In the DC comic book universe, Batman is one of those heroes who, although he is just human and has no real super powers to speak of, gets a lot of respect from the other heroes around him, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc. One of the reasons Batman is so well respected is because of his ability to plan. It has been shown that Batman has a contingency plan for every hero on the Justice League in case they go rogue and turn evil.
In the hip-hop world, we have our own version of Batman. His name is the Blast Master, KRS-One. Kris the Teacher has said that at any given time, he has a rhyme written down against every rapper who is in the top ten. He does it to not only keep his skills sharp, but just in case the need arises for him to do battle.
As a hip-hop fan, that is one notebook I would love to get my hands on. Considering the fact that KRS-One is behind two of the greatest battle raps of all-time, “South Bronx,” and “The Bridge is Over,” I can just imagine some of the rhymes and verses that he put down on paper. Wouldn’t it be great to hear KRS-One putting rappers like OJ da Juiceman on blast?
People often complain about 50 Cent starting beefs with other rappers, especially around the time he’s about to drop a new album. But you know what? 50 provides a necessary service in the hip-hop community. He keeps other rappers on top of their game. Battling is a tradition in hip-hop, and a lot of old-school emcees would battle others because they knew it would make them better, it would force them to refine their craft until it was perfect. How many rappers out there now would still have careers if they had to go mic-to-mic with KRS-One? A good battle has been known to either elevate both emcees, like in the Jay-Z vs. Nas battle, or end careers, like in the LL Cool J vs. Canibus or Ja Rule vs. 50 Cent/DMX battles.
It seems like, except for a select few who appreciate the tradition and still know how to do it right, the art of battling another emcee has faded away. And because of this, we now have a lot of mediocre rappers making records. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am willing to acknowledge that there always have been, and always will be, a tier-system in hip-hop, and a majority of the people in the business will be on the middle tier. However, when the quality of even the mid-tier rappers decreases, ultimately the fans suffer.
