(AllHipHop News) Battling has been part of Hip Hop culture from the very beginning.
Whether it was DJs competing to see who could rock the party the best, graffiti artists attempting to tag the most locations, or emcees trying to prove he or she is the best on the mic, Hip Hop is competitive at its core.
One new school rapper is not on board with the idea of successful rappers going head-to-head with bars.
In a Complex cover story by Touré, Vince Staples shared his belief that all rap battles are corny, except when violence takes place.
The article reads in part:
Who won the Remy/Nicki beef?
Sh-t is corny.
The whole sh-t?
That sh-t is f-cking corny.
Isn’t beef a part of hip-hop?
It’s f-cking corny.
Did you think the Cube/N.W.A. beef was corny?
It was f-cking corny.
Jay Z and Nas was corny?
F-cking corny.
Back to the beginning, KRS versus—
Corny. Well, probably not corny ’cause somebody actually got beat up in those.
Oh. So if somebody gets beat up then it’s not corny?
I’m not gonna go book studio time to talk about you.
This is a part of hip-hop that fans love—it’s traditionally part of hip-hop.
So watch a Smack battle. They’re much better at it. King of the Dot. You have the UW League in New Jersey. So many battle leagues. Go watch some Charlie Clips. I don’t wanna see people demean one another for no reason when they can have a phone conversation. Especially when they’re actually successful musicians. There is battle rap. I am a fan of that, but as far as the spitefulness of it? ‘Cause battle rappers are actually like all friends for the most part, and they write it, have fun, and talk about it on Facebook later. It’s real f-cking cute, but all that other sh-t they can get the f-ck out of here. That sh-t is corny as f-ck. It’s like, “I’m gonna say really hurtful things about you for the sake of hip-hop.” Oh.
Numerous Hip Hop greats have been involved in a public lyrical face-off at some point in their career.
Kool Moe Dee, KRS-One, Roxanne Shante, LL Cool J, Ice-T, Common, Eminem, Lil Kim, 50 Cent, Jadakiss, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, The Game, T.I., Drake, Meek Mill and many more rappers have battled on wax.