What does 'battle' mean?

[vitaminman]

Hey,

I keep hearing about 'battle' beats and raps, but so far I haven't been able to figure out exactly what the 'battle' part means.

There are obviously some criteria to meet for something to be branded as 'battle', else the label wouldn't exist. Even amongst people who are in the know, the definition isn't cut and dry....

I would like to hear from YOU what your definition of 'battle' is, for both music and raps.

Please refrain from vague answers like 'itz wen da beet iz fyah, nowaddimeen holla'; something concrete like 'a track with a drum loop sampled from an old funk record' would really help me understand.

Also, qualities which AREN'T 'battle' can help narrow it down. Like 'a track with an Air Suppply sample is not battle'.

Thanks

Nick

 

[Shonsteez]

Ok V - This isnt in depth a ton but, from going to shows and seeing fools battle as well as listenen' to alot battle rap...I would probably define a battle beat first usually as a consistant loop that doesnt change up at all or just a little - inviting more space for just tha dude on tha mic to rip it and display his skills...Its usually pretty raw - and honestly not much to it, even in tha wack ass battles on M2...Its all pretty much tha same, with more focus on tha fool with tha mic...Just think of a simple aggressive 4 bar loop that goes over and over but is effective enough to carry tha vocals tha whole time. Then, when your considering tha vocals - I supose this parts mostly self explanitory, but in short - battle raps are just who iz tha illist on tha mic, but im not quite sure why im telling you this since you prob. already figured that out. I dont think ive ever experienced anything really where one vocalist battles another besides in tha hiphop community, but in tha past there has been battles of tha bands - but thats totally different to me.

Steeze

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

Thanks a lot, Deuce, that makes a lot of sense. As for battle of the bands, usually a bunch of bands get together and play out live one after the other. Where battle beats, according to your description, are relatively simple and are designed as a vehicle to help showcase a rapper, bands usually bring out the heavy artillery and try to play as best as they possibly can to outperform all the other bands. This includes both the music and vocals.

I haven't figured anything out, really, I'm just now starting to learn about 'freestyling' and these contests where rappers try to outdo each other by coming up with stuff off the top of their heads, like those guys on the Puff Daddy Show. Some of it is quite good, a lot of it is disjointed with a lot of repition and rhyming not in time with the beat. It's amazing what they come up with, I can't even write rhymes with a pen and paper, let alone off the top of my head.

Keep 'em coming!

Nick

 

[Freakwncy]

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/4/jinmusic.htm < If you want to hear some better freestyling compared to that wack Puff Daddy kid.... the kid went 7 str8 wks.... unbeaten and get signed under Ruff Ryders...the kid is nice....this is a better example of freestyling...

 

[Equality 7-2521]

I think battles originated with Grandmaster Flash and djs around his time period. He had just invented the mixer and was finding out lots of new tricks and methods of djing. Battles were like little competitions where djs would show off their new skills to others who ere a part of the culture. This was also the case with break dancers too. So I think battling essentially means "to share skills."

Then the MC came along and thats where the connnection between "dissing" and "battling" eventuated. DJ and breaker battles are still the same today, in that they are displays of raw skill. MC battles however are not judged solely on style or flow but moreso on witty insults toward the opposition. Sometimes DJs today even use insulting samples in ther sets. (even though they do not earn them points.)

I think the whole meaning of "battle" has been forgotten. It was a bad name for it in the first place though.

Id like to read up more on the history of battles though....if anyone has some links

 

[T-Dash]

Hmmm...well I am a battle emcee so I'll try and describe 'battle' the best I can.

The beat has a lot of criteria which was covered by Duece, however...thats not always neccesarily the structure of the beat and in a majority of clubs where people will battle, it'll just be commerical beats from current songs playing (the latest Ludacris song maybe for an example). However, battle orientated beats are also ones that amp up the rapper and they can really put their all into it . The Demigodz are an ideal example of a group of battle rappers that do this exceptionally well (so you could check out Celph Titled or Apathy as prime examples for their brand of beats). My personal fave types of battle beats are ones that sample orchestras cause they really get the adrenaline up and they tend to have a heavy drum pattern and solid sounding kicks and snares.

As for the actual term 'battle rap', it was developed in the same way that DJ's and breakers developed the idea of the battle. A way to show what you can do in a competitive manner. Its also been a way to settle disputes within the hiphop culture...2Pac said it best...

"The history of hiphop is built on battles. When heads had a problem, they could pull a mic and settle it"

In the simplest terms possible, a competitive battle is basically competitors taking in turns to spit to a beat for a certain amount of time (with any other rules that might be in place). Then once each rapper has had their turn (or in some cases turns), a winner is decided (often by the crowd but sometimes by a pannel of judges) and then thats basically it, the rapper has won or will qualify into the next round, etc. However, on the streets or with your friends its basically the same thing, just the rules are usually looser and it might be done accapella.
The material used by each artist is usually either bragging or insulting and the punchlines (disses) used are ideally looking to invoke that 'oooooooh' reaction from the crowd.

For better information check out information on battle rap forums and specially designed battle sites (eg. Spitboxers or Goldmic) or on actual live competitions (eg. Braging rights). Also, check out tracks from people like E-F@mm, Demigodz, Tonedeff, Copywrite, Jakki Da Motamouth, etc cause they tend to specialise in battle style raps (although they also all do a lot of topicals)

Well, thats basically as best as I can describe it (in my own opinion) and from my own experiences.

 

[Copenhagen]

The word 'battle' in Hip-Hop originated from the idea that people could battle each other in either Dj'ing, Mc'ing, Breaking or Graffitti instead of fighting or killing each other. This is the same reason why many people refer to these as the 4 elements of Hip-Hop and why, even though people say Breaking and Graffitti isn't Hip-Hop, that these are so strongly associated with the Hip-Hop 'culture'.
In Graffitti battles you battled with a 'burner', an awesome, colourful 'piece'...or sometimes it was just about quantity and who could make the most 'tags' around the city.
In Breakdancing battles you had to pull the best and most difficult moves. In Gangstarr's video "Skillz", you can also see the breakers pretending to hit and kick each other while dancing, however, I'm white and have no rhythm so Breaking is the part of the 4 elements I know the least about.
In Mc battles, it's all about having the best freestyle, best rhyme, best 'diss' etc
In Dj battles, it's about being the best at putting records together, scrathing and with modern times and advance in technology this has developed even further.
Beat battles are newer and are simply just about having the best beat. A battle beat for an MC is as already described in the above. I guess the reason why this didn't start until later is because at first beatmaking wasn't that big. Mostly, the beatmaker was a Dj looping two record breaks together to make a song. The same reason why sampling has always been a big part of beatmaking in the Hip-Hop industry.
Anyway, this is just my version.