Canadian-based rap battle league King Of The Dot left the scene reeling on Saturday (July 22) when they held a surprise battle in the middle of their “Massacre 3” event.
The Worcester, Massachusetts crowd went nuts when they learned they’d be witnessing a one-round promo battle between Hollow Da Don and Dizaster, two MCs who could both stake a strong claim for GOAT status in the modern era of battle rap.
League owner and KOTD host Organik described the one-rounder as a teaser for a full-length battle that would eventually go down on the league, and the short battle served as a trailer for everything that is good, great, engaging and controversial about battle rap.
Hollow Da Don set it off with relentless energy, and the crowd rocked with pretty much everything the Queens MC had to say about his opponent — losing it when Hollow went in on Dizaster for battling so much in KOTD that he’d even battled the host (back in the GrindTime days).
It was the kind of performance that battle fans have come to expect from Hollow, who’s responsible for some of the most-viewed and best-loved battles in the culture.
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The same is true for Dizaster, though his record is tarnished with more controversies — he infamously punched Math Hoffa on the West Coast, earning himself a year’s suspension from KOTD. His round against Hollow showcased exactly why he’s such a divisive figure in the culture — beginning with manic energy, aggression and no shortage of bars, but ending in a messy freestyle that saw vast swathes of the crowd turn against him.
Toward the end of Diz’s round, Hollow began to talk to the crowd and try to leave the stage, arguing that Dizaster had gone over the five-minute time limit. This prompted Diz to start freestyling, remarking that Hollow was sitting down off-stage because “he’s never been a stand-up nigga.”
Dizaster, who is of Lebanese descent, immediately followed it up by saying, “Oh I can’t say that word, right?” before dropping some more bars and alleging that Hollow and his crew are “the type to say Black Lives Matter after killing some black guys,” at which point many in the crowd and social media began collectively SMH-ing.
Detroit MC Marv Won, who was co-hosting the live pay-per-view stream, had no time for the lyric, immediately describing Diz’s actions as “corny” to the fans watching at home.
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The two spoke in a tense conversation after the battle as well.
Battle rap veterans on Twitter, including Drect and Sara Kana, put forward similar criticisms of Diz.
Competitor league URL also sent out an interestingly timed “#StayWoke” message, the meaning of which wasn’t hard to decipher.
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Anyone who wants to check out the footage can buy the PPV at KOTDTV.com.
