From A Fan's Perspective
From A Fan’s Perspective: Dos Por Dos Semis 2012
It happened more than ten years ago but still remains one of the league’s best events. Let’s talk about the Dos Por Dos Semis in 2012.
Anonymous Battle Fan
June 08, 2023
The 6th of July 2012 was a normal date for some, but for hip-hop heads and battle rap fans in the Philippines, it was truly a historic night. It was the date of the much-awaited semi-finals of FlipTop’s inaugural Dos Por Dos Tournament. I was already a big fan of the league at that time. I’ve been watching since Loonie vs Zaito became viral on YouTube. As much as I wanted to watch live, I was busy with my studies. Finally, I graduated from college in 2012 and one of my goals was to finally check out an event in person. I was so lucky to have chosen this certain affair.
I still remember everything from our trip to the venue up to our journey back home. I came with four of my college friends who were also huge supporters of battle rap. Unfortunately, the cab ride wasn’t a spectacular experience. Traffic was very bad and it looked like the driver wanted the fare to increase by pretending to be lost at every turn. This was more than a decade ago so there was still no Waze. We were on the verge of fighting with him but ultimately decided to keep it cool since we found out that we were already nearby. Once we reached B-Side, everything went uphill!
It was at that moment that we understood why many are saying that you should experience a live FlipTop event. Just being part of the crowd already gave us this inexplicable feeling of joy. You instantly feel like you’re already part of history. The place was packed, and we didn’t mind at all. When Anygma told us to make some noise, we screamed our lungs out.
Let’s talk about the beatbox battles first. We were fans upon seeing them on YouTube but watching them do what they do best live made us appreciate their craft even more. Me and my friends were silent, mesmerized by the awesome display of skills by PB, Phil, Beatbox Machine, and Zeejacob. Now, let’s proceed to the rap bouts. Apekz vs Aklas was actually the only 1-on-1 showdown and they still tore the house down. Apekz, as always, brought his flawless mixture of bars and jokes while Aklas maintained his impeccable unorthodox approach. It was a style clash that could definitely go either way.
The event featured the very first 5-on-5 battle in FlipTop. We saw Team Calabarzon take on Team Central Luzon. Kudos to every emcee involved for keeping us entertained all throughout, despite the long rounds. From our point of view, it felt like a main event match. That’s how exciting it was. We thought it couldn’t get any better, but then there came the Dos Por Dos battles. First, we saw Juan Lazy and Harlem facing off against Papew and Melchrist. Both teams showed chemistry and top-notch lyricism, but it was Team Schizophrenia that had more crowd control and wittier lines. Up to now, we still know every line of Juan Lazy’s Anygma impersonation scheme.
Obviously, we’re going to discuss the main event of the night: the epic encounter between Shehyee and Smugglaz and Loonie and Abra. Holy sh*t! Watching this up close and personal is something I will never ever forget. We felt goosebumps at the rhyme schemes, flows, and angles and couldn’t help but react loudly to almost every punchline. The four rappers were so electric, everyone at B-Side felt it! Shehyee and Smugglaz deserved the W (including their championship victory), but we should give equal props to Loonie and Abra for a memorable performance. The event ended at around 3-4 am so we quickly got a cab after the announcement of the winners. On our way home, all we talked about was the matchups. From there on, we vowed to attend as many FlipTop events as we can.
WATCH: Dos Por Dos Semis
There have been only three Dos Por Dos Tournaments so far. Frooz and Elbiz are the 2013 champions while Shernan and M Zhayt won the 2017 edition. Frooz and Elbiz made their return as a duo at the latest Pakusganay event, facing off against the underrated team of Mac T and G-Spot. Fellow fans from Davao say that it’s a must-see bout. We can’t wait to watch it. 2-on-2 matches remain popular among viewers, so hopefully, we’ll witness another tournament very soon. Maybe we’ll see you at the next event too!
