Thursday, May 14, 2015

BATTLE RAP REVISIONISM: SKITZO GOT ROBBED, BUT WE STILL BANGIN HIS SHIT IN THE 1-5!


Forget about Cassidy and Freeway, the best rap battle of the '00s was Jin vs. Skitzo!  This was back in the days of Jin's Freestyle Friday reign of terror on 106 & Park, before he won the Ruff Ryders deal and got his Charlie Chan on with "Learn Chinese."  Jin had his 15 minutes and we ain't gonna debate the politics of his brief media blitz. Nah, we here to shed light on a rapper who, at least by Judges Mannie & Baby's reckoning, lost the rap battle, but whose subsequent contributions to the game won the rap war!

Now I loved when Jin compared his dingaling to dumplings and an egg roll, but like Chinatown in July, something don't smell right in this particular instance of corporatized battle rap fury.  Word to God, only thing Jin won that day were sartorial points for his baby blue sweatsuit and matching hat combo.  Skitzo ethered the god with lines like, "You fake Eminem / You should be on the Tampax Tour with Free, cause you act feminem!"  I thought duke was steppin outta line and dissin the host with that zinger, but Free thanks him for the acknowledgement when he's done.  I guess she was out on tour slangin da bloodclot at the time?  He then says he got naked pictures of Jin's sister, gettin his Carrot Top on like a true showman and pullin out the ill censored pin-up that look like it was printed in a high school computer lab circa 1997.  But yo, the coup de grace is when he channels Radio Raheem and asks, "What you wanna do / Battle me, or sell me dollar batteries?" pullin out a Duracell 9 Volt to complete the hip-hop/prop comedy cipher.

Jin will go down in history as the Wat Misaka of rap, but Skitzo went on to produce extensively for Cam and Dipset, including none other than the certifiable, undeniable, mad styleful classic "Get 'Em Girls."  Now he back behind the mic gettin his Rap Game Billy Joel on under the Rod Rhaspy alias, playing pianos in the Uptown outdoors like Jones and his mans in the "Purple City Byrdgang" video.

BONUS JOINT: Skitzo recounts his road to Freestyle Friday fame, and Jin catching feelings, around the 5 minute mark.

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