In the league's tenth announcement for their upcoming "Blackout 5" event, King Of The Dot revealed the biggest name yet: Vancouver rapper Madchild.
The 39-year-old Canadian rapper rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of the group Swollen Members, and has worked with Alchemist, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Talib Kweli and more. He's also a four-time Juno winner (AKA the Canadian Grammies) with the group. More recently, he overcame a devastating drug addiction and has released solo albums on his own Battle Axe Records label.
Madchild made his battle rap debut in 2011 at KOTD’s “World Domination 2” in Toronto against Dirtbag Dan. He is credited as being the first mainstream artist to cross over into contemporary battle rap (though he'd probably be better described as an "indie" rapper). He has also arguably had the best performance out of the handful of industry rappers who have tried.
BattleRap.com spoke with Madchild and KOTD host Organik at FilmOn's "Ether" event in Los Angeles on Dec. 6. Apologies in advance for the poor audio.
Speaking on the Los Angeles event, Organik says there are “a lot of new, notable people here. It’s good. Come here and network with everybody. That’s what battle rap events are. It’s not so much even just a battle rap event; it’s a networking place. So you come here, you build relations with everyone.”
The network, interest, and opportunity of battle rap are undoubtedly increasing.
Madchild discusses his previous battle and hints at his return to the ring. Although the modern form of battling was new to Madchild, most fans consider his battle with Dirtbag Dan to have been a strong showing. He picked up the official win too, on a 3-2 decision. In the interview, Organik commends Madchild for both his participation and his live performance, assuring that Madchild’s next [battle rap] performance will be even better.
"I personally guarantee I would SMASH my last performance when I step back into the ring,” Madchild says.
Madchild and Organik both mention Australian battler-turned-superstar 360, who was supposed to be his opponent in 2012 before the battle was cancelled when 360 needed surgery.
Madchild jokingly taunts 360 while calling him out to battle, but ultimately displays his genuine respect for the Australian emcee, even labeling him the “Eminem of Australia.”
Organik also stresses the importance of maintaining the secrecy of the match-ups ahead of the event.
He then shares his experience partnering with mainstream rapper and avid battle rap fan, Drake. “He’s a super good guy and he’s been helping us out with this event. We’ve had plans to do this for about a year or so. Now it's all coming to fruition … We’re gonna make history,” Organik says.
The BO5 card has already announced some big name debuts and some highly anticipated returns. See all the names here.
Watch Madchild's debut battle:
Who should Madchild battle? Let us know in the comment section below.
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