BATTLE DESCRIPTION.
Why not? It’s been YONKS since this battle, why don’t I write down my thoughts about it a decade later?
Now, what is immediately noticeable is that Soweto has basically not aged a day. I saw him a few weeks back at Sounds Like Live episode 9 and he looks exactly the same, which is deeply frustrating because I have aged like a corpse.
Secondly, I don’t always watch these battles back when I write about them. That’s usually because I don’t want to watch it and realise it’s not as good as my memory kept it for me. Like when I tried to show my wife Dracula: Dead and Loving it – a film I adored in my youth and probably watched about 40 times, but, in the cold light of adulthood, I cringed into a little ball.
This one is one of those that I haven’t revisited in a long time and I don’t plan to in order to write this blog. Though, I may refer back to the lyrics and read some so I can accurately quote.
YouTube VIEWS
When I think of this battle, I think of riding the high that was recently injected into my veins by both the compliment and bad bars battle in April of the same year. Which is quite mad, actually, because those two battles were on April 7th 2013 and this one was 12th May, less than a month later! I think it was booked in at the beginning of May, so it was one of the quicker turnarounds that I’ve done, really.
I think in the early days, it’s way more tempting to accept those shorter prep-time battles in a bid to have a more prolific output and also to impress people by how quickly, frequently and reliably you can battle. I did quite a few of those back in the day so that, now, a decade later, I can accept a battle with about 6 months prep time, in order to write to the best of my abilities. Also, I was a lot less busy back then. I actually think having a full-time job made it easier to prioritise writing and memorisation. Now that I’m freelance and working for myself, it’s a lot more random and more difficult to organise writing time.
Anyway!! This battle was a big deal for me. I was trying to write in a way that would enable me to keep my jokey sense of humour, but also try to incorporate some more serious aspects. I didn’t nail it, but I got close to it.
I think some of the material in this one I’d still use today. The ‘armed police/Gaza streets’ whole bit was pretty good and a couple of other moments had their charm. It’s funny, I remember writing it and being SO blown away when I rhymed “Tara Reid” and “Charlie Sheen”. Something that, now, I wouldn’t even really bat an eyelid at, but back then I thought I was bloody Tupac.
I loved the idea of battling someone who was a significant figure in and outside the world of battle rap. Soweto is not only a gifted rapper and freestyler, he’s also an award-winning saxophonist and musician in his own right. He’s a fiercely clever and capable guy, which made him tricky to write for.
The lucky break, for me, came when I learned about his sax being stolen. I really did think “well, that’s a whole round, isn’t it?” I had such fun with it and, looking back, I guess it was really the beginning of what became a bit of a standard for me, which is including a stupid round that focuses on one particular angle, or, indeed, concept.
In this, pretty much the entire 3rd centres around a fictional account of how it was stolen, his neighbours’ reactions and his own descent into depression at the losing of said instrument.
It was dumb, but it was fun. And I think mixed in with the other elements from the 1st and 2nd round it stuck out as a silly, but, overall, entertaining thing to do and, years later, I still stick quite closely to this approach.
The 2nd round was a bit more standard, focusing on Soweto’s age (I mean, he’s about 35 in our battle and I was making out like he was 84. He’s not 46, I’m 33 and he looks younger now than I did in our battle) and how he was over the hill in terms of battle rap.
This is so funny when I look at it objectively. I mean, if I battled someone and they called me old at 33, I’d be so outraged. I’m not OLD, I’m just not young, there’s a difference. I’m not OLD, I’m getting old, there. Is. A. Difference.
There’s no difference, is there?
What’s most notable about this performance, though, is that I didn’t care as much as I do, now. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, really. Maybe both. But, these days, if I’m battling, I want it to be an event, but at this point, I was just happy to be doing it and practicing. Which makes sense, don’t get my ASS wrong, but it’s interesting to see that so clearly. It also makes me wonder what the last battle was that I felt that way about my own performance. If I had to guess, I’d probably say it was Jack Sexton. Weird how the world works, isn’t it?
Anyway, Soweto’s approach to this battle is what it almost always is: insightful, funny jokes, mixed in with a personalised set of attacks that embarrass his opponent. Mixed in with his signature laid back method of freestyling, even riffing off the very last thing I said in my round and working it, pretty seamlessly into his own material. It’s very bold and even when it doesn’t get the biggest reaction, or it’s not the most amazing result, it’s still impressive to take a leap of faith on your own improvisational skills and have them pay off in any way.
Actually, let me just reiterate that, because what Soweto does in his battles isn’t always to think of a rebuttal whilst his opposition is performing and then utilise it in his response. He actually will start rapping without a single line planned and totally invent on the fly in order to create some truly impromptu material, which is a risk only a few take… most notably, Pedro, who is, without question, the God of this.
Anyway, this was a really fun battle at the time, and looking back, I think it was a catalyst of a new approach (I’ve written the word ‘approach’ 4 times in this) for me, which has, in some way, stuck with me since its inception here.
Which makes this a formative battle for me, I suppose, so, yeah, it means a lot to me.