It’s Tricky

Your ability to crack on your friends’ physical defects is unparalleled. Your mouth moves a mile a minute, and you’ve got a knack for rhyming even the most obscure words. Screw the pen — your mouth is way mightier than any sword. Well, Sir Spits-A-Lot, you just might have what it takes to become a freestyle rap battler. And here’s the perfect venue for you to unleash your destruction: Lounge Battles 7, a no-holds-barred freestyle battle done in the “8 Mile format.” That basically means you get a beat, a mic, and 30 seconds with which to annihilate your opponent verbally.

Tonight’s battle, taking place at O’Malley’s Sports Bar and Grill, is actually a preliminary competition to the annual mega-battle going down in Orlando on March 6,7, and 8. Five insider judges will select the winners of each heat, but the crowd reaction obviously plays a big factor. Anyone can come down and compete, but according to the event’s coordinator, Dirt Daniels, it takes a certain set of skills to rock a mic: “You gotta come with the funny, something clever, or maybe something real personal that people can relate with. And you definitely have to be able to freestyle.” The lucky winner is guaranteed a spot in the finals, and a hefty share of street cred to boot. Or, if you want to come just to watch someone get riffed on in front of a live audience, you can do just that; in addition to watching live performances by Mad Illz, Parable, My Verse, Lex One, A1pha Num3ric5, and Dirt himself.

The throwdown takes place at 10 p.m. at 1388 State Rd. 7 in Margate. There’s a $5 cover after 11. Visit myspace.com/loungebattles. You can also check out the newly organized national rap battle league, A Grind Time, which keeps win/loss records and organizes events from here to San Francisco, at grindtimenow.com.
Sat., Feb. 21, 10 p.m., 2009