{"id":8712,"date":"2015-12-20T19:15:23","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T00:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hardwoodandhollywood.com\/pop-culture-spin\/?p=8712"},"modified":"2015-12-21T20:50:19","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T01:50:19","slug":"aftershock-urban-the-element-battle-in-2015-ground-zero-grand-prix-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hardwoodandhollywood.com\/pop-culture-spin\/2015\/12\/20\/aftershock-urban-the-element-battle-in-2015-ground-zero-grand-prix-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Aftershock, Urban The Element Battle in 2015 Ground Zero Grand Prix Final"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"aftershock\"<\/a>

Image courtesy of KOTD’s GZ Battles page<\/a> on YouTube.<\/p><\/div>\n

King of the Dot’s prove yourself branch, Ground Zero, has been putting on the 2015 Ground Zero Grand Prix throughout the year. 16 battlers entered, only two were left in the final. Generally, that’s how it works, yet stating the obvious always seems to have a level of drama to it. Respected and recurring KOTD battler, Aftershock, a\u00a0Canadian performer,\u00a0took on Urban The Element, a rapper from Northern California, in the final.<\/p>\n

To those who haven’t been following the tournament closely, the motivating goal for the battlers has been a $2,000 grand prize and a title shot against DDSS. Naturally, winning an expansive tournament\u00a0in KOTD’s minor league ranks is a good look for individuals with aspirations of landing on the KOTD stage. Aftershock has battled on KOTD cards in the past, including matchups against the late Pumpkinhead and Anygma. With Aftershock’s victory over Urban the Element, a return to KOTD events and an escape from the GZ scene seems appropriate.<\/p>\n

I scored the 2015 Ground Zero Grand Prix final decisively in Aftershock’s favor. He came out with energy from the gate that featured a dismantling of Urban The Element’s wordplay heavy style. In addition, Aftershock brought into question the difficulty of\u00a0his opponent’s\u00a0path to the final and the merit behind the judging of his victories. Urban can make a case for having the second round,\u00a0however, Aftershock clearly took one and three with the second being a toss up. Urban started to build a rhythm toward the end, but he cut off his final round before it seemed to be over. Some have given Urban the third and don’t see the second the way I do. That’s what makes this a subjective process.<\/p>\n

Although Urban had a strong showing, he used the gun play schemes Aftershock predicted he would. The essential rundown of this battle was Aftershock’s personal approach being more effective than Urban’s creativity. Urban also committed a cardinal sin in the battle world – never bring your significant other to a battle! Even though I dislike this\u00a0tactic (from Aftershock’s end) because I’m not a fan of bystanders being brought into battles, Urban should’ve known his decision would backfire. Bringing those close to you to a battle means those close to you will probably get dissed. Nevertheless, Urban showed enough in the final and throughout the\u00a0tournament to warrant better opponents in the future.<\/p>\n

Decide the outcome for yourself below. Feel free to hit me on Twitter<\/a> with any thoughts on this or any other battles.<\/p>\n