The essence of battle and competition has been a major part of Hip Hop culture since the very beginning. Friendly (and sometimes not so) competition has pushed DJs, Breakers and MCs to step up their game and that’s only ever a good thing.
Freestyle Rap Battles seem to have taken a bit of a back seat recently, in their place the emergence of written battles. While these pre meditated battles appeal to some, for me it’s always been akin to a Hip Hop soap opera. But stepping up, not knowing who your opponent is beforehand, coming up with killer flows and punchline jabs on the spot? Now that’s a battle! Real spitters have kept the off the top battle scene live, outside the club usually, but now we can rest easy as Freestyle comps step back into the limelight.
The good folks at Phatcap Events held their first freestyle (over beats) battle the other night in Perth called Word War One. 15 MCs plus one wildcard grabbed the Mic in front of a pumped up crowd and went head to head, 2 verses each, totally freestyle in a knockout comp format. The judges were Intelekt (Phatcap head honcho), Bryte (Deadly MC), Mysc (TPW) and ya dude Messy.
The first couple of battlers tested the waters. However when Powza & Double T faced off things started to heat up. Double T took the W due to his versatile flows and excellent mic control. The first round even saw the only female battler of the night when Silent B took on Macshane. Even assuming the role of gentleman, Macshane was brutal. As the rounds went on the pressure proved too much for one competitor, who spat about 3 words and then hung up the mic and promptly exited.
Every MC had their own style, but the final four really did stand out. Dirty Dan, Double T, Reality & Macshane all brought fire for the semi final. Reality spat pure energy, while Double T kept his cool for the win. Dirty Dan had an impressive outing, but a vicious double time spit attack from Macshane won the round.
So down to the final two, Macshane vs Double T, and the heads in attendance were in for some battle bars not to be forgotten. Both competitors pulled out all of their tricks, firing off punchlines and going flow for flow in the final round’s 3 verse format. Double T had some killer retorts and held his own. The crowd were hanging off each MCs words, and it was a damn good battle. However when the dust settled, it was Macshane who took out the battle and the comp. The boys then treated the punters to a freestyle cypher to cap off the night.
With similar events happening around OZ, and with the quality of Word War One, freestyle fans have won this round.
Event Review by Messy
Facebook: Phatcap Events