First-ever Filipino rap battle in Taiwan to kick off over Lunar New Year

台灣有史以來第一次菲律賓饒舌戰，開啟農曆新年

Laklakan 1 rap battle will feature both Taiwan-formed groups such as Brown 101 and artists from the Philippines


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Filipino hip hop artists and groups from both Taiwan and the Philippines will be busting rhymes at the Laklakan 1 rap battle in Taichung and Taipei over the coming Lunar New Year, according to event organizer Allan Viray.

The rap battle will consist of three sets of battles lasting 90 minutes each, with a total of six rappers, and the event will be spread out over two days and two venues. The first will take place with one starting at 1 p.m. in Taichung on Feb. 17 at Super Club YYG on the sixth floor of First Square, Li Chuan West Street, while the Taipei battle will be held at 2 p.m. on Feb. 18 in Taipei at Focus Disco at B1, No. 32 Jinzhou Street in Zhongsan District.

In the rap battle phase of the event, the following rappers will square off against each other: Aklas versus Jigsaw, Jking versus Decoy, and Mhot versus Romano.

To help boost the game of the local rappers, artists from the FlipTop Battle League, the first and largest rap battle conference in the Philippines, will join the competition. Among the list of FlipTop Battle League champions, is Brown 101 member Jigsaw, a two-time winner who left his rap career behind to come to Taiwan to work as a production and machine operator in order to provide for his family, according to Viray.

In addition to the rap battles, there will be live performances at the event including rap crew Brown 101, dance crews Diversity Dance, My Style and singer Leony Paredes.

The marquee group, Brown 101, is a locally-formed rap group founded in January of 2017 and consists entirely of Filipinos based in Taiwan, with members Jigsaw and Decoy also taking part in the rap battle. The group's name is a combination of the brown skin of Filipinos and Taiwan's tallest tower, Taipei 101, said a group spokesperson to CNA.

Tickets are NT$600, and sold on a first-come-first-served basis, with the first 800 persons only at the Taichung venue, while the Taipei venue will be limited to 300 persons.

Some of the proceeds of the event will go towards the LITRO Foundation, which aids Filipino babies who are in a need of a liver transplant.

For more information, call Allay Viray at +886978124061 or message him through his Facebook page.


(Image by Allan Viray)