{"id":660264,"date":"2026-03-16T18:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/660264\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T18:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:48:18","slug":"verbal-jousting-in-oak-cliff-the-black-literary-tradition-of-battle-rap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/660264\/","title":{"rendered":"Verbal Jousting in Oak Cliff: The Black Literary Tradition of Battle Rap"},"content":{"rendered":"

When my friend SoulArty invited me to a local battle rap event<\/a> last December, I had no idea what to expect. My exposure to battle rap was limited to movies like 8 Mile and internet memes. Having been introduced to beat battles only last year by my cousin, rap battles seemed like the logical next step. To wrap up Black History Month, I want to share what I learned with Dallas Weekly readers. The battle rap emcees of Dallas and beyond are carrying forward a Black literary tradition that didn\u2019t start with hip-hop and won\u2019t end with it.<\/p>\n

The Cartel Order, a DFW-based battle rap community, chose The 4th Floor Lounge in Oak Cliff as the venue for their last event of 2025. The space is known for artists and art lovers to vibe out with original music, poetry, comedy, and karaoke. The vibes were light and fun. Veterans and fans were welcoming of my camera and questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Battle rap legend Hero (left) battling against Kvng Caution (right). Photo Credit: Imran Shakoor @98fricti<\/strong>on<\/p>\n

Eliza Versa @eliza_versa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Soon after arriving, a soulful, Southern woman wearing a cowboy hat and boots invited me to join her.<\/p>\n

Eliza Versa has been on the battle rap scene since she was 19. \u201cI got into battle rap through my best friend\u2013 it was just another part of rap, and I just wanted to see where it would take me. And it took me far. Look where we are,\u201d Eliza said in a melodic tone that echoes the style of her verses. She shouts out her boy Loud Mouf and The Cartel Order before extending an open invitation, \u201cYou know, this is battle rap baby. Come and join us\u2013 It ain\u2019t gonna hurt you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

SoulArty GTH @soulartygth<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

SoulArty Grind Trap Hustle, SoulArty GTH for short, laid down a foundation of rap history for me. Battle rap in Texas goes back at least two decades, with the Texas Battle League running things early on. \u201cThey\u2019ve seen a really healthy revival,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of that revival is seeing this new draft class that\u2019s out here now. We got new rookies coming in. So it\u2019s not just the same dudes that\u2019s been rapping for years. It\u2019s some new dudes that are also dope.\u201d He made sure to shout out Houston, where Houston Bar Code<\/a> runs what might be the biggest battle rap league in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a hip-hop and visual artist himself, SoulArty shared some of what he appreciates about the art of battle rap. \u201c\u201dThey got to come with new material every single time. And if it\u2019s three rounds, that\u2019s roughly 10 minutes of material minimum. So they have to write so much more, and they have to keep on coming with new clever [material]\u2026So I think battle rap has a lot more difficulty on the writing side. I love seeing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loud Mouf @loudmouf12<\/strong><\/p>\n

The event organizer, Loud Mouf, was humble and confident. Before delving into his story, he made sure we knew about Dallas battle rap pioneer, Hero.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHero is one of the founders of, if not the founder of Dallas battle rap. Building stone by stone, Hero went from starting at the bottom, just battling in regular places with nobody there\u2013 10 people, to the big stages, to URL (Ultimate Rap League<\/a>) smacking them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hero Miles (@yungh3r0),<\/strong> an Oak Cliff native, showed the metroplex what\u2019s possible. And now Loud Mouf is part of that lineage. A lead organizer of The Cartel Order, Loud Mouf stood undefeated at 14-0 and was crowned Rookie of the Year for 2025. \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a live on Facebook within our group of battle rap, since April, that hasn\u2019t mentioned The Cartel,\u201d he said. \u201cGood, bad, whatever. Just keep mentioning us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loud Mouf came up making regular music, recording in studios, writing to beats. Battle rap, he says, is something else entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re writing a battle rap, it\u2019s more spoken word like, more like poetry form,\u201d he explained. \u201cI don\u2019t have a beat that I have to write to. I can tell you whatever I want, however I want it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He laughed before sharing this: \u201cShakespeare was the first battle rapper\u2013 He used to hold events in the town square where people would have verbal jousts with words. [They would] talk about each other\u2019s dirty clothes, their spouses. What does that sound like to you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Battling a pro is not an easy feat, Loud Mouf reminds us. Critical elements of battle rap are strong delivery and audience reception. The best battle rappers are masters of flow, stage presence, quick comebacks, and crafting complex schemes. Only after several intense rounds of high-level performance is a winner decided by a panel of judges.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mikul (left) battling against Tee Boogie (right). The female host at the center is known as Onyxx. Photo Credit: Imran Shakoor @98friction<\/strong><\/p>\n

K9 Jones<\/strong><\/p>\n

K9 Jones<\/a> has been here since the beginning. Corpus Christi, then Dallas, then everywhere. \u201cTexas Battle League was started by a dude named Jap[anese] Jesus<\/a>. They basically found me through word of mouth. I used to just battle corner to corner all over my city\u2013,\u201d he said. \u201cI say back like 2009, 2010 is when I first witnessed the whole battle thing, and I pretty much have been a part of it through every era.\u201d He listed off the leagues like roll call: Texas Battle League, Texas Battle League University, Houston Bar Code, Live From The Block, Dallas Battle League. Texas Battle League was the umbrella, and everything else branched out from there.<\/p>\n

K9 is happy to see the scene grow, noting how social media made battle rap more popular with the youth. \u201cI think it\u2019s going in a good direction,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get young battle rappers, you know, they\u2019re coming in younger and younger, and it looks like the culture is really spreading. So, you know, it\u2019s a positive thing, giving everybody something to do on the weekends besides getting in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ehs Rat @ohehso<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ehs Rat came through after his warm-up round, energy still high. \u201cTonight I go against KDOG. It\u2019s EHS Rat versus KDOG [Kasino]. We had a nice pre round\u2013 popped it off real swell. I got me winning, of course, 3 and 0.\u201d He showed love to other artists battling that night\u2014Younggod ATM, Drip Tarantino, Kobe and Banxx Tha God. \u201cI love coming to events like this,\u201d he iterated. \u201cWe put on for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"5th Spirit (left) battling against Ayo Drayy (left), both in white t-shirts. Photo Credit: Imran Shakoor @98friction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cynics of literary prowess beware: There is no experience quite like a battle rap showdown, trust me. When two emcees stand face-to-face, no instruments, no beats, no safety net\u2014armed only with wit and rhyme. There\u2019s disses that you can\u2019t help but laugh at, or let out a long \u201cDaaaamn\u201d. The people I met aren\u2019t just rappers. They\u2019re historians, archivists, carriers of a tradition that stretches back further than any of us can trace. Like many things, battle rap is distinctly Black American, and also a growing global phenomenon. It is both modern, and antique. Yes, it\u2019s competitive. Yes, it can be brutal. And at its core, it\u2019s a positive creative outlet for the community.
If you\u2019re sleeping on battle rap, you\u2019re missing something real. Tap in with Dallas Cuttin Up Battle League and The Cartel Order<\/a>. Check out the Prove Ya Worth 2<\/a> event coming up on March 28th.<\/p>\n

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