Eric Beasley has been in the battle rap game longer than most. BattleRap.com correspondent The Deadman caught up with the URL boss at the HipHopDX office in Los Angeles after "Traffic," the league's first major West Coast event.
In the interview, Beasley reflects on the success of the New York based league and its impact on modern day battle rap, recollecting the days of when the company was in its infancy in the DVD era.
“The older SMACK DVD battles ... the guys were prepared for those battles, but that was a time period when you had to be backed up with rhymes,” Beasley says.
In the early days of the N.Y. street battle scene, emcees always needed rounds prepared in case a battle went down spontaneously. With battle rap becoming more organized and business oriented, emcees now have more time to plan and execute a strategy that is geared towards a specific opponent.
“In this era [battles] are a little more personalized and it's a deeper level of preparation. You can’t slip for one second. It's a little more theatrical in terms of body language,” Beasley said.
With the increase of prestige in battle rap and the rise of technology, new forms of marketing have been implemented to further showcase the lyrical sport. One of those methods is the live pay-per-view. Several platforms have used the tool to varying amounts of success, and URL did a "trial run" in May for NOME 5 that was heavily bootlegged.
“I’m not saying that I wouldn’t try it again but I just feel like it has its drawbacks. The pros are money, the cons are energy. Streaming kills your energy because there's no real way to control your content and once it's out, it's out. People get it in one night and then they’re just over it. It doesn’t have as much as a cultural event. What makes battles legendary is when you hear about them,” Beasley said.
Beasley also teases the league's upcoming "Summer Madness 5" event, confirming that it'll go down Saturday, Sept. 26.
“It's gonna be exciting. We got some dope matches, a couple of surprises, some people that you probably wouldn’t think would be on SM5, they’re gonna be on the card,” said Beasley.
Tickets are on sale now. Details here.
Cover photo by Michael Marshall.
Which match-ups do you want to see on SM5? Let us know in the comments below.
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