Breez Evahflowin' vs. E-Dub

THROWBACK CLASSIC! A freestyle dream match from MTV's "Direct Effect" show in 2001.

If someone ever mentions “MTV Rap Battle” to a battle fan, chances are the first (and perhaps only) name that comes to mind is MTV’s Fight Klub: the program that ran for a few years in the mid-2000s that gave us Serius Jones vs. Jin, Iron Solomon vs. Jin and Arsonal vs. Hollow Da Don. Fight Klub was the late-night hyper-censored a cappella battle series that gave some of battling’s biggest names their first national exposure.

But before there was Fight Klub, there was Direct Effect.

Direct Effect, or DFX as it was later renamed, was MTV’s turn-of-the-century hip-hop show. Replacing "Jams Countdown" in the urban music slot following TRL (for those music history buffs keeping score at home, "Yo! MTV Raps" ended its hosted run in 1995 and became a rap-videos-only single hour that aired late Friday nights until 1999 or so when it stopped existing entirely) Direct Effect was pretty ahead of its time in terms of engaging with MTV’s burgeoning online audience. While a rap video would air, viewers would have three options on the right side of the screen as to what the next video would be, and their votes online would determine what the next clip was.

Direct Effect later decided to add the element of a weekly rap battle to the show. This gave primetime exposure during the music industry’s biggest year to some of the best freestyle talent on the planet, most famously the victory runs by End of the Weak’s Big Zoo and freestyle battle legend Breez Evahflowin, who managed six consecutive weekly victories in 2000/2001.

But 2001 saw something of a freestyle battle dream match happen when Breez met Detroit battler E-Dub, the 1999 Blaze Battle champion. E-Dub had signed to MCA Records, at a time when battlers could parlay their battle performances into major label deals, and was gearing up to release his MCA debut featuring some of the era’s biggest producers including Swizz Beatz, Scott Storch and KLC. But this rise to prominence didn’t affect E-Dub’s battling abilities as he and Breez met for a clash of the titans. A hot crowd on a major platform and two great performances later, the result is one of battling’s greatest showdowns.

Every Thursday, BattleRap.com posts a classic battle that you should know about, or at least be reminded of occasionally. See them all here.

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