Battle Rap enthusiasts will be celebrating SMACK/URL’s latest event, Night of Main Events 3, Sunday June 23 and URL’s co-owner Beasley recently spoke with HipHopDX about the evening of battles. Beasley boldly believes “it’s the best [battle] card period, ever” and he also explained why it’s “frustrating” when other Battle Rap leagues try to copy URL, the Ultimate Rap League.
“First of all, I just think it’s the best card period, ever, of any battle card,” he explained. “I don’t think there’s anything better than this card. I mean, Summer Madness 2 had the names and there were some good match-ups there but I think in terms of looking at match-ups on paper, if you look at this NOME 3 event, I think it’s unparalleled.”
Beasley Explains Hollow Da Don Vs. Tsu Surf & Dizaster Vs. T-Rex
“You’ve got Hollow Da Don on his return going against Tsu Surf, who’s also a fan favorite,” Beasley continued. “You’re going to see if Hollow’s time off, if it’s going to affect him or if he’s going to turn up. You also get to see Tsu Surf continue to progress in his journey to be revered as one of the best people…There are a lot of good match-ups that make this event interesting.”
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Another one of those match-ups comes by way of Dizaster and T-Rex. It’s a highly anticipated bout between rappers who have very different styles.
“Dizaster and T-Rex. Whoo! East meets West. Styles collide,” Beasley noted. “It’s Dizaster’s first time coming to the URL. People want to see if he’ll be able to adjust because the leagues he’s been battling in, it’s more of a different style than the URL style of battling. You got T-Rex who’s been on a spree and people want to see how he’ll adjust to someone like Dizaster who freestyles and does things that are a little bit different from the opponents that he has been battling. So that’ll be an interesting match-up to see who comes out on top.”
The card also features a slew of other battles which have been anticipated for a variety of reasons within the Battle Rap community. As mentioned, Brooklyn’s Hollow Da Don will make his return to the URL stage to take on New Jersey’s Tsu Surf, who last battled on URL late in 2012. St. Louis’ Hitman Holla, who participated in last year’s Summer Madness 2, will battle Brooklyn’s Conceited who is coming off filming for MTV’s Wild ‘N Out. Chicago will also be represented as Big T will return to URL for a battle with Harlem’s K-Shine, who is coming off a celebrated battle in the league this year. Repping Harlem, Charlie Clips will take on St. Louis’ B Magic, who recently dropped a much talked about battle against Tay Roc for URL. Boston’s Chilla Jones, celebrated for his schemes, will rhyme against Queens, New York’s DNA, perhaps Jones’ biggest named opponent to date. More from all of these battlers can be seen in the promotional mini-doc below, courtesy of URL.
Beasley Praises King Of The Dot & Don’t Flop, Calls Other Leagues “Frustrating”
After setting up these match-ups, Beasley is confident that the URL has “the best” battle card “ever” with NOME 3 but there’s even more on Beas’ mind. In the same interview with HipHopDX, Beasley spoke on how other leagues have tried to copy the URL brand in different ways.
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“It’s a little frustrating, to be honest with you,” Beasley explained. “We spend time to build these guys up, market them and put them out there, advertise them and then they come along and try to take the same people to make something happen. They would be better off finding their own stars and building them up and having it to where they don’t come to URL. Then they would be our competition…I feel like it’s corny when people do that. They’re not building their own stars. They’re not being original. The culture will get stagnant because a lot of times, what happens is they waste good battles. They’re not shooting them right. They’re not setting up the right match-ups. Or, either, just, doing the battle and then everyone doesn’t get to see it because it’s not promoted correctly. So, you take away potentially classic match-ups.”
Later, Beasley shared “the slogan,” explaining that “URL is the culture.”
“The slogan that’s going around now is, ‘If it doesn’t happen on URL, it doesn’t count.’”
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Beas was quick to point out that he was not referring to King of the Dot or Don’t Flop with those comments, adding that he gives respect to those leagues..
There are different leagues out there that are doing great things with battling. For instance, I like King of the Dot and I like Don’t Flop because they have their own stars. Even though they recruit some of our guys to battle, they’re putting our guys, or guys that would battle on URL, against their stars. They’re booking battles probably that I wouldn’t book. They’re putting our guys against guys I wouldn’t put on URL, which I don’t mind. It’s their own twist and their own style. They’re not really trying to emulate anything. So, I give respect to King of the Dot and Don’t Flop.”
Busta Rhymes, Kevin Durant, Q-Tip & Jadakiss Among Those Set To Attend NOME 3
Busta Rhymes is set to make an appearance at NOME 3. Busta, who also appeared as a guest at last year’s Summer Madness has been actively supporting URL for years. He has even offered to battle on URL, though details of any such battle are unknown at present time. For now, what is clear is that Busta will be attending the event. According to Beasley, many other artists are also likely to attend.
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“I just dropped the blog with Busta Rhymes talking about NOME 3. Kevin Durant has called and said he’s coming to town soon. Jadakiss, Lloyd Banks. Q-Tip is coming through. Busta. Everybody’s coming through because people are saying, a lot of the artists are saying that they don’t get that type of camaraderie or fuel and lyricism from the music that’s out presently. So, they have to get it from Battle Rap. This is the new shit. They’re coming. They want to hear the punchlines. They get it right from Battle Rap. That’s what they’re getting their fuel from.”
URL’s video blog with Busta Rhymes regarding NOME 3 can be viewed below.
The battle will take place Sunday, June 23 at Stage 48 in New York, New York. Doors open at 2pm. This is the first time URL takes over the venue, following last year’s venue issues with Webster Hall. Stage 48 is what Smack has called his “new home.” More from this venue can be seen below, as Smack walks through the building, giving fans a preview of what to expect. Tickets are still available via TicketWeb.
In related news, SMACK recently revealed a new partnership with BET’s 106 & Park. SMACK recently announced that it will be called UFF, the Ultimate Freestyle Friday, a collaboration between the Ultimate Rap League and the BET show’s longstanding tradition of having a Freestyle Friday competition. The video announcement can be seen below with Bow Wow and Smack discussing the venture.
