Maybe you've seen the movie 8 Mile? Good. The you realize Eminem rose to prominence in the Detroit hip-hop scene not because of his white skin but because of his fearsome skills while performing freestyle rap battles. Eminem and the Slaughterhouse crew (the group associated with his Shady Records) are looking to make rap battles a premier television event with the Total Slaughter rap battle "league." The event will feature multiple scheduled battles onstage, similar to many boxing events.
"What we look at this opportunity as, is a way to do for battle rapping what UFC did for MMA," said Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's manager. "That's really the model we're basing it on. It's this great thing that a lot of people love, but it's very splintered, and it's very niche, and it's not really brought into the right production levels that it can or should be."
Battle rap has reached niche markets in the past, with hardcore fans being able to cite legendary battles from decades ago. One of those iconic "fights" frequently referenced will be revisited at Total Slaughter: Loaded Lux verses Murda Mook. The pair dueled during a 2003 showing from the Smack/UBL series and fans still debate who won.
"Once the Internet started making it surge, Mook and Lux is probably the highest viewed battle from that time," said Royce Da 5'9", a Slaughterhouse member and partners with Eminem for Bad Meets Evil. "And to this day it's still up in the air. Back then, there were no judges. They went five or six rounds and there was no general consensus as to who won that battle. And those guys went on from there and basically wiped everybody out. Mayweather and Pacquiao. That's essentially what they are to battle rap."
One rapper who won't be taking part: Eminem. No one doubts that Shady has what it takes to battle, but he's sitting this round out. If Total Slaughter gains a lot of attention, you can expect someone in the rap world to call him on it...Total Slaughter 2 might be the big event to look out for.
Total Slaughter will go down at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
