“If y’all turkeys want beef, cool I’m not into bacon/your careers are going slow like midgets racin’.” This tounge-lashing of New York MC Half Past 7 was delivered by Roxbury’s own Sir Locksley this past weekend at the newly opened Grindtime Now chapter in New England.
For those unfamiliar with Grindtime Now, (those of you who don’t care for hip-hop?) it is a international battle rap league with chapters in Canada and the US, with American chapters divided among the East, West, South, and Midwest. Beyond these simple divisions there are more regional ones like the Northwest, Southeast, and most recently, the New England division.
Grindtime Now was started by the CEO and president Drect in Orlando, FL in 2008. According to Drect in his own video blog he “took [his] last thousand dollars and invested it in a professional camera.” From there he and his partner, Mad Illz, began to match up the best battle rappers from the surrounding area and film the lyrical onslaught that ensued.
The videos became viral and news of the underground league spread throughout the hip-hop world, and soon Lush One started the West Coast chapter. The West Coast division has provided such rap battle stalwarts as Soul Khan, Dirtbag Dan, TheSaurus, and the group Machina Muerte. Following the success of the West Coast franchise the other chapters soon began to grow and develop; the newest chapter being New England.
What makes Grindtime work so effectively is its highly inclusive policy of being, as Drect says, “for the people and by the people.” This simple ethos was reflected this past weekend at the Roxbury Center for the Arts in Dudley Square as the only marker of the battle was an 8X11 sheet posted on the front door saying “Grindtime Now Inside – 3rd Floor.” Once inside it was evident that while mainstream hip hop may be dead, it is not the case in the underground, and certainly not in Boston.
The cacophonous boom of DJ Leanski’s tables banging out golden age classics like O.C.’s “Time’s Up”, Mobb Deep’s “Give Up The Goods”, and Nas’s “Halftime” paired with the commanding voice of host, and Roxbury’s own, Ed OG assured everyone in the audience that the battle would be one to remember. Like all Grindtime battles, and all battles for that matter, the MCs not only represented themselves but their home, and in this case it was a classic match-up, NY vs. Boston.
The first round was a unanimous victory for NY’s GL as he delivered lines like “you’re not winnin’/ the only thing poppin’ off is condoms when you jack off in ‘em.” The next round was more heated but in the end Boston took it with 40 Barz, a voluptuous Nicki Minaj look-a-like, embarrassing NY’s Spade saying “maybe we can slip to your car/I know you’re under 21 so I’ll get you some drinks at the bar.” In the end, though the battles were mostly evenly matched, the night went to Boston. More important than the win though was the fact that there is now a Grindtime Now battle franchise here in Boston. More and more battles will happen soon and will give any Boston based rapper with enough skill and confidence the chance to enter a national stage and be seen on a worldwide level.
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