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Concert reviews Music

World Domination 4, Part 2

ARCANE vs. PAT STAY, CHARLIE CLIPS vs. HOLLOHAN and more as part of WORLD DOMINATION 4 at the Opera House, Saturday, August 24. Rating: NNN


A rap battle hangs on every sentence, every word, every syllable. You really need to be able to hear a pin drop to hear every bar drop. So, it was unfortunate that on the second night of World Domination 4 at the Opera House, there were a couple of sound issues. While spectators onstage and on the floor were attentive and respectful, those loitering around the bar (including some of the later, high-profile competitors) would not STFU. The rappers’ mics were also inconsistently audible, so before each match they’d have to go through a test-drive before lauching into round one.

Luckily, most of King of the Dot’s 18 day-two competitors brought their A-games, which made it worth the ear strain. The first all-female KOTD battle (Young Gattas vs. Bonnie Godiva) Nova Scotia’s Hollohan vs. Harlem’s Charlie Clips and the title match, champion Arcane from Hamilton vs. challenger Pat Stay from Nova Scotia, provided the most overall entertainment value.

Competitors have plenty of time to prepare, targeting their raps for their specific opponent. They also have time to learn about the culture and city they’re performing for, and some of the best rappers yesterday (Charlie Clips and Young Gattas in particular) threw in plenty of Toronto Raptors, Drake – and yes, Tim Horton’s – references. As well as the overt comedy in the insult-fuelled monologues, there is something World Wrestling Entertainment about the whole thing – from the rappers’ exaggerated, character-driven personas, to the way the crowd chimes in for the well-known, round-ending signature tag lines, to KOTD founder Organik hovering a foot away from each battle like a Vince McMahon figure (except, not at all like Vince McMahon). The serious level of lyrical talent mostly balances out the cheesier Pay-per-view-ready aspects, though you get the sense KOTD is still figuring its identity out – who, exactly, they want to be.

The finale – which pushed past 2 a.m. – saw the bravado and “delivery” of Pat Stay (I, for one, think he could cool it a bit on the self-congratulatory pauses) against the less showy but equally inspired wordplay of Arcane. Lines like: “Sloppy bars, this ain’t Patrick’s day/Sloppy bars, this Saint Patrick’s Day” from the champ couldn’t sway the judges, who ultimately crowned Pat Stay the new King of the Dot.

KOTD staff have a few kinks to work out for next year (making sure accredited media are on lists, wrangling the ancy second-day crowd etc.), but it’s an exciting new level of exposure for a hip-hop subculture that is making major mainstream headway.

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