For as long as I can remember the rap battle community around the world has not looked favourably on what we’ve built in Vancouver. Much like Calgary we’re a smaller division which makes it harder to find that internationally renowned top tier talent but in the last few years our prospects have slowly been turning around. The Northwest is finally coming into it’s own.
We’ve been building with a long term vision in mind. More experienced battlers are jumping on opportunities to match up against newer emcees and help develop the next generation. Our community has extended and grown beyond the major cities. KOTD, primarily a Canadian battle league, has been expanding into the states. Simultaneously the local divisions are bolstered by smaller leagues that serve to scout for new talent. Calgary’s Sketch Menace has been working closely with our division here in Vancouver to unify the Northwest, to help each other build and develop better battlers and better battle events.
Edmonton. Kelowna. Nanaimo. Washington. Alaska. There was a great event in Washington recently combining the talent of our region like never before. Among some of the highlights was one especially entertaining clash between rapper Dikulz from Brainsick and heavyweight battler Dennis Good. I guarantee you will start seeing more of the faces and names of the Northwest as we combine our resources to invest locally.
It’s easy to sit here and list off a number of battlers from our area that can compete on the main stage anywhere on the map, but that doesn’t mean anything, and it’s only my opinion anyways. You, like the rest of the battle rap world will have to wait and see for yourself…
If you want to keep apprised of our progress and learn a bit about battlers in this region, check out the new fb group