Found this.. enjoy
Definition Of A Classic
So there’s three terms that’s overly used in todays battle culture: Bodybag, Classic and Top Tier. Every time a battle rapper wins a battle and someone calls it a body bag, I wanna go off on em. When a battle rapper wins a few battles against some decent opponents and a fan calls them top tier, I wanna smack the shit out of em. And when a good battle drops and someone calls it a classic two seconds after watching it, I simply shake my head. Now I’ve never claimed to be a battle rap guru, or the end all be all in battle rap discussion. But I have been a avid, loyal and all around huge fan of the battle rap culture ever since I was little. With that, I have my thoughts and opinions when it comes to the sport, from a point of view some people my not be looking from, so I choose to voice it. I plan to breakdown all of these terms in different blogs, but for now, let‘s get into what makes a battle a classic….
So what is a Classic Battle? IN MY OPINION it’s a battle that is crazy all 3 rounds with no dull moments. Both MC's are on their A game. A dope clash of styles as well. It doesn’t need to have two big names. Also, a classic battle has to stand the test of time. But let’s get more specific…
Content: I think a classic battle has to consist of a number of things. Punch lines (Of course), schemes, wordplay, performance, presence, personals, creative angles, unpredictability, flow and a good joke here and there (don’t give me that bars over jokes shit like we don‘t enjoy to laugh during a rap battle). Now it doesn’t NEED to consist of each one of these categories. But I think it’s fair to say it’s almost a given for MC’s to have most of these attributes now and days anyway just to have a good showing. But when both battlers are displaying these throughout each round it could be something special. Example, Aye Verb Vs Hitman Holla. You can’t name one thing a great battle consists of that their battle didn’t have. And we know how it came out.
Styles: Often Battle Rap has been compared to boxing. And in this category it couldn’t be more true. You would think that two big names would automatically create a classic battle but you couldn’t be more wrong. Let’s take Hollow Da Don Vs Hitman Holla for example. At the time of their battle, both of them were considered the best in the world. But the battle wasn’t a good one. Many people say it’s because they weren’t on their A game, but I just think those two completely different styles didn’t make a good fight. Now, Serius Jones Vs Murda Mook was another battle with two different styles. But the match up was great and resulted in a classic bout.
Names Don’t Matter: The names do not make the battle, the bars do. Example, JC Vs Chilla Jones. Two newer MC’s that have been making a name for themselves recently. Neither had millions of views on Youtube, or tens of thousands of followers. But clearly it was a classic battle. Look at Murda Mook Vs Iron Solomon. Two of the biggest names ever in Battle Rap. I personally thought it was gonna be one of the best ever. Yea, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Creativity: For a battle to really stand out from the hundreds and hundreds of other battles it has to have something original about it. A real dope bar, scheme or story we haven’t heard before. Let’s go back to Aye Verb Vs Hitman Holla. It was the first time we saw Hitman’s infamous remix bar. And in the same battle Verb took the role of Hitmans father, a move we haven’t seen before. Another example, Tsu Surf Vs Conceited. We all know the famous “Slow It Down” bar Conceited created at Summer Madness Vs T-Rex. But against Surf, it was the first time he took one bar, and slowed it down 4 times for 4 different meanings. And Surfs church bar was not only extremely creative, but in my opinion best bar of the year.
Consistency: It has to be dope all three rounds, back and forth punches and lyrics and no dull moments. It has to keep your attention because your afraid to miss something crazy. You won’t wanna write on twitter while somebody’s spittin or have a convo with the person your next to until the battle is over. Whenever you rewatch the battle, you wanna rewatch the WHOLE battle.
Room To Camera Translation: If you’ve ever been to any rap battle event here’s something you know. Most battles look different live then on camera. Having a great battle live is good. But the battle that the world sees and will always be watched is the one that hits Youtube. I still to this day swear that live, Charlie Clips Vs Big T was a classic hands down. But when it hit the internet, it was good but not a classic. (I personally feel a lot of that had to do with the audio not being too great but it’s whatever). If a battle is truly a classic, it will be one in the building, as well as the internet.
Long Gevity: Here’s the biggest problem I have with people calling battles Classic. They call it a classic just because they’re in the moment of just watching a good battle or a great performance. But when you watch it a few weeks or months later, it’s not the same. Why’s that? Because they’re caught up in the hype. Now don’t get me wrong. There have definitely been some battles that drop and soon as it’s over you know are classics, they’ll be talked about for a long time and reach crazy views. But they don’t come around often. Relax people, I get it that you get excited when ya favorite rapper does there thing but let’s not dick ride. When a real dope battle drops, after you've watched it a few times, come back to it later and see if you feel the same.
There’s no formula or specific way to have a classic battle. It can come from any two styles, battlers or leagues. But here’s the thing. Do yall remember a time in Hip Hop where magazine ratings meant something? When a album got 5 mics you went to listen to it cause you know it didn’t get that rating for nothing. Or a time when the people called an artists album classic, not the label. Now and days it seems like every artist calls there album/mixtape a classic for the sake of sales. And that’s caused the term classic to be watered down in the industry. So when a classic album does drop, it’s not treated as one. Don’t get me wrong, there are way more classics in battle rap then the music industry now and days clearly. But I’m just saying. They don’t come around as much as people would make it seem.
Here are just a few battles I think can be considered classics that have dropped in the past couple years:
Tsu Surf Vs Yung Ill
Yung Ill Vs T-Rex
Hitman Holla Vs Aye Verb
Conceited Vs Tsu Surf
Loaded Lux Vs Calicoe
Arsonal Vs Conceited
Battle Feed
Definition Of A Classic
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