Emcee Olympics

By Adrian Ruhi4/19/2010

Battle rapping has a long and storied place in the history of Hip Hop, from the early New York rappers shredding each other, to KRS-1 launching himself from being homeless in "The South, South Bronx" to instant sensation via an unmixed demo, to Eminem's discovery at the 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles.

But as MTV usurped the Rap Olympics into one of their "True Life" shows, and hasn't updated their myspace page since 2008, it's safe to say that Hip Hop needed new games to showcase emcees in the squared circle.

Enter local nonprofit organization Difference Makers and their Miami Emcee Olympics, which take place Friday, April 23 at the Joseph Caleb Auditorium in Liberty City. Twenty emcees, including Lox Tha Rippa, will compete in a lightning round that will narrow the field to 10 competitors.  The remaining 10 will narrow themselves down by rapping about random images on a big screen to rapidly changing tempos and finally facing off in pairs in assigned "conflict scenarios" to determine who walks away with the title and $500.

Sweetening the deal - a portion of the proceeds go to Haitian relief and two canned goods knock the door admission from $10 to $5.

Details - Friday, April 23 from 8 - 11:30 p.m. at Joseph Caleb Auditorium, 5400 NW 22nd Ave., Miami.