Pat Stay to step down as KOTD champion?
In a recent interview with Body Count Radio, Charron dropped a bombshell when asked if he was going to battle Pat Stay:
“That’s what everyone wants including the staff. The staff definitely wants to set up me versus Pat Stay and I think it should happen for the Canadian scene and all the work I’ve put in for it. But the thing about Pat Stay is that when he got the title - it’s no secret that he said he wants to choose his opponents strategically - so that’s why he picked Dizaster. And at this point there’s really no one else in line for the title …
The staff knows it has to happen, Pat Stay knows it has to happen, but battling someone like me for him is lose/lose. Pat Stay is a smart dude and he knows that. His whole persona is based on his image of being a tough guy, and if he beats me it’s just like ‘It’s Charron, of course you punked him’ but if he loses it tarnishes his tough guy image …
Honestly, the title match isn’t going to go to anyone else so I predict that he’s going to relinquish the chain and I’ll probably have to battle Clips for the title or something.”
That’s one hell of a prediction.
Let’s unpack a couple of the claims Charron makes.
Pat Stay won’t battle Charron
Pat Stay has long clowned on Charron publicly, but twice recently addressed battling him. First, at the BO4 press conference, when 100 Bulletz asked him: “What happens if you happen to win and you have to face Charron next?”
Pat said (between jokes): “Yeah if I win I’ll battle Charron.”
He also addressed Charron directly in the closing bars of his title defence against Dizaster:
“But you been dissing me for three years, it’s like you’re obsessed with me though,
And I haven’t paid him any attention and that’s what affects him the most,
Bro don’t be delusional - I wasn’t ducking you - I was just letting you grow.
So once you finish potty training you can step to the throne.”
We’re not sure what Pat Stay is thinking but we have heard recent rumblings from a source knowledgeable with the situation that he doesn’t want to battle Charron.
We can vouch for Pat being selective about his opponents and (at least at one point) not being interested in the chain. We’ve even predicted he would step down ourselves. In our interview with him ahead of his Arcane battle, we asked Pat:
If you win the chain, do you get to choose your next opponent?
Yes.
Dizaster?
If he’s lucky. Fuck him. I called him out and he made up all these excuses. I mean, I like Dizaster, we’re cool. So yes, if the situation is right I’ll battle Dizaster. It’s giving him what he wants but I think it would be a good battle.
My initial plan was to get the chain and just pass it on.
To who?
I don’t know, whoever, I don’t care. I just don’t want it. I don’t want the obligation to battle certain people. I like to travel the world and have fun. I want to fly across the world to battle who I want when I want where I want for a lot of money.
This was something he echoed in his bars for Dizaster:
“This title don’t really matter to me bro
If I lose tonight I’ll just get my freedom back and my album on the go
Battle who I want, when I want, traveling the globe
And you’ll be practicing at home for your battle with Charron.”
Pat also seems to already be looking past his next title defence. He was rumoured to be in talks to battle Hollow Da Don at Vendetta 2, but it fell through because Hollow took Joe Budden on the new Total Slaughter card.
Pat strikes us as a guy who does what he wants. If he doesn’t want to battle Charron, he won’t. He also strikes us as a guy who lives his life outside of battle rap, so if he does end up stepping down, Charron could have nothing to do with it.
We reached out to Pat for comment ahead of publishing this piece but he hasn’t sent us back anything we can quote yet. We’ll update this article if he does.
But now let’s get to the next claim.
Charron is guaranteed the next title shot
Recently on Twitter, we asked our followers who should get the title next shot, and with a retweet from Organik, found that of the 25 or so answers, an overwhelming majority (17) called for Charron. Charlie Clips was in second place with six votes.
Fans demanding that Organik set up Charron vs Pat Stay for World Domination 5 are all over Twitter and Facebook. Even a (debateable) loss to The Saurus at Blackout 4 hasn’t quieted those calls. And with Charron getting passed over by KOTD for the last title shot, along with his spot on the BET cypher, many think his time is already far overdue.
There’s a reason so many people are behind him. Charron was, in our eyes, the most impressive MC of 2013. He travelled the world, laying waste to opponents, all while wearing a KOTD T-shirt. Him versus Pat is also a quintessentially “KOTD” battle. It would be huge for Canadian battle rap, although KOTD seems to have its sights on a target larger than just the Canadian market these days.
The only other battler we see in title contention is Charlie Clips. In his three battles in KOTD, he arguably hasn’t lost a round. He spoiled Hollohan’s return to the ring, ended Dirtbag Dan’s undefeated streak in the Bay and 3-0′ed Conceited convincingly. Clips also brings in huge YouTube numbers and would further help KOTD tap into the massive URL fanbase.
In a Rap Grid interview after his Hitman Holla battle on March 29, Clips talked about the possibility of a battle with Pat Stay:
“Organik and Gully were saying that they want me to battle Pat Stay. They think it’s one of the next craziest battles out there. They didn’t say whether it was for the chain or not. It don’t have to be for the chain. If Pat wanna spar, we can spar - get in the ring and do what we do. I ain’t pressed to battle him, he not pressed to battle me, but for the fans, I think it would be so crazy. Pat is fire. Pat Stay one of the best out doing it. Salute, that’s my G. Every time I’m in Canada me and him hook up, we laugh, joke. That’s my dude. But everybody gotta die someday.”
Pat was also complimentary after seeing Clips take on Conceited.
The main argument against Clips getting the shot is that he hasn’t done enough KOTD battles to have earned it. Though if he puts on another dominant performance against Daylyt at BOLA5 in June, it might just turn the tide. The other issue is that Clips is very much a free agent, accepting battles from whichever league will give him a worthy opponent and a paycheque. KOTD has never had a champion like that before and it could complicate things logistically.
There are pros and cons to whoever KOTD picks. Either way, their choice will determine the direction the league is headed.
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Our final point will be this:
If Pat Stay does step down, don’t let the chain end with him.
Title matches are the last battles where it actually matters who wins. It is a trophy to chase and something a battler can hold up to prove: “I won.” In a scene overrun by unjudged battles, that’s important.
(Hell, if Pat steps down it could be a perfect opportunity for a tournament to shake things up in KOTD. But that’s for another article…)
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Is Total Slaughter the end of battle rap as we know it?
Everything you missed at Vendetta 2
Podcast Ep. 4: Reactions to TS & V2R