With the third installment of Lord of the Mics being released at the beginning of the week everybody is talking about it. I think its time to look back and see what made LOTM such a big thing for artists to get involved with? Why Jammer has decided to bring it back?

‘Battle rapping’ started back in the 70′s in America and has since become a massive feature in the hip hop culture and provided the launching pad for one of the biggest artists to hail from the genre, Eminem. Skip a few decades and over here in the UK we have developed our own take on the American pastime. Clashing was born and started featuring heavily in Londons grime scene, with rap battles providing a new lease of life for a genre that was in danger of slipping under the radar. Many memorable moments have come from UK rap battles including the infamous Dizzee vs Crazy Titch battle (‘I’m not a mook’) that resulted in a volley of dubs between the two and it also launched the career of one of the most successful artists in the UK at the moment, Pro Green. In 2004 Jammer & Esco decided to make an actual event to host battles with some of the biggest names on the underground circuit taking part.

The first two LOTMs featured many artists that have made the transition from underground to household names, not just here in London but up and down the country and some even across the pond. With the likes of Footsie vs Scratchy, Bruza vs Crazy Titch, Ghetto vs Napper and of course Kano vs Wiley on the first DVD and Bashy vs Demon, Skepta vs Devilman and Tinchy vs Ears on the second its clear to see that Lord of the Mics has been influential in many MCs careers. Im not saying that this is the sole reason for these artists success and of course they also helped build the name of Lord of the Mics but the rate of MCs who have gone on to bigger and better things who have been involved with LOTM is very impressive.

Which leads to the question, what does LOTM3 have in store for the artists featuring this year?

A lot has already gone on with all the hype sessions and interviews surrounding the release of the DVD. One of the clashes I think most of us are looking forward to is Kozzie vs Sox, am I wrong? When word got out that Sox had to forfeit in the dungeon and shortly after dropped a dub entitled ‘Compulsive Liar‘ it suddenly added another dimension to the ensuing battle of two talented young MCs, since then Kozzie replied with his own dub and a rematch in the dungeon has been added to the DVD. Its not the only conflict that has a lot of attention as all the battles carry a lot of potential with some very talented MCs taking part. One thing is for sure, Lord of the Mics gives all the artists involved a chance to appeal to a wider audience as there will be various artists fans watching as well as fans of the actual concept itself. All in all it should be an explosive DVD (and audio CD) of raw UK talent showcasing what they do best, straight barring!

Surely this has to be seen as one of the biggest spring boards in the scene for many underground artists? You just look need to look at the line up of the past battles to see the ratio of success.

Full Line up for LOTM3:

Wariko Vs Diesle
Marger Vs Layz
Kozzie Vs Sox
Hypes Vs Tez Kidd
Tre Mission Vs Jendor
Jammin Vs Clipson
Merky Ace Vs J1
Desperado Vs Rival
Kozzie Vs Sox (REMATCH)