The Russian infiltration of the American political process has been a major talking point for the last year or so, and Sunday night (October 15), Russia took it one step further and shut down the American battle rap scene.
For the seventh installment of its World Domination series, King Of The Dot booked Dizaster vs. Oxxxymiron as the main event for its Los Angeles card. The internationally themed clash pitted Dizaster, one of America’s leading battle rap stars, against Oxxxy, a Russian rapper known for raking in the YouTube views.
It proved to be an astute decision. The Los Globos venue was packed, and Pay-Per-View co-host Dirtbag Dan commented that “70%-75%” of the crowd was there to see the Russian superstar. He took the stage to thunderous cheers as fans chanted his name, while Diz got a huge reaction when he came out to Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer.”
The rowdy crowd was treated to an earth-shaking performance from Oxxxy in his English language debut, dispelling any doubts that his success wouldn’t translate to the American audience. The content of his bars also seemed to be perfectly tailored for the crowd (“I’ll turn Mount Rushmore into Mother Russia!” and “You’re just mad ’cause I’m Joseph Sta-lin on you” were standout quotables).
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Diz, whose performances have blown hot and cold over the years, brought his A-Game to the clash — knowing that a battle with Oxxxymiron will likely be his most-viewed ever. It made the showdown a competitive classic from start to finish, and will go a long way to improving both rappers’ profiles outside of their home countries.
That theme of mutual respect was reflected in Oxxxy’s third round closer, where he referenced the “slowly dying Jewish-Arab, Russian-US relations” and shook the whole room by rapping about how battle rap, despite appearances, is actually a way of coming together: “What I’m trying to say is battle rap is crazy of late, you chill with people you’re normally expected to hate… So you stand in front of your opponent and tell them that his girl’s a dyke/ He calls you a “dirty kike” but his verse his tight/ And you get this weird feeling as your words collide, it’s like you’re looking in a mirror because you’re both alike.”
Before the clash began, Fresh Coast veteran host Lush One called it “the biggest battle in Hip Hop history.” Time will tell if it lives up to that billing.
The battle was the highlight of an event crowded with big names — Pass vs. Bigg K, Illmaculate vs. Iron Solomon and B Dot vs. Aye Verb — all of which met their high expectations. If you want to check out these battles out for yourself you can buy the KOTD PPV here.
