but I love when they hear it and
don’t think of me as a battle
rapper, but a songwriter as well.
see real rappers and are getting
tired of the gimmicks that the
industry is feeding our culture.
Vader: So many have failed in that
regard and a lot of people feel like
that hurts the battle rap culture
when you put out music that isn’t
nearly as good as your battle lyrics.
What is the state of battle rap as a
culture today?
Vader: I agree with you both.
Battle rap is in a great place right
now, but small antics get more
views than bar-fests and, to the
masses outside the culture, that
becomes the face of battle rap.
Profecy: I think it’s right where
it should be, honestly. We’re
finally getting national exposure
and battle rappers are getting
healthy payments. As an up-andcoming battler, that gives me
hope. To quote Y-Not from a
conversation we had the other
day, “there’s always a Soulja Boy
for a Tupac.” Make sense? So
there are some foul things and
bad business in battle rap, but
the good is far outweighing the
bad. I see a real future in this.
Y-Not: Battle rap is booming
in every sense right now, I feel
like the mainstream or “the
industry” is trying to use battle
rap to get people’s attention
on real hip-hop again. Labels
Like TDE and FunkVolume are
creating a demand for real lyrics
that make you spend time trying
to figure out what they really
mean and I think it is causing
people to branch out to battle
rap, where [lyrics are] overloaded
with double meanings and is one
of the truest forms of hip-hop. I
see it growing and growing until
labels have battle artists that
travel and battle, but also tour
and do music for their fanbase.
Battle rap is the future of Hip
Hop being that people want to
36
Profecy: The antics are a part
of mainstream. There are more
classic battle than battles with
antics, in my opinion.
Y-Not: True. I do feel antics can
overshadow real bars in battle
rap, but I understand the logic
of trying to step outside of the
box, especially knowing that
every battle is set up the same.
How do you stand out versus
the rest of the crowd? I do feel
that if you are going to pull
antics in a battle you need to
have heavy bars to also be seen
as credible and not just a joke in
the culture.
Vader: AHAT does a great job of
putting out high quality battles
and you’ve both battled on that
league. How has AHAT been
beneficial to either of your careers?
Profecy: AHAT is an amazing
league. OD is a really intelligent
man. There’s no accident that it’s
one of the largest leagues in the
world. Danny Myers is a great
president and friend. Prime is
a beast on the visuals and Jeff
does a lot of leg work to make it
all happen. Shoutout to AHAT!
They opened up doors I never
thought possible; the exposure,
for one. On Voicebox, I’ve never
seen that exposure. Also, by
proving we can be main page
battlers for that league solely
gave us the opportunity to gain
a PG in the first ever West coast
Smack/URL event. Not only that
but it introduced me to life long
friends and great artists. I’m
thankful for AHAT.
Y-Not: AHAT is a blessing. I was
the champion of a league that
didn’t really understand how to
market its top artist to moving
into a league, like AHAT, that
is very smart in the way they do
things. AHAT has taken me from
out of the shadows and into
the spotlight and is giving me
the chance to make my name a
national name in battle rap. I’m
looking forward to seeing them
bring in outside competition
from other leagues to battle
me and bring more light onto
my teams movement. AHAT is
our new home, no matter what
leagues we battle on from time
to time; AHAT will be our main
stage.
I asked their opinion of AHAT’s
recent decision to feature No Shame,
the first transgender battler on
their league. Both agreed that her
appearance is a great look for battle
rap and that she definitely has bars.
I was pleased to discover that they
are both avid 100 Bars Magazine
readers and were already familiar
with the article I wrote last issue,
“No Shame in Hip Hop”. No Shame
definitely deserves a worthy opponent
to test her skill and Profecy reminded
me that, even though her battle was