New Jersey’s own Tsu Surf stopped by Hot 97’s Ebro In The Morning to discuss both his position in battle rap as well as his reasoning for not doing Summer Madness with Smack/URL this year. He also calls out fellow battle rap star, Murda Mook, and provides insight on why their battle hasn’t happened yet. Tsu Surf shares his opinion on the quickly declining Drake vs. Meek Mill beef, and speaks with Ebro about his forthcoming Newark project that is set to drop this month. Watch the candid interview below!

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We’re all aware of the Drake and battle emcee Murda Mook had a “run in” at a Toronto night club where Drake made a public all to battle Mook on certain terms. Since then, fans of the battle culture have been weighing in on whether a battle between the two would ever take place. Last weekend at  their NOME 5 event, and much to everyone’s surprise, Drake made an a appearance, but was quickly challenged by Murda Mook in front of the entire audience. Check out the video below.

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While one of the most anticipated battles of the year, DNA vs. Ill Will, was abut to take place, RESPECT. caught up with Smack and Beasley to discuss the competition, their battlers and Night of the Main Events 4. You can read all about it in our upcoming issue but, prior to watching DNA and Ill Will go at it for three rounds tomorrow, we’re giving you a preview of Smack and Beasley’s mindset on the event and their “imitators.” Read on below.

RESPECT.: With all the competition going on right now, how do y’all feel? Are you the leaders in the battle league space?

Beasley: I still think that URL is the leader in the space. All of the major talent that attracts viewership at MC battles online, they come from our platform. Even if they weren’t a big name, they were established here and we broadened their profile to enable them to go out and battle. Any other league that’s out here, they are trying to secure views, they are using our talent pool to do so. Whether they are small leagues, major corporations that are now trying to come in, labels… I’ll say it’s good on one end when you have them imitating what you are doing, ’cause it shows that you are making an impact. But it’s also frustrating because in addition to us being businessmen and entrepreneurs we are also true to hip-hop.We always believed in being original.

Night of Main Events is coming up, but your marquee event is the annual Summer Madness show. What do y’all expect from both high-powered battles?

Beasley: Energy. I expect energy, performance, excitement, and elevation of MC battle culture to another level. People have to remember that we were able to do something that few thought was even possible. People laughed at us, thought we were jokes, clowns… “There’s no money in this.” Now we are selling out venues. One of the owners of [famous New York venue] Webster Hall told us the only people to sell out Webster Hall were The Killers and The Rolling Stones. They said no one else ever in hip-hop was able to haul out to that level with the ticket price point that we had. [Editor’s note: Tickets can reach up into the $200 range.] They said it was insane. We are providing jobs, opportunity for these guys to make money. They are actually making a living off of battle rap now. They can pay their bills, travel the world, have opportunities to go to other leagues overseas. You see guys in other countries acting like they are Smack. So even if we don’t get any bigger, it just feels good to know we did something that contributed to hip-hop culture that will be around forever and that’s documented that people will always refer to.

The full issue hits newsstands soon.

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Revered SmackURL battle rapper Loaded Lux just made his biggest musical move to date, dropping the visuals for “Rite”. Meth and Red, who feature on the track, appear both alongside Lux in a lively outdoor cypher video, and in a few scenes lounging luxuriously. This is perhaps the most high profile track ever by a pure battle rapper, so it’s sure to be huge for that industry; you can catch a glimpse of the founder of Smack at 2:03, and Meth even quotes Loaded Lux’s most iconic line. Without all that context though, the track would still be a monster: the beat bangs, and the energy is unstoppable.

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