I can still remember a moment, what could have been 20 years ago, when I went to a club in Rotterdam called Nighttown (which was once the place where a cinema was located) where a hiphop festival took place. It was a mix of all kinds of disciplines. In one room there were b-boys breakdancing, music was playing and artists were performing. But the thing everyone wanted to go to were the battles, which were on the program towards the end of the evening. A gladiatorial battle between different MCs, who try to basically kill each other verbally. A spectacle in which the direct feedback from the audience is the indicator of success. A mix of well thought-out pre-written texts, but also proof that you can respond to your environment and what the other person says to you. In one of the rounds it was local artist Tim Beumers battling and the referee dropped the coin by mistake at the toin coss, he saw an opportunity. He started and made an instant statement that the other guy was so poor that he saw him wanting to pick up that dropped coin. The audience went wild and Tim immediately used that in his lyrics as well. He went home as the winner that evening.

It is a subculture of hip hop that occasionally shows up in TV shows and films, with 8 Mile probably being the best known example. Eminem, who made a name for himself as a battle MC before he broke through, brought the battling to a wider audience and in Bodied, which he produced, also is about this scene. Is this a copy of that movie or does Bodied bring something new to the table? Continue reading →