Why Battle Rap is Dying: A Hard Truth

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Battle Rap was incredibly popular in the early 2010s, with the likes of Don't Flop, URL, GrindTimeNow and many others. But slowly it faded out of mainstream attention. Today we explore the reasons why.
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[@oscarallen4718]

Rap battles are a very big thing in Latin America and Spain and red bull runs an internacional tournaments for it. You should look in to it.

[@user-gn1sl4bj1y]

in Japan there mad too kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpOziKCglq-Hd5I

[@redacted5035]

No.

[@jamesmorris1213]

Really, I didn't know that, I definitely gonna see about signing up for that myself 💯

[@TaterTotsNFanta]

​@@redacted5035 I like turtles

[@ignaciogonzalez1461]

Check the FMS league ..it is awesome

[@bigdadgigachad3042]

RIP Pat Stay.

[@wilhathaway1987]

The goat!

[@gokublack3107]

​@@wilhathaway1987 not really lol 😂

[@GreoGreo]

@@wilhathaway1987 🧢

[@lhommepeignoir5057]

fundamentally, Battle Rap cannot die. The concept of two lyricists roasting each other in front of a crowd is as old as time, minstrels used to do it in the Middle Ages! It's like professional fistfighting, or racing : it's a form of entertainement which will ALWAYS find success. Even if there's a massive apocalypse and society resets completely, a form of battle rap will emerge at some point in time

[@nolesy34]

The difference is The old battles will remain as an old school way of fighting just like they used to bare knuckle box In fact i like your way of describing it as a fistfight They put gloves on to protect hands and faces, but the sport still exists Maybe there is a way to "protect" good old fashioned battling with some tech...

[@redacted5035]

Artificial intelligence will take over battle rap

[@artloz6345]

Thing is it was hard way back. This battle rap was a joke it was like comedians just snapping. Lost the real street rawness

[@nolesy34]

@@artloz6345 it wasnt prepared battles that you practiced with a freind it was raw in your face verbal insults that just happened to rhyme

[@matshbocks]

@@artloz6345 Eazy the block captain vs Hitman Holla. Eazy was talking to dude.

[@wilhathaway1987]

RIP Pat Stay! My favorite battle rapper of all time and in my opinion one of the greatest!

[@Siyasne]

Bruh. Pat is a legend

[@kaytentheomega]

Not even in your opinion it’s a fact Pat was one of the best

[@CartmanB]

I'm from Polynesia on a small island Man when we found out Pat died It hurt more than when Pac and Big passed away honestly .Pat Stay The G.O.A.T!

[@eep3837]

Completely skipped Pat, and the elements league that developed into K.O.D

[@hubhub27]

@@eep3837 *K.O.T.D.

[@bboy_arcabuz.]

I'm from Spain. I can guarantee you that in the Spanish speaking world rap battles (freestyle or batallas de Gallos, spontaneous improved rap battles) have stayed really relevant. It topped in 2019 and now it is losing momentum but it is alive and still strong.

[@bes03c]

Jimmy's country music impression was way too good.

[@harkstreak6952]

In the Philippines, battle rap is known as Fliptop, and it's freakin thriving

[@HotdogSosage]

It's mentioned in the video

[@GateMesh]

Okay you get my Alabamian stamp of approval on that Southern accent at 2:50 lmao

[@ClitIsWhatWeAimFor]

😂 Defo the highlight of the vid for me. Who knew I needed Gangsta Country Rap in my life

[@rjflores438]

Big up Shotty Horroh, straight from Harpurhey, Manchester! One of the best battle rappers of the past 20 years.

[@BorneKing]

Speak on what you know, battle rap is still very much alive. I’d just dive deeper and understand more of the subculture if you’re an interested party or once had interest. URL, RBE, KOTD, The Riot, Gates of The Garden, Battle Academy are some channels just to start.

[@coachtali5151]

Exactly no research no anything

[@poppinc8145]

Battle Rap is alive but its a walled garden now. Nobody in the mainstream or even the rap mainstream cares about it anymore. You won't see most rap music sites reporting on it at all.

[@BorneKing]

@@poppinc8145 I prefer that, there are other ways to monetize. The problem currently is league owners, mostly Smack trapping content behind apps no one uses and blackballing URL roster for battling on other leagues which reduces the # of potential match-ups.

[@thedramainew]

​@@BorneKing facts

[@LessOfMyselfToKill_187]

Facts! Battle Rap is very much still alive! Just bc it's not on MTV, movies or on every album! There's still diss tracks, and Wild N' out. But the reality is there is MANY platforms that are supporting battle Rap even giving new battler's like K Venom and many others a platform! And they all have Websites that hosts events that you can pay and watch the stream then the stream goes KZbin. And it's getting bigger! And this is just covering stuff that's filmed. There are underground battle events that happen every week here in NY and in FL.

[@badger297]

My favorite battle rap moment of all time is when the crowd finishes shotgun suge's "potatoe on the nose" bar

[@SmarchitectMann]

Battle rap has its ups and Downs. As an American who's been watching sense un casa versus T rex, I can honestly say the culture has its dry spells, as well as it's big moments. A Ward vs Bigg K, Daylyt vs Roc, and blogger drama. We even have a puppet. BR is still alive and well.

[@floggyWM1]

its over saturated, URL is having battles every other week, i dont know where ppl even find time to watch it

[@bigdadgigachad3042]

KingOfTheDot has been dropping some new battles on KZbin, from the Pat Stay memorial event. Some real bangers.

[@gorillachronicles]

Battle rap still going strong bro, they just had an event in honor of pat that was fire

[@iamhby]

Yeah, as a longtime battle rap fan, Stay Forever was one of the greatest battle rap events I've ever seen.

[@deanbrooks7297]

It’s still not big as he is referring to, it will exist but it will be a footnote like how it is now.

[@iamhby]

@@deanbrooks7297 Stay Forever was sold out both days, URL regularly sells out sizable venues, RBE's been doing quality events, and Premier Battles out in the UK just had an insane event with Shotty/Shuffle headlining. Also, shout out to FlipTop in the Philippines for having some of the biggest crowds I've ever seen for any battle rap events.

[@guysmiley4830]

I still watch KOTD on the regular. I'm a bit disappointed there was no mention of WRC. I enjoyed battles the most when everything was spit off the top

[@NORBZMUSIC]

I've been a battle rap fan since the early 2000's, I was even KOTD's first gold level sponsor for the DIZ vs DNA card.. I say all that to say - you did this justice brother, great job, subbed.

[@NORBZMUSIC]

TSU SUN LOL

[@dariusz.9119]

Culture lag might be a major reason, but there is also a second one. Many videos are demonitized when recorded in English but are completely fine when recorded in other languages. Rap battles in English got demonitized and age restricted and stopped being promoted on main page while, at the same time, the same battles but in russian or filipino are mostly completely monitized and promoted to other people on their main page

[@lordblazer]

yea I still see battle rap videos that are in Japan.. and Japanese hiphop videos are everywhere.... it's hard to find that for English ones.

[@oktaperdana9414]

yes! that fliptop and russian versus are something else.. they got 50 million views from 1 battle alone.. crazy

[@imthetube44]

Rumble can be a new home for it then

[@crazymarkiplierfan]

I think the coolest thing about battle rap is that different accents and personal experiences from other cultures really play a part in what rhymes and words you use and it expands the possibilities for flows, schemes so on and so forth.. I think the fact that that culture itself is so hostile to outsiders and so much of it having to do with race is the biggest problem with battle rap in my opinion.. I think race can be really fun to rap about but it's also one of the things that hold it back the most

[@anothersettlementneedsyour9628]

I really like this style of videos, it is not hard to make interesting video about battle rap for rapheads, but to make one that is interesting for people who care little about rap music, that takes talent and experience. I always learn new stuff in these videos. Like how hipsters existed in the 40s, or grinding not always being core part of skateboarding.

[@carltonneckbrace4039]

Loving the new vids bro, keep them up.

[@davidh4632]

Always some unique and interesting subjects on your channel, love it.

[@urielpolak9949]

Well spoken. Ideas bounce around and may be rediscovered anew

[@evancooney-martin434]

R (eye) P eyedea will forever be the greatest battle rapper of all time.

[@ikthion6402]

We need a full version of "Pick your momma up in a truck"

[@romabrii]

I'm expecting a full version of that country diss soon

[@Cyber_Cowboy]

This channel is so underrated. I've been watching I think for 2 years. I just can't believe he's not up to 8-10 million subs by now

[@DragzMR2]

Not even 500k subs?? Fuck that man, you deserve millions! Been following you since the parkour days and the "london war against parkour" video(2 or so years now?) and all I can say is MASSIVE RESPECT my man! Your videos are absolute class and it's clear to see you go real deep researching every subject you cover and I'm 100% sure your channel will only grow.

[@malihayakub2]

Your personality makes all your videos so much more entertaining 🎉

[@innerrhymes7454]

Hella informative. Loved this.

[@alfiesworld123]

Aye smashing it man, sick video as always

[@sabalipeaceandpatience9264]

That clip from 1:10 in Trinidad and Tobago. We have something called extempo. A sing song diss to another singer (calypsonian) that is usually to a track and very melodic. It's been part of our carnival celebrations since before our independence from Britain in 1962. Credit for including that clip. Didn't expect to see it. Incredible that you did that much research

[@jessesalazar7988]

Well researched man good video

[@ProductBasement]

Affection for this channel is easily acquired, But how you gunna talk about youtube rap battles WITHOUT SUPA HOT FIRE???

[@stayflippinghard1]

nice upload schedule jimmy

[@Magdalena8008s]

Eyedea. Sigh. Wish more than anything he was still around. Luckily Sadistik is still keeping him alive in spirit.

[@visionda1]

Dude I stumble upon your channel late One night and I've been hooked ever since. I suggest it to everyone I know. Being from New York City and growing up on hip-hop ,I'm real curious do you have an episode or plans on making an episode about how hip-hop/rap got started and came up in the UK? Thanks for all the awesome content my guy 💯

[@Windsorplayzgames]

yes

[@deoge3278]

I couldn't agree with u more man...I wrote almost the exact same msg 3 months ago. I could watch dam near anything he'd make a video on. I've watched so much stuff on topics I normally could not give less of a shit about. But dude makes it interesting. Cheers

[@TheTDA]

Would defo watch this

[@lazatron2547]

Epic Rap Battles of History was my absolute favourite. Moses v Santa Claus was the best ever (in my opinion).

[@artloz6345]

Those were great

[@MasterMaka]

Yet another banger video from Jimmy the goat

[@aussquirrel]

Great video

[@mh1theproducer]

Great video bro. Do one on the death of Grime Music?...

[@ADIMontenegro]

I rapped at the Blood in the Water event that you show 😂 dope vid

[@NickyNightHawk]

Awesome video as always Jimmy I learn something new everytime.. however just so you know lol you do have to pay shipping for the sample

[@ubersteve3265]

The "app era" has caused battle rap to seem like it dying because URL don't do KZbin drops, but there's multiple platforms filling that void left by the URL

[@ubersteve3265]

UK Battle Rap is for sure dead as fuck though

[@neuronamusica]

Battle rapping in Spanish is huge in the spanish-speaking world. Being a battle rapper is a viable career if you make it big. As a matter of fact, Red Bull sponsors the hugest (and more commercial) tournaments

[@dickensrivers9862]

one of your better commentary...accessible to an audience unfamiliar with subject matter, well spoken and educational

[@Silos9195]

I appreciate you including Juice and Eyedea (R.EYE.P) clips in here. The old Scribble days were incredible. Scribble 97 and 98 are cool but the footage is a bit rough to look at. But Scribble 99 and forward still holds up I think, Scribble 97 anything with Juice or Doseone was incredible. The new pre-written stuff is cool too, just a different style that didn't vibe me with me as much but I'm happy it found a new audience.

[@starkravinglad8099]

I miss Michael man... people these days have no Eyedea

[@colinmeneghini1390]

Those scribble jam clips sparked a memory for sure. I still have the VHS with the sticker designed by the writer MERZ. I still can’t get enough of doseone.

[@ErinMDavis05]

Paradise by Eyedea & Abilities is one of my favorite songs of all time. Well done

[@raynardhymen2139]

Look up eyedea vs unseen.

[@joeyberreta9096]

Should do a whole video on Eyedea. R eye P

[@PaulyC.]

If battle rap dies Hip Hop will go with it... cant have one without the other.

[@nolesy34]

Nah, hip hop moved on to something created by mumbled about showing something off, then a mike wills beat then all the money on the video and a cameo by Khaled saying ANOTHER ONE

[@morganmarshall450]

Awesome review here. Could you do a hacky sack / foot bag, culture/ sport review? You’d be the best to do it.

[@ErinMDavis05]

As an American southerner, I have to say, your country accent was SPOT ON!! 😂 👏👏👏

[@peoplecallmepeechez]

I'm from America and don't flip is what got me into battle rap. I loved DF for exactly the reason jimmy was saying. I felt less separated from that side of the culture

[@lcarthel]

You got me laughing with your country beef bit!!!

[@Nicenigel14]

I would love for you to do a video about the hobby of flipping balisongs one day!

[@Stray1One]

Cheers man,

[@k9donttalkwass]

early amazing video as always jimmy

[@D00M3R_MAVS]

I think that was a Mob Deep beat that you're referring to? "8 mile instrumental" from the track "shook ones" I'm a fair bit older than you, so grew up around Hip Hop culture. I mean rap Battles were never really a thing that took off for us, it was all break dancing and graffiti TBH. We did used to have plenty of MC's and DJ's in the crew as well, but they were mainly about making tracks and if they did anything live it was more about showing off your skills than actually battling another dude. Rap battle culture in the way people understand it now didn't come about till much later... that whole "anything goes" style was completely looked down upon by older heads.

[@Simonisms]

The Roxanne Wars Forgot about that Classic 😂

[@iamhby]

Considering all the massive battles that’ve just been announced recently, the declaration of battle rap being dead is premature.

[@D00M3R_MAVS]

3:56 I love that clip of the two kids. reminds me of when I'd see my cousin when I was little. I didn't have any siblings, so was the closest thing I had. We used to get into some sh1t.

[@rizlaone1]

Jimmy you forgot to mention about the roots of battles - jamaican clashes ;) Like Ninjaman or Shabba Ranks vs somebody

[@TheRed_wing]

Finally a video about music from the king

[@bigdadgigachad3042]

Shotty Horror going into wrestling, just wasn't something I was ready for. I hope man's is still following his dreams,

[@RichardCharlesuk]

Can confirm its all going on still

[@dafullclip]

Nice! 🍻

[@TheDantheman12121]

Don't flop was sick. Lunar c vs Uno Lavez is legendary

[@bigdadgigachad3042]

Yeah but eurgh greedy and blew it for the UK.

[@GraniteShaker]

Is touching your nose every two seconds an American thing? And why do you start all your verses with 'I said' when you haven't said anything!

[@cxs7966]

Good video, im guessing its a 10/10 as youve changed the thumbnail and title aha

[@TrevVision]

This video has twice as many views as the average KOTD video right now. Brilliant work. I specifically searched this phrase and found your video because I was thinking about the death of battle rap.

[@jonathanwstx]

Yoooo @3:00 Houston bar code !! I was literally at this event …also RIP Eyedea

[@jackgriffeyjr]

I appreciate taking the time to make this video but I think you failed to address the main issue here…Digestibility. Rap battles used to be subjugated to a 10 minute KZbin video with 60-90 second rounds of roasting. A lot of rap battles nowadays clock in at 40-60 minutes since they extended the time limits. Not to mention WORDPLAY has become sooo over the top to the point that your Average Joe is never going to understand what’s going on unless it’s explained to him. In the jumpoff/grindtime days anyone could watch a battle and understand what’s being said. I recall years ago being out with some friends and missing a livestream KOTD. My friends weren’t familiar w battle rap. When we got back to the house I threw on the stream and it was Chilla Jones vs Gjonaj and to a room full of people who weren’t familiar w the platform everyone in the room was confused, unable to make sense of the esoteric wordplay that was taking place. That’s the problem right there - to the average person Dirtbag Dan vs Tiger Ty is much more enjoyable than your average modern day 60 minute rap battle. Battle rap wordplay became too self indulgent for its own good. Ultimately the medium will have an incredibly hard time gaining new fans until we stop w the over the top wordplay and excessive time limits. I love battle rap and hope it thrives again. *rant over*

[@509_dabbin9]

i figured people have got so soft with their emotions that they cant handle the battles

[@hal900x]

KZbin is more heavily censored then network TV now, thanks to it's insanely restrictive AI. The single greatest platform in history for the free exchange of ideas, sanitized.

[@artloz6345]

Battle rap just became a form of comedians snapping. Shit was wack compared to dudes who had real beef and straight dog someone through street slang.

[@fredgalloway5809]

It’s slowed down because Smack be on B.S and the app is trash, URL vaulting battles for no reason. Battle Rappers themselves are not preparing material and just showing up to battles with freestyle nonsense. Not to mention the battlers that run off on the plug, practicing rounds with each other and everyone trying to create their own leagues and blocking folks from battling here and there. Soooo here we are🤷🏾‍♂️

[@Kaiyogibos]

hi, could you make a video on longboarding? i love all your videos

[@danielrosic2960]

King of the Dot is still going strong to this day I believe

[@IllDawgable]

I like how you mentioned battles in other genres before you got down to hip hop. For a moment I thought you were gonna mention the beef between James Brown and Joe Tex that lead to James shooting up a club. There goes a video.

[@riggyrain]

The fossil excavation clip while referring to the 1950s straight killed me 😂

[@PDihax]

You should watch Rap battles in spanish. They are extremely popular!

[@lukethelazymachine3687]

Hope you're saving 'Diss tracks' for a separate video!

[@Kazziqueh]

I don't know if I misunderstood the last point but as far as I know, brands such as Urban Roosters and Redbull are having amazing numbers when it comes to Spanish freestyle. Countries like Mexico, Spain, and Argentina have massive names with cultural relevance. There was even a KFC promotion campaign in Mexico around one of the big names that encouraged people to freestyle to get a discount. Maybe I missed the part about the Philippines but just to clarify, are they battling in English? I can understand being difficult to perhaps understand since all of those raps are in Spanish, but at least for us, it is still thriving and growing!

[@seanthornton726]

The 1st Rap Battle was not in 1957. It was Kool Moe Dee vs Busy Bee Starski Dec 1981 at Harlem World. During Hip Hop infancy MC'S battles were based on who had the best bars. But in 81 Moe Dee was hosting a rap show featuring Busy Bee Starski. During Busy Bee set he told the crowd "No Rapper out here badder than me Busy Bee Starski". Someone in the crowd yelled back, what about Kool Moe Dee. Busy Bee replied, he don't want none of me. Moe Dee hearing that immediately went backstage and wrote a diss rap while Busy Bee performed. When Busy Bee set was over Kool Moe Dee returned to the stage. But instead of Introducing the next act. He told the DJ put on a beat because he had something to say to Busy Bee Starski. With that he demolished Busy Bee and change Hip Hop and the art of MCing, Diss records and Battle Rap.

[@damonodell9125]

Cope

[@MartinMelikyan]

I'm so looking forward to parkour videos

[@Ryattt81]

Blast from the past...Lunar was a favorite...funny af.

[@OriginalBadRobotz]

I need a roller blading update

[@WillmobilePlus]

Roxanne Revenge! Ah that was a very weird thing as a kid. Turned into the closest thing to a viral sensation we had back then. Multiple records that just got more and more cringe until you just had random people making their own "versions".

[@frankbuffo5070]

i love the content but can u do more parkour vids please

[@Streusalz420]

Battlerap is alive bro, even in Germany battlerap is growing and even survived corona

[@jackblosh6086]

Lord of the mics jheeeez

[@DadModsMedia]

Infinite respect for showing Eyedea! RIP

[@D00M3R_MAVS]

6:46 big up Mikey in the green jumper. He's a head, took him out painting a few times.

[@rorydoors0]

Love your content jimmers

[@thatguymal7023]

1:19 Are those archeologists😂💀

[@Thund3rkaT]

Love your content man!

[@LukeJukeDuke]

i remember growing up hearing about FlipTop, it was everywhere at the time, almost every kid i knew loved it. tho i myself wasnt that big of a fan at the time, it was one of the biggest sensations in the 21st century.

[@timeastwoodbagpiper]

Coincidentally to battle rap there was an old Welsh form of battle lyricism called Pwnco. The most popular these days being Mari Lwyd, the weird new year tradition with the dead horse. Its coincidental as I'm not sure it has much to do with 'Trinny' diss culture, Lord Melody and Mighty Sparrow nor has it much to do with urban black US culture. However it is accidentally quite similar, improvised abuse to music, or even a-capella, usually involving food, beer, good standing and hospitality. In the end all parties reconcile, hospitality is granted and food and beer are consumed.

[@user-wg1gd5gg7s]

Don't forget Axe FM grime clashes... probably my first exposure to UK rap battles. Some of them are still on YT.

[@xStrypes]

This was actually a solid vid and accurate for the most part. Crazy I been following your channel for a while but been watchin battle rap for a good 12+ yrs, I was actually at a bunch of the battles you showed live. The hype seemed to die down a lil with everything moving off KZbin and it’s watered down but it’s not gonna die

[@oddnoir8592]

Well In Portugal it's being born again, they going hard!! 🇵🇹🇨🇻

[@quietcolt4721]

For the record battle rapping has been happening since rapping started in NYC in the 70s, it's just devolved over the yrs into the beef style of battle rapping that most of your views most likely associate with battle rapping

World needs more dis Country done by JimmyTheGiant!

[@wayneosadventures]

Can't believe Kerser v 360 didn't get a mention hahaha

[@phakzonthebeat]

I remember the first time seeing battle rap it was about 2001/2002 on Comcast On-Demand jumpoff tv or some shit lol

[@afrocado9104]

i miss the parkour videos you used to make :(