Ground Zero Grand Prix 2013 (West Coast division)

West Coast battle rap is back in a big way. The scene went silent on the international stage after Grindtime’s collapse, but KOTD’s Fresh Coast league (headed by Lush One, Malathion, J-Pro and Aspect One) stepped in to fill the vacuum. The L.A. bracket of the GZGP has a promising crop of MC’s, most of them not known outside of California, so this tournament should shine a light on talent that deserves attention. Combined with the non-GZ battles on this card, it’s clear that KOTD has reignited the scene that started it all.

WEST COAST DIVISION

Ayem vs Knoeital

Ayem (formerly known as P-nut) is a Grindtime vet who has previously mixed it up with both DNA and Pariah. The San Jose battler just rocketed onto a lot of radars after his recent battle with The Deadman at Resurgence. He’s a well-rounded MC with equal parts presence, content and delivery. A few more performances like this and Ayem will be a contender for the title:

But why did he change his name? Well…it might have something to do with this:

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Knoeital

With a name spelled even more awkwardly than Knamelis’, Knoeital (know-it-all, get it?) has run through opponents in more than a few L.A. battle leagues. His bars and aggression against G4 were enough to sway the crowd by halfway through the first round:

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Lefty 2 Guns vs Lex D 

Another lesser known rapper outside of the West Coast battle scene, Utah-native Lefty 2 Guns has stood in the ring against Caustic and A Class. With his more laid-back style, Lefty (a reference to a gangster from the Bonanno crime family made famous in “Donnie Brasco”) relies more on his expert flow and wordplay.

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Lex D

An Inland Empire rapper with three successful title defences as the Daily Duels champion, Lex D(iamonds) might look like a young punchline rapper, but as Caustic said recently on the Dirtbag Dan Show: “Nine times out of ten, the funny guy wins.” Lex D’s ridiculous 10-1 record proves that theory.

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Megadef vs. Adversity

Megadef held his own when he took on Dizaster at Grindtime’s “Pros vs. Joes” event in 2011. Enough said. Here he is on two-days notice against Reverse Live at Resurgence:

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Adversity

With only a few battles online, Socal’s Adversity has been contributing to the hip-hop scene by making music with the Cloudmakers collective. His KOTD debut was impressive despite a loss to Psycoses:

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Cobalt45 vs Jayk Gallagher

Google Jayk Gallagher and the first thing that comes up is his IMDB page. Dude was in “The Social Network” and has a successful career as an actor and comedian. Battle rap seems to be just one of his many creative outlets.

Here he is playing a supporting role to J-Pro, but was J-Pro in The Social Network? I DIDN’T THINK SO.

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Modesto’s Cobalt45 has been performing and making music since 1996. His website says he’s performed with just about every West Coast rapper from the last 20 years (except Tupac), from Freestyle Fellowship to E-40. He kept his undefeated streak going with a unanimous decision here:

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