King Of The Dot's Blackout 3 @ Guvernment

Toronto’s Guvernment nightclub became a war zone last Saturday as King Of The Dot presented Blackout 3, complete with superstar co-host Drake, for a full day of intense battles from some of the biggest names in battle rap and a title match between Dizaster and Arcane. The venue was packed wall to wall, with over 1200 people in attendance from all over Canada, the United States and overseas from countries such as England and Scotland.
Battle rapper Soul, the winner of the event’s first battle against Wize Guy, travelled all the way from Scotland to Canada for the first time, anticipating his King Of The Dot match-up. “[KOTD] is huge over there. It’s worldwide and has a cult following everywhere. You’ll find people in every country that know about King Of The Dot,” he said after his win.
Big Blackout winners included Soul, Tycoon Tax, Charron and Uno Lavoz, but there was also some controversy in a few of the battles.
In the battle between England’s Shotty Horroh and Atlanta’s Ness Lee, Lee was announced as the winner of the battle, but unexpectedly passed on his win to Shotty. The ATL battler says that his ego could never get in the way of reality and in turn was humble enough to pass off his win, which is a rare trait in his industry. “I can’t take that win. I’m a real dude. Shotty did great, plus he didn’t choke. The biggest battle that happened last year was Loaded Lux versus Calicoe. Loaded Lux brought a whole new aspect to battle rap, but he choked. Everyone still gives him the win, but he choked. So he lost. I pretty much live by that right there. I choked, I can’t let myself take that win,” he says.
The much-anticipated Main Event with Pat Stay and Math Hoffa was nothing less than the greatness that was expected from the two. Stay brought his renowned ‘larger than life’ energy and Hoffa used his comedic style to his advantage in a battle that many will be debating on the winner for a long time.

When it came to the moment everyone had been waiting for, the title match between KOTD champ Dizaster and challenger Arcane, the Guvernment was rammed to its capacity and the tension was colossal.
Before the battle even started, Dizaster began to read off a printed sheet of paper to the crowd exposing how Arcane had allegedly bought his bars. The crowd chaos ensued when Dizaster threw stacks of the same PayPal and Facebook statements for the fans to read.
To the surprise of many of his fans, the crowd turned on Dizaster when they became displeased with his lines and began to boo the renowned battler. Dizaster retaliated, screaming profanities at the mob, asking the booing audience to step forward. When nobody came forward, he even threw a full can of beer through the air, soaking many.
The tension in the air was at an all-time high during the second round when Arcane was spitting and he tapped Dizaster on the shoulder with his finger and Dizaster hit it away aggressively. The two got in each other’s face about to fight, but Organik and other rappers were in the ring before it got out of control. After a close third round, the judges deliberated and Arcane was announced the new King Of The Dot champion, for the second time. He threw his fists in the air as they gave him the chain and a $1,000 cheque and the crowd cheered. It seemed that not even Dizaster’s props and attempts to expose the Steel City battler worked, but it has caused lasting controversy on the Internet that will probably be discussed and debated for several weeks to come.
Photos By: Khrangg

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.