Jon Dough: I feel like they do.
Luckily, I feel like we have
gotten over that hump since
more people are seeing our
battles now. We provide a great
environment for battle rap;
quiet, respectful and tense. We
take our work very seriously
over here, so we recommend
everyone we book do the same.
Whether you’re a “name” or not,
you could still have “Bars of the
Night” in this league.
Dilly: Have you read last month’s
issue of 100 Bars magazine?
What did you think of Avocado’s
comments about people adding
sound effects to their battles?
Jon Dough: Yeah. Truth is — it’s
one man’s opinion. I see his
work and there are things that I
don’t dig. At the end of the day,
I’ve earned my way here in this
business. No association will put
me or keep me where I am, just
hard work. Shout out to Twizz.
Dilly: You and Black Ice are really
doing it big. Females don’t get
much respect in the battle world,
but you two have commanded
respect and attention.
Jon Dough: We are trying, we
just want what’s ours; nothing
more, nothing less. That was
the point of the blog we did;
to separate ourselves from
other leagues, for better or
worse. Black Ice is the Queen
of Midwest Battle Rap, as far as
I’m concerned. She knows bars;
she started this league and she’s
a genius with the matchups and
ideas. We work together very
well. I wish she got more credit,
because she puts in the work
most league owners claim they
do.
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Dilly: People never want to give
credit when it’s due. There are
people who have a lot of respect
for what Black Ice does. In due
time, she will get all that she
deserves.
Jon Dough: Thank you, I
appreciate that. It’s an uphill
fight.
Dilly: We are here pushing for
your success. You two have the
right ideas for top matchups.
Jon Dough: I’m glad you rock
with it, a lot of people won’t
— publicly. There are sides
being taken and here we are,
just keeping it battle rap. We
came from the streets and built
something.
Dilly: Some people will take shots,
hoping that you cave in to the
pressure. People will always take
shots at people that they low-key
admire or are threatened by.
Jon Dough: That’s what I figured
Guacamole was doing. I don’t
even want his name in my
interview. I shouted him out in
a radio interview on Angryfan
Radio, then I read him throw a
shot.
Dilly: Is respect a blurred line in
battle rap?
Jon Dough: It is. It’s full of yesmen and cyber thugs. Every so
often, you meet a real person
and they remind you why you do
what you do.
Dilly: What can we expect from
Syndicate Cartel this year?
Jon Dough: More of what
our supporters love and less
of what they don’t. We have
plans to stand apart from the
rest of the leagues, with more
creativity and greater matchups
that our supporters will love. I
say “supporters”, because fans
compare you to other leagues
and supporters compare you to
your last work; our competition
is our last effort. Oh — and we
have something huge planned
for our supporters. Like Hollow/
Lux huge!