[Here’s our latest edition of Battles of the Month, penned by Adam “Mos Prob” Felman.]
The guys at T.O. Battle Blog have very kindly passed the rounding-up-good-battles mantle to me this time. These are, in my opinion, the five best battles that the first month of 2014 EVER could possibly muster worldwide. Rhymes were said. Feelings were hurt. Ninja masks were worn. It’s all simply a month in the life of battle rap.
There were a few high-profile, one-sided battles in 2013 – Pass/DNA, O-Red/T-Rex and Shuffle T/Anton Murphy all struck us as clear 3-0s (at least). But decisive wins aren’t enough to make this year’s Biggest Bodybags list. We’re not focusing on how well the winner won, but how badly the loser lost. This list is reserved for performances so dismal that the opposing battler could’ve just stood there laughing and still won. Continue reading
Bender is an over-achiever. As far as we can tell, he’s the best battle-rapping artist, as well as the most artistic battle rapper. His fierce aggression and densely-structed writing have made him a fan-favourite in KOTD and netted him invites to Flip Top, Don’t Flop and iBattle. The former KOTD champion won the league’s official “Performance of the Year” awards in both 2010 and 2012. He makes music as part of Flight Distance, whose Bad Information album is arguably the best rap record to ever come out of Ottawa. We also have it on good authority he’d destroy us in The Last of Us multi-player.
Bender was gracious enough to welcome T.O. Battle Blog into his Ottawa home/art studio to talk about his paintings, his upcoming match against long-time rival Dirt and his thoughts on KOTD’s World Domination 4 event.
Day 2 of World Domination 4 was another great night of battles, featuring a few classics with definite replay value. Like all big KOTD events, there was a contingent of assholes in the back, so a few battles were affected by an unruly crowd. Regardless, the biggest battles of the night found a receptive audience, and there were no wack performances from the big names, all of whom brought their A-games.
Once again, we watched the battles from the VIP section in front. The event popped off around 8:30 p.m. — which is probably a KOTD record for earliest start time — and it was clear that attendance was higher for Saturday’s edition.
Here’s our breakdown of the Day 2 battles. If you haven’t read our Day 1 recap yet, it’s here. Spoilers ahead:
The title match was significantly closer than most will admit. From the start, it was clear the audience was fucking with Pat heavy. For instance, the crowd went bananas after his first five words: “Arcane, that’s a hard name.”
We could see The Saurus saying “It’s over” just barely into Pat’s first round. Pat also pulled out his patented scheme: “He mad right now. Trying to log into PayPal right now. He wants to get the mobile app so bad right now.”
Credit must be given to Arcane for making the battle close. His writing was impeccable, and without the surrounding drama, he might have had a chance. There was a small slip-up in Round 3 from him, which likely gave the judges their reason to unchain him. Either way, it’s Pat’s chain now, and the league is probably relieved to put the Arcane/Caustic/Dizaster situation behind them.
King of the Dot is in a tough spot. They’ve got a controversial champion who needs to prove himself against a top-tier opponent and no clear No. 1 contender. A transition to more international promo battles has left KOTD’s best prospects with vague records as of late. They could cherry-pick someone based on loyalty or performance or popularity, but that would alienate the rappers and fans who disagreed with the choice.
Charron has been campaigning for a King of the Dot title shot for as long as we can remember. And lately, he’s made a compelling case for getting that opportunity.
Just a few weeks ago, Charron won 106 & Park‘s Freestyle Friday tournament, taking home a $5,000 cheque in the process. Now, he wants to put his $5K on the line in a $10,000 title match. The other $5K, of course, would come from Arcane, the current title holder and last year’s Grand Prix champion.
In a video released yesterday (above), Arcane accepted the $10K battle. The trouble for Charron is that Arcane is unwilling to put the title on the line. According to Arcane, Charron hasn’t staked his claim as the No. 1 contender, nor has he defeated enough top-tier opponents to earn a title shot. Simply put, Arcane doesn’t think Charron deserves the opportunity.
Organik even took time from his Mexico vacation to issue a statement on Facebook:
Just for the record…
Campaigning for title shots does NOT guarantee you a title shot. We think it shows drive and we like that hunger but their are no guarantee’s until KOTD officially sets the match up regardless if the champ accepts a challenge. Also, no champion will battle in KOTD without defending the title. If KOTD feels their is a true contender and the champion turns it down they will be stripped of the title and another match will be set up for the title. This goes for the #1 contender spot as well.
The next Title Match will happen at WD4… Lets make history & let the debating begin!
If not Charron, who deserves a title shot? It’s a difficult question, as there are few obvious contenders. But we’ve assembled a short list of worthy opponents for Arcane.