Dizaster vs. DNA: Finally, it went down!
I was expecting to open up the KingOfTheDot YouTube page to find the above video uploaded last Monday- its reported date of release. Instead, the video was so long, it took another day and a half for it to drop. Finally on November 15th, it made its way to thousands of computer screens worldwide. But the question is, after waiting all this time for this video to be released, was my battle-hunger fulfilled? Yes. However, this week on my radio show The Slapback, I chose not to do my round of the week on this battle for two reasons. First, the whole video is a little over one hour, so to highlight a clip would seriously bore my listeners (the rounds were set to be 3 minutes, with the last being unlimited time). Second, I felt that this battle had no highlights; instead, it was pure insanity.
For those of you who do not follow this scene, the history behind this battle goes way back. Dizaster and DNA, two well-respected rappers, were set to confront one another for quite some time. However, the date was continually postponed, and the battle did not go down. Nevertheless, apparently Drake had read up on it and became very interested in these two rappers, so he gave both of them cash to finally meet up during a Canadian battle league, KingOfTheDot, at their “Flatline” Event.
To be completely honest, I’m a big Dizaster fan, and I didn’t know a lot about DNA before watching the battle, so I expected Dizaster to come out on top no matter what. However, I was very surprised to see the outcome. In the first round, I think that Dizaster came with too much energy for DNA to come out effectively, but he definitely proved me wrong. Dizaster exuded a strong presence and produced effective punch lines. In retaliation, DNA got rolling in the last half of his round, which in my opinion, pushes this round towards a tie.
The second round, too, seemed like a tie. Both rappers made great personal hits, and this was actually the first battle where I saw the opponents react just as much as the crowd and hosts to the insults being thrown around. Dizaster nailed DNA’s handicapped mother (although I don’t know how much of that is true), while DNA called Dizaster out on how he used to make fun of KingOfTheDot even though he is now in many of their events.
The third round, however, marked the turning point in the battle, as it is the moment when I can begin to differentiate between the two. And it is here that I assert that DNA came out on top. Dizaster stumbled far too many times for my taste even though it was mostly freestyle. Although he did generate some effective lines, I don’t think that he brought out his best, and he left too many topics untouched, letting DNA triumph as he completely stripped Dizaster bare, exposing all of his weaknesses.
In the end, this battle was not one-sided whatsoever. Even though he made a little too many Canada and Drake references, DNA was the winner in my books, even if the battle wasn’t officially judged. In all, and most importantly beyond who won and who didn’t, I think that Drake did battle-rapping a large favor by getting this matchup underway, and I don’t think that this battle will be easily topped in the coming years.
- Talon Ducheneaux, The Slapback (Saturdays from 10pm - midnight @ WQHS.org)
