

The lyrics, translated from the German, go, "I think I forgot to let you all know / Getting commercial success with rap isn't my thing." Hip-hop in an unlikely package: German artist Weekend Image: 2013 Heart Working Class | Kürten & Szillus GbRĬontestants and audience for the battle are drawn from the online community rappers.in, with 500,000 members. In his single "Hi Chimperator," he warns his label they've made a mistake. "Skinny arms? Doesn't matter, then I'll just have to be a Kraut rapper," he said. With his self-deprecating style and unimposing apearance, Wiegand can size up both his strengths and weaknesses. Weekend is the stage name of Christoph Wiegand, who prior to his breakthrough was making ends meet working as a trained social worker and in the discount grocer Lidl. "There was no one like him before - he's got a very different approach to the battle," Dobbo said. Maybe at the VBT, but nobody beyond the tournament will notice you."ĭobbo's friend Weekend pulled off the jump from the VBT to a music career. "Without real charisma, nothing comes together. The album released in the wake of his success hit number three in the German charts.īut 27-year-old rapper Dobbo, who is taking part in this year's VBT, says success will elude most of the tournament's participants - even those with big talent. Weekend, a rapper who won past editions of the VBT, earned enough attention to get signed to the country's Chimperator label, where he joins the top-seller Cro.

Lance Butters, who climbed into the bracket of the top eight performers in 2011, has since joined the legendary indie label Four Music - home to stars of the German scene such as Casper and Marteria. Rapper Dobbo, from Gelsenkirchen in western Germany Image: Pascal Kamp Competition is fierce right up to the two finalists battling it out for first place in June. They start off in teams, and each round gives them two weeks to put together a video with their new song.įor rappers without a studio budget, that means pressure. 134 participants are involved in the 2014 VBT. This year marks the eighth edition of the VBT, where top prize is the chance to perform alongside the likes of Outkast, MIA, Angel Haze and German star rapper Cro at Splash, the country's biggest hip-hop festival. Thus also with the German-language contest Video-Battle-Turniers (VBT), hosted by the online platform rappers.in. For standout MCs, club gigs and even record deals are the reward. The live stage spectacle has migrated partly to the internet, where a number of hip-hop tournaments are conducted on YouTube and other video sharing platforms. Say yes to a handheld condenser mic, and take a pass on those skinny wand-shaped mics that Bob Barker used to use.Freestyle battles have always been a part of hip-hop culture - challenges between multiple rappers in which hard beats, quick and witty turns of phrase and rhyme, displays of flow and creativity as well as gesturing are rewarded or mocked with immediate audience feedback. One quick tip: use the right microphone for the job.
#Rap battle text online how to#
You can listen to all 23 backbeats here and get instructions on how to participate here. Submitting your own video for the contest is free, but you'll need to join the Vibe Rap Battle community to upload your video. The contest winner will also get a full-page ad in Vibe magazine.Īccording to the press release, more than 1,000 videos have been uploaded since May as part of the three Vibe Verses contests. The winner of Vibe Verses 3 will be the opening act for Wyclef on December 4 in Los Angeles. Wyclef Jean of the Fugees picks the overall winner of the contest on November 30, and he has a personal stake in his selection. MySpace users and members of the Vibe online community can then vote on each video the number of votes determines the finalists. Participants in the contest select from one of 23 beats, then make a video of themselves performing their own lyrics to the track. The viral contest, promoted on both and MySpace, is using KickApps video widgets to let rappers and their fans embed the clips in MySpace profiles and other Web pages.

Vibe Verses 3, an online rap battle that lets aspiring MCs upload videos of themselves spitting rhymes, launches today. Can the combined power of Vibe magazine, MySpace, and KickApps' social multimedia platform uncover the next great MC? That's the plan, and they're all hoping three is the magic number.
