Don’t Flop has released a new mini-documentary that looks back at the league’s history, beginning with their launch in 2008/2009 to now, after their busiest and most successful year at home and abroad.
Narrated by co-founders Eurgh and Cruger, as well as Don’t Flop’s Creative Director Liam Bagnall, the documentary seeks to paint a clearer picture of the organization’s history, before daring to guess what lies ahead for the U.K.’s principal battle rap league.
The documentary starts with Eurgh detailing his rise to prominence as a battler, before discussing his performance at the World Rap Championships in 2007 with fellow battler Arkaic.
Eurgh moves on to discuss how he and Cruger began filming battles after they had spotted a gap in the market after the WRCs went quiet following a cash flow deficit in 2008. Cruger then weighs in, explaining how after time passed and the league began to increase the number of shows, battles and events they put on, Don’t Flop grew to become the recognized brand that it is today.
“I think some people when you say about battle rap they’ll think it’s a bunch of dudes in hoods, looking intimidating, trying to be angry and aggressive in a room,” explains Liam Bagnall. “But, in reality, I feel like it’s the great equalizer. I feel like in battle rap, you can get someone who has got a fucking PhD or a master’s degree who works as a lawyer or a teacher, and he can go up against a kid who has never got a fucking qualification in his life, who has been raised on a council estate in a rough area. And, in that match-up, they’re completely equal.”
The documentary then fast-forwards to Don’t Flop’s recent expansion into the United States, particularly focusing on last July's card in Washington, D.C.
“I feel quite proud, especially at the event,” Eurgh says. “There was many moments where I had these big epiphanies; just looking around I was thinking, ‘This is so crazy that we’re in D.C. and this crowd of Americans has come out to our event and they are fans of the battles that we set-up from 5,000 miles away. It’ll probably just keep growing to the point where we’re coming out here with a busload of people and going around and around and around. That’s always been the idea that we can come out here for like a month or two months or three months and have our own bus with the decal on the side. That would be the dream.”
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