Bishop Brigante Battling At "Blackout 5"

In a surprise announcement, KOTD revealed Bishop Brigante will return to the battle arena in front of his hometown crowd at "Blackout 5" in February.

The Scarborough rapper has long been a part of Toronto's hip-hop scene and has appeared in countless freestyle battles over the years but has never participated in a formal battle for the league.

BattleRap.com spoke with the KOTD co-host about his reasons for coming back.

"It's something that I've toyed with in my mind and spoken with Organik about over the years," he says. "The birth of Bishop Brigante came from the battle scene and from being a leader in Canada during my time as an active battler. It's been difficult for me to sit on the sidelines this long, with as much love as I have for the sport and also with having that warrior's instinct. I want to be in the ring taking somebody's head off. That's what I'm used to and I just can't hold that warrior down anymore."

Brigante was the first Canadian to make it to 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday competition, where, memorably, he rapped over his opponent's 30 seconds before ultimately getting disqualified for (questionably) swearing on the air.

In the early-to-mid 2000s, he and Ruff Ryder emcee Jin developed a rivalry, and whenever Jin would pass through Toronto for a concert stop, the two would battle on stage. Watch those performances below:

He also showed he hasn't lost a step in the ring by winning the freestyle tournament on Day 3 at 2013's "World Domination 4" over Australia's Purpose.

As per the theme of BO5, we won't know Bishop's opponent until they both take the stage at the event, but he did say this: "I'm definitely not battling a slouch. I don't want this to be easy."

Who would you want to see Bishop battle? Let us know in the comments below.