Joe Cutter: Battle Rap's Resident Weirdo

BattleRap.com managed to get hold of Joe Cutter after his headline face-off with PH at BOTB7 in January.

http://youtu.be/0TuEUymVG7I

Cutter is known for being an off-kilter San Jose veteran who mostly exists on the lunatic fringes of West Coast battle rap. We asked him how he felt the battle went down. “I think it went excellent, man,” Cutter said, “I totally thought PH was going to be an absolute asshole due to the minimal contact we’ve had over a four-year span, but at the end of the day I was really honored to go toe-to-toe with him … My general aim is make a classic match with replay value and I think we both handled that on both sides.”

Lush One appears halfway through the interview to say the battle was “main page from its inception,” although the footage has dropped on KOTD's GZ Battles channel.

The self-titled “King of the Obscure Referencing” has battled cult favorites like Carter Deems, Lex D and Tiger Ty and held his own against talented rappers like Reverse Live, Syd Vicious and Fredo, so his battle against “The Underground King” makes sense on paper. The two vets put on a light-hearted, entertaining display.

Following some (pretty on-point) Frank Zappa comparisons, we asked Cutter what his favorite era of Zappa was. "When he was on his death bed, and you got all those awesome interviews from him … anyone ahead of their time like Frank has been an influence to me … I gather more influence off old rock music and stuff you’d find in my parents’ vinyl collection more than I would gravitate towards a lot of hip-hop."

To get a sense of Cutter's inspiration, check out the song he mentions:

THE ESSENTIAL JOE CUTTER

It’s actually pretty difficult to choose the Top 3 Joe Cutter battles, but here are three that stand out, and the main variable is the extent to which the opponent shows up. Cutter's brand of lackadaisical weirdness is pretty consistent across his backlog of clashes.

JOE CUTTER VS. REVERSE LIVE

This is a fantastic style clash, with two alternative emcees locking horns in a battle that probably should’ve been on KOTD's main channel. Both execute their own unique styles to the highest possible caliber, and the low view count doesn’t do justice to the quality of both performances here.

JOE CUTTER VS TIGER TY

Joe Cutter’s offering from 2013’s BOTB6 might be one of the weirdest battles ever put together — the day when legitimate other-dimension oddness meets self-aware ironic drawling with the end result involving a one-piece tiger suit. The battle was released to KOTD fans on Christmas Eve and is Cutter's most-viewed battle.

JOE CUTTER VS LEX D

This warrants inclusion as Cutter’s funniest battle. Lex D is always a worthy foil for the weirder folks in battle rap (Carter Deems and Chedda Cheese are good examples) and this is Joe Cutter out-nerding and out-cooling his opponent simultaneously. It’s brilliant.

Cutter makes legitimately good music too.

Check out his catalogue here.

P.S. Look out for Weapon Face, mine and Cutter’s upcoming project, this year. And we’re looking forward to being shown around Haight Street on our honeymoon - a great omen for things to come.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.