Rapper Imari Wins First “Battle Of The Mic”
Shine’s House of Entertainment was on fire Wednesday night [June 6] when some of Bermuda’s finest rappers and reggae entertainers stepped up to the challenge at Spotlight Talent Agency’s first Battle of the Mic competition.
A spokesperson said, “The first prize of one hour free recording time was sponsored by Just Platinum Recording Studios. Popular artists “All-stars” who competed in the challenge were Haz (thirteen weeks at #1 on Hott 1075 countdown), Propa, Imari and Star 45. New name artists (newbies) included 1331, D.T.Y. and Eminence.
“Here are the details of the battle:
- First Round: hip hop newbie, Eminence + hip hop all-star, Haz = winner – Haz
- Second Round: reggae artist, D.T.Y. + hip hop newbie, 1331 = winner – 1331
- Third Round: newbie, 1331 + Haz = winner – 1331
- Fourth Round: newbie, Eminence + reggae all-star, Star 45 = winner – Eminence
- Fifth Round: newbie, Eminence + newbie, 1331 = winner – 1331
- Sixth Round: hip hop/R&B all-star, Propa + hip hop all-star, Imari = winner – Imari
- Seventh Round: hip hop all-star, Imari + newbie, 1331 = winner and Queen of the Mic for June – Imari
“The rules of the game were as follows:
- DJ played instrumental.
- Two challengers on stage take turns free-styling (rhyming off top of head freely) to the instrumental
- Audience votes for winner
“Numerous local artists were present at monthly event, including Delroy Johnson, Kombat, A-Team Dancer Zico, E-Levelz and more. Various promoters and DJs were also present.”
“It was a great night with positive energy, high energy performances and amazing talent,” shared Spotlight Talent Agency CEO, Cha’Von K. Clarke.
“This is a great community event for aspiring and established artists. It separates “studio artists” who don’t have the skills to perform before a crowd and rap or sing lyrics off impromptu. Battle of the Mic is definitely a great challenge for serious artists.”
The participants attacked each other in a positive way, on the mic, and everyone who participated enjoyed the experience. Queen of the Mic for the month of June, Imari Wade, declared; “Now I have a reason to bring my “A” game! I can bring out lyrics that I haven’t released as yet.” Popular local promoter shared, “Bermudians need to support their artist! The amount of talent that I saw tonight and the energy of this event was crazy!”
Battle of the Mic is open to all rappers, singers (of all genres) and spoken word artists who believe they have the formula to performance success. For more information about Battle of the Mic or to sign up for the July battle, email info@ckccorporation.com.
A participant of the event stated, “Bermuda artists need to step their game up! Too many believe that they are the best rapper or singer but they are too scared to challenge themselves or too arrogant to put the mic to their mouth and show their skills. Battle of the Mic will call them out!”
The spokesperson continued, “Speaking of “call them out”, Imari has two artists on her mind and she dares them to come out on July 4th to challenge her at the next Battle of the Mic event! “I wanna get Mz Malz and Cami Cam on the mic with me,” she announced.
“There are only a few female rappers in Bermuda and Imari is ready for them to bring their skills to the stage. Who will wear the crown next month as King or Queen of the Mic?”
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Yeah! Next month will be crazy too! Mz Malz has agreed to challenge Imari! Both female rappers are explosive so this will definitely be a battle to see!
Interesting how females are holding it down… I hope the guys bring their top lyrics out too so we can have our first King of the Mic.
All hail Imari the Queen…
I think what CKC Spotlight Talent Agency is doing to showcase local talent is AWESOME! We are a community brimming with talent and it is time that it was seen on a regular basis. It will also allow our tourists to have a chance to see what we as Bermudians offer in entertainment! It is great to see articles such as this which highlight the positive things that are happening in the island.
What would be even greater is to see more articles of this nature along with commentary that praises and encourages our local artists in their endeavours!
I’m not much of a rap fan, so I probably wouldn’t go out to hear these young ones, but I applaud what they are doing, especially the ladies!! Go ‘head, girls! Show ‘em how it’s done! You give me hope for the future of music, because I got so turned off by male rappers with their negativity toward women and their crass materialism. I’m betting there is very little of that in these ladies’ lyrics! I might just be inspired to come out and give a listen to the new sound.
While we at FAM appreciate the indirect love from Imari, we respectfully decline the invitation. We applaud Spotlight for what they are doing for Bermuda and the artists, but this doesn’t make sense for Cami-Cam’s brand and our goals. We would never want 2 Queens going at it in this sense. No battle rapper (aside from Eminem) has ever had complete success after winning a battle. We do hope that Imari continues to hold it down for the ladies!
Fam, the purpose of this event is to challenge talents to be creative and spontaneous with their lyrics and style. We never stated that they would get rich or reach fame based on the experience. Bermudian artists need outlets and that is what Spotlight is providing. They need room to grow and develop and that is what we are giving- great opportunities. We already received the decline from Cami Cam and the invite was for her to come for the fun, not a negative experience. The rest of the comment doesn’t truly benefit local artists who only have opportunities to rehearse their lyrics at home or when recording a track that MAY be played on local radio. Now they can test their performance and lyrical style at a safe and fun event. We hope they step to the opportunity. Bless.
I’m confused as how even my stated comment above even created the response that you stated. Never did I talk about riches or even fame. Nor did we discuss this in that statement as a negative experience. Again, we tip our hat to you, and we DEFINITELY tip our hat to Imari. Nothing but love from us.