Merk Or Die 2007 Pre-Magazine - 12/12/07

[Saint]

MOD Tourney - Merk Or Die 2007 Mods of leagues and tourneys from all around the net face off to see who the better battler is for once in a tourney that consists of nothing but mods and former mods. Winner gets $100.

Bragginwrites.com - David Lama

Who’s Who?

Oz - a mod tourney without oz wouldn’t be a mod tourney. Especially since for a while he was who popped into peoples head when anyone mentioned the RBL. He modded that shit for a long minute. Then stopped modding it. Then came back. And I believe he repeated that pattern a couple of times. Dude was hated on by more than a few dudes. And was accused of being crooked as a mod. I believe he even admitted to being crooked once. He can win battles though. So dudes better not sleep. I believe he’s a former RBL champ. Not too sure on that. And I recall him making it far in the RBL with a alias he shared with super dooper as well, I forget what the name of that alias was at the moment though.

Ex-Kal - he was one of the original WBL mods. At least one of the original wbl mods of the WBL that eventually became good. Not the one from 2001-02 but the one from 2004-2005. He modded it with classick for a while. And I eventually came through and did my thing in that league. But dude held it down for a while and then modded the PRBA and now he’s once again modding the WBL. He tends to try different things like video and audio mags. He was actually the first text league mod that’s ever done a video mag as far as I know. And when it comes to battling he’s no pushover he can actually come with it at times although he tends to laugh at his own lines more than others, he laughs at them even in his own verse lol.

David Lama - some credit me as THE WBL mod from when the league was good since I was the mod when shit was basically at its peak. Shit had everyone from everywhere in it at one point. There was weeks when we had about 70 to 80 heads and barely any of them were newbs or whack or shit was crazy. I’ve modded the FWBL which was the first battle league FW had. Which eventually becomes beatsrhymeslife. I think I actually introduced E to the whole bboys/rm/upn/bw world of text. Or at least I introduced a lot of them to him and his site. Im modded the RBL, BBL, PTO, PRBA and a few tourneys. Only thing I ever mod these days is only things on BW. And I consider myself a wildcard when it comes to battling. Especially cause of the long breaks I text at times. You never know how I’ll drop. Im a former rbl and wbl champ.

Diode - some people don’t even know diode used to actually write before he was a mod. Diode’s been modding sites for a long time though. For a while he was THE bboys mod. The main mod. And now hes the owner of project rhyme. And I believe he also modded on rap basement for a while. When people think of a mod diode is prolly one of the dudes that come to mind since that’s all they can think of when you say his name. So he’s certainly perfect for this tourney. He has a win over Richard corey from the wbl a few years back. Though in that battle both reposted disses and didn’t post actually battle verses. So it was a little weird. Diode is a wildcard though. Some have never seen him battle. And some have, but maybe when he didn’t try. You never know what diode will drop. We’ll just have to wait and see but don’t sleep on him.

Blackdef - he was mod of the RBL for a short period and also mod of the 10bbl for an even shorter period lol. He’s good with graphics. Ive seen him make some pretty nice logos for leagues and sites and shit. Though he needs to get his html game up! Ha. He won the last BW tourney, the PTO tourney and is in the finals of the pic tourney on bw right now against Richard corey. So he’s a fav to win this for sure since he seems to be on a roll these days. He’s a former rbl champ. But he tends to do his best in leagues or at least have the most success in them. Has he ever entered a tourney and not won?? Besides march maddness 2005.. Where he loss to Hensley. I recall him winning a tourney on RipTheMic a few years back.

Deon - he modded the HBL a while back. Not sure if he has modded anything else before. He won the tag tourney on bboys with properHops. They beat john Hensley and butler in the finals. He tends to not come as hard as he used to in 2005 and shit. Or maybe he has just changed to style to more of what he likes these days and shit. Or maybe he’s just not coming as hard as he could. Whatever the case may be. You shouldn’t sleep on deon. Dude is unpredictable at times.

Wise - he’s modded a lot of things on mrblunt. I believe he modded the league there for a while. He was one of the dudes in charge of deciding who is allowed to register to the site back when mrblunt had the closed registration thing going on. He has come hard in a couple of battles over the past year. He tends to half ass at times and shit though. He can come with it though so don’t sleep.

Chrit - he has modded stuff on RB and I believe on RV as well. He was LLL mod on RB like a week ago. He was using the names ManBearPig and RDotC while modding it. He is considered a RB vet and has been battling for a while. I believe he tried out for the pba once but ended up no showing for that. I havent read a verse by him in a while. So im not sure what to expect but I’m sure he can come with it.

Oneduh - he was the last rbl mod. Before it got resurrected again by king whatever his name is. Some people said he was a corrupted mod. Some were even saying he was even worse than Oz when it came to being crooked. He was the mod of the rbl while he was the champ there the last time he was champ. He ended up going like 23-0 or something as mod of the rbl. Some people said he should have lost at least 2 of those battles. But he won them. He can come with it. He doesn’t need to be crooked to win. He actually has skills. These days he tends to no show a lot. He doesn’t seem to be motivated to text battle anymore. He better drop for this though cause he’s no showed like the last 3 bw tourneys he’s been in.

Defcon_5 - he modded the RBL like 2 years ago. He’s been supermod on more than a few sites over the past few years. He helped me a week or two in the BBL when my elbow was broken. He’s been battling forever, since 1997 according to him. He tends to burn himself out at times since he joins everything that’s going on whenever its going on. If he just stuck with one league or tourney he’d drop so much better, especially if he took his time.

KempoMRK - he had the WBL actually looking cool for a while this year. Something many thought would never be something that would have happened again after me and class stopped modding it like 2 years ago. He didn’t top the 2005 league but he still did his thing and had everything up on time and had some quality mags and had some hype going on. He also was modding a league on emceeforums, rapverse (LBL) and BRL..

Area51 - he mods or modded a league on a site called Anotha. And I think ive seen him modding something on RapGodFathers but im not sure about that. He made it far in the pto tourney on bw. Actually got all the way till the finals and lost to blackdef. He recently beat ill nik a in the pic tourney. So hes doing his thing and seems to be on somewhat of a roll. This guy just keeps getting better and better. Hes in the finals of the winter war tourney against drugs at the moment too. Dudes just doing his thing.

John Hensley - he was mod of the RBL for a while and had a short wbl mod run as well. He tends to also come up with ideas for tourneys and says he’ll mod them but then pulls disappearing acts a week or 2 later. Lol. Latest example being the winter war tourney. He’s obviously a favorite to win this since he’s actually a nice battler period. Mod or not. His problem these days is himself, he no shows. Lately that seems to be all that he does. He might show for one or two weeks but eventually he’ll no show. He’s becoming unreliable and im sure he has a hectic schedule in college or whatever. But pretty soon if he keeps at the pace that hes at he’s going to reach mic booth level and all people are going to think of when thinking of him is no shows.

Jux Czar - he modded the HBL on 411hype a while back as key something or whatever his name back then was. I believe he has run other leagues as while on sites such as RipTheMic. He’s just getting back into battling so he’s a bit rusty and his last battle showed he also has a hectic schedule or just isn’t too motivated to write these days. But who knows. He might actually try to win this one and have time for it. Which can only mean trouble for whoever faces him.

Prometheus - he (the plumber, J-Nyce) was mod of a 100 man tourney on RM. A tourney in which like 80 or so heads showed for. He was in a bit of controversy in that tourney but nothing was ever proven. Some people, including myself accused him of being crooked in that.. The tourney never got to finish since he was demodded before he was able to finish it. He can battle though and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Im sure his main focus at the moment is the GRB though. So I don’t think he’ll be coming with 100% for this tourney.

Slaying Hughes - don’t really know much about him. Square said he was a alias of someone. But I asked hughes and he said square was wrong. Slaying says he modded a league on freestyling or something. Im not sure if he’s telling the truth but I took his word for it since he did his thing in the pic tourney vs. kungfugrip in round 1. Actually almost got the upset vote wise. not sure what to expect from this guy since he’s still a mystery to me.

[Saint]

Predictions

E1: 1. Oz vs. 4. Diode
This should be interesting since they actually have somewhat of a past. I remember diode and oz going at it on bboys in the lounge back when the wbl was doing aight.. I remember there being some sort of a beef between them. Hopefully that motivates them both to show and come with it. I’m going to have to go with Oz here though since ive seen more battles from him and know what he can do more than I know what di can do. But who knows diode might prove me wrong. But I think oz is going to win. He seems to be harder with his punches and have a style that people just feel more.

E1: 2. Ex-Kal vs. 3. David Lama
Ex-kal surprised a few in the pic tourney. Seemed like he actually tried a little in it and im sure he could do even better than that if he wanted to. Dude is unpredictable. a lot of times he tends to key which ends up fucking him up. But he always tends to post early and that’s whats up. All I got to say here is expect the unexpected. You never know what to expect from either me or kal.

W1: 1. Blackdef vs. 4. Chrit
This could be cool if both show. Chrit has no showed a tourney on bw before. He better show!!!. Black is on a roll and has been for a few months now even though he is still a bit rusty. Black should get this one. But who knows. Chrit might be able to get it as well. Im just going with who I know will show and has been doing it big lately.

W1: 2. Deon vs. 3. Wise
This is a pretty even battle. Could go either way. I see deon trying more for this. Wise will most likely half ass and lose cause of it. Deon should be able to get it either comfortably or edge it. He’ll have the harder lines and should be more creative.

S1:1. Oneduh vs. 4. Area51
They battled once before in the PTO and oneduh ended up no showing that. Since then Area has gotten a lot better and has made it to the finals of two tourneys. So he’s gotten his weight up but I don’t think its up high enough to compete with oneduh. Oneduh will win if he shows, even if he just used nothing but name plays, which I know he loves since he’s lazy just like I am lol. Area will put up a fight though but oneduh’s wording will be too much for him.

S1:2. Defcon_5 vs. 3. KempoMRK
This could go either way. As I said def tends to burn himself out I believe hes in a lot of things at the moment. While as far as I know this is the only thing kemp is in. he was in a tourney on blunt but I hear he was eliminated from that. Therefore I see kemp winning this since def will most likely not come with much firepower due to being tired or whatever. While kemp will focus on only this match and have enough to win.

N1: 1. John Hensley vs. 4. Slaying Hughes
Slaying seems to be getting the toughest opponents in every tourney he gets in on bw. In the pic tourney he had kung and now he has John Hensley. He gave kung a fight and got some votes in that battle so hens better not sleep on slaying at all. Slaying isn’t really known to anyone on here so coming up with a strategy on him or figuring out his style wont be easy since hes only dropped like 1 or 2 verses. Hens should win though as long as he comes with what he can come with.

N1: 2. Jux Czar vs. 3. Prometheus
This could go to either here. Two main things come into play though. Prom is focusing on the GRB and Jux is rusty., if this was 3 years ago I would have said jux would win easily. But now im not too sure. But then again jux’s rustyness doesn’t matter if prom isn’t gonna try due to the GRB which evens the playing field and makes this even closer and harder to decide who to predict for. It could go to either. And im not sure who will take this. I see it going either way.

[Saint]

Interview with KempoMRK

For the first time ever..



finally KempoMRK's face revealed

David Lama: why you posting a pic now.. after all these years?? first of all why havent you posted one till now?? why post one now?? and why this mag? lol.. the pic tourney got you wanting to pic battle or something?

KempoMRK: lmao, iono. i just never thought it was necessary 'n i was like "how the fuck do i do it?" should i just post it up in a thread or what? in a battle i'd prob get ripped to shreds cos i rarely pic battle aha, so i never thought of doin it. 'n everythin against me would be fresh in a pic battle. but iono, i dont care that much about it anymore

David Lama: word.. what you think of the mod tourney idea?

KempoMRK: i like it. it's clever 'n fresh. it's cool that the majority of the most well known mods are in there too. me, you, ex-kal and oz being the notables.

David Lama: yea. i tried making sure some of them would face off early. like me vs ex and di vs oz in round 1.. you and any of us four could face if you just get past defcon and oneduh or area...

KempoMRK: word. it'll be cool to see, cos its wide open in regards to a winner i think. hensley will no-show 'n he's probably the fave, same with oneduh

David Lama: word. who would you seed as the top 5 heads if this tourney was based on who the best mod was.. and who would be the top 5 if it were based on who the best battler was in your opinion

KempoMRK: i aint gonna include myself cos thats corny. 1. you 2. oz 3. ex-kal. i've never really seen the rest mod much to be honest. did defcon mod the RBL ages ago? oh 4. oneduh, even though he was crooked he got things up.. top 5 based on skill.. 1. hensley 2. oneduh 3. blackdef, he seems to be doing well lately. 4. defcon 5. area, as the sleeper pick. jux is nice, but he may be rusty. 'n who's slaying hughes?

David Lama: slaying is some dude who says he modded on freestyling.com he has a name on bboys that isnt known not sure if he wants me saying it so i'll let him say it if he sees this

KempoMRK: i think i saw him mention it, or someone else did. 'n i was like "ahh so thats who slaying is". i think they mighta mentioned it in the RBL or something. i forgot though

David Lama: word.. what first round matches if any are you looking forward to?

KempoMRK: oneduh vs area should be nice. iono if oneduh's gonna underestimate area though. blackdef vs chrit should be pretty interesting. hensley vs slaying. you vs kal should be alright, i dunno if you're rusty or not though. the majority of the battles are interesting actually. everyone in the tourney is known, so its cool to see that.

David Lama: true. only one thats not really known is slaying but he gave kung a fight in the pic tourney. so i guess i cant really say that. and lets not forget heads like corey and baron are down to be subs for no shows

KempoMRK: word oh i know who slaying is now. pretty surprising actually

David Lama: do you see someone whose mostly known for modding winning this?

KempoMRK: i'm not sure. it'd be cool to see, but so much shit happens in tournies that you can't predict, its hard to work out who's gonna win. you've got the two dudes in hensley and oneduh who are the most "decorated" battlers so to speak, but if they no-show then it's totally blown open. it'd be nice to see someone who's more known for modding win it though.

David Lama: word. how do you feel about your bracket?


KempoMRK: aha, it's hard. the toughest outta them all. if i get past def, which'll be tough no doubt, then i'll need to get past most likely oneduh, who's dope. 'n if area pulls off an upset against then i'll have to battle him. so theres no easy battle whatever happens in my division.

David Lama: word. oneduh actually requested to battle you. for some reason. i guess he wants a stab at you. and i seen him say your division was the easiest too. what you think about that?

KempoMRK: lmao. we talk a lot on AIM, so we've got a lotta personals against each other. he's cocky, he'd say that whoever was in his division

David Lama: ha word. well ive ran out questions lol.. close this out for us man with whatever is on ya mind, shout outs ect

KempoMRK: WATCH OUT FOR A NEW CREW COMIN SOON. ohhh yeaaa

Outro


I encourage you guys to drop as hard as possible and when and if possible drop as many mod lines as you can. to make this shit more of a mod tourney. to stay on topic pretty much. but dont go giving played mod punches props either. if its hot its hot, if not then dont say otherwise. ya know the deal. do ya thing and have fun. everyone has a chance in this and i see some lol battles happening in this pretty soon. i cant believe im actually in this myself. i dont even feel like writing. but was like damn. cant have a mod tourney and not put me in it. it just wouldnt be right. so i threw myself in there. ha. do ya thing dudes. make sure ya show!!! those who are subs. stay tuned guys! dont go anywhere cause if someone no shows i will need ya the very next day. so if you said you were down to be a sub. that basically means ya need to be ready to drop asap as soon as i tell you i need you to drop.

[KempoMRK]

lmao, damn. I saw the topic title and thought "I'm sure I was in this tournament", then loaded it to see a pic of myself! I was 15 when that was taken.

I think I got to the semi's and lost to Hensley in this.