One name keeps coming up in our discussions about the year's best battle rapper: Maryland emcee Danja Zone.
Late last year something changed for the Writers Bloque member, and he went from being the guy Goodz clowned on RBE to one of the toughest emcees in the game to beat. He arguably hasn't lost in more than a year, and his improved stage presence, aggression and densely layered wordplay (and endless "Martin" references) have lit up rooms all over the U.S. on multiple major leagues.
Danja came in at #7 in our mid-year Top 10 list, but was by far the name that people said should be ranked higher. In the months since then, his year has only improved.
Here's his resume for 2015:
- Ness Lee for Don't Flop
- B Magic for Black Ice Cartel
- Danny Myers for URL
- Daylyt for KOTD
- Craig Lamar and Xcel for Quiet Room/URL (triple threat)
- Lotta Zay for Black Ice Cartel
- Bedaffi Green for Traphouse (one rounder)
- Aye Verb for Do Or Die (one rounder)
He also was awarded Battler Of The Year at GO-Rilla Warfare's "Crown 2" event in Chicago last month, where we caught up with him to talk about his progress in 2015.
After talking about his own successes, he points towards several emcees who are also in the running for top emcee this year. "A lot of people voted for K-Shine. Tay Roc has been doing his numbers ... Chilla Jones' resume is crazy this year ... Pass has been doing his thing ... DNA low-key has been having a great year. People don't even realize it I think."
On the flip side, Danja's critics would point out that he didn't hit a big stage in 2015, with his battles being in small to medium rooms in front of fairly generous crowds. He also hasn't faced a particularly varied style of opponent, mostly going against punchline-heavy opponents with a similar style to his own.
Here's a quick pulse check with BattleRap.com's Twitter followers.
Is Danja Zone the Top Battler Of 2015?
— BattleRapDotCom (@battlerapdotcom) December 18, 2015
Stay tuned to BattleRap.com for our official Best Of 2015 content, coming soon. Or catch up with our picks from last year.
Is DZ battler of the year? If not him, then who? Let us know in the comments below.
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