Definition Of A Top Tier Battler - Lets Beef

**Joe MuGGz** · #1 10-10-2013, 10:16 AM

Not mine.. just found it.. enjoy

Definition Of A Top Tier

So there’s three terms that are overly used in todays battle culture: Body bag, Classic and Top Tier. I feel the majority of the time, these phrases are used way too often and definitely when they shouldn‘t be. I recently wrote my opinion of what I felt a classic battle is. (Refer to my last blog Definition Of A Classic if you haven’t done so already). Now as I said in my last blog, I’ve never claimed to be a battle rap guru, or the end all be all in battle rap discussion. But I have been a avid, loyal and all around huge fan of the battle rap culture ever since I was little. With that, I have my thoughts and opinions when it comes to the sport, from a point of view some people my not be looking from, so I choose to voice it. I‘ve already broken down one of these terms, so now, let‘s get into what makes a battle rapper top tier….

So there’s some people out there that feel the term “Top Tier” is nothing more then a word used for battlers to get out of getting in the ring with someone that could potentially beat them. But I feel the label Top Tier is warranted and needed in battle rap. Quick question, how many of you know who Keith Thurman is? He’s a real good boxer with the record of 19-0 with 18 KO’s. That’s a great record. Now, do we wanna see him face Floyd Mayweather? HELL NO. Mayweather has faced over 40 opponents and a lot of them have been some of the biggest names in the sport ever and he remains undefeated. What Thurman has been doing is good, real good, but he hasn't faced anyone to the caliber Mayweather has. So when we look at what Keith Thurman has done it's impressive no doubt, but it's almost nothing compared to what Mayweather has done. Thurman hasn't put in half the work or overcame any where near the same obstacles Mayweather has, so why does he DESERVE a shot. (Along with the fact most of you probably didn't even know who he was until I told you). I think this is the perfect correlation between Top Tier battlers and everyone else. But let’s get more specific…

To Be A Top Tier Is To Beat One: I’ve always had a personal theory that to be a Top Tier, you have to beat one or have a classic battle with one. Let me give you an example. Let's look at O-Red. People have just recently started giving him his just due and calling him top tier after his two clear victories over T-Rex And Yung Ill. I've always been a fan of O-Red but didn't think he was a top tier until after his battle with Calicoe. And since then let's look at some of his opponents. X-Factor, T-Rex, Yung Ill, all Top Tier battlers. But we can't over look the road O-Red took before facing Cal. People don't seem to realize he battled on Smack 4 times and had countless battles on Block City TV. One of the Smack battles was against Swave Sevah in which he clearly lost. Swave is a battler that is very talented. And I think he can beat alot of the top tier battlers doin it now. But he isn't considered a top tier yet even though he beat O-Red. I think that's because of this exact reason. O-Red has gone on to battle beat, or have debatable battles with some of the best and Swave has yet to get that clear win over a Top Tier. Another example is Calicoe. Calicoe has been one of my favorites since he first stepped on the URL stage in 2009 and has had a lot of great performances since. But he wasn't considered a Top Tier until he beat Math at Summer Madness in 2011. After, he was called out by a lot of people like Cortez and Goodz, battlers like that are highly respected in the culture and considered Top Tier. That win then led him to be able to battle with a legend like Loaded Lux.

Note: Math Hoffa was the first battle rap vet to give a newer battler (Calicoe) a real shot on a huge stage in battle rap when he didn’t have to at all. He doesn‘t get enough credit for that. Salute that man.

Resume: Probably one of the biggest (if not the biggest) reason a top tier is a top tier. Who have you beat or faced to make YOU a threat? You can have 50 battles under your belt, but if their scrubs that no one cares to see again, who cares.If your good battling someone decent, your SUPPOSED to win. There are a lot of battlers that have good talent. But the question is, can you still look good against someone great. Then continue to do it battle after battle.

Following: Today’s top battlers have tens of thousands of fans on Twitter. But that’s not the big picture. The bigger following you have means the more in demand you are. The more fans that will at the CEOs of the battle leagues on Twitter requesting match ups with you in them. People wanna see you in the ring more then the next person, and it’s not for no reason. It also means more tickets will be sold for that card when your names on it.

Skills: Obviously, you gotta be nice with performance, presence, angles and most importantly BARS. But this goes without saying.

Signature Style: You gotta stand out. Having your own style has a lot to do with presence and performance. You can’t sound like anyone else doin it. If you have the same style and sound as someone else and your not the best at it, you’ll always be overshadowed. And top tiers always stand out.

Record: So since there are no judges in battle rap this topic is tough to call, but it’s necessary. Wins are important (very important don’t get me wrong) but having a debatable battle is good too. The only thing that will keep you from being a top tier is losses. Like I said, the goal is definitely to get a win. And the fans love good debatable battles. Nobody wins em all, everyone has takin a L here and there. But no one wants to battle or see a battler that’s rackin up clear losses battle after battle after battle.

Views: Now alotta people (specifically battle rappers who don’t get a lot of views and their fans) feel this category is bullshit. But let’s look at the facts. Mook Vs Solomon wasn’t a great battle, but we all know their top tiers. That explains why regardless of how that battle came out it hit a million views in a very short time period. Battles like Dizaster Vs DNA, Arsonal Vs T-Rex, Aye Verb Vs Hitman Holla all hit the million view mark quickly as well. There all dope battles, but the names carry a lot of weight that contributes to the views. Which explains why a battle as great as B-Magic Vs Real Deal is currently only at 367,717 views.

Personality: This honestly isn't a necessary attribute to being top tier. But I think it's something that damn near all Top Tier battlers have. The fans wanna get to know the battlers outside the ring as well. The blogs, interviews, music etc go a long way with the fans. We wanna get to know who you are. It helps you stand out.

I know alot of us sometimes say "Fuck that if they call you out battle! Do it for the love of the sport! Fuck status if you nice and they nice battle!" I understand that. Regardless of rank, if two battlers are nice it could be a great battle, maybe a classic. And it was that way in the past. It's why besides Jae Millz and Loaded Lux, Mook battled Weezy. Besides Jin and Mook, Serius Jones battled Moonface. Besides Young Miles and Un Kasa, Rex battled NH. But the battle culture has changed dramatically now. There's politics involved, and numbers mean a lot on all sides. But the point is, from Math to Arsonal to Tsu Surf to Aye Verb to Dizaster, none of them became Top Tiers overnight. Keep grindin, making the right moves, but most importantly keep stepping your bars up and stay on your A game. Newer guys will move up to top tiers and some who've been battlin a minute and are long overdue to be considered one will eventually get their just due. But with what seems like millions of people battling now and days, most will be good or average at best. It's just how the game go.

Here's a list of just some battles I think would be dope with a Top Tier battler giving someone a shot:
Conceited Vs B-Magic
Charlie Clips Vs Chilla Jones
Aye Verb Vs Lotta Zay
Arsonal Vs QP
Calicoe Vs Rosenburg Raww

**Joe MuGGz** · 10-10-2013, 10:16 AM

Not mine.. just found it.. enjoy

Definition Of A Top Tier

So there’s three terms that are overly used in todays battle culture: Body bag, Classic and Top Tier. I feel the majority of the time, these phrases are used way too often and definitely when they shouldn‘t be. I recently wrote my opinion of what I felt a classic battle is. (Refer to my last blog Definition Of A Classic if you haven’t done so already). Now as I said in my last blog, I’ve never claimed to be a battle rap guru, or the end all be all in battle rap discussion. But I have been a avid, loyal and all around huge fan of the battle rap culture ever since I was little. With that, I have my thoughts and opinions when it comes to the sport, from a point of view some people my not be looking from, so I choose to voice it. I‘ve already broken down one of these terms, so now, let‘s get into what makes a battle rapper top tier….

So there’s some people out there that feel the term “Top Tier” is nothing more then a word used for battlers to get out of getting in the ring with someone that could potentially beat them. But I feel the label Top Tier is warranted and needed in battle rap. Quick question, how many of you know who Keith Thurman is? He’s a real good boxer with the record of 19-0 with 18 KO’s. That’s a great record. Now, do we wanna see him face Floyd Mayweather? HELL NO. Mayweather has faced over 40 opponents and a lot of them have been some of the biggest names in the sport ever and he remains undefeated. What Thurman has been doing is good, real good, but he hasn't faced anyone to the caliber Mayweather has. So when we look at what Keith Thurman has done it's impressive no doubt, but it's almost nothing compared to what Mayweather has done. Thurman hasn't put in half the work or overcame any where near the same obstacles Mayweather has, so why does he DESERVE a shot. (Along with the fact most of you probably didn't even know who he was until I told you). I think this is the perfect correlation between Top Tier battlers and everyone else. But let’s get more specific…

To Be A Top Tier Is To Beat One: I’ve always had a personal theory that to be a Top Tier, you have to beat one or have a classic battle with one. Let me give you an example. Let's look at O-Red. People have just recently started giving him his just due and calling him top tier after his two clear victories over T-Rex And Yung Ill. I've always been a fan of O-Red but didn't think he was a top tier until after his battle with Calicoe. And since then let's look at some of his opponents. X-Factor, T-Rex, Yung Ill, all Top Tier battlers. But we can't over look the road O-Red took before facing Cal. People don't seem to realize he battled on Smack 4 times and had countless battles on Block City TV. One of the Smack battles was against Swave Sevah in which he clearly lost. Swave is a battler that is very talented. And I think he can beat alot of the top tier battlers doin it now. But he isn't considered a top tier yet even though he beat O-Red. I think that's because of this exact reason. O-Red has gone on to battle beat, or have debatable battles with some of the best and Swave has yet to get that clear win over a Top Tier. Another example is Calicoe. Calicoe has been one of my favorites since he first stepped on the URL stage in 2009 and has had a lot of great performances since. But he wasn't considered a Top Tier until he beat Math at Summer Madness in 2011. After, he was called out by a lot of people like Cortez and Goodz, battlers like that are highly respected in the culture and considered Top Tier. That win then led him to be able to battle with a legend like Loaded Lux.

Note: Math Hoffa was the first battle rap vet to give a newer battler (Calicoe) a real shot on a huge stage in battle rap when he didn’t have to at all. He doesn‘t get enough credit for that. Salute that man.

Resume: Probably one of the biggest (if not the biggest) reason a top tier is a top tier. Who have you beat or faced to make YOU a threat? You can have 50 battles under your belt, but if their scrubs that no one cares to see again, who cares.If your good battling someone decent, your SUPPOSED to win. There are a lot of battlers that have good talent. But the question is, can you still look good against someone great. Then continue to do it battle after battle.

Following: Today’s top battlers have tens of thousands of fans on Twitter. But that’s not the big picture. The bigger following you have means the more in demand you are. The more fans that will at the CEOs of the battle leagues on Twitter requesting match ups with you in them. People wanna see you in the ring more then the next person, and it’s not for no reason. It also means more tickets will be sold for that card when your names on it.

Skills: Obviously, you gotta be nice with performance, presence, angles and most importantly BARS. But this goes without saying.

Signature Style: You gotta stand out. Having your own style has a lot to do with presence and performance. You can’t sound like anyone else doin it. If you have the same style and sound as someone else and your not the best at it, you’ll always be overshadowed. And top tiers always stand out.

Record: So since there are no judges in battle rap this topic is tough to call, but it’s necessary. Wins are important (very important don’t get me wrong) but having a debatable battle is good too. The only thing that will keep you from being a top tier is losses. Like I said, the goal is definitely to get a win. And the fans love good debatable battles. Nobody wins em all, everyone has takin a L here and there. But no one wants to battle or see a battler that’s rackin up clear losses battle after battle after battle.

Views: Now alotta people (specifically battle rappers who don’t get a lot of views and their fans) feel this category is bullshit. But let’s look at the facts. Mook Vs Solomon wasn’t a great battle, but we all know their top tiers. That explains why regardless of how that battle came out it hit a million views in a very short time period. Battles like Dizaster Vs DNA, Arsonal Vs T-Rex, Aye Verb Vs Hitman Holla all hit the million view mark quickly as well. There all dope battles, but the names carry a lot of weight that contributes to the views. Which explains why a battle as great as B-Magic Vs Real Deal is currently only at 367,717 views.

Personality: This honestly isn't a necessary attribute to being top tier. But I think it's something that damn near all Top Tier battlers have. The fans wanna get to know the battlers outside the ring as well. The blogs, interviews, music etc go a long way with the fans. We wanna get to know who you are. It helps you stand out.

I know alot of us sometimes say "Fuck that if they call you out battle! Do it for the love of the sport! Fuck status if you nice and they nice battle!" I understand that. Regardless of rank, if two battlers are nice it could be a great battle, maybe a classic. And it was that way in the past. It's why besides Jae Millz and Loaded Lux, Mook battled Weezy. Besides Jin and Mook, Serius Jones battled Moonface. Besides Young Miles and Un Kasa, Rex battled NH. But the battle culture has changed dramatically now. There's politics involved, and numbers mean a lot on all sides. But the point is, from Math to Arsonal to Tsu Surf to Aye Verb to Dizaster, none of them became Top Tiers overnight. Keep grindin, making the right moves, but most importantly keep stepping your bars up and stay on your A game. Newer guys will move up to top tiers and some who've been battlin a minute and are long overdue to be considered one will eventually get their just due. But with what seems like millions of people battling now and days, most will be good or average at best. It's just how the game go.

Here's a list of just some battles I think would be dope with a Top Tier battler giving someone a shot:
Conceited Vs B-Magic
Charlie Clips Vs Chilla Jones
Aye Verb Vs Lotta Zay
Arsonal Vs QP
Calicoe Vs Rosenburg Raww

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