It would only be right to give the opportunity to give the verdict on Lord of the mics 8 to Miz, (@Mizmedia on all platforms) a grime mc and freelance writer who doesn't pull punches in either area. You were warned.
If you're a snowflake who's going to cry about my opinions, I would suggest that you back away slowly from this post, because obviously I'm talking about Lord Of The Mics 8.
As an artist myself, you have to respect how LOTM is a solid part of Grime history, present and future. The first one I ever watched was LOTM3, and every season it has got bigger, better and more (but somewhat less?) brutal.
So without further ado, let's talk about 2019’s LOTM8. I'm going to have to split this up to 3 clashes per post, because as some comedians on Twitter stated, I could basically write a dissertation on this due to the amount of notes I took.
T-Roadz vs SBK
So, the first clash on the DVD is SBK vs T-Roadz, the two youngest artists on the platform. With T-Roadz at the age of 13 (I know right!) and SBK at the age of 17, these two barrers braved the most brutal clashing platform to prove themselves. The strangest aspect for me about this clash is that this was the only battle filmed in the iconic basement - why? It was a good starting point for the DVD by sticking to tradition, but I wish we got to see more of the 2019 version of the basement.
Round 1
a tekky minefield, with both artists expelling confidence and bravery. T-Roadz holds the strongest eye contact during SBK's first section, showing that despite his age, he is aware of his abilities and his capabilities. However, SBK is naturally more confident, as a person and as an artist, and I'm putting this down to age and experience. the biggest attention-catchers for me were "One sec, lemme chat about nose" - a cheeky bar from SBK which received a well-deserved comical reaction and "I heard you got bullied in school fam, walking round with your headphones on" , a well thought-out bar from T-Roadz, which shows how he plans his content to flow smoothly, as well as being hilariously mean. The winner of this round for me was SBK, a very tight choice for the first round, but confidence is key and he is bursting with it.
Round 2
I feel as this showed true passion, and felt more like an old school clash that is filled to the brim with anger and several points to prove because it was so close. T Roadz improved from Round 1, so we got to see more of what he is capable of as a young musician and a new-age clasher, but SBK's age/experience advantage really showed. SBK received a massive crowd reaction during this round, leading onto T-Roadz stumbling over his bars when he caught the drop. However, the key aspect to stumbling is how you recover yourself, and how quickly you can do so, and T Roadz held this very well and bounced back with absolute fire in his belly. This was a draw as far as i'm concerned. It was a competitive and showed how great this match-up was.
Round 3
SBK held himself well all the way through this round, never for a second letting fear or doubt into his brain. On the flip-side, T Roadz proved his deep hunger for music by non-stop spraying, showing his preparation for the clash and his need to prove himself as a worthy clasher. However, again, due to SBK's age and advanced experience, he knows how to react and act in the correct manner, always keeping calm and seeing the amusement of the situation. The winner of this round was a close call, but was just edged by SBK and his overload of confidence.
Another great aspect to this clash is the extra bonus/acapella round. This was one of the most exciting moments of this clash, it was spontaneous passionate and it truly showed what Grime and LOTM meant to both SBK and T Roadz. They both would rather die than take the L same as it was a decade ago.
Again, the winner of this round, for me, was SBK, but only by a slight edge. This clash overall was a super strong match-up of new generation MC's, and it really shows how the future of Grime is bright. The overall winner of this clash was SBK.
Logan Vs Armz
The second clash featured on the DVD is Logan vs Armz, an interesting clash in many ways. Without sounding rude, this clash was one of my least favorites, it was simply a mismatch of energies. I understand why they were matched up to clash, due to the creative flows and content of each artist, but I felt like Logan deserved a more advanced opponent. However, something which needs to be recognized is the fact that BOTH parties only had 6 days to prepare for this war, so both of them deserve a massive round of applause for actually having content ready to go in such a short space of time.
ROUND 1
Logan had a weighty crowd reaction, and an iconic bar of "Dash your yout in a mosh-pit" which deserves all the gun fingers in the world. The sound quality was a bit touchy during this round which sort of ruined the hype - I'm not sure if it was due to the new location (where's the fucking basement ???) or whether it was just bad placement of mics, but you'd think a platform such as this would've had a consistently strong sound quality. Armz came with interesting content, but a basic than I would've liked, almost teetering on a nursery rhyme scale, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt due to the lack of prep time. Logan took this round.
Round 2
not as exciting, with Logan staying consistently strong through-out with his unmatched flows and undeniable energy. One of my notes from this round is "FLOWSSSSS" which I think sums up Logan as an artist perfectly. The one thing which particularly caught my interest in this round is the clip from the end which was cut out - why? what was the clip? I wanna see it? you can't do them tings? bruv ??? But, obviously, Logan was the winner for me, again.
Round 3
a more exciting round, and I truly feel like a penis for saying that its because of the several L's Armz held through-out. I'm almost 100% sure Armz was freestyling during this, and ok that's cool if you're not prepared but god dammit people, its LOTM, you're meant to be prepped with absolute hellfire to rain down on your opp, and I felt like Armz didn't have that.
Logan must've thought 'fuck it' and started freestyling as well, mocking Armz' attempt at sudden creativity, which brought an aspect of humour into the clash. There was a moment of heat when both artists began to spray at the same time, and it's always interesting to see who is strong enough to hold it - unfortunately, Armz wasn't. Logan let it go, giving Armz free-reign to prove himself, but he returned to lyrics he had previously sprayed - an automatic L in my opinion. In comparison to Logan's consistently creative content, it seemed as if Armz didn't get the memo that over-preparation is better than none at all. Again,
If you haven't guessed who I think the overall winner is, you're dumb. It's clearly Logan. 3-nil whitewash, hand over the pad.
Reece West VS F.O.S.
This was one of the wars that had the internet ridiculously hyped, including myself. I felt as if I was going to be slightly bias whilst watching this, due to the fact I had never listened to F.O.S before, but it was unpredictable, and controversial.
Round 1
You could literally see the passion and hunger pouring out of F.O.S, and I felt as if he was truly giving his all and it was only the first round. It was a heated moment when both artists began spraying over each-other, something which is a repeated situation through-out, but F.O.S had a point to prove, so he used his passion and energy to override and hold the spotlight. Seeing the pattern, Reece West dominated the spotlight by spitting over F.O.S, reasserting his place within the clash. However, I feel as if Reece West came with bars which could've been stronger, and was a bit complacent. The winner of this round was F.O.S, purely based on the never-faulting energy he was running with.
Round 2
Reece West kicked off this round with strong delivery and solid clashing content, reaffirming the strength in his demeanour. Reece's staring down FOS' posse was smoky. Through-out this round, just like the first, both artists were battling to get their bars out and override one another. Reece was a dominant character during this round, constantly fighting against F.O.S to hold the spotlight, giving a strong amount of energy with his performance. The only downside I saw to this round was a lack of interaction from West. walking away or turning your back to the opponent, made West seem as if he was irritated by F.O.S, something which could also be an automatic L. However, due to the dominance and power during this round, Reece West won it.
Round 3
with both artists holding a W. Again, F.O.S came storming in with his abundance of energy, firing off a ridiculous amount of bars, showing just how super prepared he was. The lack of interaction from Reece tumbled over into this round as well, which was frustrating to watch in comparison to the level of passion F.O.S was giving. Between walking away, and hanging off Jammer (I don't think this should've been allowed really, it seems bias), West lost my interest as it seemed he simply wasn't interested either. There was a super hot moment mid-way through this round which could've gone down a very dark path, thankfully it didn't. The super hot moment in question was when West stopped spitting, as if he was passing to F.O.S, and as soon as he began to spray, Reece jumped back in and both parties were letting off bombs over one another.
I didn't particularly like this moment, even though it was expressive, I felt as if it was a bit of a piss-take against F.O.S, because if you're not ready to finish spraying, don't stop and pretend to pass it on. A move I feel is a bit 'muggy', word to Love Island. However, F.O.S overrode West during this section, and rightly so, showing the power and aggressiveness with inside himself. West came back strong again, stumbling over a few bars which is unfortunate, but both artists rallied until the last moment. F.O.S didn't want the clash to end, just as Jammer was about to stop it, and he continued spraying. You cant ignore the fact F.O.S was incredibly prepared, and definitely had a point to prove. Due to that, F.O.S took the win on this round.
Overall, my scorecard states that F.O.S was the winner, however it was a passionate, well-matched clash.
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