Disses flew at TCU Senate's Rap Off

Even Jumbo himself showed up with his best lyrics to freeflow over beats at the 3rd Annual Rap Off on Friday.

The fundraising event 3rd Annual Rap Off was held in Dewick-MacPhie Friday night, with the proceeds going to the financial aid office's Helping Undergraduates fund (HUG fund). The event, sponsored by the TCU Senate, kicked off with a performance by The Beats. The second part of the night's lineup featured various "group battles" that pitted different student groups and organizations against each other. To round out the evening, there was a "freestyle" segment open to all comers.

Senator Jeff Katzin was the MC for the night and set the tone for an evening full of a sort of hip hop humor that cannot be found on any radio station or CD. DJ Entyce (sophomore Vijay Nathan) of Profound Sound Productions provided the beats and sound for the night.

The event featured more disses than the widely publicized 50 Cent-Ja Rule feud. In the most closely contested group battle fraternities Theta Chi, Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT), and late-entry Delta Tau Delta (DTD) took to the mic to show everyone how to do the pledge thing right. With a group that resembled a Brady Bunch-Cash Money Clique hybrid, Theta Chi used a second, "recount" rap to squeeze by second place ZBT. In the end, Theta Chi proved that they throw the better party -- at least on stage.

TCU Senate and Tufts' Track team flexed their lyrical muscle solo, as their respective competitors for the evening suffered a no show due to organizational issues.

The opening group-battle, featuring Hillel and the Secular Student Association., did run as planned however. With the season of Passover upon them, Hillel had that something extra they needed to get by the SSA. The battle was intense with fierce slams coming from both groups. Various traditions, stereotypes, and female family members were targeted in an effort to win this religiously-charged battle. These harsh words were all part of the fun though, with the group members congratulating each other on their entertaining efforts at the end.

The open freestyle round featured four impressive competitors. The title went to the defending champions, hip hop group BIU, who edged out the rest of competitors with the loudest crowd response. BIU member Chris Bostick '06 said his group "just wanted to have fun."

The victory for BIU makes them repeat victors. Bostick went on to add that BIU's work was all original, with the group coming up with their own beats and lyrics. BIU beat out another group, headlined by freshman Lawrence "LC" Charles. Like BIU, the song performed by Charles, Antoine Johnson, and Mitch Rob was an original cut. Both Johnson and Charles are working on self-produced albums due out next year.

Cristina Gioioso '04, head organizer of the event, said "there was a great showing [considering] the weather." Despite the rain, all the seats were filled, with many audience members forced to stand in the back. Gioioso, who serves as Chair of Special Projects for the TCU Senate, went on to add that "all the student groups put in a lot of work and took [the event] very seriously."

And while for Jumbo the elephant lost his battle, the financial aid fund and all the participants walked away winners when the evening was over.