Eminem first rose to prominence thanks to his skills as a battle rapper and now the emcee plus his label Shady Records are looking to push battle rap as the next big thing. The label booked New York's Hammerstein Ballroom for "Total Slaughter," one of the biggest events in the history of the competitive form, and even offered the event as a pay-per-view program. Prominent hip-hop DJ Sway Calloway hosted, and Poison Pen, Kid Capri and Drect served as judges. So here's the results:
Joe Budden's matchup against Hollow Da Don was billed as the biggest bout of the night, largely because the former is a name familiar to regular hip-hop listeners and battle rap fans alike. HipHopDX reported that the round was riddled with equipment malfunctions but at the end of final round, Hollow was proclaimed the victor. Budden took the loss in stride, a rarity among rappers of all levels.
"The judges said I lost," he tweeted. "I thought I 2-1'd him, but either way it was a great night!! Congrats to @HollowDaDonLOM!"
Other competitions weren't so full of gentlemanly attitudes. The match between Loaded Lux and Murda Mook was built up by hardcore fans of battle rap who hailed it as a rematch of one of the "greatest battles of all time." Mook used politics to his advantage, referencing a diss track that Lux had released about Busta Rhymes, who was present for the festivities. Lux and Rhymes were seen jawing at each other in between rounds. The moment might have thrown Lux off his game, and the judges announced Mook as the winner as a result.
The most disappointing battle of the night had to be T-Rex versus Daylyt. The latter rapper showed up dressed as Spawn and removed clothes throughout the matchup until he was just wearing underwear, and often forgot to rap in the process. Fans booed and T-Rex took home an easy win.
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