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While everyone was enjoying Grammy night in Los Angeles, Drake spent his weekend organizing and attending King of the Dot/OVO’s Blackout 5 rap battle even in Toronto.

The huge two-day multi-battle event featured a star-studded, jam-packed card as some of the best and most renowned battlers from around the world came together to perform for an amped-up crowd at T Dot’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

To be frank, this has to go down as one of the modern battle era’s best events ever. Sure, Drake’s involvement was nice, but KOTD delivered as they usually do, only this time it was bigger and better in almost every way. So, here’s a break down of both day and a look at what made this event so ill that Drizzy had to skip The Grammys to attend.

Day One

Day one featured a series of surprising face-offs. Toronto’s Skelly took on Detroit veteran Marv Won, Burlington’s 100 Bulletz battled Boston’s Chilla Jones. Next, England battle league Don’t Flop’s leader Eurgh battled current high school teacher 24/7, who hails from Florida. All of these battles were entertaining and pitted folks who normally might not get a chance to battle, bringing several segments of battle rap together.

Perhaps one of “Blackout’s” funniest battles came after this as Canada’s Kid Twist and Knamelis battled against England’s Shuffle-T and Marlo. This joke-centric battle was followed by the more aggressive nature of Harlem’s T-Rex and Dartmouth’s Hollohan and later New Jersey’s Arsonal versus Toronto’s Bishop Brigante. After those two vets faced off, two different seasoned battlers took the stage as Illmaculate took on Queens’ DNA. 

All of this led to the day 1 headlining bout between the United Kingdom’s Shotty Horroh and St. Louis’ Hitman Holla (you may also know him from Wild ‘N Out), a battle Drake was reportedly going to judge. During the pre-battle press conference, Drizzy said he’d give the winner $10,000.

Hitman, who some folks think won, said Drake asked for another day to think about the winner.

Later, Shotty, who some people also believe won the battle, said he wants the winner to be announced.

Day Two

That first day could have been enough, but KOTD planned a second day of battles to really cement this as a contender for battle of the year.

Day two kicked off where day one left off. Monterey, California’s The Saurus stepped in for Rich Rolarz and battled against his Fresh Coast comrade and fellow Californian J-Pro, who hails from Oxnard. Next, Scottish MC Soul battled Ottowa’s Osa, who happens to be a lawyer. Meanwhile, Philly’s Rone and Chicago’s Big T faced off and Toronto’s Tycoon Tax took on Detroit’s Quest McCody. These competitive matches set the stage for the four battles that would close the weekend out.

Next, Korea Town, Los Angeles representative Dumbfoundead made his return to the battle arena against Brooklyn’s Conceited, who is part of Wild ’N Out. As expected, this was a roasting session on both sides. That battle was followed by the aggressive Harlem’s Head I.C.E. going up against New Jersey’s Serius Jones. Not familiar with I.C.E.? Here’s all you need to know. During the pre-battle press conference, Drake said Head I.C.E. would body him if he ever battled Drizzy. How’s that for a shoutout?

After that battle, the crowd also went wild for Vancouver’s Madchild and Watts, California’s Daylyt. Day may be best known for antics like trying to defecate on a stage or dressing up as Spawn, but this time, he just came with bars. Madchild and Daylyt went at it as Day would later proclaim this match a “classic.”

All of this was set up to open for the title match between challenger Charron, who hails from Ottowa, and the league’s champion Pat Stay, who’s from Dartmouth. Drake also promised to put money up for this battle’s winner, which turned out to be Pat Stay, who’s still holding the KOTD chain after a competitive back-and-forth with Charron, Mr. Look-At-Me-When-I’m-Killing-You.

Want a video recap of both days? Here you go.

And in case you missed the press conference where Drake spoke, here it is:

You can watch all the battles on pay-per-view now at KOTDTV.com.

Why Drake Ditched The Grammys For A Huge 2-Day Rap Battle Event  was originally published on theurbandaily.com