Tagged: pass

Top 10 KOTD battles of 2013

Bigg K

King of the Dot spent much of 2013 trying to find a balance.

In Toronto, Blackout 3 had the biggest audience a KOTD event had ever seen, but the massive crowd meant that it was difficult to see and hear the battles in the venue. For Vengeance 2, the venue was too big for the smaller crowd and for World Domination 4 the venue was fine but the audio in the footage was hit-or-miss and the crowd was often unruly.

The California division rebuilt the West Coast battle scene to its former glory, providing a platform for both returning legends and a slew of new talent. Each event (Resurgence, Alcatraz and Takeover) showed progression, eventually culminating in the year’s best: Battle of the Bay 6.

Calgary’s Quarantine and Vancouver’s GZGP semi-finals events featured those cities’ best matchups to date and hinted at even bigger things to come.

But as for the battles, KOTD put out more classics than any other league this year. The quality of content from WD4 and BOTB6 was unrivaled and most of the big-name matchups lived up to or exceeded their expectations.

Honestly, picking the 10 best battles from KOTD’s releases this year wasn’t easy, so if your Top 10 list varies from ours, we won’t necessarily say you’re wrong.

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What ever happened to Pass vs Osa?

Screen shot 2025-05-04 at 7.05.07 PMThe best battles are often the ones that could’ve been but never happened. They always live up to their potential in our imaginations, never getting bogged down by the disappointments that sometimes come with reality.

Pass vs Osa, which was scheduled to go down at KOTD’s World Domination 4 event, is one of those battles.

It was among the most anticipated battles for many forum posters, and for us too, since we’d been calling for this matchup for ages.

Amidst the craziness of WD4, we interviewed Pass and Osa over the phone about the cancellation and Lush One (who booked the battle) at the event. We were so busy with other content that this piece fell to the wayside, but with Pass addressing some of the behind-the-scenes static with KOTD in his DNA battle we figured it was a good time to open up the TOBB vault.

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Everything you missed at Battle of the Bay 6 (Day 2)

Well, KOTD did it again. Even with the bar raised so high from WD4, the West Coast stepped up and put on an event worthy of the BOTB name. We have a lot to say about the event itself, but stay tuned for all of it in another article and/or podcast.

For now though, let’s get right to the battles.

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Battle of the Bay 6 preview (Day 2)

Flyer300The West is back.

King of the Dot is bringing back Battle of the Bay, the long-dormant series of events still seen by many as the best in battle rap’s history. With BOTB5, many believed the culture had reached its apex, but with the return, KOTD hopes to prove that the West is just getting warmed up.

After the massive success of the World Domination 4 event this summer in Toronto, the league is looking to keep up its momentum with an event that already has the culture buzzing. BOTB6 pits West Coast all-stars against their counterparts from the rest of the United States.

With a deep talent pool of Cali legends and a new crop of impressive up-and-comers to draw from, it shouldn’t be long before the West reclaims its national crown. And with their scene’s reputation on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

TOBB logoThis text is from the official KOTD program we wrote for the event in collaboration with KBomb. We’ll be in the building for both Day 1 and 2. Follow us on Twitter for live updates, on Facebook for next-day recaps and on Instagram for photos. For our Day 1 preview, click here.

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DIZASTER VS AYE VERB

Diz200Dizaster
Los Angeles, California
Dizaster: the name conjures up images of chaos, mayhem and destruction – all terms that could be applied to the MC himself. One of the best-known battle rappers in the world, Dizaster has separated himself from the pack by being one of the most versatile, unpredictable, and intense MCs in the game. Coming up in the GrindTime era, Dizaster has battled fellow Fresh Coasters The Saurus and Illmaculate, and has since gone on to jump in the ring with Arsonal, T-Rex, and even Canibus. One of the hottest commodities around, the Los Angeles based rapper has traveled worldwide to battle, including visits to England’s Don’t Flop, Australia’s Got Beef?, and Sweden’s O-Zone. With his unique style, Dizaster picks apart his opponents with his incredible freestyle ability and energetic performance. Up against one of his toughest challengers to date, Dizaster will have his hands full in this main event against Aye Verb.

Aye VerbAye-Verb200
St. Louis, Missouri
A discussion on the greatest battlers of all time would be remiss without including Aye Verb’s name. One of the key players in putting the St. Louis scene on the map, Verb not only holds one of the greatest battle legacies, but also founded the Word War league, which has produced its fair share of classics. Aye Verb first caught people’s attention after an amazing performance against SB in New York, and was soon challenging the likes of Hollow Da Don, Marv Won, and Math Hoffa, each time proving his reputation as a killer is well-deserved. This battle against Dizaster is Verb’s KOTD debut and has massive potential to be a classic.

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Battles of the week: May 19 - 25

This week’s battles feature some new West Coast talent, a return to form from a U.K. champ and Toronto’s alternate-reality comedy rap scene.

PASS VS REMY D

Not much to say about this battle really – it speaks for itself. One round in and you’ll know why it’s at the top of this list. It’s the first of two videos from KOTD’s Alcatraz event that we’re featuring this week. With the quality of content we saw on the PPV, expect that to be a trend for the next couple months.

One other thing: battlers should take notes on how Pass closes his rounds.

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Dream Battles (Part One)

Every battle fan can think of dream match-ups they’d like to see go down. Here at TOBattleBlog, we’re no different. Here’s our pitch for five dream battles we’d love to watch. We’ve called this post “Part One” because we plan to make this an ongoing series. As the scene evolves – and as new MCs emerge – we’d like to campaign on behalf of great match-ups, and hopefully convince the battlers (and leagues) in question to make the occasional suggestion come to fruition.

PAT STAY VS. CAUSTIC

Photos from @DontFlop & @KingoftheDot
Photos from Dont Flop & King of the Dot

Caustic wants a big battle before he goes on hiatus (or retires). Pat Stay desperately needs to prove himself on American soil and wants a battle in California. The solution is obvious: book a battle between the two at KOTD’s next Fresh Coast event. Here’s why:

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