MC Battle Blog

Featuring performances from several prominent Fresh Coast artists, as well as slew of street battles between veterans and new up-and-comers, this highly anticipated New Year’s Eve event in Portland, OR is sure to be one to remember.

Full event breakdown after the jump.

Franco (1-0) Vs. Ex-I (1-0):

A highly anticipated rematch pitting 2 very decorated Cali battle veterans against each other. Both emcees are undefeated in Grind Time, coming off of recent victories in their debuts.

Using a very rhythmic approach in his stage battles, many were unsure as to how well Franco‘s style would translate into an a capella format. His WRC performances left much to be desired and only scratched the surface of his full potential. In his Grind Time debut, the west coast legend proved to his critics that he’s still deadly in any format by taking out fellow Cali emcee Kodyack in a highly regarded performance.

Ex-I‘s been known in the Cali circuit for years, becoming a fan favorite with notable performances against Franco, Oruku Saki and NoCanDo. While he lost the original match against Franco, it was a very close battle and this one is shaping up to be another classic exchange.

9DM (1-0) Vs. Illusion-Z (1-1):

Another anticipated match up between Vancouver, WA native 9DM and Cali up-and-comer Illusion-Z.

9DM comes with a very direct approach, solid disses and an excellent delivery. He’s undefeated in his recent a capella career, racking up wins against North West emcees Mic Phenom, Young Nate & Proper Respect (the latter being the only official Grind Time battle).

Illusion-Z made his Grind Time debut against one of the Fresh Coast’s heavy hitters in Passwurdz. His performance was met with positive reviews, but wasn’t enough to capture the win. Spending time in between events to brainstorm a new approach, he made his return against Lyraflip and displayed a much more aggressive and deadly style, racking up his first GT victory.

I’ve spoken to both battler’s personally and it seems neither emcee is taking this battle lightly. This will be an excellent match.

Due to personal reasons, both D-lor and Mic Phenom will have to miss their battle. F.L.O. Vs. H-Bomb has been added to the event.

H-Bomb (0-0) Vs. F.L.O. (2-0):

H-Bomb‘s known for his performances in Seattle’s Brainstorm Battle 2, Brainstorm Battle 3 & Brainstorm Battle 4, as well as competing in Scribble Jam ’05, where he defeated the previous year’s champ Illmaculate for the 2nd time. Overall he’s a very funny battler and is sure to come with it.

F.L.O. is also known for his comedic style, but can also come with some very well written disses, e.g. “You look like a nation wide beer bellied truck driver for Budweiser”, “You look like a buzz-cutt Seth Rogan in his little brothers best clothin’” etc.

Another promising battle. Hopefully the sudden switch of opponents doesn’t throw either MC too far off.

Young Nate (0-1) Vs. XT (0-1):

Young Nate comes with an aggressive style reminiscent of battler’s from Fight Klub and Smack. He’s 0-1 in GT with his debut loss against the undefeated 9DM.

XT is another relative newcomer to the scene with a 0-1 record as well. He put forth a solid effort against D-lor, but couldn’t pull away the victory.

Coming from different states and given the limited amount of information each battler has on each other, it’ll be really interesting to see what kind of approach they’ll take.

David R. (0-0) Vs. Mr. Mr. (0-0):

David R., formerly Stalemate, has competed in many local battles in Portland, as well as Mind Games 1 in California where he lost to Lush One of Del Mon. There’s very little footage of him online, but if he’s focused in this battle he can definitely do some damage.

Mr. Mr (pronounced Mr. Murr) is also from Portland, but to my knowledge hasn’t competed in any battles. He’ll be performing later in the night with his group Gray Matters.

Both emcees will be making their GT debut, which is great for the circuit as it can always use new blood.

Check the blog after the event for battle results. In the mean time, feel free to post your thoughts and predictions in the comments section.