KOTD Blackout 3 Pre-Coverage

What started in a Toronto alleyway in 2008 has become one of the premier battle leagues of North America and an international platform for battle rap in just a few years. Now it’s about to put on its biggest and most anticipated event yet. King Of The Dot’s Blackout 3 takes place this Saturday at The Guvernment with a day of battles, a main event and the most coveted title match yet, between returning champions, Arcane and Dizaster. The chain, the money, the bragging rights — this is the heavy weight championship with a lot at stake.
Battle emcee Charron, who has the most wins in the league and faces his friend and peer HFK at Saturday’s event, has witnessed the growth of the movement from its early days. “I’ve been involved with King Of The Dot since 2009. I started when we were battling in alleys. I was Greyhounding on my own dollar to get there, performing in front of maybe 25 people. Since then, I’ve been involved in every opportunity provided to the battlers. It’s opened up opportunities to battle overseas in Sweden and England and platforms such as BET,” he explains. “As far as Toronto goes, it doesn’t get much bigger than Guvernment. If you really stop and look, it’s a huge accomplishment and milestone for King Of The Dot.”
Blackout 3 will be an upgrade from the all of the other events, says KOTD host/founder Organik, through the venue, crowd capacity and technology, as those who cannot make it out to the event can Ustream view it by ordering it via the KOTD website. “It’s going to be our biggest event, by far,” he says.
Two-time Grand Prix champ and former King Of The Dot champion Arcane faces defending champion Dizaster, who is a legend in his craft and highly regarded as one of the world’s top battlers. “It’s going to be intense. Arcane is one of the best rappers that King Of The Dot has to offer and Dizaster is one of the most entertaining rappers, period, so it’s probably going to be the best title match that we’ve ever had at King Of The Dot,” Organik says. The tensions are high between the two battlers, who recently displayed their animosity for each other through Twitter, drawing even more attention to their already publicized battle.
Toronto Battle rapper Kaliente, who is back from his hiatus to battle Tycoon Tax at the Blackout 3 event, says that he is looking forward to the title match between Arcane and Dizaster as both emcees deserve the opportunity to be crowned champion.
“It’s a good match up. Arcane is awesome and he earned his spot up there, but the Dizaster situation, it’s cool that he’s the champion, but I just feel that a lot of rappers got to do what we went through to get a title shot in this league. A lot of us started a foundation for these battle rappers, but it is what it is. I can’t wait to see that battle; it’s going to be hectic. Arcane is tricky and Dizaster is a monster,” he says.
Toronto is set to become a battlefield this Saturday but by the end of the day, only one will be recognized as the King Of The Dot.