Sunugan Rap Battle: Unfinished Business

SUNUGAN Unfinished Business was a huge success. And that’s an understatement. Last January 28, 2012, more than 18,000 people watched SUNUGAN, both online and on location, as master battle emcees locked horns and showed everyone who the true rap battle champions were.

SUNUGAN: Unfinished Business is an exhibition rap battle that people worldwide were quite eager to witness. During the event, it was one battle emcee against another: Harlem versus Apekz, Shehyee versus Melvin the Devil, Abra versus Batas, and Loonie versus Zaito. Look at the crowd during the event! Guijo Street was closed off for this special rap battle event.

During the battle of Shehyee versus Melvin the Devil, Melvin said, “Gustong-gusto mong amuyin ang panty ng ate mo!” Shehyee bites back: “Eh ikaw, gusto mong amuyin ang brief ng lolo mo!” The crowd went wild.

Harlem and Apekz also dished the dirt on each others’ partners. The audience’s “ooohs” and “aaahs” echoed throughout their battle. Apekz and Harlem never ran out of words to mock each other – but it was all for show, of course.

And then it was time for Abra and Batas to show who’s boss. Abra apparently choked during his last battle, but he more than made up for it during Sunugan – and it was quite a match! Here’s Abra during the post-battle interview with Stanley Chi:

To conclude the series of battles, Loonie and Zaito hashed words and gave the crowd a night worth talking about. Loonie’s sharp jibes and Zaito’s witty comebacks had the crowd mesmerized. Everybody had a favorite – but how about you, who’s your pick?

Watch this video clip of the ACTUAL BATTLE of Loonie versus Zaito – and you decide who’s the winner:

(Update: Sorry, this video is still private. Come back soon when they are finally made public!)

It was an event that asked for a winner. Even the public is being encouraged to vote for their favorite rap battle emcee by texting JOIN (space) SUNUGAN to 2948. Anyone is free to vote for their rap battle favorite.

The awarding will be on March 2, 2012. Cast your votes and make sure your pet rap battle emcee wins the SUNUGAN Unfinished Business!

Stanley Chi was also asked to speak during the event. (YouTube videos to be uploaded soon!)

I met NgoNgi, the 14-year-old rap battle emcee who beat Alex Crisano. He seemed shy, until we asked him to freestyle with a few verses. It’s like rap unleashes his bravado!

The rap battle was hosted by J-Hon and Mike Swift. SUNUGAN: Unfinished Business started at around 8:30 pm and lasted until midnight.

With Mike Swift

With Franchize, Juan Lazy, and Harlem.
(Harlem engaged in a word battle against Apekz that night.)

With Melvin the Devil, who battled Shehyee during
SUNUGAN: Unfinished Business

With Loonie, the rap emcee who matched wits with Zaito during the Sunugan battle

Posing with Zaito after his rap battle with Loonie

SUNUGAN Unfinished Business was actually the first rap battle I have ever witnessed. I was surprised to see that rap battles have quite a following! About 3,000 people from other countries tuned in to watch the rap battle. In the Philippines alone, more than 15,000 people viewed the match online – and hundreds came to watch the event live at Guijo Street, Makati.

Here is Harlem doing some freestyle rap after his battle; watch him on this video:

Also, catch Zaito as he gets interviewed by Stanley Chi after the battle with Loonie, arguably the hottest battle of Sunugan:

Of course, the actual voting is not over! Watch post-battle videos and interviews with the rap battle participants at the Suplado Show, either via PinoyTuner or YouTube. You can also watch the full video of SUNUGAN Unfinished Business on YouTube once it has been uploaded. In the meantime, you can vote for your favorite rap masters by texting JOIN (space) SUNUGAN to 2948.

To vote, you can text SUNUGAN (space) (NAME OF BATTLE EMCEE) to 2948. Here is the list of the participants of SUNUGAN Unfinished Business:

HARLEM versus APEKZ:
To vote for Harlem, text SUNUGAN (space) HARLEM to 2948
To vote for Apekz, text SUNUGAN (space) APEKZ to 2948

SHEHYEE versus MELVIN THE DEVIL:
To vote for Shehyee, text SUNUGAN (space) SHEHYEE to 2948
To vote for Melvin the Devil, text SUNUGAN (space) MELVIN to 2948

ABRA versus BATAS:
To vote for Abra, text SUNUGAN (space) ABRA to 2948
To vote for Batas, text SUNUGAN (space) BATAS to 2948

LOONIE versus ZAITO:
To vote for Loonie, text SUNUGAN (space) LOONIE to 2948
To vote for Zaito, text SUNUGAN (space) ZAITO to 2948

Catch the clips of the actual battles at SUNUGAN as I will post links to them in my next blog post. You might also want to catch the video of Harlem versus Shehyee as they do a test-battle during the Suplado Show last January 23, 2011 in preparation for Sunugan Unfinished Business.