“My name is Dirtbag Dan, I’m from San Jose, CA and I am the best rapper in this bitch.” Normally, I would talk some smack about such a gloat when spoke by a hirsute man bathed in that ruby glow which emanates from the roof of the Echoplex in Echo Park. But we’re cool, considering that only a break beat later this particular clairvoyant MC smoked 7 other regional competitors in front of distinguished judges Kurupt, Chali 2na and MC Supernatural to earn his ticket to the Red Bull EmSee finals in Hot-lanta to battle in front of B-rabbit himself, Eminem.
Red Bull EmSee, a less street chump invitation-only affair, builds upon the traditional head-to-head battle by flashing random images and key words on the plasmas above. Each MC has to then spit that lick somewhere in their flow for it to count in that round of 3. “In these freestyle competitions, it is much more like an out of body performance than me in control of the performance,” So says Dirtbag Dan.
In the end, 8 men enter, one MC leaves.
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