[Quriosity]

VI | Breakdowns

The RSTL Returns again…

So the league is back and I’m still here. I guess what else is new. For those of you that missed it the tourney went off alright although it didn’t really showcase anyone pulling out all the stops. Although now it appears that the cash at the end of the road has vanished as Jook takes his retirement from the net. I know he’s doing it because it’s the right thing for him to be doing at this point in his life and so I fully support his move. In light of that, please be patient with Q because running his life and this league by himself will not be an easy task until he is provided help moderating it. Naturally I’ll be doing my part and might even be the person to become the assisting moderator, but whichever the case.

At the moment no one is ranked yet because we didn’t want anyone just jumping up and taking the title right off the bat, but there are a few people showing signs that they can do the damn. I’ll certainly be in the mix with all you suckers, but yea, we’ll see how it all pans out. No more recycling from me considering my fan club is running rampant and I can’t sneeze the same way twice. Anyhow, with that I bring you the breakdowns of the matches we’ve had so far that actually deserve any breakdown.

Season 2, Week 1:

The Battle of the Brits
Lucifa vs Alias2

Alias2 came to the table with a beautiful verse as far as I’m concerned especially coming from the picture that he used about the baton march, but in the way he depicted it, the piece was very smooth and the emotion really jumps out at you. At the end of the day the only thing the verse lacked was a clear cut character that stood out and was developed in order to make it relatable to all the readers. At the same time Lok went a more consistent route really building up a piece around the character and winding it into a trial with a somewhat provoking end. To me though one of the things that Lok does which was also evident here was really dumbed down rhyming and a way of taking on a character that seemingly speaks like a less educated person and he rhymes like that person would. While I appreciate the attention to detail to me that drives me nuts as I don’t feel that’s the route to go. At the end of the day Lok pulled out the win, but the decision wasn’t unanimous.

The New Guy meets That Chick
Everest vs Bonnie

In all honesty this battle was close, but it didn’t really bring too much to the table. In essence the reason why it caught so many votes was because it was a nice short battle. Everest had a piece that essentially broke down to nothing. It’s one of those flaws that a lot of writers fall into with thinking that it’s clever, but at the end of the day. You are the writer, finish your verse, make it what you want, not what the reader wants necessarily. At the same time, Bonnie did what Bonnie does, almost Erykah Caine like. She writes pieces about her personal experiences and her struggles, yet she does it flawlessly as a true artist. At the end of the day Everest actually won this battle though his faults at not voting ended up making this battle a tie. Regardless of which I didn’t feel like this battle exemplified the level of writing either of these two are capable of.

Captain Disappointment meets The New Poet
S.Issue vs Memento

So S.I. continues to disappoint me. Probably one of the more talented cats that’s been around almost consistently every other week last season, S.I. pulled up short yet again this week and put together a piece that lacked any closure as all he really gave us was the beginning, although it was a pretty good one. Now memento didn’t exactly write a novel as he obviously wasn’t going for overkill, but what he did show was a lot of depth behind what he wrote, something that he’s exemplified in both weeks of competition so far which shows resurgence for the more poetic writers in the RSTL. This is something I use to be against, yet I find memento to be rather refreshing, for now at least. The voters did as well as he ran off with the win.

Iron Man meets the Shit Lister
Got Life? vs Condescending

This was a joke, I pulled out a topical piece about whatever I felt like throwing together in about 20 minutes because honestly, Condescending is a joke to me and I didn’t feel like wasting my time writing against him. At the end of the day it was more than enough to blow past whatever he decided to put up.


Season 2, Week 2:

Here comes the drama…
Got Life? vs Inkwell (Chris)

Ok so yea, I recycled. Blah, blow me. Inkwell gave me a run for my money over a year ago, these days I don’t consider him competition nor did I bother to write, instead I rehashed a solid verse that I had written for Pain, a battle to which Pain didn’t show. Regardless Ink put up a decent verse about angels or something or other, anyway, the drama of me recycling drew enough attention to this battle so most of you read what he wrote, I didn’t.

Battle of the mods
Tek vs King Grimet

So tek came to the table this week putting up a piece that lacked some of the “gangsta” shit that people get really annoyed at tek for bringing to the table. At the same time if you really look at the piece it definitely was inspired by “the ghetto”, yet the subtlety of the piece is what made it captivating and actually something worth reading. KG on the other hand can’t seem the catch a break whether it’s the loss via no-show in week 1 because he’s not use to how people act in the RSTL and this week finally catching tek in somewhat fighting form. KG committed one of the fatal sins of writing though, writing a piece about personal emotion. This never goes over well unless done in an abstract where others can relate because at the end of the day, while I’m one of the few that will actually admit it, no one here gives a fuck about the other person. Naturally tek won, but keep plugging away KG, even though you’re an emotional fucker.