FRIDAY NITE IN CULVER CITY WITH GUEST JUDGE FILMMAKER BOB BRYAN
16 BAR BOUT # 10
Hosted by Wo'se Kofi & Jimmy Skee
I was invited to be a judge at the 16 BAR BOUT # 10 by Wo'se and Jimmy Skee, co-producers and hosts of the event.
Having never judged an competition like this before I decided to do my due-diligence . I took my role very seriously, so I watched the you tube videos of each of the previous 1-8 bouts to acquaint myself to as much of the territory as I could absorb. The fact was that I was never provided with any ground rules for the event, I was going in cold! Nevertheless I was game...
"Rules and models destroy Genius and Art"
---William Hazlitt, English Writer
"There were no losers here but this is live so if you screw up and forget your lyrics just "pick it up" and freestyle something else. "Deal with it." Just don't drop the ball and stand there and apologize. This HH (Hip-Hop), we don't stop!"---declared, Judge #1 (Ellay Khule), admonishing the Emcees
JUDGES
Ellay Khule
DJango
Bob Bryan
The reality was that battle-worn Vets this evening were are competing with newbie's and on any given nite anyone can rise. On this verbal combat battlefield anyone can be prey, and everyone is a potential mortal enemy, competitively speaking.
What an amazing and uniquely exhilarating experience it turned out to be!
THE EMCEE COMPETITORS
Emanuel English
Be Brave
Maku
MC 360
Larz Truman
Suburban Truth (Runner -Up)
Eli
Asad Ill (Winner)
Iwari
Garrett Brown (Noah the Monster)
Raw Dre (2nd Runner-up)
Devi Wonder
Traditionally, Hip-Hop Emcee Battles are more than intense or complicated. It's downright democratic in an insipid revolutionary kinda-sorta way. Lemme explain...
In my minds-eye and experience whenever human beings come together to communicate, whether via HH (Hip-Hop) battles or just simple differences of opinion which erupt in casual-face-to-face conversations, individuals' education, world view, personal experiences and attitudes all come to play in the pregnant dynamic moment.
The genius of HH (Hip-Hop) is that the battlefield is really of the mind. Twisted, pernicious ideas are thrown around like candy by the emcees. Some of the ideas you may like and some will just completely turn you off. However, some ideas however are supremely esoteric and others more faux confrontational, imbued with hyper-ghettoizms and implied verbal intimidations.
Yet, if you're a convo freak like me, there is a downright tactile and real joy in witnessing this battle for it's inherent organic performance value.
Structurally, there are presentation rounds (every MC introduced themselves spitting a 16 Bar piece), elimination rounds (4 emcees were eliminated each round) and ultimately head-to-head rounds. The winner was (in the real world) decided by the judges. That's as basic as it got.
Along the way, Rules got amended, judgements are thrown out like appeals to the Supreme Court.
Established battle laws and rules were summarily overturned by the mob; leaving audience members both unhappy or conversely happy with the new rulings. The over zealous force of "people power" ultimately determined the winner and/or who moved up in the competition. All this movement progressed even in the face of the established written voting record by the judges. Confused? welcome to my world dude?
Tonight, I experienced revolution and I had a front row seat. I found myself angry and elated at the results. As a judge, at the time of the overthrow I felt both spurned, dissed and powerless.
Yet, everyone else seemed to be having a great time; so what did I know?
This 16 Bar Bout was much more than hustle and flow and certainly this wasn't 8 Miles to perfection. It finally dawned upon me that this ritual was not abt lil ole' me, at all!
Listen yall HH is a living, peaceful revolution and "the people" oftentimes speak louder than any preconceived concept of order basically establishing a new order out of perceived disorder.
Tonight, the light was thrown on the people and ultimately the people won the day. If I ever get a chance to judge another 16 Bar Bout again. I will double down on my appreciation of what being a mere judge really means.
Preciously, I came to the bout taking my responsibilities and my "absolute power" so seriously and soon rediscovered the joys of "people power." It's actually kinda refreshing that a jury of your peers concept hasn't been lost, irregardless of the application. A refreshing experience in HH democracy. It was glorious, Order-in-Chaos. It's all love.
Everyone should experience being a HH battle judge just once in their lives. Forget abt American Idol, this was raw, fresh and literally off-the-chain. We're talking about civilized mob rule, ideas flowing,
multi-racial challenges to your psyche...a realignment of power.
There were moments tonight when the audience seated right behind me (I could literally feel the heat of their passion) erupted with spontaneous excitement and approval at the judges decisions "Good job Judges." I felt empowered. Short lived....
But at other times, when they disagreed with you and one of their house favorite emcee were eliminated, the house would erupt with palpable anger, confusion and spectacular emotive disagreement. "Ah man, no way, that's wack, boo boo, that's bullshit!"
Now this being my first time as a judge I assumed the judges decisions were final and would stand, irregardless of where the audience stood.... BUT I was soooo wrong!
During the exploding elimination process (4 emcees were dismissed for low scores) we actually had a dissenting fellow judge (there were three of us) stand up and wade into the maddening crowd, agreeing with them, practically becoming an instigator and inciting them, preaching "Yall are right I totally agree with you. The other two judges are wrong." What? was my reaction.
In effect this judge was urging on the revolution! As a result of this insurrection, decisions were flipped and thrown out, redo's were demanded, assumed rules of engagement were discarded and re-written on the spot. Chaos seemed eminent. Damn!
Paradoxically, while these "waves of change" lit up the spot, I never for a moment felt intimidated, or in fear of my life or frankly scared. What I was experiencing as a newbie judge was simply put mystifying.
I was amazed as how an experienced judge (I was the only newbie) could leave the judges bench (actually couch) and become the leader of the revolution. "You can't do that man! You can't reveal your thoughts to the mob? U a judge!"--I exclaimed.
But in the end I was wrong...this was not AI, this was not a normal democracy, but rather a hybrid of mob rule and symbolic representative democracy at work.
HH battles demanded flexibility and also demanded that the politics of cru, fan-based affiliation and the emotional sensibilities of the crowd be respected. Logic be damned!
If the crowd felt so moved, by say, an elimination of their fav, they were not going to be silent, not this silent majority! They were not going to have it! Throw the damn tea in the pond!
They, the masses were not going to sit passively by and let this injustice occur. They would petition the powers that be (the producers) to stop the proceedings and not allow this injustice to exist or move forward.
In this specific case, the mob being led by a rogue judge only emboldened, encouraged the changing of the rules and eventually the re-dos. The head-to-head battles were reconstituted, reconstructed and previously eliminated candidates were gifted with other chance to battle and see another day.
That fact that I strongly disagreed didn't matter at all...this was HH and I was simply one man, one minority supreme court justice. I learned my lesson the hard way....that these experienced audiences had the power! I was symbolic, not omnipotent. Powerful lesson to learn, ego be damned.
Throughout the evolving process, I remained staunch and resolute in my opinions, even when my opinion was contrary to the other judges or even the evocative crowd. I didn't care, I was not going to be intimidated by anyone. In the end of the day, I witnessed the evolution of a process and the coronation of the "peoples king."
Objectively speaking, by any rubric, the winners, near winners, runner-ups and the eliminated were supremely talented Emcees. In any cipher they would have killed the competition. My decisions were hardly easy to come to.
It was a real honor to be part of this process.
As I was leaving the venue the penultimate celebrations broke out after the final winner was crowned. I could still hear the reverberations of that celebration ringing in my ears. It was joyousness.
I walked to my car feeling like I was ampted up on a dozen cups of caffeine, my blood was afire and my head was as vivid and as sharp as it's ever been. So excited!
In the car, I couldn't help but pull out this yellow pad and put pen-to- paper. Driving down Washington Blvd, in the hood, after midnight, on a rainy night, scribbling insights onto paper. Traffic buzzing past my slowly creeping car...
Who am I kidding? These notes demanded my full attention, so I obediently pulled over and let my pen do the talking and THIS is just part of what emerged.
CUT TO:
Previously locked up in my man-cave... editing, writing, self-directing temp tracks for my new doc "MYTH, MAGIC AND RITUALS" kept me in a self-imposed isolation, an internal process where I patiently grow a rangy "Duck Dynasty" type of beard, resist taking showers for days on end.
Fearing to step away from the editing, for fear of losing my mojo, fearing to miss a single moment of inspiration. Abstention from the world seemed to be the proper attitude to have.
But this "16 Bar Bout Competition thang" was an opportunity I just couldn't resist. "I can actually get out of the house."
Nothing however, prepared me for this passionate Friday Nite experience.
People keep in mind that HH is a living breathing organism...driven by love and emotion. Driven by multi-ethic emcees committed to creativity and the demolition and acknowledgement of inner demons, attacking them with a verve that demanded that they speak truth-to- power, regardless of where it takes them. PC be damned!
When they get it right, it takes us way beyond the tender atmosphere of planet earth, way beyond current time and space, deliciously exploring one's DNA, the historical tribal imaginings and dreams of our fathers.
To timid outsiders "the battle" may look confrontational and almost threatening. But "truth-be-told" the battle is dynamically in-your-face competitive and real. After all, this is for the throne and the exorcistic tribal pride demands complete unmitigated commitment.
The Emcees words and performances reflect the dramatic realities lived by self, their predecessors and the community. Call them possessed griots, speakers on behalf of the community.
So hypnotic were the performers that spit so loudly, so passionately the microphone itself was irrelevant and discarded early on.
The MC's with their "mad gaze" (as Poet Wanda Coleman would say) were within spitting distance to my face. I could feel the heat of their sweat. Inches from the epic-center of their frustrations and imaginations.
This experience was so smart, so dynamically real- so necessary. I intuitively understand the reasons why HH will never die.
This ritual has been going on since the dawn of time, procreated and loved. I celebrate the "16 Bar Bout "and now understand more of what it truly represents.
Obviously, what I'm talking abt here is more than competition.
It is a primal tribal ritual where only the most passionate and intelligent performers can expect to win and the winner is indeed "the best of the best" on any given night.
No colors, no cru's, no violence, no BS. The Truth won out.
I was schooled at the feet of the people. The culture can be whatever they want it to be. Now that's evolution!!!
Kudos Wo'se and Jimmy Skee for hosting a magnificent and impressive event. Respect!
16 BAR BOUT # 10
Hosted by Wo'se Kofi & Jimmy Skee
I was invited to be a judge at the 16 BAR BOUT # 10 by Wo'se and Jimmy Skee, co-producers and hosts of the event.
Having never judged an competition like this before I decided to do my due-diligence . I took my role very seriously, so I watched the you tube videos of each of the previous 1-8 bouts to acquaint myself to as much of the territory as I could absorb. The fact was that I was never provided with any ground rules for the event, I was going in cold! Nevertheless I was game...
"Rules and models destroy Genius and Art"
---William Hazlitt, English Writer
"There were no losers here but this is live so if you screw up and forget your lyrics just "pick it up" and freestyle something else. "Deal with it." Just don't drop the ball and stand there and apologize. This HH (Hip-Hop), we don't stop!"---declared, Judge #1 (Ellay Khule), admonishing the Emcees
JUDGES
Ellay Khule
DJango
Bob Bryan
The reality was that battle-worn Vets this evening were are competing with newbie's and on any given nite anyone can rise. On this verbal combat battlefield anyone can be prey, and everyone is a potential mortal enemy, competitively speaking.
What an amazing and uniquely exhilarating experience it turned out to be!
THE EMCEE COMPETITORS
Emanuel English
Be Brave
Maku
MC 360
Larz Truman
Suburban Truth (Runner -Up)
Eli
Asad Ill (Winner)
Iwari
Garrett Brown (Noah the Monster)
Raw Dre (2nd Runner-up)
Devi Wonder
Traditionally, Hip-Hop Emcee Battles are more than intense or complicated. It's downright democratic in an insipid revolutionary kinda-sorta way. Lemme explain...
In my minds-eye and experience whenever human beings come together to communicate, whether via HH (Hip-Hop) battles or just simple differences of opinion which erupt in casual-face-to-face conversations, individuals' education, world view, personal experiences and attitudes all come to play in the pregnant dynamic moment.
The genius of HH (Hip-Hop) is that the battlefield is really of the mind. Twisted, pernicious ideas are thrown around like candy by the emcees. Some of the ideas you may like and some will just completely turn you off. However, some ideas however are supremely esoteric and others more faux confrontational, imbued with hyper-ghettoizms and implied verbal intimidations.
Yet, if you're a convo freak like me, there is a downright tactile and real joy in witnessing this battle for it's inherent organic performance value.
Structurally, there are presentation rounds (every MC introduced themselves spitting a 16 Bar piece), elimination rounds (4 emcees were eliminated each round) and ultimately head-to-head rounds. The winner was (in the real world) decided by the judges. That's as basic as it got.
Along the way, Rules got amended, judgements are thrown out like appeals to the Supreme Court.
Established battle laws and rules were summarily overturned by the mob; leaving audience members both unhappy or conversely happy with the new rulings. The over zealous force of "people power" ultimately determined the winner and/or who moved up in the competition. All this movement progressed even in the face of the established written voting record by the judges. Confused? welcome to my world dude?
Tonight, I experienced revolution and I had a front row seat. I found myself angry and elated at the results. As a judge, at the time of the overthrow I felt both spurned, dissed and powerless.
Yet, everyone else seemed to be having a great time; so what did I know?
This 16 Bar Bout was much more than hustle and flow and certainly this wasn't 8 Miles to perfection. It finally dawned upon me that this ritual was not abt lil ole' me, at all!
Listen yall HH is a living, peaceful revolution and "the people" oftentimes speak louder than any preconceived concept of order basically establishing a new order out of perceived disorder.
Tonight, the light was thrown on the people and ultimately the people won the day. If I ever get a chance to judge another 16 Bar Bout again. I will double down on my appreciation of what being a mere judge really means.
Preciously, I came to the bout taking my responsibilities and my "absolute power" so seriously and soon rediscovered the joys of "people power." It's actually kinda refreshing that a jury of your peers concept hasn't been lost, irregardless of the application. A refreshing experience in HH democracy. It was glorious, Order-in-Chaos. It's all love.
Everyone should experience being a HH battle judge just once in their lives. Forget abt American Idol, this was raw, fresh and literally off-the-chain. We're talking about civilized mob rule, ideas flowing,
multi-racial challenges to your psyche...a realignment of power.
There were moments tonight when the audience seated right behind me (I could literally feel the heat of their passion) erupted with spontaneous excitement and approval at the judges decisions "Good job Judges." I felt empowered. Short lived....
But at other times, when they disagreed with you and one of their house favorite emcee were eliminated, the house would erupt with palpable anger, confusion and spectacular emotive disagreement. "Ah man, no way, that's wack, boo boo, that's bullshit!"
Now this being my first time as a judge I assumed the judges decisions were final and would stand, irregardless of where the audience stood.... BUT I was soooo wrong!
During the exploding elimination process (4 emcees were dismissed for low scores) we actually had a dissenting fellow judge (there were three of us) stand up and wade into the maddening crowd, agreeing with them, practically becoming an instigator and inciting them, preaching "Yall are right I totally agree with you. The other two judges are wrong." What? was my reaction.
In effect this judge was urging on the revolution! As a result of this insurrection, decisions were flipped and thrown out, redo's were demanded, assumed rules of engagement were discarded and re-written on the spot. Chaos seemed eminent. Damn!
Paradoxically, while these "waves of change" lit up the spot, I never for a moment felt intimidated, or in fear of my life or frankly scared. What I was experiencing as a newbie judge was simply put mystifying.
I was amazed as how an experienced judge (I was the only newbie) could leave the judges bench (actually couch) and become the leader of the revolution. "You can't do that man! You can't reveal your thoughts to the mob? U a judge!"--I exclaimed.
But in the end I was wrong...this was not AI, this was not a normal democracy, but rather a hybrid of mob rule and symbolic representative democracy at work.
HH battles demanded flexibility and also demanded that the politics of cru, fan-based affiliation and the emotional sensibilities of the crowd be respected. Logic be damned!
If the crowd felt so moved, by say, an elimination of their fav, they were not going to be silent, not this silent majority! They were not going to have it! Throw the damn tea in the pond!
They, the masses were not going to sit passively by and let this injustice occur. They would petition the powers that be (the producers) to stop the proceedings and not allow this injustice to exist or move forward.
In this specific case, the mob being led by a rogue judge only emboldened, encouraged the changing of the rules and eventually the re-dos. The head-to-head battles were reconstituted, reconstructed and previously eliminated candidates were gifted with other chance to battle and see another day.
That fact that I strongly disagreed didn't matter at all...this was HH and I was simply one man, one minority supreme court justice. I learned my lesson the hard way....that these experienced audiences had the power! I was symbolic, not omnipotent. Powerful lesson to learn, ego be damned.
Throughout the evolving process, I remained staunch and resolute in my opinions, even when my opinion was contrary to the other judges or even the evocative crowd. I didn't care, I was not going to be intimidated by anyone. In the end of the day, I witnessed the evolution of a process and the coronation of the "peoples king."
Objectively speaking, by any rubric, the winners, near winners, runner-ups and the eliminated were supremely talented Emcees. In any cipher they would have killed the competition. My decisions were hardly easy to come to.
It was a real honor to be part of this process.
As I was leaving the venue the penultimate celebrations broke out after the final winner was crowned. I could still hear the reverberations of that celebration ringing in my ears. It was joyousness.
I walked to my car feeling like I was ampted up on a dozen cups of caffeine, my blood was afire and my head was as vivid and as sharp as it's ever been. So excited!
In the car, I couldn't help but pull out this yellow pad and put pen-to- paper. Driving down Washington Blvd, in the hood, after midnight, on a rainy night, scribbling insights onto paper. Traffic buzzing past my slowly creeping car...
Who am I kidding? These notes demanded my full attention, so I obediently pulled over and let my pen do the talking and THIS is just part of what emerged.
CUT TO:
Previously locked up in my man-cave... editing, writing, self-directing temp tracks for my new doc "MYTH, MAGIC AND RITUALS" kept me in a self-imposed isolation, an internal process where I patiently grow a rangy "Duck Dynasty" type of beard, resist taking showers for days on end.
Fearing to step away from the editing, for fear of losing my mojo, fearing to miss a single moment of inspiration. Abstention from the world seemed to be the proper attitude to have.
But this "16 Bar Bout Competition thang" was an opportunity I just couldn't resist. "I can actually get out of the house."
Nothing however, prepared me for this passionate Friday Nite experience.
People keep in mind that HH is a living breathing organism...driven by love and emotion. Driven by multi-ethic emcees committed to creativity and the demolition and acknowledgement of inner demons, attacking them with a verve that demanded that they speak truth-to- power, regardless of where it takes them. PC be damned!
When they get it right, it takes us way beyond the tender atmosphere of planet earth, way beyond current time and space, deliciously exploring one's DNA, the historical tribal imaginings and dreams of our fathers.
To timid outsiders "the battle" may look confrontational and almost threatening. But "truth-be-told" the battle is dynamically in-your-face competitive and real. After all, this is for the throne and the exorcistic tribal pride demands complete unmitigated commitment.
The Emcees words and performances reflect the dramatic realities lived by self, their predecessors and the community. Call them possessed griots, speakers on behalf of the community.
So hypnotic were the performers that spit so loudly, so passionately the microphone itself was irrelevant and discarded early on.
The MC's with their "mad gaze" (as Poet Wanda Coleman would say) were within spitting distance to my face. I could feel the heat of their sweat. Inches from the epic-center of their frustrations and imaginations.
This experience was so smart, so dynamically real- so necessary. I intuitively understand the reasons why HH will never die.
This ritual has been going on since the dawn of time, procreated and loved. I celebrate the "16 Bar Bout "and now understand more of what it truly represents.
Obviously, what I'm talking abt here is more than competition.
It is a primal tribal ritual where only the most passionate and intelligent performers can expect to win and the winner is indeed "the best of the best" on any given night.
No colors, no cru's, no violence, no BS. The Truth won out.
I was schooled at the feet of the people. The culture can be whatever they want it to be. Now that's evolution!!!
Kudos Wo'se and Jimmy Skee for hosting a magnificent and impressive event. Respect!