Ottawa rapper has been battling since high school, but it was in 2013 that he began dominating veterans in KOTD and other leagues around the world. Now he’s touring Canada, playing sold-out shows opening up for Method Man and Redman. Ahead of Charron’s Blackout 4 battle with The Saurus, we had the homie Seanzo speak to him about his image, his chase for the KOTD chain and his goals for 2014.
One battle can change everything. Just ask Shotty Horroh. The Manchester, England-based MC has always been a force in battling. But things changed when he faced Arsonal, the most-viewed battle MC of the YouTube era. That battle vaulted Shotty to new levels of fame on both sides of the Atlantic and opened up matchups against some of America’s best.
One of the hairiest, oddest faces to emerge from the West Coast in recent years, Joe Cutter has elbowed his way into the battle rap community’s awareness with a wonderfully weird battle against Tiger Ty and a killer Ground Zero clash against Reverse Live. Adam “Mos Prob” Felman caught up with him - not to find out anything about him, but just to see what he would answer.
Mos Prob: What’s your favourite fabric?
Battle rap has come a long way since the freestyle era. Battlers used to rhyme in short bursts over a beat, spontaneously crafting insults about their opponent. Now, the scene has shifted to a pre-written format, where MCs spend weeks crafting intricate lyrics and spit them for an online audience that will analyze their every word. But with every step of the scene’s evolution, one name has remained constant: The Saurus. Ahead of Blackout 4, we had the homie KBomb speak with the Monterey, California-based rapper about the changes he’s witnessed in his 10 years of battling and his thoughts on where the scene is headed next.