Smack White. Photo: @smackwhite on Instagram
Beasley. Photo: @beasleynyc on Instagram
If you know, you know. On September 2, Shorty Roc (@shortyrocnyc) shared a moment that battle rap fans will appreciate: two of the most important figures in the culture, Smack White and Eric Beasley, pulled up on him. Shorty Roc summed it up in true form: he is in all the right rooms at all the right times, so catch up or get left.
The Men Behind URL
Smack and Beasley are the business minds behind the Ultimate Rap League, better known as SMACK/URL, the New York City battle rap league owned by Troy "Smack White" Mitchell, Eric Beasley and Jean "Cheeko" French, according to the league's history. Artists and stars including Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes have shown support for the league over the years.
Busta Rhymes. Photo: Joe Glorioso / All-Pro Reels / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Before URL, there was the SMACK DVD. In the early 2000s, Smack began filming interviews and freestyles with established artists like 50 Cent, DMX and Cam'ron, along with up-and-coming East Coast rappers, and packaged the footage into a DVD video magazine, PBS's Sound Field explained. He closed each volume with a rap battle, and those battles became so popular that fans would skip straight to the end of the DVD to watch them.
DMX. Photo: Rzom_ / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Turning Battles Into a Sport
Smack has said the SMACK format changed the art form. "We introduced straight acapella … no beats … round for round. We made it into a sport," he told AllHipHop, describing the three timed rounds that became battle rap's standard.
Beasley, URL's co-founder, told AllHipHop that URL held its first event on October 31, 2009. The league later launched its own subscription app, URLTV, in May 2019. Beasley has described what they built as "essentially a Black-owned streaming service where people are paying to come in and watch exclusive content that we create."
Why It Matters for The Khaliseum
That last part hits home. The Khaliseum is built on the same idea: an independent, Black-owned platform where the culture can watch exclusive interviews and coverage on its own app. Having the two men who proved that model works for battle rap pull up on Shorty Roc is a moment of respect between builders.
It also connects to Shorty Roc's roots. He is a proud New Yorker from the Bronx, and URL is a New York institution. Legends recognize legends, and this pull-up shows The Khaliseum is moving in the right circles.
From Our Cameras
Screenshot: Shorty Roc / The Khaliseum
Screenshot: Shorty Roc / The Khaliseum
See it on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shortyrocnyc/reel/Dcy0FgcxVLY/
Want more? Download The Khaliseum App at www.thekhaliseum.com/App for full interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and new episodes every week. For press, partnerships or event coverage, email [email protected].
#SmackWhite #Beasley #URL #UltimateRapLeague #BattleRap #SMACKDVD #TheKhaliseum #ShortyRocNYC #HipHopLegends #KhaliseumNews
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