Rapper and battle rap enthusiast Drake dropped an additional $50K on the SMACK’s Ultimate Madness 3 (UM3) tournament finals. He also dropped news about a new album and shared which battle he would sponsor to see happen.
And there it is. @Drake adds an EXTRA $50k for the #UM3 Finals!https://t.co/USP4mxSc3B pic.twitter.com/zLG4YLlp8N
— Caffeine (@caffeine) June 13, 2021
Saturday, June 12, was the Ultimate Rap League’s NOME XI event, one of the biggest nights in battle rap culture. Hip-Hop pioneer Fab Five Freddy, Freeway, and the youngest professional battle rapper in history Lil Slap were in the building. While there were several stellar contests, including two classic battles for the record books, the league announced the headlining battles on their next Summer Madness XI event: Murda Mook vs. Reed Dollaz and Tsu Surf vs. John John da Don.
The highly anticipated UM3 finals between the Every F**kin’ Bars duo, Compton rapper Geechi Gotti and Arizona’s own Rum Nitty brought a different energy in the room. As Smack made his grand entrance, fans witnessed something that they rarely see, all three owners standing in the front. Immediately afterward, you see the statuesque-redhead-bombshell Nu Nu Nellz appear looking like the culture’s real-life version of Jessica Rabbit. Then Drake pops out.
He needed no introduction, but Smack broke down the brand’s history with the “Nice for What” artist and how their streaming partnership came to be.
“Me and you have been invested in this for a long time … I have been emotionally invested for a long time.” – DRAKE
Drake’s commitment to improving the culture was apparent as Smack detailed various conversations they had, all focused on taking battle rap to the next level and how the culture needed to advance with the mainstream sports and entertainment companies. Caffeine was a perfect model.
But that news was cute for people interested in “Why was Drake there?” and if Caffeine owned URL (which they don’t). The OVO founder knew that and stepped up with stacks and stacks of money, stating while he committed to paying $100K to the winner, he is now upping the ante and throwing an additional $50K in the mix.
.@Drake gives his thoughts on the #UM3 Final between Geechi Gotti and Rum Nitty@GeechiGotti@RumNitty
👉 https://t.co/USP4mxSc3B pic.twitter.com/0ZYQGWasUZ
— Caffeine (@caffeine) June 13, 2021
$105K for less than 30 minutes of work, battle rap is not the corner boy Hip-Hopping that some remember. This game is big business — and now both members of the EFB group can attest.
The battle was close. The tournament ended abnormally with the fan vote being announced before the judges. There was 1 point separating each opponent, virtually split down the middle in fans’ opinions. After hearing the results Rum Nitty, who gained a slight victory in the poll, announced that there was no need for a vote and that they had already decided to split the money down the middle.
Trending at one point over everything on Twitter, NOME XI and the UM3 finals proved to be the best show of the weekend.