AC Dutch: I think that the stereotype is alive and well. The
first big rap [record] was Sugar
Hill Gang and there were no
bars to “hip hip the hop you
don’t stop”. It was feel-good
music. With that being said, I
personally don’t feel any type
of way when we are discussing
music and bars. All music isn’t
meant to be bar-heavy; but yes,
the South has plenty of lyricists. We can start in my hometown, with 8Ball; and take it
to Houston, with Scarface; and
stroll through Atlanta, with TI
and Andre 3000; or swoop down
to Florida and listen to Trick
Daddy; and bring it back to
Tennessee with Young Buck. Just
because we can make the club
bangers doesn’t mean we don’t
have the bars for that style of rap
22
as well.
AndtwonDadon: Exactly. I can see
that you appreciate all genres of
hip-hop/rap music, and I am just
glad that there are more than a
few I am finding that understand
this. Being that your league is in
Memphis, do you have any of the
Memphis artists that come out
and support, like Three Six Mafia,
Gangsta Boo or La Chat? Are
these artists aware that battle rap is
becoming huge in Memphis?
AC Dutch: Our movement is a
true underground movement.
We have grown our crowds
based on word-of-mouth for the
most part. With that being said,
La Chat, DJ Zirk and Kingpin
Skinny Pimp just saw their first
rap battle this past weekend
with “Squeeze vs. Young Nasa”.
We do get a lot of love from the
new wave of Memphis rappers
though, and I’d like to shoutout
Mac Gutta, Yo Yo Munie, KL
Undenyable, Mac-E and all of
the other hot artists in the city
who are a staple at the battles.
AndtwonDadon: Since I have
come onboard with 100 Bars
Magazine, I’ve gotten emails from
up-and-coming battle rappers who
have no footage and they desire to
battle, Surprisingly, most of these
individuals are from the South,
like Atlanta, Memphis, Tampa,
Miami and New Orleans. How
would they get in contact with
IMBL to possibly set up a battle?
What are the steps?
AC Dutch: We run the IMBL
like a sports league. We are one
of the only leagues that I know