As Alki David, FilmOn, and Lush One’s "Ether" progeny rears its head this weekend, I winced a little when the news dropped of the undercard clash between veteran Caustic and (relative) West Coast newcomer Cali Smoov. Underneath match-ups as balanced on paper as The Saurus vs. Arsonal, Illmaculate vs. Real Deal and Conceited vs. Bigg K, this gives a similar sense of unease that an empty bag of chips would feel on a see-saw with Big T.
Caustic is, by most accounts, a heavyweight. He has been competing in high level international battle rap for close to four years, and he has thoroughly mastered the noble arts of not only consistent performance (sometimes on very little preparation) but also frequent victory. He is also well-versed in total and utter humiliation: Caustic does not just win his battles but very often ends the careers of, and causes real-life horrors for, his opponents.
Caustic vs. Aye Verb. Photo by Chris Mitchell for BattleRap.com.
Caustic shoulder-barged Jefferson Price out of battle rap for good and forced him into some seriously awkward discussions at his home in the sticks. Q Shinobi paid him $1000 for exposure and instead got annihilated and exposed. Daley took a break mid-way through their battle, overcome by a panic attack. Arcane’s career took a hit and he and Caustic haven’t even battled yet.
Caustic doesn’t battle often but he picks his battles well and doesn’t exhaust himself. A Caustic battle is always as fresh as it is tense, and once he finds an angle uncomfortable enough he simply digs his claws in until the crowd is begging him to stop. His main drawback in the "Ether" scenario may be that a mainstream crowd drawn in by Cassidy (and therefore unaware of the nature of Caustic’s material) might be left aghast if they were just there for a good time. No one should have to watch something like what happened to Jefferson Price without at least an inkling that it's on the way.
Cali Smoov is not without his higher profile match-ups for a battler only about a dozen fixtures in, having crossed swords with Rum Nitty and Daylyt this year — although the latter, it must be said, adopted sword-crossing a little more literally, taking the form of a “Twerking & Fellatio Battle,” which sounds like the end product of a great night out, really, and not a viable reason to shout rhyming gun threats at each other.
Cali Boy vs. G4.
His name is thrown about with the prominent up-and-comers, with his battle against Young B The Future being particularly well received (so well-received by the live crowd, in fact, that it kind of ruins the footage). But he operates on an altogether smaller scale than Caustic, working mainly in AHAT and other West Coast leagues. He was instrumental in the introducing FilmOn to the Fresh Coast Media Group, and his inclusion on the "Ether" roster sparked rumblings that his presence was on a “who you know” not “what you've done” basis.
For a crowd unfamiliar with much of battle rap, though, all that will matter is the performance on the day. Smoov’s easy manner may bring him favor with those there for some lighter-hearted entertainment and not, say, the crushing of a man’s spirit in front of a roomful of unwitting spectators.
The problem for Cali is, Caustic has a fluid writing style that is not entrenched in the dense idiosyncrasies that are the current trademark of battle rap. It’s communicative, blunt and brutally accessible. Whether Caustic will be able to dish dirt on Cali, a lesser known rapper, is anyone’s guess — hey, the shoe may even be on the other foot this time. But the audience will still have as easy a time tapping into Caustic’s material as they will Cali’s.
The atmosphere on the day may play to Cali Smoov’s advantage, but Caustic won’t mind sucking the air out of the room for personal gratification and could make this very, very unpleasant to watch indeed.
What part of Cali Smoov’s life do you think will fall apart after this battle? Could there be an upset? Will everyone just be upset? Let us know in the comment section below.
{{ comment.author.name }}
{{ reply.author.name }}