Ultimate Rap League

Last updated
Ultimate Rap League
Industry Battle rap
FoundedOctober 26, 2009
FoundersNorbes, Troy "Smack" Mitchell, Eric Beasley, Jean "Cheeko" French,
Headquarters NYC, New York, United States
Key people
  • Smack, E. Beasley, Cheeko, Rain910, P, NuNu Nellz, Derez, JB, BELIKEIKE, Troy Martin, B. City, Big Terra, Tallest In The Building,Kellz, T.H.E.S.I.S., Billz, DutchKIB, YaBoyClip
BrandsSMACK/URL, PG
Divisions East Coast, Midwest, West Coast
Website urltv.tv

The Ultimate Rap League (commonly referred to as SMACK/URL) is a battle rap league based out of New York City owned by acclaimed hip hop promoter Troy "Smack White" Mitchell, Eric Beasley, and Jean "Cheeko" French from Queens, New York City, United States. [1]

Rappers, music executives, DJs and athletes such as Sean Combs, Busta Rhymes, Drake, Q-Tip, Joe Budden, Cassidy, King Los, Beanie Sigel, Jay-Z, Funkmaster Flex, Kid Capri, Bow Wow, Jadakiss, Lupe Fiasco, Adrien Broner, Kevin Durant, Nick Cannon, Lloyd Banks, French Montana, DC Young Fly and Mos Def and Method Man have shown support towards the league. [2]

About

The league originally grew out of the popular series of street DVDs known as S.M.A.C.K. DVD [3] (an acronym for Street Music, Arts, Culture & Knowledge) that ran between 2002 and 2008. [4] The rap DVDs often feature in-depth interviews and details about up-and-coming rappers' lives. Many DVDs feature a rap battle which was often filmed right on the street, a cappella and without judges. These battles heavily influenced future rap battle leagues and competitions such as MTV's Monday Night Fight Klub, [5] GrindTimeNow.net, Sho-time Battle Rap League, [6] and King of the Dot, setting a new standard for modern day battle rap.

Today, the URL averages up to millions of views on many of their rap battles. They strongly protect their history in the battle rap culture through their slogan, "You Can't Copy Respect", advising battle fans to "follow the innovators, not the imitators". The league has helped provide a platform for many aspiring artists. Rappers such as Charlie Clips, Conceited, Hitman Holla, Tsu Surf, Hollow da Don, Aye Verb, Goodz, Calicoe and Big T were all part of the first wave of battlers for the Ultimate Rap League. Many key figures including Smack himself have been featured on BET [7] and XXL Magazine [8] due to their parts in URL's success. Their battles are also commonly debated by battle rap bloggers and promoters, and featured on WorldStarHipHop.com. In May 2019, The URL launched the URLTV.TV App. The subscription based app allows subscribers to, view unreleased and pay-per-view battles along with other original programming.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MC Lyte</span> Hip hop artist, l author, activist and entrepreneur

Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, disc jockey, entrepreneur and actress. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin". In 1989, she joined the supergroup Stop the Violence Movement, and appeared on the single "Self Destruction", which was the inaugural number-one single on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shady Records</span> American record label

Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's The Slim Shady LP in 1999.

<i>XXL</i> (magazine) American hip hop magazine

XXL is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remy Ma</span> American rapper

Reminisce Kioni Mackie, known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut studio album There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story, which became a modest success, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200 chart. Ma's most commercially successful songs include "Whuteva", "Ante Up (Remix)", "Lean Back", "Conceited", and "All the Way Up".

<i>Ultimate Victory</i> 2007 studio album by Chamillionaire

Ultimate Victory is the second studio album by American rapper Chamillionaire. It was released on September 14, 2007, by Chamillitary Entertainment and Universal Motown Records. The album debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200, selling 79,000 copies in the first week. It is notable for not containing any profanity. In all, the album has sold 700,000 copies in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B.o.B</span> American rapper and record producer (born 1988)

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later, Jonsin and Simmons signed a joint venture recording contract with fellow Georgia rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records. Following his major-label deal, Simmons quickly achieved commercial success when his debut single "Nothin' on You", reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2009, and earned a Grammy Award for Record of the Year nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle rap</span> Type of rapping

Battle rap is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and disses. Battle rap is often performed, or freestyled, spontaneously in live battles known as Rap battles, where participants will compete on the same stage to see who has the better verses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slam (Onyx song)</span> 1993 single by Onyx

"Slam" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on May 11, 1993 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's debut album, Bacdafucup. The song introduced slamdancing into hip-hop.

Saleem Bligen, known professionally as Serius Jones, is an American rapper from New Jersey who is widely known for his freestyle battles. Jones won 12 consecutive battles at New York's Monday Night Fight Klub before facing and beating former Fight Klub King Jin The MC to become MTV's all-time Fight Klub Champion. Jones independently released King Me in 2006, followed by Serius Bizness in 2008 and Why So Serius? in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organik (musician)</span> Musical artist

Travis Fleetwood, known as Organik, is the founder and part owner of King of the Dot, a battle rap league based in Toronto, Ontario, where he currently resides. Organik founded King of the Dot in 2008. As the founder, CEO, and host of King of the Dot, he has been credited with developing battle rap talent, specializing in booking local talent as well as from other battle leagues.

Samantha Davon James, better known by her stage name 3D Na'Tee, is an American rapper, songwriter, and video director. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up in the 3rd Ward. 3D Na'Tee has been featured on several national media outlets such as MTV, The Source Magazine, XXL Magazine, The Fader Magazine, RapRadar and RapRehab. She has also received attention from Louisiana newspapers and music magazines.

Carlos Coleman, better known by his stage name King Los or simply Los, is an American rapper from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his affiliation with Puff Daddy, having frequently served as his ghostwriter and been signed to his label, Bad Boy Records from 2005 until 2008. Coleman re-signed to the label in February 2012, although he would depart once more in March 2014. His debut studio album, God, Money, War (2015) was released through RCA Records and entered the Billboard 200; Puff Daddy executive produced the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Badass</span> American rapper from New York (born 1995)

Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, known by his stage name as Joey Badass, is an American rapper. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pro Era, with whom he has released three mixtapes as well as his numerous solo projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freebandz</span> American record label

Freebandz is an American record label founded by American rapper Future in 2011. The label's releases are distributed through Epic Records. Freebandz has signed artists including Real Boston Richey, Lil Double O, Doe Boy, Young Scooter, and Future's personal mixtape compiler, DJ Esco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Rosenberg</span> American radio DJ

Peter Elliot Rosenberg is an American radio disc jockey, television show host, and professional wrestling personality, who is signed to WWE where he is a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion. He is a co-host of two New York City radio programs: Ebro in the Morning, the weekday morning show at hip hop radio station WQHT ; and The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio affiliate WEPN-FM, which is also simulcast on the YES Network.

"Lost Ones" is a diss song by American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, through Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. The song was written by Hill and produced by Hill, alongside Vada Nobles and Che Pope. Despite never naming him in the song, the song is widely presumed to be about Hill's former Fugees Bandmate Wyclef Jean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilla Jones</span> Musician and battle rapper

Jerome "Chilla" Jones is a musician and battle rapper, representing the city of Boston, Massachusetts, as well as New England, every place he steps. At 16, he terrorized the battle circuits across Boston, MA throughout his high school career. Eventually, he would shift focus 100% from battling into the craft of songwriting and music making. From there, he began to build a name for himself locally for his punchline ability and for having genuine and creative song concepts that most of us can relate to. Chilla released 6 solo mixtapes over the course of 3 years.

Le'Quincy Anderson, better known by his stage name Don Q, is an American rapper. He is best known for his collaborations with labelmate A Boogie wit da Hoodie.

John Ancrum, better known by his stage names Murda Mookie and Mook, is an American rapper based out of Harlem, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latto</span> American rapper (born 1998)

Alyssa Michelle Stephens, known professionally as Latto or Big Latto, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. She first appeared on Jermaine Dupri's reality television series The Rap Game in 2016, where she was known as Miss Mulatto and won the show's first season, but rejected the record deal offered as a result of winning the show.

References

  1. ↑ "Ultimate Rap League | THE WORLD'S MOST RESPECTED MC BATTLE ARENA". urltv.tv. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  2. ↑ "URL | Summer Madness 2 | Results". BattleFix. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  3. ↑ "Troy "Smack" Mitchell: Lights, Camera, Action - AllHipHop.com". themaven.net. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  4. ↑ "SMACK Talk: The Secret Success Of The Rap Battle Industry". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  5. ↑ "First Rule Of Fight Klub: Do Talk About Remy Martin". MTV. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  6. ↑ "The ultimate Rap League inspired Sho-Time Battle Rap League & Sho-TimeTv". Hip Hop Weekly. 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  7. ↑ "Your Guide To BET's "Ultimate Freestyle Friday" Season 3". Battle Rap. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  8. ↑ "Battle Rap Brings the Craft Back to the Basics". XXL. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.