Although there are many attempts at hip hop events in Rockford,IL, they have definitely been lacking in many aspects. I am so glad that I've got an invite to this emcee battle in Rockford,Il hosted by Battlefest. In the middle of nowhere, a group of emcees and spectators came together to battle and cypher. I got there late because it was my mom's birthday on that day too, but good thing for me, the event started late like every other hip hop event ever in history. As I walked towards the cypher to see the battles in the colorful area of graffiti artwork, you could hear the punchlines after punchlines from the emcees echo off the dam walls. There were judges, scheduled battles, spur of the moment battles, recorded battles + judge results, and cyphers. This was definitely one of the better hip hop events that I've attended in Rockford,IL because it was so close to what feel an hip hop event must represent. I feel that you must give and take something from the event in order to advance the vibe of the event; Otherwise, you are just repeating yourself and/or event over and over again, and the event will get boring quick because of the lack of energy. I felt that this emcee battle forced the emcees to re-evaluate their performance and go home to practice for the next battle. I will definitely make it out to the next Battlefest emcee battle, and I hope we can work together in the future.

Keep it up!

Dj

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/midwestbattlez