KOTD’s upcoming BOLA5 event will feature Don’t Flop 2-on-2 champions Marlo and Shuffle T making their first appearance in North America, against California veterans Dirtbag Dan and Caustic.
Marlo and Shuffle T are chief among a new wave of talent to emerge from the UK’s vibrant battling scene. They first caught North America’s attention last year with a “bar bars” themed battle, where they tried to outdo each other with cringe-worthy wordplay and stretched punchlines. With it, they poked fun at many of the tropes in battle culture. Since then the former roommates have had a remarkable run of 2-on-2 battles, mixing cutting insight into their opponents with brilliant comic timing and becoming fan favourites on both sides of the pond.
The duo impressed KOTD staff member Lush One, who pushed for them to battle in Los Angeles.
“Marlo and Shuffle T immediately stuck out to me and I became a fan instantly because I really like how their approach is so authentic and natural to themselves. There’s nothing that seems forced and even though they’re coming across as like nerdy-ass fools it doesn’t matter because they’re being true to who they are … They kind of reflect the preconceived notion that Americans have about English people in a way that’s comforting to us but is also not contrived.”
The last time UK battlers appeared on a Fresh Coast card was June 2012, when Eurgh battled DNA and Cruger battled The Saurus at Vendetta. A lot has happened between KOTD and Don’t Flop since then, so it’s anyone’s guess how the Brits will be received by the crowd.
BattleRap.com reached out to Shuffle T and Marlo to get their thoughts ahead of the BOLA battle. We asked Shuffle T what he expected from the LA fans.
“Obviously you can never tell how a crowd's going to react, whether it's in your hometown or a new country,” he wrote. “It's always a gamble. We've seen URL heads get booed by their home crowd. But I think LA is an open place, ready to see something a bit different and I'm sure they'll approach us with the open-mindedness they're known for.”
Marlo commented on whether they’ll change their approach for their first KOTD battle.
“I wouldn't say we're changing our approach entirely, but there's definitely a few lines in there which are clearly influenced by where we're performing. We always try to do something new with every battle we're given anyway, so KOTD will be no exception in that sense. The funniest thing for us has been looking at this particular BOLA card and realizing how most every battle jumps out as haymakers and hard punches galore, and we're fresh from sniffing a shoe in a battle and rapping in perfect synchronization ... I guess with that in mind, yeah: you could definitely say there's things we've done in home-field matches that we probably wouldn't attempt in LA.”
Have a look at the pair’s most recent 2-on-2 battle and make sure you stick around for their fully synchronized third round.
When they’re not battle rapping, the two also make sketch comedy.
Battle of Los Angeles 5 goes down at Los Globos on June 27-28. Visit KOTDTV.com for ticket and PPV info.
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