This Sunday, one of the premier battle rap leagues in Richmond, Southpaw Battle Coalition, continues their first-ever tournament to crown their first battle rap league champion. Along with the tournament, there are going to be performances from the likes of:
- Rap game's Johnny Bravo and Southpaw Coalition battle rapper Cane
- 10k.Zuri and the Richmond All-Starz collective of Dre Person, Xenos The Stranger, and West
- Multiple time RVA Rap Elite cypher champion, Tone Redd
The tournament is down to its elite eight and it has some peculiar matchups. I feel rather vacillate towards these matchups so I'll give impartial breakdowns on what to expect from the matchup. However, BC, the cameraman for all of the Southpaw battles, plenty of the SMACK URL battles, and random music videos, made his expectations about the rest of the tournament and posted it on social media recently. YOU CAN CLICK HERE TO GET THE TICKETS FOR THE EVENT.
J Morr v King Fizzle
J Morr is a veteran in the battle rap world with various appearances on international and local battle rap platforms. Morr is coming off a strong 3-0 win versus Robalu and is looking to do the same against another rapper with a slam poetry background King Fizzle. King Fizzle made it against J Morr after winning against IGB 2-1 in the first round. His style of complex educational bar schemes will be an interesting clash towards the introspective street wars storytelling that Morr brings to any battle.
Preme v Bakarii Kennedy
Preme is another major veteran that has been featured in numerous leagues coming off an emphatic 3-0 win versus a strong rapper in B.A.S.I.C. His methodical rapping style can throw off even the most energetic battle rapper and his battle versus B.A.S.I.C. was a style clash of a strict battle rapper versus an emcee. To me, Preme's style says to anyone he's facing "just because you rap fast that doesn't mean that you rap well." He's looking to make light work out of a surprise in Bakarii Kennedy. Bakarii made a huge upset in the first round against a national slam poetry champion and Southpaw veteran Breeze The Poet. Bakarii is still a wild card in the tournament but in his battle versus Breeze, he knows how to remain unfazed in the heat of the moment. This is a battle to truly look forward to. Will Bakarii make another upset? Will Preme make quick work out of another battle rapper in the tournament? Find out Sunday.
Will Jung v Habeeb
This is a battle of experience versus inexperience. Habeeb is a well-established battle rapper in Southpaw along with being an avid emcee in the RVA Rap Elite and World Emcee platforms as Will Jung had his first Southpaw battle a little over a year ago. Yet, there's a bigger theme in this battle: two battle rappers that have the conscious, uplifting educational approach that is usually a good counter towards the trap battle rappers when executed right. It'll be interesting to see how they may change their approach towards each other as they share similar concepts in their rounds. You can watch Will Jung's battle versus Face and Habeeb's battle versus Leek Bucks below.
Big Jinya vs Ro$$eti
After coasting past his opponent Money Warturz, the most experienced battle rapper in the tournament with almost thirty battles under his belt, Big Jinya is looking to do the same against Ro$$eti. Ro$$eti rapped against Jordan Bailey with something to prove as in the prior face-off, he had some intensity within his animosity towards Bailey. He is definitely looking to not just carry but amplify his intensity against the long-time veteran. You can watch their previous battles below and you can follow the league on Instagram @southpawbattlecoalition