Ten Filipinos living in Taiwan are competing in a rap battle on Sunday, with the winners gaining a chance to compete alongside seasoned battle emcees from the Philippines, event organizer Alpha Martial Eagles Production (AMEP) said on Saturday.
The Laklakan Series Volume 1 Lokal Artist Rap Battle + Open Mic Session is to be held in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢).
AMEP head Allan Viray said all of the rappers who have entered the event are “first-timers” in battling and from the event “we hope to see who has potential.”
The contest is designed for local Filipino battle rappers and aspiring local Filipino emcees to show their talents, in order to “discover more Filipino battle emcees from Taiwan.”
“I just want to raise them up to develop new battle rappers, their potentials and their careers,” Viray said, adding that he wants them to “have fun with [other] Filipinos.”
“These kind of rap battles are happening in other countries and cities like Japan and Dubai, so we can also have it here in Taiwan,” Viray said.
The format of each rap battle will be three rounds of 90 seconds each, Viray said.
Five to seven judges who come from a background of hip-hop and battle rap are to judge the contestants, Viray said.
Five winners are to be selected from five battles, he said, with the winners advancing on to Laklakan 2, which is to be held in July, featuring battle-hardened Sinio and Shernan, who have both competed in the professional FlipTop battle league.
One of the rappers competing is Ray, from the city of Valenzuela.
“Joey Write has a big group here in Taiwan called Brown 101 and it is going to be very interesting to battle a rapper like him,” Ray said.
Another rapper participating in the event is DJ, from Quezon City.
“I’m 24 years old and I don’t have any group so I represent myself,” he said.
He welcomes others who hear his skills to contact him to see if there is any possibility of collaboration.
The lineup for the event is Ace J vs Menor De Edad, Kenrick vs Lady Beb, Joey Write vs Ray, Diablo vs Rzone and Kevin J vs DJ, Viray said.
There will also be an open mic session at the event in which people from the audience can call out any of the battle rappers present and request a battle, he added.
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