Why Aren't Rappers Putting Down The Gloves & Picking Up The Mic?

Soulja Boy wants to fight Chris Brown (with promotion from boxer Floyd Mayweather), RiFF RAFF has challenged 50 Cent to a $2 million boxing match, Meek Mill says he’ll mop the floor with Drake for a cool $5 million, Kodak Black (for some reason) called out Lil Wayne to a fight over who is the “best rapper alive,” and 22 Savage is ready to throw blows at 21 Savage over the name. It appears all of these rappers feel they can cash in on the attention these alleged “fights” are getting and, to many, it’s making a mockery of Hip Hop culture. In fact, there seems to be no “culture” in this at all.

After Diddy’s Snapchat rant declaring all of this recent rap drama “baffoonery and coonery,” it’s natural to wonder why rappers are turning to physical violence to squash their beefs when they could put the gloves down and simply pick up a mic. After all, isn’t that actually how one determines who in fact is the better rapper? Whatever happened to a good old-fashioned rap battle?

At a 1997 Scribble Jam, before he was at the top of the rap food chain, Detroit native Eminem took on Chicago rapper Juice to determine who had better bars, while Sage Francis and Atmosphere’s Slug took to the rap ring at Scribble Jam’s 2001 event. No, they didn’t schedule a fight nor did they feel they had to resort to any type of physical violence to prove a point. They just spit and verbally assaulted one another until a winner was declared.

Then there’s the whole battle rap industry. These MCs (at least most of them) aren’t crying over witty punchlines or threatening to beat each other up over who is perceived as “better.” The King Of The Dot battle rap league is throwing guys like Dumbfoundead and Conceited in the ring to work it out in an “artful” way, while Grind Time Now routinely put rappers like TheSaurus and Illmaculate against each other to tear each other apart verse by verse.

It’s time rappers back up their tough guy, machismo talk with tangible rap battles rather than blow by blow, which—let’s be honest here—is never going to happen anyway. This all seems to be a plea for attention that started with Soulja Boy, who (again, let’s be honest) is pretty washed up. He hasn’t really been a viable musical force for nearly a decade. So rappers—you want to be noticed in a way that doesn’t compromise your integrity? Pick up the microphone and battle it out.