joeEFFINGmayo@ Battlefest Presents Mayday Mayhem!

Battlefest Logo

      Hey everyone! This weekend, I was able to get out to Mayday Mayhem, presented by Battlefest and MeleeTv, out at the Pirate Ninja Print Shop, on E. State Street and I have to say, it was great! The event was held in the Rawkspace on the 3rd floor of the print shop building. The Rockford event consisted of several battle rappers in the Battlefest league competing against one another, 1-on-1, in a lyrical brawl.


      I spoke to Battlefest CEO, Derek 'Blaze' Nguyen, and he told me that Battlefest has come a long way, thus far. The first ever Battlefest 'event' was held in August of '09 at Twin Sisters Park with a whopping turnout of about 7 people. More recently, according to Blaze, Battlefest is doing very well and is accumulating some revenue and press.

Souless battles the infamous, Kay-Gee

      Since saving a quick dime is very useful in today's economy, Battlefest gave me an option that would make me smugger than a hybrid car driver. For every two canned goods I brought, they bumped off a dollar from the admission, and ten cans equaled free admission. So, I brought twenty-two cans, ten for me, and ten for my younger brother, and an extra two for bragging rights. Battlefest has taken it upon themselves to donate all donated cans to the Rockford Rescue Mission. The event gathered over a hundred cans! Blaze hopes to battle the negative press surrounding hip-hop with good Samaritan deeds!


      I can't put a number on how many people showed up to the event, but no less than fifty, and I'm no good at estimating, so it could have been more! From what I could tell, everyone was having a great time. There were very slight set-backs but Blaze and the team kept everything running smoothly! I was definitely impressed with everyones ability to keep it cool even though at times, it got a little hot. You'll definitely find me at the next event!

LP battles Akeem Kizart at March Massacre 2

      The next Battlefest event will be held sometime in July and I'll be sure to keep everyone updated. Stay tuned and check the blog in the upcoming days I will be getting a hold of some Battlefest rappers and talking to them about battle rapping and their music!

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com