Credit: Jeremy Porter

It all went smooth just like Marcus Woods, the event co-organizer, thought it would. With a packed crowd and eight performers, Tuesday night’s very first Battle of the Beats was a successful event on many accounts.

Susan Heidinger, special events coordinator of ACPB, announced the Battle’s winner after an extensive night of performances lasting up to 20 minutes each along with songs played during intermissions. Rapper Nuff-Sed was the event’s winner and will be performing at this year’s Flash Fest on April 28. He will also receive 15 hours of studio time, courtesy of Marcus Woods’ Blowin’ Up Entertainment.

The competition’s winner was decided by several judges and votes from the audience. DJ Amaze provided music for the event, playing bomb-dropping beats for the performers and newer hip-hop songs during the intermission. All the performers each brought their unique flow to keep the event entertaining.

The stage was set with one microphone at first, causing rapper Bcuz to jeer and improvise his own lyrics. “They tried to play me like Nas and only give me one mic!”

Following Bcuz’s set, the stage was supplied with two other microphones to meet these earlier performers’ demands.

About the eight performers

– The winner of the event, Nuff-Sed, came with an original and humorous flow. He had the crowd either laughing along or shouting in admiration. Some of his bars stated, “I got the Skelator like He-man/ Can’t you see that I’m the captain of this boat/ You people are just sea men.”

– Bcuz brought his conscious rhyme flow to the microphone and was the night’s first performer. He spit out versatile lyrics and rapped over beats that were strengthened by his lyrics. One of the beats was from Cam’ron’s “Down and Out.”

– Chad Jones was another conscious rapper. “Everything that I drop is always on the spot,” stated Jones during his performance.

Some lyrics from one of his songs states, “The things that I think, the things that I do / The spirit of a demon coordinating the two.”

– DJ Skrilla gave a more party-themed performance along with a song for the ladies. He switched up his flow during the song from normal speed to fast. A sample lyric was, “Fresh at the after party heading back to the room/ I’m ‘bout to get it started so I’m acting a fool.”

– The Future represented the state of Ohio like the buckeye in his performance. He was shouting 216, 330 and 513 zip codes to get the crowd livened up. “I put it down cuz I’m reppin’ the O (Ohio),” rapped Future. “Best believe it’s the spot where we burning that dro.”

– Metro Squad is a duo from Washington, D.C. They came with a raw rap flow that described their situations from their city. “I’ma make it happen no matter who I gotta go through/ I’m pushing my way to the top cuz I’m supposed to.”

– Famous was a special guest performer who brought R&B music to the stage. He had the crowd moving in motion with his voice as he sung his slow love song. He then made a drastic change into a song where he spit some rap verses.

– Skillz was another rapper with humor in his performance. He mixed rap with rock music and even had a catch phrase, saying “Skillz!” in a high pitched voice. The crowd was eventually shouting the phrase along with him.

– Smoked Out Entertainment was the last group on stage. They brought a flow with them that ended the event with consistently talented performers. Some of their aggressive lyrics state, “Who let the fucking cat out/We need to get this rat out out/We’re battling so we need to pull the bat out.”

The lyric was a fitting end to a competitive evening of rap artists.

In an interview after Tuesday night’s competition, Nuff-Sed spoke briefly about his win.

“I was satisfied with the result,” he said. “Due to it being my first rap performance, it set my mind at ease because I was nervous. I felt everyone else did a good job so I had to step it up.”

Contact Pop Arts reporter Jeremy Porter at [email protected].