By: Maurice Garland
Since its inception, anybody involved in Hip-Hop culture has prided themselves in making something out of nothing. Not just any kind of “something” either. It’s usually something that changes the way the world looks at things.
Queens Village, New York entrepreneur/videographer Tony “Smack†Mitchell was working a regular 9-to-5 in the early 2000’s, or what he refers to as the “regular hustle and bustle” when he created SMACK (Streets Music Art Culture and Knowledge), a DVD-magazine that featured uncensored interviews with popular and up-and-coming Hip-Hop artists, giving viewers an exclusive, fly-on-the-wall look inside the lives of their favorite rappers when they weren’t on BET or MTV.
With an initial investment that included purchasing a Sony PD150 camera, a PC and Premier 6.0 editing software, Smack hit the streets himself in search of content that larger outlets like BET and MTV either couldn’t provide, or were too mainstream to broadcast.
“I thought it would be dope if the content you heard on mixtapes was visualized,” he says. “People weren’t able to see Jadakiss and DMX going for 24 bars on video. MTV and BET had to be political and censored. You didn’t get the real character of the rappers, who they really were. I wanted people to see them in their environment, when they are on the block, on tour or in the studio.”
In the early 2000’s, the idea of digital content creation was still in its infancy stages, meaning that the cost of doing it was very grown up. Back then, a Sony PD150 alone ran for as high as $4,000 (today you can find one for less than $1,000 online). Printing up DVDs cost $2 a pop when Smack started out, 10 years later it can be as low as .50 cents each. On its first run, Smack printed up 1000 DVDs and moved them hand-to-hand.
“It moved slow because no one grasped the DVD magazine concept at the time,” he admits. “So I had to show my vision by doing concrete interviews with celebrities.”
Using neighborhood and industry connections, Smack was able to get exclusive content including Kanye West denying gay rumors, Nicki Minaj introducing herself to the world as well as on the spot interviews with Ludacris and Eminem.
Fast forward through 2007, the SMACK brand was now moving 40-50k copies independently with nationwide distribution through mom and pop retailers; and regional stores selling the DVDs for as much as $20, with SMACK collecting $10 on consignment.
But then…
“In 2008, YouTube exploded and online websites started popping up, everybody had access to the [recording and editing] equipment now.”
While SMACK suffered some stings from bootleggers like most things Hip-Hop, it was the proliferation of digital content available online, for free, that really knocked the wind out of the company, causing it to have to lay low and change its approach. While the celebrity interviews were a large part of the DVD magazine’s success, it was also the stars they were making that kept the money rolling in.
At the end of every DVD, up-and-Coming battle rappers were showcased trading barbs in locations ranging from street corners, public parks, recording
studios or anywhere with enough lighting. Unlike rappers who were enjoying the spoils of being signed to a record deal, the battle rappers made their money coming up with the fiercest rhymes possible where every insult was allowed and no subject was off-limits.In the mid-2000s, some of the more popular battle rappers, thanks to appearances on other DVD magazines, including SMACK, as well as BET’s 106 & Park “Freestyle Fridays,” drew attention from record labels looking to sign them. But when they developed the reputation of not being able to make songs that would appeal in nightclubs or on the radio, the demand for the artform began to cool off, eventually returning to its underground roots.
“At the peak of SMACK, I was doing too many things to focus on that,” says Mitchell. “I was running around interviewing the biggest stars so I couldn’t devote all of my energy to filming battles. But around 2008-09, when other movements started doing them, I didn’t feel they were representing the culture the way we did. I wanted to present from my view, so I started a league.”
In 2009, Mitchell switched gears and created the Ultimate Rap League (URL) pitting battle rappers against each other with purses ranging from $4,000 to $20,000. This past August, the URL’s Summer Madness 2 show brought battle rapping back to the forefront. The event was held in New York City’s Webster Hall and was packed to capacity from start to finish. Financially backed with sponsorship from Ciroc Vodka, the entire show was recorded and presented in high quality video rivaling a pay-per-view boxing match.
“We wanted to show the world that this artfrom is the new form of Hip Hop entertainment,” says Smack. “We had Diddy, Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip coming and staying from the first to last battle for eight hours. People tried to throw battle rapping on the back burner saying battle rappers can’t make songs, but they don’t have to. They’re not trying to make songs, they’re just trying to entertain and bring something new to the game.”
“I signed a deal to Ruff Ryders (DMX, Eve) three years ago as an artist and hadn’t battled since then,” says Harlem battle rapper legend, Murda Mook, who got his start from SMACK. “I wanted to focus on making music. Then all of a sudden, Smack calls me and says he has $20,000 for me to come and battle [at Summer Madness 2]. I’m not turning that down.”
He continues, “That let me know that this could be a very lucrative industry. People watch battle rap and are mesmerized by the ferociousness, the wit and the courage that it takes to do it. I think it could be million dollar huge if it’s in the right hands.”
Since the August event, YouTube footage of the battles have sparked a renewed interest to the point that commercially successful rappers like Meek Mill have challenged some of URL’s players, and superstars like Jay-Z have tweeted popular lines from the battles, specifically Loaded Lux’s “you gonna get this work.”
“People are paying attention and want to be involved,” says Smack. “The URL stage is needed right
now because Hip Hop is getting boring. Everybody drops an album on Tuesday, look at the Soundscan scan numbers and its over. With a battle, it’s on forever, it’s documented for ever. It’s history.”Mook feels so strongly about URL and battle rap’s rebirth that he thinks the new business model could overtake the fledgling record industry.
“You don’t have expenses,” he points out. “When you’re making music, the label invests in the artist and the artists are instantly in the hole. With battling, you don’t have to worry about studio time, mixing songs, all of the logistics of making an album. In battle rap, you’re just coming with your rhymes.”
But, even as the art form is showing signs of becoming the next big thing, some of its participants are weary of the newfound interest in it.
“We need and appreciate the attention and notoriety,” says Detroit-based battler Calicoe. “But it can be bad when celebrities come in and they bring a bias. The crowd feeds off whatever the celebrity is cheering for. People like them should be neutral at these events.”
While bias is sure to come anytime a battle has to be judged, Smack and URL are looking forward to bringing in other things.
“We got a lot of support from Ciroc, XXL and The Source and people are actually seeing the amount of eyeballs we attract,†says Smack. “We’re in talks with more sponsors right now. I don’t want to say names until they cut a check. If anybody is interested we can definitely have a conversation.â€