DFI Renaissance - Crowbar Terrace, Dublin 28th October 2023

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Saturday night saw the return of Don't Flop Ireland after a lengthy hiatus. The excitement had been buzzing about this event online for weeks and the packed venue was an obvious sign of that. In the lead up to the event, there was abuse flying from all sides which helped to create even more hype but thats all part of the pageantry as they embrace each other and show love and respect towards each other immediately after the battle has ended. 




The battles on the night included Kid B vs The County Hunter, Sea High vs Intimidation, RapThor vs Lizzie C and an on beat battle between Scauldy and JMAC. All four battles were very impressive and calling a winner in each is extremely hard. If I was to pick winners though I would personally have chosen Kid B, Sea High, RapThor and then I honestly couldn't pick between Scauldy and JMAC. All the battlers brought their A game.



This was my first time at a live battle rap event though I have been watching them online for almost a decade. As a huge hip hop fan all my life obviously I knew that battle rap existed but it wasn't until shooting a live performance of Collie in Alan Newman's apartment that I was introduced to it properly. A mention of the name Shotty Horroh had me intrigued so I went home and watching his battle with Arsonal and I was hooked. So shout out to Collie and Alan for piquing my interest. Since then I've watched hundreds of battles, some were incredible and some were absolute shite. The reason I never went before wasn't because I didn't want to but because from watching Irish battle rap's decline I didn't quite fancy standing in a field or on a balcony or the dreaded horse stable. This event seemed to be different so I went along and wasn't disappointed. I mean where else could you go to see amazing battles and the price of a pint of Guinness in the venue cost more than the ticket to the event itself? 



Walking into the venue was slightly surreal as I knew a majority of the people in there, not personally but from watching them on YouTube or listening to their music. To be honest I had slight trepidation but this community are inclusive and everybody's welcome. This was my first but it sure won't be my last.

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