Responding to a rapper who admits their weaknesses

When i watched this one scene in 8-mile, i had to admit it's cleverness and uniqueness. Admitting your weaknesses is a great way to completely rob your opponent of pointing them out and it almost assures that you've won the battle. I hardly know of any rapper other than Eminem who would outright do this, but in the case that someone does--don't panic. You can still win the battle no matter how difficult the position you are in. How do you respond to a rapper who admits weakness? I can't explain exactly how, but i can give you a few ideas. 

1) The best way to counter is to come up with some harder punchlines and disses. Rap something around the lines of "You thought i was gonna point out that your a piece of white trash? Gee, your something less of a lyrical genius, your really a _____" Be sure to also point out some other weaknesses your opponent has never noticed or thought of. 

2) Laugh it off - Say something around the lines of "Screw battling with me, this should be you versus you." Let them know that you can still bring up many more ideas than they can and that you haven't given up yet. 

3) Be confident in yourself and your abilities. Do not look intimidated or worried. More importantly, be sure to admit your own weaknesses as well before your opponent does. If you can keep the pressure up by demonstrating yourself to be the dominant lyricist then it will be alot harder for your opponent to make a comeback. 

These are only a few of many ideas to counter this. The key is to never lose the art of being creative.   

Being the best rap battler you can be

I've done a few rap battles in person and they were terrible lol. My mind went blank several times and my rhymes were not as good as they could have been. For a long time i often wondered "What's wrong with me?" You may have felt the same or currently do. After much reflection and meditation, i decided that this method should work to help everyone be better at battle rap.

1) Before you do anything or even talk about rapping, you have to love yourself. Appreciate everything about yourself and love your voice. Love who you are as a person and accept that you are unique. Once you love yourself then you can trust in yourself to create awesome freestyles and battle lyrics.When you make the choice to love and accept yourself then you have taken the very 1st step to reaching your potential.

2) Know yourself from the inside out. Know your strengths and weaknesses. What are you good at? What are you terrible at? What do you love about yourself? What don't you love about yourself? What would you like to change? Take a pen or pencil and a piece of paper to write about yourself. Be genuine and appreciate yourself as a human being. Don't rap about being someone your not. This helps shape your identity as a rapper in general. Knowing who you are enables you to know the flaws of another person and expose them.

3) Freestyle - Start rapping outloud or write on paper. It doesn't even have to rhyme. Just start rapping whatever comes to mind. The point of this exercise is to be comfortable with flowing at a consistent pace. Look at your surroundings and rap about them. The key is to adapt to your environment.

4) Practice writing raps - Everyone has a unique way of practicing their raps. Personally, i like to write whatever comes to mind for about 5 minutes then i do drills. I write a limited number of similes, metaphors, bars of alliteration, merism, parallelism, word play, analogies, multis, internal rhymes, etc. I try to master various literary devices daily. It would be helpful if you familiarized yourself with poetry. Having a unique writing style dramatically helps you reach your potential.

5) Be passionate about rap - Love your work. Love your bars, voice, and talent. Don't make trashy lyrics then say "I suck at this.." Make every bar count.

6) Know your enemy - Observe them, What are they wearing? What flaws do they have? What are they rapping about? What do they sound like? This is your chance to incorporate what you already know about poetry.

7) Know what it takes to win a battle - Always keep in mind that there's always a way to win. Dissing your opponent's looks, personality, personal flaws, lyrics, reputation, etc. are key in defeating him or her. You may think that in order to win a battle, you need tons of clever disses. While that may help you win a battle, it is not the only way to win. Battles can also be won by who has the most clever lyrics or creative flow. Complimenting yourself is also a good way of winning. Be familiar with rebuttals or taking an opponent's verses and flipping them around. For example, people might want to diss my long hair by saying that i'm feminine. In response, i could say that their feminine in thinking of me as the opposite sex if they're male. One of the greatest strategies used by Eminem is to admit your weaknesses first then diss your opponent. It's also a great idea to With the quality of your raps, you can turn the tide of battle.

8) Have a developed flow - You should have a flow or a voice when you rap. Putting emphasis on certain words, having an aggressive or a light tone, rhythm, and melody in your voice are all essential to having excellent flow in a battle. It shouldn't stay the same, it should be dynamic. Try double time rapping in which you speed up the tempo or "rap fast." Practice breathing techniques daily and when you freestyle, try to  be fluid with your flow. Once you make the crowd go wild with flow, it's going to be very difficult for your opponent to win.

9) Be confident and energetic - Most of all, have confidence in yourself. Trust in yourself that you can win the battle. Never look defeated or frustrated. If what your opponent says angers you, don't lose control because when you lose control: you lose. Channel that energy to come up with strong disses to help you win the battle instead. Take deep breaths before the battle. If you need to come up with something to say, take a moment to do so.  

My interpretation of "The gift" by Seether

I've been thinking on the meaning of this song and while most people have a secular view, as a Christian, i see it in a different light. It completely reminds me of my faith in relationship to Jesus Christ. It brings me back to a place of despair and heavy depression.

"Hold me now i need to feel relief, like i never wanted anything..i suppose i'll let this go and find a reason i'll hold onto, i'm so ashamed of defeat..and i'm out of reason to believe in me..i'm out of trying to get by..."

I fought for perfection, tried to be good and tried to fit in a world where everyone would accept me by follow religious rules until life became burdensome as i failed in my efforts. I found no joy and lost the motivation to continue living because there was nothing that made me whole. I came to a point where i needed a reason for living, but i was ashamed of admitting my failures and weaknesses. I had lost faith in myself and was tired of pretending that everything was fine. I had received forgiveness, redemption for my soul, and the gift of salvation, but eventually, i practically cried out to God from inside:

" I'm so afraid of the gift you give me..i don't believe here and i'm not well..i'm so ashamed of the lie i'm living..right on the wrong side of it all..

I can't face myself when i wake up and look inside a mirror, i'm so ashamed of that thing...i suppose i'll let it go till i have something more to say for me..i'm so afraid of defeat..and i'm out of reason to believe in me..i'm out of trying to defy.."

Days passed like shadows as i sunk into depression and felt guilty for being selfish, arrogant, and prideful. Where once i was proud in front of all of my self-righteous attitude, now i had felt so much shame. I could not accept myself for who i was. I thought i had forgiven myself, but i was afraid of failing God by sinning. I no strength to get out of the ditch of despair that i had fallen into to find grace by looking at the cross where Jesus had died for my sins. I had lost the will in trying to deny who i was.

"Hold me now i need to feel complete..like i mattered to the one i need.."

I needed someone to save me from all the pain and loneliness i had felt. I needed to fill the gap of emptiness and be whole and i needed to be accepted for being imperfect. Without God, i would have nothing to live for because there is nothing in the world that could replace the emptiness that was killing me.

"Now i'm ashamed of this..i am so ashamed of this..Now i'm so ashamed of me..i am so ashamed of me..."

I had faced the shame of these problems, these inner struggles. In the end, i was left with guilt of being exposed for who i tried so hard not to be.