URL’s “Summer Madness 2” is considered by many fans as the best battle rap event of all time. The 2012 event pitted several returning legends against some of the biggest names of the time. It packed Webster Hall in New York, and drew celebrities like Puff Daddy, Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip to watch the battles unfold.
The diamond that dropped from that card was Calicoe vs. Loaded Lux, a dramatic, intense, roller coaster of a battle. When the footage was released, it made huge noise in the battle rap community, but also transcended it, breaking into the stratosphere of wider pop culture. Since its release in September 2012, the battle has done about 4.6 million views on YouTube, and is counted among the most-viewed clashes ever.
A battle that came out of Russia this month surpassed those numbers in about 48 hours.
The battle, between Oxxxymiron and ST from VersusBattleRU, did just under three million views the day it dropped. It did two million more in the 24 hours after that. It’s now nearing nine million views total since its June 19 release. Those kinds of numbers have never been seen in battle rap.
Check out the battle below. Obviously, it’s in Russian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGuYELy8w6s
A major reason the Russian scene is so big is because the MCs battling are the same ones who are making noise in the Russian rap industry.
In an interview with BattleRap.com from April 2015, Oxxxymiron explained. “Imagine a U.S. battle league full of A, B and C-list mainstream rap artists battling against each other: not just Cassidy but rappers of Lil Wayne’s or Rick Ross’ caliber. That’s pretty much what’s going on with Versus in Russia. For example, one participant, Noize MC, is among the Top 3 or Top 5 Russian rap artists in terms of fame. Others, like Garry Topor, ST or myself, regularly play solo shows to sold-out venues. Others have been popular 5 or 10 years ago and are using Versus as a way to get back into the game.”
HipHopDX reached out via email for some more insight into this most recent battle.
HipHopDX: So what’s going on with this battle?
Oxxxymiron: My opponent in this battle is ST, a Moscow rapper ever-present on Russian music television. In this battle, however, he mostly tried to capitalize on his street background. The stakes were so high that bookmakers throughout Russia illegally took bets on it.
DX: How has it generated so many views so quickly?
Oxxxymiron: Versus has grown so much over the last year that it is now one of the largest online entertainment platforms in Russia, period. A few days ago league boss Restorator was featured on the Russian equivalent of Jimmy Kimmel Live! running on the First state television channel. Versus now has 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube — that’s triple what KOTD has.
On top of all that, other factors made this particular battle the most anticipated one so far. Both my opponent and I are well-known within the urban scene and the mainstream media. We also represent two opposing trends within Russian Hip Hop: ST is the rapper with soul, the people’s champion with a strong adherence to traditional Russian moral codes and a very basic flow. I represent the technical aspect, the Western approach to battles: the multis, the schemes, but also the position of the subversive outsider, the joker. Then again, if seen within the context of battle rap, then ST is the real underdog. So it was almost like a battle of archetypes with an undercurrent of real animosity, and it did not disappoint.
DX: From an unbiased perspective, who won the battle?
Oxxxymiron: The judges decided I won 3-0 but I think it was 2-1. Towards the end of the second round ST launched a powerful attack on me backed up by heartfelt personal stories and a strong physical presence. My second round was also somewhat disrupted by the sudden and enigmatic appearance of Russian Hip Hop veteran SERYOGA. So the second round goes to ST. If he would have stuck to that line of attack throughout the battle he could have won, but instead, he resorted to basic jokes, Internet memes and some very weak, half-hearted schemes in the third.
I don’t want to sound big-headed, but my shit went way deeper and has replay value, so yeah, I definitely won. And that’s not to mention that ST had about two or three double-rhymes throughout the whole battle — something entirely unthinkable in Western Hip Hop. That being said, I’m not entirely happy with my performance either, but that’s cool because once again I know what to improve and work on for my next battles. Hope that was unbiased enough.
DX: How big is Hip Hop in Russia?
Oxxxymiron: Hip Hop in Russia is huge and ever-expanding. Battle rap, Atlanta-inspired new school, and now cloud-rap along the lines of Bones and Yung Lean are taking the country by storm. Just to give you an idea of the mere scale of things, my most recent album was #1 on the Russian iTunes charts for two consecutive weeks and I have just played a sold-out solo show to a crowd of 8,000 people in Moscow.
Oh yeah, I will also be on tour in Europe throughout July, so come to one of my 15 European shows even if you don’t understand Russian. [Details here.]
English-Language Debut?
Many battle fans outside of Russia have started to notice the massive numbers Oxxxymiron’s battles have been doing and there’s a growing call for the Oxford-educated rapper to make his English-language debut. He says he’s focusing more on his music career and touring schedule right now, but says it is something he’d eventually be interested in doing, most likely against Los Angeles battle juggernaut Dizaster.
Diz is an obvious choice for his opponent not only because of his experience taking on big names like Canibus and Cassidy, but because throughout his career he’s traveled the world taking on competition in places like the Philippines, Germany, Australia, and in Arabic-language battles in Lebanon.
lol deze Russian racist ass niggaz can’t go 5 secondz without calling someone a n199er but are more den happy to appropriate street culture? was the battle about how deze crackas married their sister, their Neo-N@zi allegiances and getting drunk off vodka? da lord of rap weezy would nuke deze bitch azz crackas with his rapping skillz. swag
Yo dont judge if u dont understand a single word. He meant that his opponnent used to wear snapbacks, chains, large pants and etc like the ni**az do. But his rap skillz are low. So the point is that mc from left doesnt wear the ni**ers atributes but his style and skills are on high level, not like the other one’s with those toys. get it?
Please dude, so icey biotch. You or Weezy, or anyone who doesn’t speak Russian would go anywhere near any of these dudes or this battle period. The aren’t Na$zis dummy, Russians turned against Germany in WWII. They helped crush Germany. They are patriotic, and there are MAD amounts of J E W S in Russia who do their thing. What you obviously don’t realize is that the MOST hardcore criminals on earth are Russian mob. There where definitely some of them in that crowd.
Please dude, so icey biotch. You or Weezy, or anyone who doesn’t speak Russian would go anywhere near any of these dudes or this battle period. The aren’t Na$zis dummy, Russians turned against Germany in WWII. They helped crush Germany. They are patriotic, and there are MAD amounts of J E W S in Russia who do their thing. What you obviously don’t realize is that the MOST hardcore criminals on earth are Russian mob. There where definitely some of them in that crowd.
Oxxxymiron is J e wish…
I wonder how inviting they would be of Drake? With how racist these Russians are they would probably try to kill the 6 God in 3 seconds just because of his religious background. Yet H1tler killed millions of Russians for being inferior but now they all ironically worship him. Drake can make the world good again through his rapping. #Drakeislovedrakeislife
They would kill Drake in 3 seconds on the mic because he can’t freestyle and doesn’t write his own shit. It doesn’t matter what religion old Pop tart is. He can’t freestyle or write. Milli Vanilli can make the world good again. So can Vanilla Ice and Snow… GTFOH
They would kill Drake in 3 seconds on the mic because he can’t freestyle and doesn’t write his own shit. It doesn’t matter what religion old Pop tart is. He can’t freestyle or write. Milli Vanilli can make the world good again. So can Vanilla Ice and Snow… GTFOH
they need the emperor Gucci there for a billion views or his Russian cousin Gucciski Manekov to tear this shit up
pink skinned caucasoids trying to take something that doesn’t belong to them and they’re also destroying rap
You’re right. But the truth is you would never say that to a Russians face or they would break you in half. Same goes for any shit you say on this site, about anybody, all from the comfort of your basement. You’re the same pussy who does all that “Wise white man” bs. Get a fuckin life you loser.
If only I killed all the Russians instead of the J3ws the world would be a safer and better place
This would be a nice concept if exported to the US. We could finally have that DMX vs Jay Z match up and see who’s iller! Or
Logic vs G-Eazy
Kendrick Lamar vs Dizzy Wright
Drake vs Tory Lanez
Iggy vs Macklemore
Meth vs Red (this would be hilarious)
Logic? LOLOLOLOLOL. Terrible Drake copycat. Totally wack.
Dope
Sorry, meant to write it as such:
Logic vs G-Eazy
OR
Kendrick Lamar vs Dizzy Wright
OR
Drake vs Tory Lanez
OR
Iggy vs Macklemore
OR
Meth vs Red (this would be hilarious)
Logic? Seriously? You must be joking. How about Riff Raff or Lil’ B? GTFOH
Logic? Seriously? You must be joking. How about Riff Raff or Lil’ B? GTFOH
Yo niggaz, could you please explain me why we are racists?
Why are you racists? We’re not psychologists. Only you know why you are racists.
I lost my anal virginity to Drake’s hotline bling. More like hotline O-ring. I shave my testies like his Caesar haircut. My boyfriend loves it. Us dudes from Toronto bang each other and think of Drake’s sexy music. He is the new Village People/Milli Vanilli. The prostate is the new clitoris. Thanks Drake. I have come to understand my body. Go Raptors.
Oxxxy versus Drake!
Oxxxymiron, put the glock in your mouth, what’s beef
Oxxxymiron, put the glock in your mouth, what’s beef
beef it is oxxxymiron and shokk put glock in your mouth loshok
beef it is oxxxymiron and shokk put glock in your mouth loshok
These guys clearly have more intelligence than 99% of U.S rappers.
We can even say ON the World.
We can even say ON the World.
vedet russki hip hop na zapad
A shout out to all of my Russian brothers and sisters repping that real Hip-Hop. We in America think your styles are dope, and fully support your music. Real recognize real. Keep doing your thing. We are not mad at you.
Thanks bruh, all of us love and respect western rap too. s/o to all of our guys in us!
Thanks bruh, all of us love and respect western rap too. s/o to all of our guys in us!
https://soundcloud.com/iiiblvck/samurai-blvck-finesser
Oxxxy????????????
I watch this battle and think, chto eto axxxyeno
phahahahah oruu
Oxxxymiron US Tour incoming
This is basically what Designer sounds like to me
i said it before and ill say it again…EUROPE keeps real hiphop alive…
ohooet’ mee tawim – I neebet!
Russian are not white, they’re Russian
This shit was sick. check out Boulevard he is the next Official Gangster Trap Rapper in Russia. His web boulevardofficial.ru