Thinking back on times of good Part II

Open space with so little time….

I know all of you guys heard the expression, “There aren’t enough hours in a day.” Well, in my case, it isn’t. My trip back home has been very gratifying, seeing old friends, but the drive has been a little “wearing,” to say the least.

But all in all, I am happy to be here. As I expressed in my previous blog a few days ago, I was talking about old times. I want to stay on topic in the form of artistry. Now, with that being said, another thing that came to mind was the infamous “Northwoods Battle Raps” that took place in the summer of 1993.

Let me give a back story. First, we were all close friends who mostly went to the same schools from elementary to high school. We were very close and knew each other’s families to the point of considering each other’s parents as “secondary moms and pops.” Before the rap battles began, in past years, we made rap songs by rapping on professional hip-hop artists’ beats and recording them with our radios (yeah, don’t laugh; I know some of y’all have done that before). After making at least 10 songs or more, we would put them together for our individual albums. We then drew our covers and named them. We even went so far as to name our rooms when we created such albums as our rap studios. I will list the studio’s and artists’ names in a bit (and before you say WTF, we were high school kids at the time, lol).

Now let me list the combatants that played their role in the Northwood Battle Rap session, which I will add lasted an entire summer:

1. K-Madd aka Maddkay, Da’ Lyrical Flow (Da’ L.F), Madman, MC Elf

2. True Lyrics aka T.L, Daddy Redd, MC Shan “Da’ Muslim” (dude didn’t even practice Islam, give me a &%$# break)

3. MC Acey E aka Eddie Rumble, E-Rum, Rumble, Country Boy

4. Skitofanaticluntic (yes, I know another WTF), aka Skito, MC Skits, 2-Def, Killa’ Ken (honorable mention his brother Psycho aka Psyc, T-Ruff)

5. Special Ced (no other alias, thank the Most High)

6. Big B’ aka Hawkman, QuarterBall

***Another guy called “Tech 9” did not actually rap, but for some reason, got pissed at someone and threatened to shoot them. No lie. No one fucked with him because he did have a tech 9 along with other guns and would shoot**

Now K-Madd belongs to Madd Factory Studios (formerly known as Cold Chillin Records), True Lyrics-True Records, Skito & Psyho-Rage and Ruff Records, MC Acey E-Country Talk Studio, Special Ced-Boys -n- the Woods Inc., and Big B-unknown. Yes, here are all the contestants. It all started innocently enough, with a couple of songs “dissing” other guys and whatnot. In the end, we just laughed and had fun with it all. Great times occurred in June of 1993 (keep in mind Big B was supposed to be the judge of this mess but ended up just laughing at us).

Then, it all went completely to hell. I won’t get involved with all the small particulars of fun beef becoming real beef, but things got personal quickly. For example, K-Madd vs. Special Ced was cool at first, then Special Ced (who really couldn’t rap worth a damn and only cared about “making” on girls, cars, and weight lifting) made a song that K-Madd was crying over a recent break-up with a girl. K-Madd replied, calling him a chump and saying that his mother was fine (which, to all young men, mothers, either good or bad, were off-limits in any forum). It completely fell apart, and both weren’t speaking to each other for most of the summer but became friends once again later in the following fall.

Then, as if Special Ced didn’t have enough, he and Skito started battling, but this time, the battle got heated fast, resulting in Ced talking about Skito’s girlfriend (which is another no-no) and Skito throwing a wet newspaper at Ced’s car. Both wanted to fight and had a couple of minor “phone threats” back and forth. This didn’t get resolved so quickly, but a couple of years later, it did——whew.

The last of the beefs was Skito vs. True Lyrics. Now, this battle began on a high note. Both were regarded by everyone as the best rappers in our part of the neighborhood at the time. Their individual songs were a great model of pure lyrics and delivery. Hearing their songs was amusing and entertaining, and both respected each other. Very refreshing indeed.

Then (well, you knew this was coming), it all went straight to shit (excuse my language). T.L. and Skito started talking about each other’s girlfriends, their looks, sizes (you know what I mean), everything. It got so bad that phone threats became real threats in which both were daring each other to come over to their respective houses for a “conversation.” We did not allow this to happen, so we put an end to that beef, and both are still friends to this day.

I can only say that the only battle that did not succumb to bullshit (sorry for the language again) was MC Acey E vs K-Madd. Both were not the most potent rappers, but they brought a creative flow/style into the mix. They made songs that told stories and talked about society’s ills and crazy things about the school system. In reality, they weren’t battle rapping, but their sessions could only be judged by content, which never went into egoism of “who is the best” but a genuine appreciation of skills.

Well, there you have it, the infamous “Northwood Battle Raps” in the summer of 1993. All the rappers just graduated high school and were looking forward to what else life had to offer. It was a crazy time, a time of uncertainty, of regrets and expectations. A time when young black men started to formulate their thoughts on life and what kind of person they would be. It was a rite of passage with the excuse of “rap battles” to help shape their mentality. I am not saying the ones who had a so-called “beef” became persons of poor character. Still, on the contrary, all contestants lead productive lives, some with families, some not, but all have become independent thinkers in a society of conformists. Yes crazy!

Before I leave, here is an old-school rap by K-Madd himself. From the studios of Madd Factory—–

Death by Demand

Let me tell you about a boy, who just went straight (say this 3times)
never started any trouble, committed any rape,
just an average day brotha, on the streets
never talked any shit, or got his ass beat
chillin with his boys, around the hood
had nothing to do, had nothing to give
livin’ day by day, with his own little rules,
never started any trouble, but stayed in school
wore any color and never front,
but he knew that gang bangers were just on the hunt
wearing red in one hood, blue in another
got sick of that shit of being a terrified brotha

one day he wore the wrong colors in the hood
all the brothas’ were mad, and misunderstood
so they gathered their posse and filled the trunks with gats
driving all day, looking for where he lived at
went to the house, then to the work place
news at 10, his house was just sprayed
the reporter said, three people were dead
an elderly woman and three girls in the bed
it was his mother and his sisters his mind went blank
his emotions were stifle, his heart just sank
went to the morgue, to see them one mo’ time
then to the crib—and pulled out a ‘9’
who knew who had done it, he knew who had led it
making sure that mark nigga’ gonna regret it
saw him on the corner, walk to his face
blew his ass away, and walk with a so pace
the 5-0s’ came fast when they heard the shots,
surrounded the dude and told him to stop
he threw down his gun and that’s when he pop.
Started running wild, around the way
guns went off, dude was sprayed
body hit the ground blood started to spread
just another brother on the street that was dead

All you mutherfuckers better understand,
innocence on the street is Death by Demand…..

by K-Madd

Thank you all for reading, comments welcome.

(for all confidential purposes, no real names were included in this blog to save the embarrassment of all involved).