When we hear the term "battle" most of us revert to thoughts of grueling life or death wars that were fought between two countries. Figuratively that's not to far off of what a hip hop battle really encompasses. Is it literally life or death? Well, of course not, but as a freestyle rapper, DJ or break dancer your reputation is won or lost on the hip hop battlefield.

Hip hop battles originated in the late 70s when different gangs or crews needed a way to settle their differences without having to resort to violence. Something as simple as a DJ or sound battle was definitely a sight to behold. A DJ battle at that time consisted of two DJs bringing their own sound systems to a party and having the party goers decide on which they preferred. In its infancy the winner usually just came down to the person who had more money and could afford the better sound system as they would just drown out their opponent with the power of their system. As technology progressed and good sound systems became more common, DJ's had to find a way to differentiate themselves from their opponents. The new form of DJ battles consisted of not only who had the better musical selection but also on who knew how to mix and perform the better tricks known as scratching. Most DJs would have their own signature scratch and they would go back and fourth performing these scratches while the amount of applause would determine the winner.

Break dancing battles usually stemmed from turf wars. Not your traditional Mafia or gang type turf wars but more of hang out spots. Whether it were a dance club or an afternoon hang out spot, most dance crews were known to be regulars at their respective designated areas. What would happen if someone wanted your spot is they would challenge you to a break dancing competition? These competitions would consist of two different dance crews showing their best moves and tricks and much like the DJ competitions were based off of the audience's applause. The winners would now own the territory while the losers would have to find a new spot to hang out.

Hip hop rap battles were the most personal and shaming of all the battles. In these battles you could either record a song in which you would insult a rival rapper and this song would play in all the local house parties and dance clubs where both rappers would frequently attend. The other method and most entertaining is where a live microphone would be at a party and the two rappers would be given a set amount of time to come up with insults to defame their counterparts. If you were to lose a live rap battle you would not only ever be able to show your face around there anymore but your career as a rapper would be in extreme jeopardy as well.

Hip hop battles, although serious in nature are often a fun event for all those involved as well as the bystanders. They are often comical and are a great way to settle a score without any one getting hurt. In a world where people are dying over the most trivial of things it is great to know that some kids can still find a civil way of dealing with their problems.