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King of the Dot

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King of the Dot.
IndustryBattle Rap
Founded2008
FounderTravis Fleetwood
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario
,
Canada
Websitewww.kingofthedot.com

King of the Dot, also known as KOTD, is a Canadian hip hop battling league.[1] The league is based in Toronto, Ontario, from which it gets its name. Many prominent and successful music artists have battled in King of the Dot, including Canibus, 360 and Madchild.

King of the Dot is hosted by its founder, Organik. Past co-hosts have included various hip hop artists, including Drake, Reef the Lost Cauze, Sabac Red, and Jus Allah. Illmaculate has been on KOTD, both as a judge and rapper. The league began in August 2008 in an alleyway near Toronto Eaton Centre,[2] and now features over 150 emcees, battling in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver.[3]

Primarily featuring Canadians and Americans, emcees from countries such as England, Australia, Sweden, Norway and the Philippines have all battled in KOTD’s annual World Domination event.[4] The influence of King of the Dot has spread globally, inspiring the creation of other battles leagues such as Flip Top in the Phillippines.[2]

King of the Dot has three divisions — Prove Yourself (for new jacks); Ground Zero (the middle tier); and KOTD (the best of the best).[5]

King of the Dot events feature all elements of hip hop culture, including accappella emcee battles though there have been freestyle battles over instrumentals, live performances by hip hop artists, beatboxing, graffiti exhibits, DJ’ing and breakdancing.[6]

A reality show profiling the business aspect of the organization, called KOTD Marketing Kings, is currently being developed.[4]

Origins

Organik aka Travis Fleetwood built a reputation as one of Canada's elite battle MC's winning title after title, including 4 wins at the well known Toronto, Ontario based freestyle competition Proud 2B Eh Battle MC [7][8] where he met a local producer/dj by the name of RyanPVP who teamed up with the help of promotion guru Avi Rex to put together the first event which was initially supposed to be a flash mob style event at Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, however the police presence and private security at the location forced the event to move down the road to an alley beside radio station Flow 93.5.[9][10] After a few events at that location the crowd became too bloated to cram into the tight spot, so Organik opted to re-locate to Alexandra Park[11] the wide open space and gritty location proved to be a sure fire hit with fans and emcees, their crisp video production and local celebrity guest judges helped KOTD's rise.[12]

Format

King of the Dot emcee battles are generally pre-written with 2–8 weeks notice of who their chosen opponent is. Battles are typically three rounds, with each round being 60 to 90 seconds. A coin flip decides who goes first, and the emcees alternate after each round. A panel of 5 judges then selects the winner.[3] In some cases, the battlers will agree to prepare an additional "overtime round" where they have 4 judges decide a winner or vote for an overtime round. If the majority vote for overtime or if the votes are 2-2, the emcees must do an overtime round where they add a 5th judge and vote on who won the overtime round only.

Past events

In 2010, King of the Dot hosted its first Grand Prix.[13] Kid Twist was the first King of the Dot champion.[2]

Several major battles events have been hosted by King of the Dot, including World Domination II in August 2011.[14] American rapper Illmaculate defeated Bender during this event,[15] which was featured in Forbes.[14]

On November 5, 2011, King of the Dot hosted Flatline, which featured a battle between rappers Dizaster and DNA. This is promo event was co-hosted by Canadian hip hop artist Drake, who put up $3000 of his own money for both rappers .[16][17]

2012 Expansion

On February 9, 2012, King of the Dot announced the addition of a new division called "Fresh Coast", which represents California. It is the first division to be located outside of Canada. Events are hosted by Aspect One,J-Pro, Malathion & Lush One.[18][19]

Current champions

References

  1. ^ "http://www.themarknews.com/articles/6335-rappers-battle-to-become-king-of-the-dot
  2. ^ a b c "http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/06/29/hip-hop-week-king-of-the-dot-reigns-supreme/
  3. ^ a b "http://www.aux.tv/2010/08/king-of-the-dot-gets-international/
  4. ^ a b "http://www.hiphopug.com/community.html
  5. ^ "http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/1051616--fighting-words-aplenty-at-king-of-the-dot
  6. ^ "http://medsbc.com/?p=776
  7. ^ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDfvo5nUHA4"
  8. ^ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEPFskckrJ4"
  9. ^ "http://www.flow935.com/"
  10. ^ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7lfDeE7Bro&feature=relmfu"
  11. ^ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Park,_Toronto"
  12. ^ "http://kingofthedot.com"
  13. ^ "http://www.hiphopcanada.com/2010/06/king-of-the-dot-to-crown-1st-grand-prix-champion-articlenews/
  14. ^ a b "http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonoberholtzer/2011/09/22/behind-the-scenes-at-world-domination-ii-part-one/
  15. ^ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEYdhO4N918
  16. ^ "[1]
  17. ^ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9g2XgrxOk4
  18. ^ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSX1_FxXTiA&feature=youtu.be
  19. ^ "http://www.kingofthedot.com/content.php?166
Division Champion Since Title defenses
King of the Dot Champion United States Dizaster August 11, 2012 (World Domination 3) 0
Ground Zero Champion Vacant TBA 0
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