Edmonton Journal
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Page: H8
Section: Ed
Byline: Olivia Cheng
Source: Freelance

A thumping beat reverberates through Flava nightclub as a small crowd surrounds the dance floor watching MC Derek "Rek" Mortensen size up potential opponents to attack.

The 22-year-old challenges rivals with his weapon of choice ... not his fists or empty beer bottles, but with a mic in hand to amplify his verbal assault of cutting rhymes.

"Homegirl wanna hear me squish somebody out of formation / so I'll battle anybody in this location / Look at JEM, think he can pretend / but guaranteed son, you play me clown / Wham! My foot deep in your back end / Deep in yo' ass / Ripping your ass straight in half."

The crowd lets out a collective "Ooooohhh" as Rek turns to another MC and spits, "Like a NATO aircraft straight bombin' yo / I'll have you crying for your momma and your daddy / Boy you can't match me / I'll put these shots all through your motherf****' anatomy / I'll tear you in half like I did to this cat / And then mix you all together, send you straight back."

It's tough talk typical of "Torch the Mic Tuesdays," an open mic night for local hip-hop talent to hone their skills through freestyle MCing or spoken word poetry. Rek started the weekly gathering after moving to the City of Champions a few months ago and experiencing a bout of hip-hop culture shock. Originally from Dallas, the MC was used to hitting up "open mics three, four times a week." But in Edmonton, he not only found far fewer urban nightclubs but also a sore lack of open mic events. On top of that, the rapper says "there's some good talent" in E-town, but our pool of MCs is a puddle compared to the ocean of artists in Dallas.

"There's less competition for sure," says Rek, who feels a lack of contenders only keeps MCs from improving their skill, "It's like getting your ass kicked by someone bigger and stronger. You're only going to rise and elevate and get better."

Chris "Prosper" Bolseng, 18, agrees, saying "Torch the Mic" gives talent a venue for regular sparring matches. "This is what we needed for so long," he says. "Now we got a club to promote the lifestyle, it really helps us to incorporate people to the scene."

Judging by the sparse turnout, it may take a while to bring capacity crowds to "Torch the Mic," but Politic Live MC Bert "Dirt Gritie" Richards sees benefits to the "comfortable, friendly" atmosphere. "We've got a good mix of black, Asian, white, Filipino. Everybody's in there, you know, having a good time under one roof." Richards pauses before laughingly adding: "we could use like another like hundred people, don't get me wrong, any place would like to be busy."

Prosper predicts the crowds will grow as the event gains credibility. "We want to keep this place clean so that people don't think that hip-hop is dealing drugs, gangstas and thugs. You know, hip-hop, what it's really about is just love. We're just trying to keep it real."

For now, the MCs temporarily leave their camaraderie at the door as they go back to outrhyming and outwitting each other.

Prosper grabs the mic to issue a challenge: "Never give you whack words / I bring fractures to MCs that wanna test my chapters." The cocky performer aims a round of lyrical bullets at Dirt Gritie: "You know what an alcoholic is / You just politics / You still sit around drinking your beer / I'm not the only one in this place here thinking you're queer."

The Politic Live MC is quick with his retort: "Got everybody runnin' from the barbs that I'm sprayin' / Yeah Dirt Gritie's not playin' / Bring the beat / I don't give a f*** if you prosperous, cuz you cheat / You sound like Eminem dude / Your style ain't too rude / You think you're big / You look like a garbage pail kid / What the f*** is wrong with this kid?"

The battle goes back and forth, with the crowd listening intently as the players rally their shots. In the end, Dirt Gritie goes off on a tangent with a prophetic verse about Torch the Mic Tuesdays: "There's more to roots than the top / Bringing you the underground sounds of hip-hop / The roots of the ground / Check the new sound / We spit it out now / We the freestyle / Knowing more MCs / Coming from different parts of the city."

And Rek is confident his event will find a foothold, stating simply, "it'll happen."

By Olivia Cheng
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