You go inside a bar and join a mob, at the center there stands a middle man together with two guys insulting each other with clever and funny words from their mouth. They upload the videos on You Tube, you give them comments and that starts the trend of people commenting to each and every funny but witty videos of the first Filipino rap battles in the Philippines which we know of as FlipTop Rap Battle.
FlipTop Rap Battle somehow reminds me of MTV’s Yo’ Momma which format is to insult your competitor’s mother through a rap. But looking back and tracing as to how it started, we can use Grind Time as reference to the league’s format for having the same set-up and humor as claimed by Anygma (if in case you don’t know, he’s the middle man in every battles). But what makes Fliptop different from the other shows is greatly the pure intent of just having fun and improving one’s vocabulary and poetry. You win and you gain no bucks – only great appreciation and admiration from viewers; you lose, people laugh at you, call you names, but in the end, you still are a part of something people enjoy and follow. As compared to the others, Fliptop gain more popularity to the world due to its Filipino touch of culture and humor plus the fact that Filipinos are scattered all over the world! In fact, Fliptop has gained millions of hits whether it came from the official YouTube channel of Fliptop Battle or not.
What we like about this big hip hop hit is its attachment to the Filipino culture. It is basically showing what and how Filipino men are when they are to confront another male in a word fight – we simply love insulting others in front of our friends but still are friends with them after each match. Well who doesn’t love insults? I’ve been watching some of the most talk about battles, and to be honest, there was never a time that I was not laughing or clapping to a clever punch line thrown by any of the competitor. Indeed, Fliptop has influence us a lot because we (together with my co-teachers) used to do battles among ourselves and I ended being the big loser.
If there is something Fliptop has contributed to us aside from the showcasing the hiphop and rapping talent of the participants (whether be in the Filipino or English conferences), it would be the influence it has given us to be what we want to be and to say what we want to say using our talent in rhyming words and creating intelligently insulting remarks but still have fun. To be particular, Fliptop has given doors to the youth to open up and improve their hiphop/rap talent to somehow become the next person to battle with the others. They even, in my opinion, inspired young rappers to go out of their shell and battle out with other rappers in different school, barangay or other you tube channels. Truly, this is a big thing that hit us big time and help us, Filipinos, proved to the world that our tongue has taste in choosing the right words to win and to give ourselves and others some fun!
Fun, entertainment, education, amazement and others – this show is one big package for us. You see, this is the only place where you will see people wanting for more over time! Make some noise and join the fun!
For those who would like to know more about FlipTop Rap Battle events, visit their official YouTube channel here and simply watch out for their schedules.