(Main photo credit to @RapGrid)
“You think Patty can play with me hell no/ he was handed his legacy, branded creatively, Canada’s reigning king, battle’s complacency, snatching the chain to bring it back on the plane with me”. – Illmaculate on “New Chain” #Foreshadowing
While we were all concerned with the eerie haze Oregon had all day, Portland (Worldwide) battle rap veteran illmaculate was in Toronto preparing to challenge the KOTD Champion Pat Stay. The buzz over this battle was off the charts, due partly to the track illmaculate dropped last month entitled “New Chain” – peep that now if you haven’t yet. As an avid battle fan it seemed like the battle world and KOTD was ready for a new champ. The consensus opinion before the battle went something like “If anyone is going to dethrone Pat, it would be illmaculate”. Pat is an incredible performer and has been the champion since 2013, defended it three times.
(Photo credit @Battle_Rap_News and KOTD)
From the gate, illmaculate came out swinging with confidence, bars and most importantly crowd control. Pat is known for controlling the crowd and after one, it was fairly even I’d say. Standout line of that round to me was “He thinks he’s safe cause he never leaves home like an umpire”. The second round was the bodybag of the whole event. Illmac is known for his freestyle ability which is an essential skill to rebuttal opponents previous rounds. It’s gotten to the point where I actually expect a rebuttal from him in the beginning of the second round. He did not disappoint coming with a crazy rebuttal using a “South Park” scheme that Pat used in his first. The thing that is great about illmaculate is that he mixes thought provoking concepts with comedy and wit. Example: “You know what rhymes-with-pat . . . Tribal tat” which got a huge reaction from the crowd.
(Photo Credit @Battle_Rap_News and KOTD)
The third and final round had everyone leaning towards illmaculate but also knowing never to count out what Pat is capable of. Pat took a risky route in his third round using it to be honest about the weight he feels being the champion for so long. The crowd reacted but to me, it wasn’t enough to win a seemingly close battle. I understand what he was doing and it was really great but with lines from illmac like “They made you the face of the league cause u never had a body to connect with”, it’s tough to take a round with an honest confessional angle.
The decision came shortly after the battle ended announcing Portland’s own Illmaculate as the new King of the Dot Champion handing him an oversized check for a cool $1,000 and the KOTD gold chain.
Big ups to both battlers for putting on a classic and a huge congratulations to Illmaculate for bringing home the chain. Ultimate #OutHere moment. *drums* THE CHAMP IS HERE.