Last weekend, Brooklyn emcee Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) issued (then cancelled) a challenge to the rap world when he made an off-the-cuff, off-the-record statement claiming that he, Black Thought, and King Los could out-rap anyone in the game. But as Yasiin shared in this Soundcloud clip a few days later, he has no interest in starting or perpetuating the “bonanza” and “circus” that he feels surrounds much of the rap industry’s fascination with beefs and drama.
His original idea did get us to thinking…and in the spirit of “being free enough to create what you find beautiful”, we thought we’d put together a little “Sweet 16” tournament of 3-person rap teams.
We formed four teams from each major region of the U.S. – East, West, Midwest, and South. We treated this tournament like a pick-up basketball game in the park. We mixed and matched rappers from different cliques and different labels. In the spirit of Yasiin’s comments, we spent no time dwelling on whether the rappers on our teams get along personally or professionally. You will notice that certain “obvious” names are missing from the 16-team list. This is intentional…and we understand that many people would have made different choices. We see this as an opportunity for “friendly” debates about who does and does not belong in this tournament.
You will also notice that certain cities and states (countries and continents for that matter) are not represented in the list. This is less intentional, and we are definitely aware that it’s a big world out there and just because we aren’t up on rappers from a certain place doesn’t mean they don’t exist and it doesn’t mean that they lack talent.
There is a lot of suffering taking place in our country. There are far too many neighborhoods that are far too violent. There are far too many young people filling up far too many coffins and cell blocks. There are far too many people catching far too much hell.
In a perfect world, we could get these 48 rappers together and actually host this tournament, using sponsor proceeds and fan donations to improve and expand the schools, community centers, and job training programs in the cities these artists represent. In a perfect world, we would run this event ourselves and once again demonstrate the globe-shifting power of hip-hop culture.
But this is not a perfect world. We are not perfect people. We do the best we can..and we try to have a good time while we’re at it.
That’s what this tournament is about. So join us!! Make your bracket predictions on our Summer Madness 3-on-3 Rap Tournament on Challonge.com
Share your “final four” with us on social media using the hashtag #3on3rap. We’re on Instagram (@classofhc), Twitter (@classofhc), and Facebook (Class of Hope & Change). Let us know who you think would come out on top. Let us know which rappers/teams you would have included.
Here are the teams and rosters:
West Region
- 1 Seed: Dre, The Game, Snoop
- 2 Seed: Evidence, Ice Cube, Ras Kass
- 3 Seed: Kendrick Lamar, Ab Soul, Nipsey Hussle
- 4 Seed: Kool John, Nef the Pharoah, Show Banga
East Region
- 1 Seed: Yasiin Bey, Black Thought, King Los
- 2 Seed: Jadakiss, Fabolous, Prodigy
- 3 Seed: Joey Bada$$, Dessy Hinds, ASAP Rocky
- 4 Seed: Dayne Jordan, Pate, Santos
Midwest Region
- 1 Seed: Lupe Fiasco, Common, Twista
- 2 Seed: Chance the Rapper, Vince Staples, Vic Mensa
- 3 Seed: Stalley, Red Pill, Ezzy
- 4 Seed: Correy Parks, Waldo, Denaun Porter
South Region
- 1 Seed: Andre 3000, Big Boi, Ludacris
- 2 Seed: Big K.R.I.T., Killer Mike, David Banner
- 3 Seed: Rapsody, J. Cole, Phonte
- 4 Seed: Wale, Oddisee, Lecrae