What’s up HHV? It’s Blasphem-E, everyone’s favorite battle rapping, radio show hosting, self-producing, recap writer from out in the suburbs. Copasetic asked me to give you all the run down of the upcoming King of the Dot event, so strap yourself in, you’ve got some learning to do.
King of The Dot Presents: First Defense is at 5pm on July 26th at Fortune Sound Club. Tickets are $25 at the door, but presales are available for $20.
Now let’s break down these battles.
We’ll start with the headlining battle… Sketch Menace vs Uno Lavoz:
This is a rebooking of a battle that was supposed to happen at the #Gastown event in February, but I’m crazy stoked it’s happening at this event. After his battle with Soul in Toronto, Sketch has shown that not only is he still a force that you really don’t want to mess with, he’s still getting better. That’s the part that should scare people battling him. Sketch is one of the most well rounded battle MCs in KOTD. Look for him to mix humour, wordplay, aggression, and intricate rhyme schemes into a crazy performance. At the same time though, Uno Lavoz is completely hilarious. Dude is known for his “yo mama” jokes and his signature “what else?” catch phrase. He’s coming off a solid debut in Smack URL’s Proving Grounds and has an extensive resume of battling all over the world in the past couple of years. To make things even more interesting, these guys have been beaking each other for months, so they will both have something to prove this battle.
DDSS vs PoRich (Ground Zero Title Match):
DDSS puts his undefeated record on the line to battle Whitby’s PoRich. The last time Po was in Vancouver he had a close battle with DDSS’s Blunt Force group mate Ape Yola before Po managed to lose the crowd in his third round. PoRich has shown he has no indication of following the current battle rap trends of excess wordplay, stretched schemes and reaches. He’s there to insult his opponent, mix some jokes in, and entertain the crowd with a booming presence, the same way he got the King of the Dot chain a couple of years ago. These days, that makes him divisive: some feel battling has moved beyond his style, but those of us who value variety in battling are stoked that Po is still classic Po. On the other side of this battle, you have DDSS. He hasn’t been around the battle circuit for anywhere near as long as Po, but he has made his presence known amongst battle heads. Bringing a vicious style of mocking his opponent, cutting name flips and clever word play, DDSS made his way to the top of Ground Zero in the 2013 Grand Prix. This is his first title defense. Both of these guys have been able to simply overpower previous opponents, so it will be crazy watching them try to outperform each other.
Pigsty vs Ayem:
This is a matchup between two of the most underrated writers in King Of the Dot. These guys are both crazy with the pen game, and both have been stepping up their performances recently. If this battle happened anywhere else, Ayem would be the favorite. Vancouver is Pigsty’s playground though, so look for him to beast in this performance. Ayem is definitely the more aggressive MC in this matchup, and Pigsty will have to react accordingly. The flipside though, is that Pigsty’s resume in the last couple of years is far more extensive. With battles against A Class, Sonny Bamboo, Diaz, Fingaz, Rupert Common and Aspire all within the last year and a half, Sty is on quite a run of battles. I’m hoping he finally puts together the performance he needs to call himself the complete package in battling and cement his place as a top tier battler.
Cody the Catch vs Lex D:
These dudes are both hilarious. Cody hasn’t had a battle with King of the Dot since he battled Kryple last year in Castlegar. This is through no fault of his own, he’s had a few battles fall through, including the much anticipated matchup he was supposed to have against Cadalack Ron. Cody is well known for his mom jokes, and I fully expect them to be in effect this weekend. Lex always shows up with funny material when he battles in Vancouver, beating both Rupert Common and Wize Guy in his only other 2 battles here. Don’t show up expecting this battle to be crazy aggressive, because it won’t. It will however, be side-splittingly hilarious and incredibly entertaining.
Illipsis vs Laugh’N’Stock:
This battle is for Prince of the Dorks, and I do not mean that in a bad way at all. These guys are both funny, both have a nerdy image, and both write using an extensive vocabulary that lets them hit you with crazy wordplay and punches that you never see coming. This is the perfect matchup for both of them at this stage, and I am crazy excited to see what will hopefully be a wild combination of nerdy references, vivid imagery, deadpan delivery, and Laugh’N’Stalk’s signature moustache. Illipsis is coming off a win vs Madflex at the Gastown event, and Laugh most recently battled Maleko down in California.
Blasphem-E vs Apos:
It should be noted that even though I AM Blasphem-E, I will remain unbiased. With that being said: Blasphem-E’s pen game is ridiculous, and he’s a much better rapper than Apos will ever be. This will be extremely one sided. Blasphem-E is coming off an incredible win vs Shortcirkit on Smoked Out Battles, and Apos is coming off the incredible personal victory of learning how to walk and breathe at the same time. So he has that going for him. For real though, this will be a fun matchup. Apos is known for getting disrespectful as all hell in his battles, and I’ve never been one to shy away from that either. If you’re a fan of watching overly sensitive people get pissed off at rappers, or want to see a hairline that makes Lebron James look like Fabio, this is the battle for you.
King of the Dot founders and Squad Organik, Gully TK, Charron, Scott Jackson and Bishop Brigante will all be in the building. So for you smokers in our audience, well, you know what to do with our visitors.
Follow Blasphem-E on twitter at @MCblasphem_e