Battle rap

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Battle rap (from English battle : struggle ) is a form of Rap , wherein the defaming ( Dissen ) is an imaginary or real opponent and the excessive positive presentation of oneself (Boasting, Bragging) at the center.

Features and shapes

The battle rapper tries to attack the opponent with insults in the form of rhymes that are as imaginative as possible and as technically sophisticated as possible. The diss attacks often relate to the opponent's alleged or actually lacking rap skills , his integrity and credibility within the scene ( realness , credibility ) and are often sexually connoted. Metaphors of violence and - often ironic - self-exaggeration (showing off) - often related to one's own sexual potency as well as demonstrative consumption - are also typical elements of the style.

It is between battle tracks, in which the artist strikes out against the rest of the scene, disstracks that are directed at one or more specific rappers and mostly have a personal feud (" beef ") as a background, and between organized battles distinguish. The latter take place live in front of an audience or, for the last ten years, also over the Internet, and there is usually a winner who is determined by the crowd or a jury . An essential part of live battles are raps, which are performed as "freestyle" or a cappella . In freestyle, the opponent usually responds after four or eight lines from the opponent and tries to react to his punchlines ( punchlines that hit the opponent) and counter them.

Battle rap is closely linked to the basic idea of hip hop culture, which is determined by the agonal principle of competition. In the battle, symbolic capital and standing of the protagonists within the scene are negotiated in a non-violent manner . Battle rap is one of the original forms of rap music.

Similar to boxing , there are also rules in battle rap: for example, racist statements against the opponent or abuse of close relatives are usually not permitted. "Playing over the gang" to circumvent the restrictions mentioned is also not welcome. Depending on the seriousness of the battle and the attitude of the rappers, the dissolution of relatives - especially the mother - has been increasingly no longer a taboo in the battle scene since the mid-2000s, especially in organized battles.

Well-known representatives

MCs and rap formations that are or were known for their battle skills are, for example, KRS-One , LL Cool J , Lord Finesse , Percee P , Souls of Mischief , The Notorious BIG , Rakim , Big L , Big Daddy Kane , Proof , Eminem and Canibus or in Germany Spongebozz , Kollegah , Taktloss , Kool Savas , MOR , Prinz Porno , Azad , Fard , Karate Andi , Huss & Hodn , Fabian Römer , Favorite .

Battle rap formats

Germany

Since hip-hop spread as a music genre in Germany in the mid-1980s, initially rapping almost exclusively in English, battle rap, mostly in the form of freestyle, was practiced at jams or open mic sessions . The first well-known formats are the Royal Bunker and the first edition of Rap on Wednesday at the end of the 1990s. With three editions of the event Feuer über Deutschland in 2006, 2007 and 2008, each of which was published on DVD, prescribed a cappella battles, so-called "written battles", achieved popularity. Here either two MCs or crews competed against each other, among them artists like Casper , Fard or Favorite , who later achieved great commercial success. In 2010 rap was brought back to life on Wednesday and has since established itself as Germany's largest live battle rap league. The rappers are tested over various rounds in disciplines such as “freestyle” and “a cappella battle” but also “presenting texts”. This is to determine the complete and versatile MC. Don't Let The Label Label You has been organizing live battles on a regular basis since 2013 .

The live events are contrasted with the Internet battles, in which the opponents upload the songs as audio or video files on a portal. The Reimliga Battle Arena (RBA) , which was founded in 1998 and has long been the most important online battle platform, is considered a veteran . RBA rappers were Kollegah , Sun Diego , Casper , Fabian Römer , Tua , Taichi , Shneezin and Keule from the 257ers , KIZ , Mob.Inc , Hollywood Hank and many more. It was replaced by the video battle tournament (VBT), which has been held by the rappers.in website since 2007 . In this tournament, the participants compete against each other in a knockout system . It steadily gained popularity until 2013, and so some participants who were otherwise known almost only within the VBT scene were signed by various labels. Examples of this are EstA ( thugs ), Lance Butters ( Four Music ) or Weekend ( Chimperator ). In 2012, 2013 and 2014 the VBT Splash! Edition was held alongside the normal VBT. The winner received an appearance at the splash! -Festival (2012: Weekend, 2013: Persteasy , 2014: ME-L Techrap & MoooN ). Rappers like BattleBoi Basti or 3Plusss have also achieved great popularity through the VBT. In addition to the VBT, the JuliensBlogBattle, which has been held annually on the YouTube channel JuliensBlog since 2012 and which helped rappers such as 4tune or SpongeBOZZ to become known, or one-off tournaments such as the VCB and the Hometown Rap Sparring moderated by Olli Banjo , also play an important role in German battle rap.

foreign countries

Regular battle rap events include King of the Dot in Canada, Don't Flop in Great Britain, FlipTop in the Philippines, the Ultimate Rap League or Grind Time in the United States and Rap Contenders in France.

Battle rap in the media

The mainstream cinema audience was introduced to battle rap through the film 8 Mile (2002), in which Eminem plays a battlerapper who prevails against his opponent in the central scene in such a competition. A parody of this battle rap scene can be found in the film Scary Movie 3 .

See also

literature

Web links