I consider Akrbatik's Balance album to be one of the best indie hip-hop albums ever --- solid from beginning to end. We were really proud to be part of that project (even did the cover art). "Remind My Soul" was the standout single from this record (did that cover too) --- sonically and topically just a really powerful song.
Here is another clip from the 1999 Superbowl Battle. We had so many emcees in this battle that we did the first round head-to-head-to-head. It was an interesting idea, but didn't work that well as we had to eliminate emcees early on that probably deserved to move ahead. It also turned into more of a freestyle competition in that first round, and less of a face to face battle. This clip is a YOUNG (younger than he looks by a long shot) Virtuoso, Big O (very underrated emcee) and Alius (who walked in off the street for this one, and went on to win the battle two years later).
Let me just say how much Mr. Lif DID NOT want to do this shit. Have you ever met an emcee less interested in battling than Lif?? Let me also say that Lif and Reks are two of the best freestylers I have ever heard ... both can rhyme for hours at a stretch.
I have a ton of photos and video and such from the six battles we did here in Boston, and will post some of that stuff as and when I find it, or have the time to digitize some video. We loved doing the battle every year, it was always the best show we did I think. Running a battle is an intense experience; things move really quickly, and I'm proud that with few exceptions these shows went off without any real problems.
The last one we did at Avalon in Boston (and I promise some video in the near future on this) was a mixed bag for us. We had 2,000 people in the building and KRS-One as host and guest performer; it should have have been the crown jewel of all the battles, but we made some odd choices in terms of our sponsors, and how that would impact the kind of crowd we brought in. We partnered with JAM'N 94.5 on the event, the local commercial hip-hop/R&B station. They gave us massive media exposure for the event, and I really appreciate their partnership, but it brought in a more mainstream audience that didn't quite get into the indie battle MC's we brought in from around the country. These were dudes who were killing it at Skribble and other regional battles, but they didn't appeal to an audience that was just looking for punch-lines. I will say though, that KRS performing from the middle of the crowd was one of the better live performances I have ever seen, and that is saying something.
Also, it's worth noting that the original battle was a spin-off from an ongoing event series we were doing with Rocky LaMontagne called "All That! Hip-Hop, Poetry & Jazz." He was an important part of these events. We sort of fell out at the end, but this wouldn't have happened at all without the inspiration from his event in NY and his ability to bring fresh talent into Boston every month.
Here is the flyer I just found for the 2nd Annual Superbowl MC Battle in 2000 at The Middle East, I'll get some photos and video up here soon.
And here is a clip from the first one, which went down at the Western Front
And here is another clip from 2003. Dos Noun got Bomshot pretty good in this one, but the judges voted Bom to move ahead. Somehow Bom ended up getting into almost every battle we did ... he'd have dudes stuffing the ballot box, whatever. Lol.
I'm pretty sure this was shot during set-up at The Western Front for the first Superbowl MC Battle in 1999.
I know some of the artists had mixed feeling about participating, but you'll NEVER see a battle line-up like that again. Mr. Lif, Esoteric, Akrobatik, Sage, Virtuoso etc etc.
I have a stack of photos from this event somewhere ... better than the one of me above (who am I kidding anyway?).
MetroConcepts started as a loosely-formed DJ crew in 1996, and went on to become one of the preeminent guerilla/street marketing and urban event companies in the country between 1996-2006. This blog is an opportunity to look back and share some of the stories of an upstart company, and what was the golden era of indie hip-hop.
If you were around back then, and you have goodies, throw them our way and we'll post here.
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