Rappers in league of their own

David Adams, 29, from Low Simonside, and Scott Chapman and Jack Johnson, both 23 and from Westoe, have been running the Get Slated Rap Battle League since last July.

The contest brings performers from all over the country to the borough, and invites newcomers to attempt to master the mic.

The rap battles, which see verbal sparring between rivals, have proved a huge success, with capacity crowds at the Hedworth Hall and the Waterfront pubs, both in South Shields.

The forward-thinking friends have also bolstered their following with their own Facebook page, while videos uploaded to Youtube have had more than 40,000 hits.

David (known in rap circles as Adamzy) is a seasoned rap battler who decided to start his own league in South Tyneside, with Scott (Chappaz) and Jack (Big Jack) soon getting on board to turn a dream into a rap reality.

The group have already held five events, with a sixth in the pipeline at Hedworth Hall next month.

David said: “What sets us apart is we are able to get the best rap battle performers from all over the country involved and many even contact us because they’ve heard great things about the league and want to be involved.”

Scott added: “Rap battles are different to a normal music performance, as there is that element of competition between the rappers. It really gets your adrenaline going, which helps you perform well.”

Jack said: “We’ve all been rap fans for years but there was nothing up here in the North East.

“Now we’ve had more than 40,000 views on Youtube and have 400 likes on Facebook. Anyone who likes our page is then sent notifications to keep them up to date with news and upcoming events.”

The trio are also eager to attract sponsorship, with the incentive that the sponsor’s logo would be seen by thousands of web users worldwide.

Businesses interested in getting involved, or people looking for upcoming league events, can contact the Get Slated team on their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/GetSlatedRapBattles or check out videos of previous contests by searching for getslatedrapbattles on Youtube.

Twitter: @shieldsgazchris