Aspiring Rappers Face Off in Annual Event

Four aspiring rappers traded rhymes Saturday night as part of Tuesday Magazine’s second annual freestyle competition, “Outwit.”

Judged by professor Tommie Shelby, DJ Shiftee—also known as Samuel M. Zornow ’08—and Kousha A. Bautista-Saeyan ’08, the contest brought close to 50 students to Ticknor Lounge.

As the title suggests, rappers tried to “outwit” each other with their clever use of language, usually in the form of witty insults.

“On the mic I take advantage / You can’t stand this / Looking like a four-eyed wooly mammoth,” rapped Forrest N. Blackwelder-Baggett ’11.

Northeastern junior Benny D. Lombardo kept it simple: “Me against you rappin? / You sound like me when I’m crappin.”

The crowd responded to every line, cheering the best remarks while booing the corny ones.

One of Lombardo’s weaker lines, “If he went to jail he’d probably be a slut. / This one needs a haircut,” earned him a barrage of disapproving yells.

“Can I get a glass of water? I’ve got a hot mouth,” quipped Blackwelder between rounds.

But his rhymes weren’t hot enough for the judges. He was bested by Lombardo in the final round.

The three rounds of competition were separated by several performances of dance, spoken word, and beatbox.

A competitor in last year’s battle, Lev A. Shaket ’10 returned this year to deliver an original rap.

Akrobatik, a Boston rapper whose 2005 album was selected as one of Rolling Stone’s top 50 records of that year, closed the event with a short performance. An accomplished freestlyer himself, Akrobatik said he was impressed with the evening’s competitors.

“It takes a lot to just get up there and let somebody throw insults at you,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to get with a freestyle competition, but this was real respectful to hip-hop.”

Event organizer Virginia E. Anderson ’08 said she aimed to display some of the wide variety of artists at Harvard. “We’re trying to show that Harvard students don’t just sit around and do problem sets,” she said. “They beatbox and freestyle and dance.”

Though the audience actively participated, fellow organizer Brittney R. Lind ’11 said she had expected a larger turnout because of prefrosh weekend.

“There weren’t as many red folders as I would have liked,” she said.