Friendly Competition in Battle Rap?

Battle rap on a Saturday is fairly standard. Events can be lengthy and it seems to be what works best for people who want to attend in person as well as watch via a live stream. And ultimately, with so many leagues and battle rappers you are bound to have events that happen on the same day. There are countless local leagues across the country with more specific audiences that do not offer live streaming so it’s usually not much of an issue. However, when there are larger leagues that garner national attention it may be a little more… complicated.

Again, same day. Not a huge deal. But 2 large leagues the same day in the same city. Well; now eyebrows begin to raise.

Saturday February 29th will see 2 nationally recognized leagues hosting battles in Atlanta, GA.

RARE BREED ENTERTAINMENT is touting the return of Dipset Affiliate 40 Cal back to the battle rap ring after years of inactivity. And he will be facing the ever present, very versatile Pontiac, MI MC Ill Will

With 10 battles on the card it should be an eventful Saturday for all involved.

Ticket and pay per view information is available at Rare Breed Ent.

Now, not long after RBE’s The Getback card was announced there was news that the NBA of the battle rap world, The Ultimate Rap League, was also having a card on February 29th. And when Genesis was announced it was confirmed across battle rap social media that this card was not just the same day, but in the same city.

The Genesis card is anchored by a matchup of two of the most dynamic new faces to the URL roster specifically and battle rap in general. Compton Californa’s Geechi Gotti and the New Jersey MC Nu Jerzey Twork.

The Genesis card will be URL’s debut card on the up and coming social media app Caffeine. This new partnership brings about another important detail in this scenario.

Live streams typically cost money. $50 is a decent average. However; Caffeine is a FREE service so, this Genesis card will cost nothing to view on the Caffeine app. And further more; as a marketing ploy for URL’s own app, while most PPV events would remain available on the site where the initial live stream took place (and this will be the case for the RBE card) the Caffeine stream is a one time, no repeat experience. Afterwards those battles (plus any that are not streamed live) will only be available on the URL app. Plus, attendance to URL’s live event will be like a lottery only available to their paying app users ($7.99 a month found in your app store).

So; while many ooh’d and aah’d at what could have been deemed a power play by URL in having a major card on the same day in the same city as RBE. Upon further review…this may not be as nefarious as it initially seemed.

The RBE event is available to the public for attendance and tickets can be purchased through their website. Or you can purchase their PPV and still have the VOD (video on demand) available to view after the live stream. Also, the RBE event is showing a 1PM doors open time.

In contrast. The general public is unable to purchase tickets to the URL event. And fans at home will be able to view the stream at no additional cost to them. Essentially, a 2nd battle rap event for free. And their event is slated to start at 5PM.

In any industry competition is normal and expected. From a consumer’s point of view it typically is a benefit in offering options and competitive pricing. Battle rap can be a very intense competitive situation, and the fans will sometimes assume the same intensity that occurs between battlers is the same energy that carriers across battle leagues. And that could be the case. But sometimes; just maybe, it’s friendly competition.

Atlanta will be all the buzz February 29th with some highly anticipated matchups. And as an added bonus, the Atlanta based Bullpen Battle League will host it’s own Wreck Room Vol 3 event on Sunday March 1st to round out an ATL battle rap experience (see flyer for details)

It seems 2020 is starting out strong for battle rap and it should be an interesting year to say the least. As a more seasoned “hip hop head” for me, it is a place where true lyricism still lives. So stay tuned, because you never know what you might get… when AndreaSpeakz.

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