Battlegrounds: PO8 mile
Meet the team behind the Word of Mouth Rap Battles in Portsmouth
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Ladies and gentlemen, if you are as gassed for this battle as I am,
00:03 please make some f***ing noise.
00:05 You're a mediocre teacher, but I've done degrees,
00:12 so I can teach you a lesson in art, science and grease,
00:14 because blood, you ain't flowing back like arteries.
00:17 You could have 300 man like a Spartan siege.
00:19 I'll be burning all your plaques like it's Tartarine.
00:21 If it's food tech, bring the beef, I'll make a carvery.
00:23 So my rap name's Jadon, but my name's Josh.
00:28 I've been rapping for a couple of years, got my new project out,
00:31 Quay Bound in Fratt & Drop recently,
00:33 and I'm top of Group D for Battlegrounds.
00:35 That sounds bad.
00:37 You made it, though.
00:39 Yes, I did.
00:40 I'm Jay, I'm the videographer at Word Of Mouth.
00:44 I'm Kieran Cheshire, also go by the name of Kiz,
00:46 and I'm the director of Word Of Mouth.
00:48 I'm Matt, also go by the name of Blessed,
00:51 I am the host of Battlegrounds and director at Word Of Mouth.
00:54 I'm Rocky, I'm a local DJ, occasional rapper,
00:59 occasional workshop person.
01:02 Government don't even know my name, I'm not telling it to you.
01:05 LAUGHTER
01:07 The way Matt runs these events is actually wild.
01:11 He says, "If I want to get paid, I have to bully this child."
01:15 CHEERING
01:17 I guess when we talk about the Grab The Mic events
01:20 that we run each month,
01:22 we place loads of rappers on the stage,
01:25 there's an open mic section,
01:26 so the audience is predominantly people that are involved with hip-hop,
01:32 they enjoy listening to it, or they're rappers themselves.
01:36 And so that is typically our audience
01:39 and a couple of the performers' friends and supporters and things like that.
01:43 How can anyone ever try to vote for this trouble, you?
01:47 If I'm honest, man, I'll be pretty f***ed off the way that the situation brew.
01:50 "Man, f***ed off, he f***ed the butt with JC too, like, 10-2."
01:53 How can you chug for half a round and still get a W?
01:56 LAUGHTER
01:57 I think it also shows a different side of creativity
02:01 when it comes to artists.
02:02 So for some artists, you can see them being quite serious
02:05 and natural in the music,
02:07 whereas when it comes to the battlegrounds,
02:08 it's more like a comedy show,
02:10 it's more entertainment put on the show in a lyrical way.
02:13 And again, as well, I think the other biggest part as well
02:16 is the diversity of it.
02:17 You go there and everyone...
02:19 Sometimes you wouldn't even think we'd be in a room together.
02:21 They're the ones who are having drinks together
02:23 and everyone's just in a loving vibe.
02:25 And I think that's the most important part,
02:27 is it gives everyone a creative place to kind of come together.
02:31 See, I'm trying to be top five and put my music out to the world
02:34 and you ain't even top five in your own band, Tommy Brown.
02:36 Oh!
02:37 Eight years deep in the scene and you're barely knee-deep in the water.
02:40 It's sad watching your talent wither from a prince down to a pauper.
02:43 Did you write your bars yourself or was it your nine backup authors?
02:45 And does Diamondback Kid know what you got up to with his daughter?
02:48 Oh!
02:49 Oh, really?
02:50 Oh, shit!
02:51 I was a big part of, of course, the hip-hop scene
02:55 actually kind of previous to Word of Mouth becoming an organisation.
03:00 And once I kind of met up with them, they were doing a lot that was very beneficial,
03:05 so I sort of crumbled them a lot.
03:06 Since then, I've been rapping for like ten years or something.
03:10 I've kind of calmed down, settled into being a local DJ,
03:13 but I still do sort of like arts and activist stuff around the city.
03:18 So I run workshops with refugees and other stuff.
03:23 I'm very closely tied in with 43 Nomads.
03:27 We do a lot of wonderful things for refugees in the city.
03:30 Believe me, when I say you spit, I mean that you actually spat.
03:35 When you spray on stage, the front row is covered in that.
03:40 Flecks of phlegm fly from your face, fill the air and scatter.
03:44 People slipping in your sloppy mess, they wipe away the slather.
03:47 So step aside 'cause I'm a different kind, you'll leave your ego battered.
03:51 See my big boss stomp around while yours just pitter-patter.
03:55 [cheers]
03:56 Before the Battlegrounds, I was working,
03:59 well, I'm still working for a music charity, Music Fusion.
04:02 I also write a lot about mental health,
04:06 do a lot of mental health raps, letting people know that they're not alone,
04:09 spreading the message of oppression and substance abuse.
04:11 And also, I've been running Word of Mouth for less than five years now.
04:17 So, yeah, we've been running Battlegrounds as well.
04:20 So honestly, and if he wants to talk about fighting techniques,
04:23 I'm a standing grin.
04:24 Rather a single spin kick, I could take him off his feet when I hit his chin.
04:28 And the worst part is, just from the way he stumbles back,
04:30 he's so skinny, he would snap his own shin.
04:32 [cheers]
04:33 I'm a shepherd, you're a sheep, this man, I'll slaughter, it's easy.
04:36 You live in a cul-de-sac, why you trying to chat like you're greasy?
04:39 [cheers]
04:40 This poor sorry boy, been trying to act like he's the naughtiest.
04:43 Beg the accent, beg aesthetic, pretend your troubles are the morbidness.
04:46 You want to sit back and set shots?
04:47 We all know you're just forcing it.
04:49 Not a leg to stand on, you're just an Oscar pastorius.
04:51 [cheers]
04:53 Persona is like a big part of it,
04:56 but I would describe mine personally as just kind of me times ten.
05:01 It's, you know, I'm just sort of, just sort of being more elaborate,
05:07 just being a bit more kind of, you know, stage present, really.
05:10 I think there are definitely a few characters in the league
05:14 who do put on a character,
05:16 and that's sort of part of it.
05:17 Again, you know, you're talking about that American influence,
05:20 you know, having a name that is separate,
05:23 like a stage name separate to your own
05:24 is something that you find more commonly in hip-hop
05:27 because characterization is such a big part of it.
05:29 It's another way that you,
05:31 it's another device that you would use to really make your points hit
05:35 is to make sure that you are a character
05:37 that either you think people are going to relate to
05:39 or people are going to be shocked by,
05:42 or, yeah, it's, you know, it's similar to, you know,
05:45 it's a dramatization of what you're trying to express.
05:49 For me, whereas Kiz was,
05:53 he's come up fighting against something,
05:56 I feel like I was always stepping towards something.
05:59 It wasn't that I had someone putting me down,
06:02 I had no way to lift myself back up.
06:05 It was that I'd be dealing with my own mental problems in life,
06:08 my home situation, and having that point of expression,
06:11 like I said, in Redding, there isn't much musical outlet
06:14 for people who want to express in that kind of way,
06:17 and kind of having that lack of opportunity
06:19 in dealing with everything else that was going on in my life.
06:21 I felt a little bit caged in, really,
06:24 and then coming down to Portsmouth
06:26 and being given the opportunity,
06:29 with open arms from Words, Mouth, from Blessed,
06:31 to be given the opportunity to express yourself,
06:34 to explore yourself, not only as an artist,
06:36 but as a person, and to develop your skills in the road.
06:39 I think a lot of kids across the UK don't have that opportunity,
06:43 and whether it be music, whether it be sport,
06:46 everyone has a talent that they know in their heart
06:49 that they want, and they want to chase,
06:51 but the problem is lack of opportunity.
06:53 So by the growth in projects like Word of Mouth,
06:57 like Music Fusion, giving people opportunities
07:00 to be themselves and to express themselves more,
07:03 it's all it's going to do is encourage the next generation
07:05 of people to be more themselves,
07:07 to be better versions of themselves,
07:08 and to put better music out to the world.
07:11 And I think that's what's really needed.
07:13 - All right, so that, listen here, Chief,
07:15 that's enough giving your mum some grief.
07:17 Let's you and I discuss these teeth.
07:20 (laughing)
07:21 - All right, mate.
07:22 - Do you brush those things with a brick or a hammer,
07:26 and then proceed to floss the lot with a spanner?
07:29 - Wow!
07:30 Wow!
07:31 - My challenges were quite psychological.
07:34 Family situations, death, divorce,
07:38 that sort of thing, separation, moving,
07:40 I moved seven or eight times,
07:43 moved house seven or eight times
07:45 during secondary school alone.
07:48 So not really having that set place
07:50 and not being in a place in my own head
07:52 was definitely something difficult for me.
07:55 And I think that music definitely gave me a drive
07:59 and an opportunity to understand myself better,
08:02 as well as better myself as a person.
08:05 I think the bottom line of it is that
08:07 there's kids everywhere that probably feel
08:09 the same way that I did,
08:11 that want an opportunity, that want to grow,
08:13 that want to be better.
08:14 So by them having that,
08:17 it would just generally be a better thing for everyone,
08:19 I think.
08:20 - So with me, I was bullied very heavily from a young age.
08:26 And I was listening to Eminem.
08:28 And Eminem is the one who kind of made me want to write music
08:31 in total, because I heard a song
08:33 and it was him letting out how he felt
08:35 and I felt the exact same way.
08:36 And then I thought to myself,
08:37 when I was getting bullied
08:38 and I was crying at home on my own,
08:40 I was always putting on Eminem.
08:42 And something switched in my head to,
08:44 imagine if other kids are getting bullied
08:45 and they come home and they're listening to my music
08:47 and they're putting me on their Zara skate.
08:49 And the thing is as well, when you're getting bullied,
08:51 there's only so many times you can get laughed at
08:53 and you feel like you're at the bottom,
08:55 you feel like you're at the core and the abyss.
08:57 And it gets to a point where you get sick and tired
08:59 of having this life.
09:00 You're sick and tired of always being a victim.
09:02 You're sick and tired of everyone pushing you around
09:04 and calling you names and always feeling worthless.
09:07 So I guess that I turned to more of a battle rap stage
09:11 to give myself strength.
09:12 So then I can stand on a stage and I can have my say
09:15 and then be like, do you know what?
09:16 This is who I am.
09:17 Why do you get to choose me?
09:19 Why do you get to break me?
09:20 And that's why as well, taking away battle rap,
09:23 my whole movement of music is about empowering other people
09:26 and letting other people know that they are not alone.
09:28 We all bleed the same, we all go through stuff.
09:30 And so it's all about helping one another.
09:33 And I think just when I was younger, like young age,
09:36 no one really helped me.
09:37 So I had to help myself and that's why I am this character
09:41 and this is why I am who I am now.
09:42 - Getting into rapping for me was kind of a bit
09:45 of an amalgamation of lots of like creative things
09:47 that I've done over the years.
09:48 I've been a percussionist, I've been an actor, DJ,
09:52 all these kinds of other things.
09:53 And when you actually sort of get into hip hop,
09:56 it's actually many different skills that you're using.
09:59 So like I was saying before about being a character
10:02 that came from drama, rhythm that came from percussion.
10:06 My actual motivation for being creative in general
10:10 is just sort of like maybe you need to be seen,
10:12 maybe you need to be heard.
10:13 It's something that makes me feel good about myself.
10:16 And I think that's the motivation
10:17 for a lot of creative people is something about being
10:21 in that limelight and expressing yourself
10:23 is very therapeutic.
10:25 I think for me going on stage and shouting at an audience
10:29 and them shouting back at me is the best therapy
10:32 that there could possibly exist.
10:34 And I think everyone in life should find
10:36 what makes them feel good about themselves.
10:39 - It's like Goldust, with what a lot of people said today
10:44 is that feeling of not being heard, not being recognised,
10:48 not dealing with what you want to deal with.
10:50 So when you're actually on stage
10:52 and you're putting your music out to the world
10:55 or even just the 10 people in front of you
10:57 and having that energy and that appreciation reciprocated
11:01 is Goldust, it motivates you to do it again and again
11:05 and again, it's such a positive thing
11:07 because it always comes from inside you.
11:10 Like Rocky said, there's people out there
11:12 that go and do X, Y, Z, illegitimate things
11:15 that is kind of associated with rap music,
11:18 but isn't rap music.
11:19 What rap music is, is going out, speaking your truth
11:22 and entertaining people and having a good time
11:25 and being able to do that,
11:27 it's always going to bring someone joy.
11:28 So like he said indescribable,
11:31 there's a thousand words I could use to describe it,
11:32 but none of them come close to it.
11:35 It's a great feeling.
11:36 - If I was your housemate, I'd change all the locks.
11:40 If I was your dry cleaner, I'd mix up your socks.
11:43 (audience laughing)
11:44 - See, I've been calling you a dog
11:45 and I don't mean that in no good way.
11:47 You can't even deny it, I can see it through your face.
11:49 You got your mother's looks
11:50 and she was rescued by the RSPCA.
11:52 (audience laughing)
11:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]