The dust has settled on the first KOTD event in Toronto since January, and no one could've predicted the results. The battles with the most hype behind them either fell flat or didn't happen, allowing the mid-card emcees a chance to shine. The lesson here: it's easier to surpass low expectations than meet high ones.
Even with an unruly crowd and an end time of 3:00 a.m. there were several impressive performances and plenty to talk about between battles.
Battle Of The Night
Arcane vs. Cortez. Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
This battle hit the night's sweet spot, with a warmed-up crowd that was hungry for a good back-and-forth. Cortez upped the quality of the night's performances significantly, captivating the crowd after only a few bars of his first round. By the end of it, the crowd was so in tune with him that he stopped mid-slogan and they finished it for him while he smiled and bowed.
Arcane kept it interesting with a third round surge and by addressing the criticism that he continues to face over last year's ghostwriting scandal: "I swear half of y'all wanna cheer me but it's not the popular thing to do." He was still able to earn some reaction in what was very much an uphill climb for him.
Performance Of The Night
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Rone's one round against DNA with only a few hours to prepare was markedly better than everything else that night. But don't take my word for it...
He's also just a massively entertaining person (and excellent interviewer), as this GoPro footage proves.
Runner-up for performance of the weekend goes to Day 1 standout Kaveman Brown, who, after some chokes and a brief hiatus from battling, is back at full energy and clearly motivated by the main stage. He snapped in the Day 1 cypher too.
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Standout Bars
"What does it take to get love up on the stage? Do I have to pull my dick out or punch someone in the face?”- Rone
"I've been dodged by so many black battlers you would think I was their kid or something.” - Rone
"Clips could lose at rock/paper/scissors and the fans would say it was debatable. They would say 'Yeah but his paper arguably can't be cut.'" - Charron
"I crack heads when I lift cans ... Can you spare some change?” - Daylyt
"Diaz got his life saved. Po is/Pose getting killed either way.” - Lexx Luthor, who faced N-Pose after his 2-on-2 against Diaz and poRICH was cancelled.
“My style ain’t nothing to mess with and if you call me Mexican I'll start busting and you'll be the one jumping some fences.” - Tycoon Tax
"All that Twitter tough talk will get you checked - I was goin' verify you in real life.” - Tycoon Tax
Chilla Jones' whole "I can't understand what you're saying so I don't know if I'm winning or losing" angle against heavily-accented U.K. emcee Dialect.
Top Moments
The Press Conference
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Most of the face-offs on Day 1 were hilarious. Check out our recap for the highlights.
Daylyt's antics
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
When Daylyt walked on stage in the "slave" costume with “the master” in tow, the crowd was definitely shocked. Most people in the live audience were bewildered, trying to decipher his exact message as the scene played out.
Now that the footage has dropped on pay-per-view, many fans have expressed a sense of disappointment over a squandered classic. This was a title match and many felt that Daylyt focused too much on the antics and not enough on the “battling” element. His approach was largely a series of monologues to the crowd rather than a dialogue with his opponent.
But the performance has also taken on new significance in the wake of the Grand Jury’s decision in the Mike Brown case and the subsequent protests in Ferguson and across the United States. Daylyt’s themes of confronting racial abuse and overcoming oppression have resonated with many, who consider the performance as a positive message rather than a negative antic.
And of course there are plenty of people who just laugh and shake their head in that "there-he-goes-again" way.
It should also be noted that Pat's writing and performance were on point (enough for him to retain his title), but seemed off because he was met by an opponent who didn't really engage with him.
Cortez's Callout
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com
In his battle with Arcane, Cortez kept ramping up to his third round, traditionally the one where "there's some shit we gotta speak about." Cortez usually takes a personal angle against his opponent, exposing some aspect of their life they'd rather keep covered up. This time he took a new approach, instead directing his third at Organik, making a case for a shot at the title (which he reiterated in his post-battle interview with BattleRap.com).
Charron is still the heir apparent to the #1 contender spot, but having other top tier battlers coveting the chain will help make it more relevant.
Tax Season
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Even though he's often harshly criticized on battle rap forums and social media, Tax has been making it harder for his haters to hate with solid, confident performances against Cortez, Shotgun Suge, Rum Nitty, Kaliente, Scandalis and now Rosenberg Raw. At FL3, he had arguably his most impressive showing yet, with enough sharp writing that his win shouldn't look any different on camera.
Also, bonus points for those bandana pants he was wearing on Day 1.
DNA's Detonation
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
In his last-minute rematch against Rone, DNA pulled the same stunt as in the 2009 Grind Time original, taking his top off to reveal a crudely made "bomb."
It was the night's first genuinely surprising moment and the crowd ate it up. It also got funnier the longer he stayed up there with his shirt off.
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Dialect's Double-Time
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Going into the event, the biggest question was whether the Canadian crowd would be able to follow U.K. emcee Dialect's thick accent. It didn't really matter, partly because a lot of the crowd was busy not paying attention and partly because his double-time grime flow sounds cool whether you can understand him or not.
His battle with Chilla Jones will be the night's best in the official footage.
Last-Minute Replacements
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com
Rum Nitty vs. 100 Bulletz: cancelled
Ooops vs. N-Pose: cancelled
Rone vs. Uno Lavoz: cancelled
Lotta Zay & Lexx Luthor vs. poRICH & Diaz: cancelled
Even with much of the original card falling apart days (or hours) before the event, the KOTD staff was able to make some 11th-hour changes to ensure that most emcees who showed up got a chance to perform and fans still got their money's worth.
Not pictured above is Nikiya, the promoter of May's mega-event in Boston that will feature Rone vs. Goodz, DNA vs. Dirtbag Dan, and a rumored rematch between Arsonal and Shotty Horroh. He's the one who put up the bread to make DNA vs. Rone happen at FL3. Kudos for getting Rone in front of a crowd after three consecutive no-shows at high-profile events (JC, Qleen Paper and Uno Lavoz).
No Chokes
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Miraculously, every rapper was able to get their content out despite an often volatile crowd.
Maestro In The Building
Maestro at KOTD. Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com
If you're not over the age of 30 or Canadian, you may not recognize the name, but Maestro Fresh-Wes is the Godfather of Canadian Hip-Hop and it's always awesome when he's there supporting a KOTD event.
Low Points
Charlie Clips vs. Charron
Photo by Chris Mitchell by BattleRap.com.
We had such high hopes for this battle that it was inevitable that we'd be disappointed. We just didn't think we'd be this disappointed.
Most of Clips' content was freestyle about how he'd tried to cancel the battle and that Organik had convinced him to go through with it. There were still occasional moments of inspiration that showed his potential but overall too many dry spots. He mentioned that his mind was on his upcoming match-ups with Loaded Lux and Hollow Da Don and also talked about a recent death in his family. Our condolences to Clips and his family. Sometimes fans forget that battle rappers have real lives and real problems.
A one-sided battle can be better than a cancelled one (proven most recently when Clips trounced a mourning T-Rex), but having the #1 active battler in the world come unprepared — whatever the reason — was a letdown. Charron won, but probably not the way he would've wanted to.
ZM vs. Flexplicit
Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
This battle was originally slated for Day 1 but got moved to the main card. Both guys got their bars out, but the crowd just wasn't rocking with either of them. One girl in the crowd summed it up perfectly after it was over. "Ouch," she said.
Final Thoughts
As seems to be becoming the unfortunate norm at Toronto events, the crowd was terrible, despite repeated efforts by Organik and Bishop Brigante to keep them in check. There was at least one fight in the venue, and we heard from several sources that an audience member got knocked out by a sound guy (not KOTD staff) for inadvertently touching some equipment.
We're not entirely sure how to fix this, but fewer lulls between battles and an earlier start time might be a good place to start.
In any case, FL3 was just supposed to be a stopgap event to make up for the summer's cancelled "World Domination 5." Every indication so far points to Toronto's next event, 2015's "Blackout 5," being bigger and better in every sense.
So stay tuned to BattleRap.com for more updates.
Check out these moments and more on the pay-per-view.
Want more? Check out all of our FL3 coverage.
What were your top moments from the event? Let us know in the comments section below.
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