153. Hiphop for Us All

Happy New Year!

I have been watching a lot of videos of rap MC battles on the internet. The more I watch, the closer I feel to the culture of Hiphop. I am not good at rhyming, nor do I know enough pop-culture references that the battle-rhymes usually contain, but I feel I know how to appreciate a good freestyle.

Of course, many people reading might be already calling me out and say that saying something such as enjoying hiphop culture is not nearly enough for me to have any authority to analyze it. I understand their concerns, but I want to understand better via writing words down. From the video of Scribble Jam 2004, I will show some fundamental understanding I have of hiphop culture and its appeals.

Scribble Jam 2004 Complete Footage

A basic summary of each battle is as follows. I have outlined each person's performance traits as well as the strength of their content. Each rapper will be referred to by their initials as well as the verse number.

-Preliminaries-

Deuce Leader vs Vendetta
DL1 - Rhymed boy with boy, main attack on opponent's preacher gown
V1 - Opponent's mother's death, insulting opponent's skills
DL2 - Rhymed Savior with save ya, "gay rape-r"
V2 - Reference to Judges' names
Winner: Deuce Leader

Illpoetic vs Ron Noodles
I1 - Defiling the opponent's girlfriend
RN1 - Rhymes include opponent's outfit (turban, south pole shirt)
I2 - Rhymed shit with shit, death threat
RN2 - Referring to judges, saying opponent wastes time
Winner: Ron Noodles

Met4ce vs Borat
M1 - Opponent's hairstyle, "matter of fact"
B1 - Aggressive shouting style, Opponent is Ugly, Nintendo powerglove joke
M2 - Breaks down without rhyming
B2 - Self-reference with opponent's girlfriend, attack on opponent's facial features.
Winner: Borat

Okwerdz vs Mac Lethal
O1 - Opponent's image is nerdy, referring to previous encounter (punch you)
ML1 - Response to punch, Broken syllables to fill all beats, comparing opponent to genitalia
O2 - Attack on opponent's originality, Ackowledges action - ML shows money, humor on genitalia
ML2 - Use money (lapdance), refer to personal connection, referring to Judge panel
Winner: Mac Lethal

Dece vs Presence
D1 - Attack on opponent's clothing (Old navy), Opponent's age (36), weak stature
P1 - Weak rhymes, Reference to Revenge from the Nerds
D2 - Attack on Clothing, written lines
P2 - Calling opponent a lesbian, Reference to Lord of the Rings
Winner: Presence

Nova Illa vs Jack Cracker
NI1 - Rhymed motherf*cker with motherf*cker
JC1 - Opponent's style is weak, incorporating own name into attacks.
NI2 - Reference to Friends, Reference to Fresh Prince of Belair
JC2 - Response to "TV-Star", CD-R pun, Dependent clause rhymes, Reference to Star Wars
Winner: Jack Cracker

Seez Mcs vs New MC
SM1 - "White people cannot rap", Attack on Opponent's age and image (old lady)
NM1 - Opponent's hairiness (gorilla), Knowledge of opponent's loss last year, Reference to Denver Nuggets.
SM2 - Circular sentence structure, opponent cuffing the microphone
NM2 - Opponent's fake New Jersey accent, overall better rhyming scheme
Winner: New MC

Iron Solomon vs Charlie Brown
CB Jokes to audience before battle (↓)
IS1 - Attack on opponent's image (abercrombie and Fitch, gerbils in the hair)
CB1 - Spoken-style, weak pop-culture references
IS2 - Shouts "shut up", defiling opponent's grandmother
CB2 - Reference to Spike Lee and the KKK
Winner: Iron Solomon

Cipher Divine vs Franco
CD1 - Referring to own name, Calling opponent Monica Lewinsky
F1 - Saying opponent wants to kiss (homosexual), Sudden speeding up of rhyming, self-reference (skinny white and little)
CD2 - Leviathan rhymed with "try again"
F2 - Calling opponent illiterate (You don't read Thomas Hobbes), quick rhyme with reference to Cash Money, reference to Juvenile, reference to location (Ohio)
Winner: Franco

Maddillz vs White Mic (both start to jump around the stage)
M1 - Kicks off shoe (kick your ass)
WM1 - Self-reference to whiteness (Mr. Clean), Opponent's image is weak, response to opponent's lack of shoe
M2 - Opponent is too white, Reference to Macy Gray
WM2 - Pun (Hitchhikers don't give you thumbs), Physical threat (nosebleed)
Winner: White Mic

Johnny Blaze vs Illmaculate
JB1 - Attack on Opponent's skills, opponent's short stature
I1 - Incorporate "I'm short" into attack on opponent's skills, tight rhyme structure, self-reference to young age being able to win.
JB2 - Circular rhyming, opponent's height (again)
I2 - Defiling opponent's sister (humor), Conjunctions are swear words, self-reference "Mustache/muskrat"
Winner: Illmaculate

-Second Round-

Ron Noodles vs Deuce Leader
RN1 - Opponent's lack of skills, incorporating "opponent is weak" into rhyme, reference to 50 Cent and G-Unit
DL1 - Angry country voice, opponent's dress, random attacks, Stutter
RN2 - Reference to opponent's obesity, Reference to Nick Lachey and Chris Farley
DL2 - Response to Chris Farley's death, opponent's shoes and socks
Winner: Ron Noodles

Mes vs Borat
M1 - Opponent's scared, "white boys cannot rap"
B1 - Response to "fear", Direct insult to opponent (bitch), Refence to Ken Griffey
M2 - Opponent did not catch pun, opponent is scared (again), opponent is not smart
B2 - Shouting style, Opponent is "wack" multiple times
Winner: Borat

Jack Cracker vs Presence
JC1 - Incorporating own name into rhymes, calling opponent weak
P1 - Reference to A Christmas Story, Reference to M.A.S.H
JC2 - Opponent is unoriginal, Ex-girlfriends who "put up better fights"
P2 - Random reference to Charles Bronson, KFC
Winner: Jack Cracker

New MC vs Iron Solomon
NM1 - Gives opponent middle finger, Calling opponent near-sighted
IS1 - Response to "four-eyes", Self-reference to short height, shouting style
NM2 - Calmly insulting opponent's height, Reference to another battle
IS2 - Attack on opponent's skinniness and facial features (shaved with lawn mower) , opponent is "wack"
Winner: New MC

Franco vs Ad
F1 - Opponent's clothing, attack on opponent's originality
A1 - Insult on opponent's genitals, faster rhymes (prewritten) in response to attack on originality
F2 - "go back to Massachusetts", Opponent's facial features, Reference to A Tribe Called Quest
A2 - Opponent's body odor, "your odor has gone over to my girlfriend's house" (↓)
Winner: Franco

White Mic vs Ubiquitous
WM1 - Attack on opponent's nerdy appearance (Abe Lincoln)
U1 - Skipped a beat, "I'm about to blow you down", Pre-written "you suck" rhymes
WM2 - Reference to Blossom, Attack on opponent's hairstyle
U2 - Reference to Street Fighter, other random attacks
Winner: White Mic

Swann vs Illmaculate
S1 - Attack on Opponent's size and short height, Reference for Paris Hilton
I1 - Calling opponent homosexual, Reference to Macy Gray after a shave
S2 - Opponent is short (again)
I2 - Opponent is fat (humor), conjunctions "anyways", death threat at the end
Winner: Illmaculate

-Third Round-

Borat vs Ron Noodles
B1 - Having relations with opponent's sister (body gesture)
RN1 - Opponent's clothing, opponent's weakness
B2 - Slow dance, defiling opponent's girlfriend
RN2 - Documenting opponent's loss, Reference to hometown, Opponent's weakness
Winner: Ron Noodles

Jack Cracker vs Mac Lethal
JC1 - Opponent is unoriginal, Reference to Madison (famous for freestyle culture), threat
ML1 - Aggressive style, rhyming on the downbeat, "Ninja"/"Flipping" circular rhymes with "flip"
JC2 - Incorporating own name into every line, ends with "I'll suck a dick, bitch" (↓↓)
ML2 - Response to opponent's Freudian slip, Reference to Kill Bill 2 (Five Point Exploding Heart Technique), Opponent's clothing (camouflage to hide from me)
Winner: Mac Lethal

Franco vs New MC
F1 - Credit: won the Preliminaries, Insult with reference to genitalia
NM1 - Attack on Opponent's small size
F2 - Prewritten lines on California, fast rhymes, humor imagery (Ate a hockey stick), Calling opponent poor
NM2 - Says opponent has bad content (blah blahblah, reverse the tape)
Winner: Franco

Illmaculate vs White Mic
I1 - Opponent's bad dress style, opponent's dance, How dominantly he will win
WM1 - Opponent is an amateur, repeated lines, "you look like a muskrat"
I2 - Attack on opponent's age (retirement plan), response to own line "didn't I just bust that", joining lines with "f*ck you"
WM2 - Repeated "shut up" (buying time), reference to Buck Bundy
Winner: Illmaculate

-Semifinals-

Mac Lethal vs Ron Noodles
ML1 - Opponent's facial features (Tyra Banks), Opponent's shoes, Reference to Sage Francis' voice loss
RN1 - Opponent's image is a white raver, Opponent's weakness
ML2 - Calling opponent's attack useless (I have more black people in my crew), Broken clausal raps, insulting with body fluids reference
RN2 - Opponent is saying nonsense
Winner: Mac Lethal

Franco vs Illmaculate
F1 - Reference to Rick James, Fast rhymes, attack on opponent's unorthodox hat, knowledge of opponent's hometown
I1 - Response to hat, response to coffin, "Can I beat Franco I got a crowd that can answer that for me"
F2 - Opponent is saying nonsense, death threat, Reference to KRS
I2 - Opponent is "lame", "If we battled earlier you wouldn't be here", tight rhyme scheme
Winner: Illmaculate

-Final-

Illmaculate vs Mac Lethal
I1 - Opponent's fame is overrated, opponent has no skills, Opponent is arrogant, Opponent is poor
ML1 - Reference to Jay Seacrest, rhyme with Margaret Cho, Name contains "Mac"
I2 - Opponent's content was not strong, "I beat you, but even you know", Spanish (punto)
ML2 - Opponent's shortness (Eyedea got shrunk in the dryer), Mustache hair and anus hair
I3 - Opponent is arrogant, opponent's CDs sound bad, Reference to opponent's previous losses
ML accepts loss at this point.
ML3 (extra) - Audience topic in hope that opponent is bad at topic rhyming
I4 - Opponent is bad at rhyming, incorporating "f*ck you" whenever possible, Opponent's next album will also be bad, young age being able to win
ML4 - Opponent's shortness, opponent has no published works
I5 - Opponent's CDs are worthless, direct insults (you s*ck so much dick)
ML is cut off from verse 5

Final Winner and Champion: Illmaculate

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There are a couple of very interesting trends in the above example:

1. Out of the 11 battles in the preliminary round, 9 of them were won by the person speaking second. This shows that going second has an advantage, especially in the early rounds, where the skill levels have more imbalance. The second person would respond to the attacks used by the first and be able to strike back if there are any flaws in the insults.

2. Each time that a black MC mentioned to a white opponent, "white boy cannot rap", the black person lost the round. The "nerd" image of Borat and Franco and White Mic are examples of this, as they all fought through non-Caucasian opponents who referred to their skin color. The audience cheered the hardest when the white rappers gave some forms of self-deprecation or reference, such as "I know I'm skinny, white, and little". The surprise of a good rap coming from someone who does not possess a traditional "hiphop" look works wonders to the white person winning the round. The final round features two white rappers.

What I learned from this competition is that by using the elements of surprise, by overturning the opponent's insults, and by having an overall focus matter more than using fast words and using pop-culture references. Rap battles are interesting for their constant observation, where each rapper must take advantage of whatever they see and hear, and the audience judges harshly. Illmaculate won because he was able to listen attentively and respond effectively against all of his opponent's attacks. Some rappers lost their round by giving a weak second verse containing physical threats or even making Freudian slips like Jack Cracker did in the Third Round. Vocabulary is always important, as well as an understanding of rhyming schemes and the opponent's background. Oh, and if you dance randomly or wear silly clothes, you will become disliked very quickly by all spectators.

If I were to show the video to my mother, she would only look at the body language of the rappers to determine the winner, since her English is not good enough to follow the words. Surprisingly, the more aggressive body gestures usually foretold the winner of each round. Freestyle rap works beautifully this way: If you do not have anything of content, your body knows, and it shows. The performance of the freestyle, therefore, reveals all. If not for anything else, I love hiphop for this fact, and I maintain my right to enjoy the subculture like anyone else.

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Written by micr0q, copyright 2012. All images found during research, no infringement intended. Silent Scribbles is a non-profit blog.