multis: the final verdict (as found in mc battle blog)

in rotation: oddisee - oddisee 101

an excellent article on the use of "multis" in emcee battles as found in mc battle blog - an insightful guide to the entertaining world of emcee battles.

"When utilized properly, multi-syllable rhyme patterns can dramatically increase the impact of your lines. When employed incorrectly, you sound like a fucking dipshit. Follow along as we guide you from an Eleagle to a.. well.. not Eleagle.

Ever since this style became all the rage, there’s been a legion of incredibly terrible battlers desperately trying to incorporate this tactic into their arsenal. Almost all have failed. The most obvious reason for this occurrence? They fucking suck.

In order to excel at rapping in multi-syllable fashion, you must be moderately intelligent and possess a large vocabulary, as well as the self-awareness to realize when your lines are atrocious. Since the majority of battlers lack these basic fundamentals, their verses wind up becoming a jumbled mess of stupidity.

The key to spitting a good, clean multi is a very simple concept, yet it somehow eludes many, many battlers. Above all, the most important guideline to follow is relevance (this is a mandatory requirement in general, but even more important when using multi-syllables). Despite this being completely disregarded by the majority of the current battle scene, without it, the most your bars can hope to achieve is to sound pretty.. and even then, they’re still trash.

Examples:

You really think those played, used bars are gonna take you far?
You’ve got a better chance rolling through in a busted up, fake used car!
-Eleagle to D-Lor

Why is driving a used car such an impossibility? Why are we calling the car fake? There’s absolutely no reason Eleagle needed to say this. It’s forced, makes no sense and was only included because he needed words to rhyme.

Ayo! TheSaurus and Illmac? Your clitoris just builds fat..
-Frankie Wapps to TheSaurus & Illmaculate

How does a clitoris build fat?

TheSaurus’ grill, looks like a tortured seal, leftover pork & veal
Or some ordered meal from a Greek diner of half chewed orange peels
-Jaze Juce to TheSaurus

Saur’s face doesn’t resemble a seal, despite how much it’s been tortured. It’s also nothing close to a chewed up orange peel. Leaving out the worst comparison and inserting “pork and veal” at the end of the bar makes much more sense as that’s an item people might order at restaurants. Irrelevant multis ruin lines.

What is this? A.C. Slater? I think his fucking.. face seems gayer
And with 18 craters he’ll scare away each neighbor
-Jaze Juce to TheSaurus

How does a face seem gay? Why only 18 craters? Why not 17? It’s a bad sign when you need random numbers to make rhymes fit. Where’d these neighbors come from?

In case you don’t remember, but a while back there was a battler who garnered more hate than anyone else on the battle scene due to his abundant use of irrelevant and ludicrous comparisons. He’d often compare his opponents, human beings mind you, to inanimate objects that no human could possibly bear resemblance to.

Examples:

“You look like a giant sized onion on a fucking retarded broom stick!”

“Your face looks like someone stuck TNT inside a belly button!”

“His face looks like John Goodman’s face superimposed on a sack of potatoes!”
-Mic Assassin to Iron Solomon

Yeah, I’m just not too sure how accurate those lines really are. As you can see, Iron Solomon just looks like a normal human being.

I doubt anyone out there would label these comparisons acceptable, which boggles the mind because so many jump at the chance to defend similar lines which follow nearly the same formula. The only difference between them being, you guessed it, multis.

Battle rap listeners give a pass to terrible comparisons because they sound pretty when surrounded in multi-laden rhymes. They are fascinated with these schemes because they think they’re harder to write. They laugh like morons while overlooking the fact that, despite how cute it sounds, nobody resembles 12 inanimate objects or random people.

Examples:

He looks like Tiger Woods
Busted nuts inside of Little Red Riding Hood
Then out came Kobe Bryant’s foot
-Mosh Jelton to Unorthodox Phrases

Unorthodox looks nothing like Tiger Woods, but he is indeed a tall, black male so I guess whatever. What’s not debatable is the fact that he doesn’t resemble a small, fictional white girl or an NBA player’s foot. I don’t know how anyone can resmeble another human’s foot. Again, the multis are only in place to rhyme. It’s lazy writing.

You’re barely makin’ weary statements
And if you listen close enough to this fairy Haitian
You can hear Gary Payton’s cherry breakin‘
-Mosh Jelton to Unorthodox Phrases

I can’t tell if the first line is supposed to be a diss or a compliment? Weary means to cause fatigue, so um, whatever, at least it rhymes, right? Again, Unorthodox gets compared to another random black guy with another irrelevant multi attached. What the fuck does that shit even mean? Why is Gary Payton’s cherry being broken and why/how are we hearing it? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!??! *head explodes*

There’s really no explanation for these lines unless Mosh was battling Unorthodox while on a mescaline trip.

In closing, multi-syllabic rhyme patterns will never be a fair trade for making sense in a rap battle. In reality, they make you sound much, much worse. Create a line rooted in accuracy and relevance and stick to it. The battle scene will thank you."

r.i.p. sega mega drive

in rotation: silent knight - holla burton (the unmixed cassette)

oh what a marvelous day. yesterday my friend rich told me about gametraders, a multi-award winning australian owned retail video games franchise with over 45 stores across australia. what's amazing about this place is not only do they specialise in the buying, selling and trading of all gaming formats from the latest systems such as the wii, 360 and ps3, they also do this for retro systems such as atari, snes and mega drive. i always knew this place existed but never checked it out under the assumption that a) no new gaming store could possibly have anything novel or unique to offer me, and b) i could probably pick up any game found in there at jb hi-fi but for much cheaper. apparently i was mistaken.

today i went into gametraders at castle towers to try and find some old school mega drive games, as well as a ps copy of final fantasy 7 (ff7; quite possibly the greatest game of all time!). whilst i was unable to find ff7, fortunately for me, i managed to pick up four pre-owned mega drive titles - nba live 95, jordan vs bird, usa basketball, and barkley's shut up and jam!. each of these were eight bucks each! i couldn't believe it. who knew my childhood could be re-bought for $32? i forgot how much i love my sega mega drive. sure, i spend a lot of time on my wii and my 360 these days, but the sega mega drive is by far my favourite gaming console of all time. now i just need to track down toe jam and earl, as well as the whole streets of rage trilogy, and my life will be complete! fucking yeah!

coincidence?

in rotation: q-tip - the renaissance

is it a coincidence that while the raptors have lost several games in a row, including one to the the worst team in the nba, the rate at which i post per month has dropped significantly? sure, one could argue that there is a meaningful correlation between the two, but in all honesty im just enjoying my holidays back in sydney. i finally graduated from the university of canberra with my bachelor's degree in science (psychology) so the last few weeks have pretty much been spent chilling. my graduation ceremony was on the 17th of december, and was held at parliament house. it was quite an elaborate ceremony, and it was pretty surreal standing on stage in my gown and hood, accepting my piece of paper from the chancellor. yep, right now life is all good... at least until the wrath of the gamsat engulfs my being in its entirety.




oh yeah i feel this is worth documenting. i was fortunate enough to catch the kanye west and nas gig with my close friend cristal earlier this month. she was extremely excited about seeing kanye, whilst me being the hip-hop head that i am, was extremely excited about seeing the one and only nasir jones! seeing nasty nas perform was one of those things which i had to do in life, and i am now glad that i have done it. he definitely made up for canceling his last australian tour earlier last year. the show was held at acer arena. despite acer arena being one of my least favourite venues due to its size, nas still managed to create an intimate atmosphere for his fans. he performed damn near everything from 'illmatic' to his most recent tracks in 'hero' and 'n.i.g.g.e.r. (the slave and the master)'. he even performed his debut verse on 'live at the bbq'. dude was just tearing it up. complimented by a live band, nas just had that unbelievable stage presence. no fancy stage shit, just straight spittin'. i thoroughly enjoyed his set. nas was a real professional emcee that night.

kanye was on for what felt like an eternity. now, i was moderately excited about kanye's performance since i'd been checking for him since his production on jigga's 'blueprint' in 01. the first time i heard kanye spit was on 'through the wire' when it was dropping all over mixtapes. shit had me excited to be honest. i always appreciated kanye's use of samples, and although he was not ever the most talented rapper, he was always sincere in his rhymes - a quality i appreciate more than most things in hip-hop. when 'college dropout' was released in 04, i bumped that shit back to back to back. that album was my shit. so... about five years and four albums later, we flash-forward to kanye west at present and acknowledge his evolution.

i can appreciate innovation, growth and development in an artist but in my personal opinion, kanye's show was not good. i don't really want to go into the details but let's just say i felt like his show was on some cirque du soleil shit. it did not feel like a personal experience at all. in fact, not once do i recall kanye ever addressing the crowd directly. it did not feel like a hip-hop show at all. yeah, yeah, yeah i know kanye's trying to take music beyond it's limits, but kanye's set was too long. it dragged. his sub-par performance as an on-stage artist was camouflaged by bright lights and effects, and autotuned songs. moreover, he ended the whole concert on 'love lockdown' - this put a real damper on the whole night. it was by far the worst way to end the night.

in terms of performance/show quality, well kanye west failed to join masta ace, atmosphere, and jean grae on my list of favourite live performances. i'm actually pretty certain that given the right venue, nas would not only tear shit down, but be at the top of my list. overall the night was pretty enjoyable. i believe this to be due largely to the fact that i finally got to see nas rip the mic live, and that i shared the experience in good company. thanks cristal.




anyways, it's two days before christmas. it's not really that big a deal to me anymore, kind of like birthdays. they are no longer the same spectacular events that brightened up my day during my younger years. instead, they have become just another day in my life. nevertheless these occasions do provide me with an ample opportunity to spend time with my parents and sister as a family unit. this is nice because we rarely get the chance to do so, what with my sister and i currently living in canberra, not to mention the fact that whenever my sister and i are in sydney together, both of us usually have plans already. so on that note, i guess i'd just like to say merry christmas and a happy new year to all my friends and family out there. you guys are what's up.

always,

nix to the...

asian vs asian a.k.a. tantrum vs dumbfoundead

in rotation: anthony hamilton - the point of it all

for those that know me well, i watch emcee battles quite a lot. there's nothing better than watching a good battle. i'm not going to claim to have been there from the start because i haven't, nor have i witnessed any of these battles firsthand. i have however been watching footage long enough to acknowledge it's evolution. in a nutshell, i'm just a hip-hop fan from australia and there's not much more to it. if you were to ask me what my favourite battles of all time are, i'd probably have to really think about it.

as i have mentioned in previous posts, grind time has developed into the premier battle league with currently five divisions across america. so far, grind time has not failed to impress me. in fact, grind time, whilst still a young entity in itself, has hosted some of the dopest battles i have seen in recent times. props to the grind time staff for putting in mad work and providing the rest of the world with such high quality battles. on that note, the purpose of this post emerges - asian vs asian - tantrum vs dumbfoundead.

i was already a big fan of both dumbfoundead and tantrum's work so i'd been waiting on this battle for a minute. prior to the footage release of this showdown, certain forums were hyping this shit up, some even claiming that it's the greatest battle of all time. now it might also be due to the fact that i am asian, but a tantrum vs dumbfoundead battle! cot dayummmm! i don't think i remember the last time i was so excited.

so upon watching the video itself, i have to say that it did not disappoint. i don't know if i'll ever be able to cite my favourite battles but this battle is now easily in my top five battles of all time. there are so many quotables in this battle and a perfect contrast of styles between the two swordsman. tantrum's third round is one of the best rounds i've ever seen. i wish i could have been there to experience it. my god, you just have to watch it for yourself. see below.

big ups to grind time and both tantrum and dumbfoundead for coming so fucking correct.

grind time presents: tantrum vs dumbfoundead part 1

grind time presents: tantrum vs dumbfoundead part 2

oh yeah before i go, i feel like i should address the whole raptors situation. so sam mitchell is gone and jay triano is now at the wheel. i don't know what to say really. we just keep getting worse and worse. yesterday we hit an all time low by losing to the worst team in the league - the oklahoma city thunder. i still have faith but really, i don't think i can justify this loss. no excuses can be made for the raptor's play this season. a change must occur immediately or this season is finito. haha it's funny, i had a dream last night that what happened with v.c. actually happened with bosh too. it's not an unrealistic scenario for bosh to depart in 2010. i don't really know what to say. fuck. i guess i'll just watch that tantrum vs dumbfoundead battle again to lift my spirits haha!

peace suckers.

crooked i is that dude

in rotation: company flow - funcrusher plus

damn it's been a minute since i dropped something. i've just been enjoying holidays too much. well, to keep this blog relevant, here is an interview and q & a with crooked i on the world famous wake up show on october 25th, 2008 for the 100K battle top 20 invitational. crooked i stays dropping that knowledge.

crooked i interview and q & a on the wake up show

my first time performing on stage...

in rotation: leigh jones - music in my soul

"for those that don't know, my name is nix and i'm the resident asian of this rhyme collective"

the phoenix bar in civic hosts "the bootleg sessions" every week - an opportunity for artists to showcase their musical talents - and last monday my homie professor anarchy did his damn thing. for those who are unaware of mr. anarchy's stylistics, he raps pretty darn well. please click here to educate yourself on the ways of the anarchy. anyways, there is a first time for everything, and fortunately enough, i was given the chance to perform a track live and uncut with anarchy on monday night. this was my first time performing on stage.

anarchy's setlist comprised of approximately ten songs. all tracks were anarchy's solo shit except for three - one featuring me, one featuring my boy tobias kid, and one for freestyling at the end featuring all of us as a collective (professor anarchy, tobias kid, toddler and myself). we arrived at 8:15pm, and anarchy was set to go on stage at around 9pm. i have to say i was pretty nervous. prior to anarchy's set, i'm certain i would have gone to the bathroom about five or six times, if not to take a slash, then to drink some water. damn my throat was dry. it's funny, approximately five minutes before i was due on stage, i completely forgot my verse - how could i forget my 32? and why now? i was forced to venture my way back to the bathroom and lock myself in the cubicle so that i could recite it over to myself several times. i had butterflies in my stomach and i couldn't shake them. i felt like eminem in 8 mile haha... meanwhile anarchy was on stage ripping his set in a charismatic fashion.

so after all my bathroom breaks, it was finally my time to step to the mic. anarchy introduced me to the phoenix crowd and i made my way onto the platform. my heart was beating a million times faster than normal. god i was so fucking nervous. nevertheless, i got up and uttered the words found at the beginning of this post. i got a few cheers and the beat kicked in. anarchy and i opened with the chorus:

"go with the flow yo, roll with the flow so
be where you're at and forget what you know, oh!
ain't no need to fight for control,
we can just breathe deep, shine light from your soul!"

after the chorus i was set to go with my verse. initially i was so shakey. i'm well aware that i was looking down quite a bit, but from what tobias tells me, i really hit my stride about halfway through the verse. i felt like i picked up the pace as i progressed through my verse. i built up my confidence and tried to connect more with the crowd. it's really quite hard for me to tell because it was just such a surreal experience - almost like a fuzzy dream captured by blurry snapshots. despite my anxiety and anguish leading up to this set, performing onstage at the phoenix was one of the most exhilirating feelings i have ever experienced. it wasn't like executing a speech for a university tutorial. it was different. it was liberating.

it was really comforting and reassuring to have anarchy by my side during my first performance ever. after i knocked out my verse, we did the chorus again and then anarchy took care of business with his verse. After our track was finished, i was feeling pretty comfortable. i even proposed to the crowd that they "support good music and go buy the anarchy cd". whilst my five or so minutes of shine was over, i wasn't relieved, instead i was feeling amped for the next opportunity to do it all over again.

after my departure from the spotlight, the anarchy show went on. the professor continued to tear it up song after song. a special mention in particular should be given to my boy tobias kid for shredding through his tongue-twisting verse on 'jawbreakers'. i was there to witness him practice and rehearse that shit, and it still blows me away to this day. look out for tobias some time - motherfucker is crazy on the boards and on the mic. evil twin suckers. anyways, as the night continued, we were all finally given the chance to get on stage and freestyle at the end. everyone did their thing. extra props to anarchy, tobias and toddy for all coming correct on the mic that night. as for me, well as i mentioned previously, i was already pretty comfortable on stage. i can barely remember any of my lines but i felt like i was on it. we actually had a friend recording video footage of the whole set but we ran out of film by that point. it's all good. that's what next time is for.

following our little onstage cypher, the set was pretty much over. what a trip. after our adventure, we chilled at the phoenix for a bit. whilst the crowd at the phoenix is much more of an alternative one (what do i know? i'm a hip-hop head!), it was quite a nice suprise to have dudes givin' me daps telling me i rap good. at least it made me feel like maybe i am actually doing something right. following a few beers, we all migrated to anarchy and kay's crib to chill some more. what a fucking night. i can easily say, it was one of the best experiences of my life. i don't go out to pubs and clubs much but on this night of all nights, i had a motherfuckin' blast. i have to say thanks again to tobias kid, toddler and anarchy. without you guys, i wouldn't have even been blessed to grace a stage, let alone a track. you guys are talented as hell. thanks for puttin' me on.

so before i leave this post at a close, i feel i should drop a special mention and congratulations to my good mate thomas who's set to graduate with me at the end of this year. we did it son! thanks to you and rose for coming out and supporting me at my first ever performance. it means more than words can describe. it's the lamp people bitches!

in conclusion, i'll say this - the night was a festive success. i look forward to the next time i am given a chance to perform. i look forward to the fast heartbeat, the dry throat and the butterflies. i look forward to going through that same process i went through on monday night at the phoenix. i probably will never pursue a hip-hop career with mine but hip-hop as a culture, particularly the element of rhyming, will always be an integral part of my existence. my first time performing on stage did nothing but solidify that notion.

hip-hop is alive.