Author Archives: Christopher Alley

When the Battle Video Archives forum was formed years ago, it existed merely as a meet-up spot – place for fledgling battle rappers and their hangers-on to talk smack and wax nostalgic – and rarefied zone to discuss what was … Continue reading →

OnlyOne is grimy. To Sandpeople acolytes and fans, this probably isn’t a revelation, but, if the 18-track Cult Classic tape is your intro to the Portland emcee, then this is a thought that’ll probably go through your mind a lot. … Continue reading →

People have a weird reaction to martial arts in rap. It’s hard to gauge whether it’s because of Wu-Tang’s shadow or in spite of it, but whenever an underground emcee, or any rapper really, releases a martial arts-themed project or … Continue reading →

The old adage is “battle rappers can’t make [good] music.” Though there was an era that this was inarguable, of late there have been tons of releases attempting to challenge the idea. Granted, not every album, EP, or mixtape is … Continue reading →

It’s muuuuuuuuuurda! Or at least it was. Lots of rappers, well-known or obscure, change monikers with varying results. Even in the internet era artists can lose fans who find it difficult to follow their moves under a new nom de … Continue reading →

“I’m from Calgary…Alberta, Canada!” Not the greatest Canadian wrestler catch phrase (that honor clearly goes to Bret “The Hitman” Hart’s trumping of Ric Flair’s legendary boast), but ECW/WCE superstar Lance Storm knew that his hometown held enough of a weight … Continue reading →

In the last year or so, almost every major battle league has gone through changes – some good, some catastrophic. In the wake of the massive sea change that was 2011, emerged an increase in quality and professionalism in smaller … Continue reading →

The double-edged sword about battle rap is that, often, there’s an inverse relationship between the quality of your performances and the quality of your music. An unspoken truth about battle rap is that the vast majority of dope music is … Continue reading →

Okay, so try to keep up with me on this one. Lots of people have attempted to mix rap with guitar, with it be the late 90′s glut of meathead rap-rock bands headed by Limp Bizkit, or the gratingly vanilla … Continue reading →

“The UNIBROW’S in the HOUUUUUUUUUUSE” If there was ever a unique trademark, it’s that. Even the Gallagher brothers didn’t swag out having a furry Bering land bridge on their dome piece like the Bronx’s own Jess Jamez Figueroa. It’s an … Continue reading →