BattleRap.com Celebrates First Birthday

A look back at our first year in the battle rap world.

Battle rap never stops. Every day there's an event announcement, or some scandal, and about a dozen new battles. Following the whole scene can be tough for even the most dedicated fans, and nearly impossible for people who are just discovering the subculture now.

That's why we stepped in. This site went live on April 10, 2014 and was made to bring professional coverage to battle rap and to bring battle rap to a new audience. In our first year we've made tons of headway into achieving those goals.

As we celebrate our first year of existence, we asked for some insight from the people who were instrumental in getting the site to where it is now.

BattleRap.com Publisher Sharath Cherian

When I hired Justin Hunte as the Editor-In-Chief of HipHopDX, he gave me a presentation on why we needed to start writing more stories about battle rap as a culture. The more he talked the more I thought that these weren't articles we would publish once or twice a month on DX, this was a whole site. When the domain for BattleRap.com landed in my lap, I thought it was a sign. I knew I had to launch this site. I knew everything I learned from building HipHopDX could help this culture grow.

Year One was all about showing battle rap culture what it means to create amazing content. The pictures we take, the words we write, the video we film and edit. We try our hardest to create quality content. I think we have definitely made an impact. In fact numbers don't lie. I KNOW we have made an impact."

HipHopDX editor-in-chief Justin Hunte

Running both DX and BattleRap.com at the beginning was challenging but exhilarating. Hip Hop is Hip Hop. Obviously, it's international, touching every corner of the globe. There are millions of artists all of which seem to land in your inbox daily. Toss in the 24-hour news cycle and the speed of the Internet and running DX alone is like having two full time jobs.

Most don't realize how deep the battle rap subculture actually goes, though — how many battles actually take place, how many new battlers are emerging, how much perspective, how many references, how many nuances. The opportunity was (and still is) incredible to me. I'm thankful to have had it.

Battle rap will continue to impact broader Hip Hop in the years to come. More industry artists will step in the cypher or start leagues. More battlers will show up on albums by your favorite emcees. The two have been one since inception (nearly). As things change, they stay the same.

BattleRap.com editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell

I took over at BR on September 1 and it felt something like getting the keys to a Ferrari and being told to drive it as fast as possible. Before that, I'd been running T.O. Battle Blog for about a year and a half and rarely had enough time to cover everything because my full-time job as an international breaking news editor at MSN was getting in the way of my passion for battle rap.

In the seven months I've been running the site, I've been in the building for some of the biggest moments in battle rap all over North America and the U.K. and have met and interviewed pretty much everyone I've been watching on YouTube for years.

It's been a hell of a ride so far, but we're still just getting started.

Year One Highlights

Here are a few of our favorite pieces from the last 365 days.

Lush One Says Ghostwriting Is "An Epidemic In Battle Rap"
[Launch Day Piece]

Doo Doo In The Desert: Daylyt Tries To Shit On Stage
Dizaster vs. Cassidy: The Biggest Rap Battle Ever?
The Top Moments From URL's "Summer Madness 4"
The Top Moments From KOTD's "Blackout 5"
Eurgh Recaps Don't Flop's 2014
2014 In Review
Murda Mook: How I Almost Battled Drake

The BattleRap.com Launch Team

(Top row) Justin Hunte, Sharath Cherian, Sparkle Pratt. (Bottom row) Stephan Neptune, Soren Baker, Jesse Reese.
Hollywood, Calif. - April 10, 2014: (Top row) Justin Hunte, Sharath Cherian, Sparkle Pratt. (Bottom row) Stephen Neptune, Soren Baker, Jesse Reese.

Massive shoutouts to everyone who has contributed to the site, whether it be through writing, interviews, retweets, comments or anything else. Also a huge thanks to our readers. We wouldn't be where we are without your help.

What do you want to see from us in the future? Let us know in the comment section below.

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