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Battle rap

Battle rap (also known as rap battling)[1] is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and disses originating in the African-American community.[1][2] Battle rap is often performed, or freestyled, spontaneously in live battles known as Rap battles, where participants will compete on the same stage to see who has the better verses.

Battle rap

  • Rap battling
  • clash

Early 1980s, United States

Battlerap is like verbal warfare, where competitors trade insults, wordplay, and clever rhymes in a competitive setting. It's all about lyricism, delivery, and sometimes even performance. It's a blend of poetry, wit, and bravado, often performed in front of an audience or judged panel.


Battle rap was loosely described by 40 Cal, previously a member of American hip hop collective The Diplomats, in the book How to Rap (2009) as an "extracurricular" display of skill, comparing it to the dunk contest in the NBA. Battle rap has been developed into highly organized league events drawing in significant revenue and attention. Mainstream artists such as Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Machine Gun Kelly, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Joe Budden and Cassidy have attended or participated in battles to help increase their popularity.[3] Rap battles are often written and performed to impress crowds with technically inventive rapping,[4] and knowing a wide variety of rapping styles and a wide range of MCs as personal inspirations is recommended.[5] Various MCs have started out writing mostly battle raps and battling other MCs before releasing commercial records.[6]

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Battle types[edit]

A freestyle battle is a contest in which two or more rappers compete or battle each other using improvised lyrics. Each competitor's goal is to "diss" their opponent through clever lyrics. As hip-hop evolved in the early 1980s, MCs gained their fame through live battles with other MCs. Freestyle battles can take place anywhere: on street corners, on stage at a concert, in school, or even online.


The live audience is critical to a battle as each emcee (MC; Master of Ceremonies) must use skill and lyrical ability not only to 'break down' their opponent, but to convince the audience that they are the better rapper. Appointed judges have been used in formal contests, but even when no winner is announced, the rapper who receives the best audience response is viewed as the victor. Currently, talents such as Hollow Da Don use various elements of battle rap that include reciting a written format created through months of preparation mixed with improvised lines as means to attacking his opponent or creating an image of himself as greater than his adversary. This is presented in his battle against Tay Roc in the main event of the Ultimate Rap League's "Summer Madness 6," a battle that the general consensus believes that Hollow Da Don walked away from in victory Summer Madness 6 main event.[16] Fellow battle rap peer Conceited has made a name for himself in this field as well as a more popularized version of competitive rapping on a television platform. While he takes a more humorous approach to his opposition, he still performs with the intention of winning a contest.


A cipher is any collection or gathering of rappers, beatboxers, or breakers forming in a circle in order to perform together – the term has also in recent years come to mean the crowd which forms around the battles, consisting of spectators and onlookers. This group serves partly to encourage competition and partly to enhance the communal aspect of rap battles. The cipher is known for "making or breaking reputations in the hip hop community; if you are able to step into the cipher and tell your story, demonstrating your uniqueness, you might be more accepted".[17] These groups also serve as a way for messages about hip hop styles and knowledge to be spread, through word-of-mouth and encouraging trends in other battles.[18]

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Battle rap leagues[edit]

Leagues such as King of the Dot (Canada), and Don't Flop (U.K.), which all started in 2008, with Ultimate Rap League (N.Y.) in 2009, furthered the popularity of battle rap via video hosting website YouTube, brand marketing, and creating divisions across their home nations and beyond.


King of the Dot's Travis Fleetwood, a.k.a. Organik, built a reputation as one of Canada's elite battle emcees with 4 wins at the Toronto-based freestyle competition Proud 2B Eh Battle MC,[19][20] where he met a local producer/DJ by the name of RyanPVP. They teamed up to put together the first event which was initially intended to be a flash-mob-style event at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. However, the police presence and private security at the location forced the event to move down the road to an alley beside radio station Flow 93.5.[21][22] After a few events at that location, they were unable to accommodate the growing crowds, so Organik opted to relocate to Alexandra Park for the wide open space and gritty location. The crisp visuals and production value, as well as local celebrity guest judges, contributed to King of the Dot's rise.[23]


Smack and Ultimate Rap League (URL) are New York-based battle leagues. Rappers included Aye Verb (StreetStatus), Conceited (LionsDen), DNA (GrindTimeNow) Hitman Holla (StreetStatus), Tay Roc (LionsDen), Hollow Da Don (GrindTimeNow) and many more.[24]


Don't Flop is a popular UK battle rap league founded in 2008, following a controversial judging decision in which co-founder, Eurgh, was denied a place in the finals of a tournament run by the then-dominant battle league, JumpOff.[25] Since then, notable appearances include Rizzle, Illmaculate, Mystro, and Harry Love. Don't Flop came to mainstream UK media attention in 2012 when one of their battles became a viral video, purportedly showing a teacher battling his student. Although the battlers in question, Mark Grist and Blizzard, were not actually a student and a teacher, the narrative was enough to give the league a huge boost in exposure.[26] In 2014, former Don't Flop performers and staff broke away to form King of the Ronalds as a reaction to Don't Flop's move towards a more sanitized version of the product[27] and sponsorship from the likes of Foot Locker.[28] King of the Ronalds presents a more raw ethos, with a philosophy that has much in common with the early punk rock movement. The league markets itself primarily using videos of tense physical confrontations between battlers,[29] something other leagues are keen to distance themselves from.


FlipTop Battle League is an example of a battle rap league in the Philippines.

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The 2002 film focuses on rap battles in Detroit, specifically Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith, played by Detroit native and rapper Eminem. The film also includes rappers Xzibit, Proof, and Obie Trice. The movie is loosely based on Eminem's rise in the Detroit hip-hop scene by performing in rap battle tournaments. The character Future, played by Mekhi Phifer, is loosely based on Proof, also a Detroit native and Eminem's best friend. The Shelter, the setting of most of the battles in the film, is based on a real location in Detroit that Eminem battled at, though the scenes were not filmed at the actual Shelter.

8 Mile

The 2004 documentary documents the Los Angeles battle rap scene.

The Battle for L.A.: Footsoldiers, Vol. 1

The YouTube series features historical figures and/or fictional characters performing battle rap against one another with the audience deciding who won.

Epic Rap Battles of History

In there is a rap battle event which takes place at the fountain between 6:00 to 7:00 PM (7:00 to 8:00 PM in the European Version).

Tomodachi Life

The 2017 film created by Joseph Khan and produced by Eminem was written by and stars many battle rappers and people from within the culture. In the film, a progressive graduate student played by Calum Worthy finds success and sparks outrage when his interest in battle rap as a thesis subject turns into a competitive obsession. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2017.[30]

Bodied

The 12th episode of the anime series, Rei and Maho organize a rap battle between childhood friends Rinku Aimoto and Muni Ohnaruto in an effort to help them resolve their differences.[31]

D4DJ

In 2022, 's docu-series Midnight Asia, featured FlipTop Battle League's 10th anniversary festival in its Manila episode.

Netflix

Answer song

Diss track

The Dozens

Flyting

Freestyle rap

Stream of consciousness (narrative mode)

Stream of consciousness (psychology)

Edwards, Paul (2009). : The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1556528163.

How to Rap

. Dir. Curtis Hanson. DVD. March 18, 2003Larro

8 Mile

Alan Light; et al. October 1999. The Vibe History of Hip Hop.

. Dir. Steven Gregory, Eric Holmberg. Perf. Eric Holmber, Garland Hunt. Videocassette. 1991.

All Rapped Up

Blow, Kurtis. Kurtis Blow Presents: The History of Rap, Vol. 1: The Genesis (liner notes). Kurtis Blow Presents: The History Of Rap, Vol. 1: The Genesis.

Brian, Cross. It's Not About a Salary. London; New York: Verso, 1993 [i.e. 1994].

. Dir. Kevin Fitzgerald. DVD. 2004.

Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme

. Dir. Joseph Kahn, Eminem. Film 2017

Bodied

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