What do you think it takes to
create and sustain a career in
battle rap? Nothing but bars? An
amazing performance and delivery?
Consistency? A well-distinguished
name? Or all of the above? Maybe
a little of each and maybe a lot of
each. That’s the beauty of battle
rap, the formula is yours to create.
The vets of today haven’t followed
the same blueprint, yet each have
carved their names into the history
of this sport. Meet Anthony Ardrey
and Joshua McCormick; Y-Not and
Profecy, respectively. Two emcees
from Tucson AZ, following their
own paths, ready to shake the game
up and leave their stamp on it.
Vader: Where did the names
Y-Not and Profecy come from?
Y-Not: I’ve always liked names
that had a real connection to the
artist, like Ludacris who’s real
name is Chris Bridges and Dr.
Dre who’s real name is Andre.
It made sense for me to just flip
my name — Tony — backwards
and go by “Y-Not”. I felt that it
made it personal to me.
Profecy: Profecy, aka Nino 7,
is basically for seeings of the
future. Everybody I surrounded
myself with always thought I was
going to be big in the future. It
was my second rap name and
I’ve had it since 2000. Nino
is not from New Jack City, it’s
because I’m a godfather. (Profecy
laughs) Just to clear the air.
Vader: What was your first name
Profecy?
Profecy: It was terrible - Chopper
Pop. I was young; cut me some
slack. (All laugh)
Vader: A lot of battle rappers get
into this game and, once they
gain some notoriety, they branch
off into other ventures as a way
of branding themselves. How
important is having a brand
attached to your name in this
industry?
Profecy: That’s huge. Nobody
wants a one-trick pony. The
industry can’t sell a name, they
can sell a brand. It’s that simple.
Y-Not: Branding and marketing
yourself can make all the
difference. When you’re a part
of a movement, as compared to
fighting the world of battle rap
alone, it gives you better odds
of people remembering you and
supporting you. Battle rap is a
perfect way to start a brand and
to expose it to many different
regions around the world and
country, due to how widespread
batting is becoming and how
large of a marketplace it is.
Vader: I agree that battle rap is a
great gateway for promoting your
other ventures but most battlers
have to face the stigma that they
can’t make good music anyway.
y-not & profecy
Seen & Heard
Do you think your music defies
that stereotype?
Y-Not: You know, I was really
surprised to find out there were
people like Uno Lavoz that
battle but never made music and
to me it made no sense. I made
music way before I’d ever even
watched a battle, so I came into
the game as a hip-hop head who
recorded great songs on a daily
basis, to having to learn how
to relate and fit into this battle
culture. For me, that wasn’t
easy at first. Music has always
come naturally to me and I
honestly feel I will break down
the boundaries between battle
rap and music, due to the fact
that my team P7AGUE is known
more for our music then for our
battles. I can’t wait to expose the
world to our vision and make
that stereotype less known, but
I do agree that there are some
battle rappers who can’t make
quality music, but still do@ @
just to have something to sell to
fans.
Profecy: The “battlers can’t make
quality music” stigma! (Profecy
laughs) I have heard that many
times. I think that as far as my
music, I have to let it speak for
itself. A lot of people won’t give
battle rappers’ music a chance
because so many have failed. But
good music is good music, no
matter who it comes from. And
P7AGUE makes quality music.
It’s a love-hate thing. I hate that
it’s hard to get people to listen
when it’s a battle rapper’s music,
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