University of Maryland March Madness Benefit Battle

March Madness Benefit Battle poster

DJ Tony Drake gave me a heads up about a freestyle battle tournament he's setting up for the top 10 freestylers from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area called the March Madness Benefit Battle. The winner of the tournament will get to choose a charity where all the proceeds will be donated to. A-Class will be competing in this tournament as well as another Asian rapper who goes by the name of Blasian.

The event will go down on March 30th at 8pm. In case you aren't in Maryland to watch the battle, the battle will be streamed live on wmucradio.com.

Press release:

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BENEFIT BATTLE- MARCH 30, 2010, 6-8PM

10 Emcees, 1 Winner, All Proceeds Go to the Charity of The Winner’s Choice

COLLEGE PARK, MD – On Tuesday, March 30, “The Blender w/ Miss DJ Gemz and DJ Tony Drake" on WMUC Radio (University of Maryland, College Park’s FM station) will put on one of the biggest Freestyle Battles to ever hit the DMV! 10 of the area's best rappers are coming together to battle it out for a good cause. All of the proceeds from the event will go to the non-profit charity of the winner’s choice.

What separates this battle from the countless other “freestyle battles” in the DMV? Rather than gathering 10 talented artists who will come and perform verses from their songs (which tends to happen at a lot of freestyle battles), all of the artists have been carefully chosen based on their ability to creatively compose bars on the spot based on current events, their competition’s appearance, and any other topic that immediately comes to mind. One emcee will be announced daily via twitter through Dj Tony Drake (@djtonydrake) and Miss Dj Gemz (@missdjgemz), starting Sunday, March 21 until the day of the competition. All of the emcees have a strong battle background and many of them have been featured on Grind Time Now, The World’s #1 Rap Battle, Scribble Jam, and WorldStarHipHop.com.

The event is free, but charitable donations of at least $3 are recommended to go towards the Grand Prize Donation. There will also be free give-aways provided throughout the event by the event’s various sponsors which include: Mcdonalds, EA Sports, Fuse Box Radio, Community Roots, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., (University of Maryland Chapters), BraeonArt, Art Lyfe Entertainment, The BaltimoreScene, Words Beats & Life Inc., Xclusively Yours, and Broccoli City.

If you can’t make it out to the event at the Nyumburu Cultural Center on the University of Maryland’s campus on March 30, it will be broadcasted live on wmucradio.com! That means as long as you have an internet connection you can be a part of this event! Be sure to tune into the "The Blender w/ Miss DJ Gemz and DJ Tony Drake" every Tuesday at 6PM EST on wmucradio.com for new music first and the hottest events in your community.

Freestyle Battle - Sympal Mynd vs True Temper

Chinese-American battle emcee, True Temper sent me this YouTube footage of him battling Sympal Mind.

From an email he sent to me:

Hi, this is a video of me that got posted recently from a battle back in October for that was part of Grind Time's fundraiser for Dirtbag Dan and Madness. I'm pretty nerdy so Lush wasn't down to put it on Drect's channel so I'm trying to drum up some views.

I stumbled a bit in the first round. My opponent used a lot of racial jokes and I burned him for it in the 3rd round.

Oh yes you did! Props!!

Jin says he is NOT going to battle Dizaster

So Jin says in this video entitled Closure that he is NOT going to battle Dizaster after all, thus bringing a closure to this episode. Rats! And I was really looking forward to this battle too! Too bad it won't happen. This is definitely disappointing news for hip hop fans. On the flip side, I'm happy that Jin is in a new chapter in his life and things are working well for him over in Hong Kong.

No Jin vs Dizaster battle in the Battle of LA!

To sum things up, there was no Jin Vs Dizaster battle and no Jin vs Illmaculate battle at the Battle of LA. Jin says he wants to start his own freestyle battle league. Wow. Is he serious? WTF is going on?!

Dumbfoundead gets in a fight during his freestyle battle!!

This is why you don't mess with Asians, cuz we all know martial arts. In this scenario though I think Dumbfoundead was the culprit here being in his opponent's face and all. Nice flying spinning kick, Dumb. Tatsumaki-Senpu kyaku!!!

Jin said the battle didn't happen because Grind Time wasn't ready!

In my last blog post about the Jin vs Dizaster battle, I thought that Jin stood Dizaster up but that was my own speculation. But in this new video, Jin clears everything up saying that he was in LA during mid-November and was ready to battle but the reason why the battle didn't happen was because Grind Time wasn't ready.

Grind Time you guys better not mess this up the second time! Make sure the Jin vs Dizaster battle will happen in the Battle Of LA!

Dizaster clowning on Jin (the Dizaster vs Jin battle hasn't happened yet!)

You guys are probably wondering, what happened to the Jin vs Dizaster battle? It was supposed to happen around mid-November in LA (which Jin stipulated). But the battle never happened!! So as you can imagine, Dizaster is choked that he got stood up by Jin so he decided to post a video of himself talking smack and clowning Jin a little bit. If you watch the video of Dizaster's silly antics, this might clue you in on Dizaster's material if or when he battles Jin. If the Jin vs Dizaster battle is ever going to happen, it just might happen around New Year's.

Freestyle Battle - Passda vs G Soldier

In this freestyle battle, Passda takes on G Soldier for Grind Time South, the Atlanta division. In that first round, Passda exposed G Soldier and his gun play rhymes. That was COLD!! In the second round, Passda made fun of G Soldier's appearance calling him "Slim Thug", hahaha. Passda's third round was hella weak though. As for G Soldier, his first round sounded like typical gun play, but nothing really hit. His second round was about Asian movie stereotypes which was alright... I wasn't really feelin much of that. G Soldier really stepped up in the third round and does a crazy multi rhyme which was really crazy. G Soldier wins after the 3rd round.

Personally, I would have liked to see an OT. I think the judges chose G Soldier as the winner because he had more stage presence and was spitting with fury. Poor Passda. He seems very quick-witted and he's a super funny guy, but he needs to something about his stage presence and rhyme delivery or else he'll lose again if he ever faces against another thug-like rapper.

Freestyle Battle - Fredo vs Decay

Fredo takes on Decay who came all the way from Brighton, UK for Battle of the Bay 5. Decay was making jokes about Fredo's weight and Fredo took the job of homeland security while poking fun of Decay's accent and about him being from the UK. Fredo takes the win after the 3rd round.

I have feeling that the crowd was a bit biased about the battle because they reacted more towards Fredo's lines and wasn't really feeling Decay's English accent and swagger. (I wasn't either.) You gotta give props to Decay though for not going through the racist route. Decay was going through the same route as Lyraflip's battle aginst Fredo with the fat jokes but it still wasn't enough for a victory. Fredo won mainly with his American bigotry. But if you want to compare both MC's skill-wise and bar for bar in this battle, Fredo had better lines and better delivery. His victory was well deserved.

Freestyle Battle - Kid Caustic vs A-Class

Kid Caustic from Union City, California takes on A-Class for Grind Time New York. A-Class comes in with a lot of multis and had some good rebuttals but he was rapping too fast for the judges. I could barely make half of what A-Class was saying myself. Kid Caustic was coming in with Asian jokes but his punch-lines were audible so the battle was given to Kid Caustic after the 3rd round. A-Class.... homie you gotta slow down!!

Freestyle Battle - Dumbfoundead vs Kid Twist

Dumbfoundead makes his debut in King of the Dot and takes on Kid Twist. This freestyle battle is full of jokes and punch-lines. The crowd was reacted to almost every line from both rappers and that was a really annoying. Dumbfoundead called Kid Twist the guy from Twilight, lol. But that wasn't enough because Kid Twist had came really prepared and won the crowd. Kid Twist wins this freestyle battle.

Freestyle Battle - TheSaurus vs Illmaculate

From Battle of the Bay 5, this is the battle of TheSaurus taking on Illmaculate. This was a really heated battle since both these rappers know each other very well personally, lyrically and they were also rhyme partners that won the World Rap Championships together. In this battle TheSaurus was going for the short jokes and Illmaculate was going for jokes about TheSaurus' rap career. The battle was so heated that at the end of the third round, the crowd was asking for OT. After the OT, Illmaculate was declared the winner.

FYI: This is the same Illmaculate that Jin called out to battle. As you can see, Illmaculate is no joke and he's a lyrical force to be reckoned with. Personally, I'm really eager to see him and Jin battle this mid November, if/when it happens.

Jin's clarification about the upcoming Jin vs Dizaster battle

Jin says if the battle with Dizaster is about to happen, it would have to be on November 16th or 17th. That's when he will be in LA and then after he will be flying back to Hong Kong.

GRIND TIME.....Y'ALL BETTER MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Jin accept's Dizaster's challenge in a freestyle battle AND wants to battle Illmaculate on the same day!

(shoutouts to a-Tunes for the heads up on this!)

BIG NEWS! Jin has just accepted Dizaster's challenge to a FREESTYLE BATTLE! He will battle Dizaster on 3 conditions:

#1 The battle is to be held in LA (he is scheduled to be there in mid November)
#2 Unlimited time rounds
#3 He gets to battle Illmaculate on the same day.

Dizaster calling out Jin:



Dizaster ain't no walk in the park. He has made quite a name for himself in the Grind Time freestyle battle league. Furthermore, Jin wants to battle Illmaculate too? Both Dizaster and Illmaculate are MONSTERS when it comes to battling. To top that off, the freestyle battle game has drastically changed since Jin has left the freestyle battle circuit. Since the blowing up of Grind Time, freestyle battles now are more "writtens" rather than actual freestyles. So I don't really know how Jin would fare against these "new school" battle veterans. Whatever the case maybe, I can't wait for Jin to make his comeback!!

Freestyle Battle - Dumbfoundead vs PH (Pumpkin Head)

In this freestyle battle for Grind Time, Dumbfoundead takes on PH (Pumpkin Head). Dumbfoundead was really hittin PH with age and pumpkin jokes. Dumbfoundead wins in the OT.

Overtime + interview with Dumbfoundead and PH after the battle:

Freestyle Battle - A-Class vs D. Wiggins (East Coast vs West Coast battle)

In this battle, A-Class takes on D. Wiggins who flew in all the way from Fairfax, California. This battle was on some east coast vs west coast shiet. A-Class was declared the winner after the end of the 3rd round.

Freestyle Battle - Syco vs edWORDS

This freestyle battle is from King of the Dot rap battle leauge from Toronto, Canada. In this battle Korean rapper Syco from Guelph takes on edWORDS from St. Catherines. edWORDS takes the win in 3 rounds. This battle is kinda weird IMHO. When I say weird I mean that its not Grind Time which I'm really used to watching. But hey, I gotta show love to Asians steppin it up in Canada!!

Freestyle Battle - Everybody Knows vs Dizaster

Japanese-Hawaiian rapper Everybody Knows from Kapahulu, Hawaii takes on Dizaster for the Battle of the Bay 3 on February 28, 2009. Its funny to watch two ethnic minorities diss each other. There's also a lot of great rebuttals from both sides in this freestyle battle. Dizaster takes the win in 3 rounds because he had better lines, better delivery and better crowd reaction. I see a lot of potential though in the young Padawan Everybody Knows. The Force strong in him.

Freestyle Battle - Tantrum vs D-Lor

In this freestyle battle, Tantrum takes on D-Lor for the Battle of the Bay 4. Both rappers have very similar rapping styles and it was a really close battle. Tantrum edges out and in the end and takes win in the OT.

Overtime:

Freestyle Battle - Dirtbag Dan vs Soul Khan

For you guys who love watching freestyle battles as much as I do, this battle is one you can't miss! In this battle, Dirtbag Dan takes on Soul Khan in a "Battle of the Beards" for Battle of the Bay 4. There were tonnes of beard jokes and racist jokes that made me Laugh Out Loud for reals! This is one of the most hilarious and entertaining battles I have ever watched!! Dirtbag Dan took the win in 3 rounds. It was a really close battle. Even though Dirtbag Dan won that battle, I don't think Soul Khan lost at all. Khan's punch-lines were killer and he's witty as heck. And just for kicks, Dirtbag Dan and Soul Khan did an overtime and they both killed it again. This is definitely A CLASSIC BATTLE!

Overtime: