What is Battle Rap?

Also known as battle rapping or battle rhyming is a type of rapping that includes a lot of braggadocio (bragging and boasting) content "combined with put-downs, insults, and disses against real or imaginary opponents". Battling can occur on recorded albums, though battle raps are often recited or freestyled spontaneously in live battles, "where MCs will perform on the same stage to see who has the better verses".

Battle rapping is described by 40 Cal in the book How To Rap as "extracurricular" and he compares it to the dunk contest in the NBA. Battle raps are often written solely for the purpose of impressing people with technically inventive rapping, and knowing a wide variety of rapping styles and a wide range of MCs is recommended. Some MCs started out writing mostly battle raps and battling other MCs before they began making records<sup>.


Here are some examples battle rap:</sup>

                                ^{Diaz vs Protege (WD2)}

                        ^{Dello vs Batas (Fliptop)}


Battling is a prominent part of hip hop culture.