It's like I'm saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and you're saying, "no, beauty is in the eye of he who really understands art." You're right that the NBA isn't exactly like battle rap. The NBA is a lot more rigid in the sense that, for example, LeBron James being a great basketball player is less dependent on our taste than Dizaster being a great battle rapper is. Whether you like his style of play or not, LeBron scores and dominates and you can't argue with stats. With battle rap, on the other hand, it's based almost entirely on opinion and taste. If multi-syllables and aggression are your thing, then Dizaster is probably one of the dopest ever, but if you're more into other aspects, then you might rate someone else higher than Diz. People don't win battles just because they are good. They win battles off the opinion of others. If they are subjected to a different crowd or a different era, they might lose. Someone can win in KOTD and lose horribly on SMACK against the same opponent with the same verses. The beholders, collectively, are who determine who's a dope battler or not, not the battler's actual skills set. I'd agree that being a dope writer and having that mindset often sets you up to have a more organized way of assessing the verses of other, but I disagree that it means you have better taste.
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