100 BARS MAGAZINE 002 Oct/Nov 2013 | Page 66

politics & battle rap illustration by @rzilla “TOP TIER” I can talk all day on this right here but I’ll just do portions for now…. Let’s start it off with something we all know and hear about. “Tiers” Top Mid Bottom Tiers are supposed to be levels you can reach on a platform from displaying skill. The more skill you show you posses should always determine your tier placement. That means it’s always upgrading and updating based off recent showings. A Bad showing should lead to a stuck or lower tier drop while the good showings keep moving you up and keeps your spot secure. But It seems tiers is nothing more than an illusion nowadays to keep certain artist ahead of 65 others with no actual ranking system or stat sheet to go upon. The tier system looks as if it goes off your best battle within your first couple. Some people came in as top tier, some come in as mid tier, and most are low tiers or unranked. Unranked artist are amongst the smaller leagues who aren’t seen as much as big stage artist. Tiers seem to go up but if your at the top do you ever fall, it looks not. Most these new age DIVAS don’t drop a tier because of what they did in the past, but the past has nothing to do with what’s being produced now. Tiers are nothing more than a word that keeps the Hollywood at the top and Hollywood safely away from the killing animal lurking thru the underground leagues of battling. Politics is what makes us see these washed up watered down performances while the best things to touch a stage have never been seen yet. Why have they never been seen?? Because these solidified tier holders don’t know when it’s time to give it up, sit down and make way for the new to pass through. So a lot of the best out are still unheard of because of what we’re basing rankings off of.