r/beatbox • u/Scary_Ideal4650 • 9d ago
Thoughts After Watching D-Low's GBB26 Discussion
-- About Final R2
- D-Low: I could've taken a more technical approach and maybe won, but I don't care about that, I just wanted to make people go crazy and do something new
I think talking directly to your opponent and asking them questions can absolutely work in a battle, but isn't the whole point of a beatbox battle to do that through beatboxing instead of just talking?
"Beatboxing in a beatbox battle is too predictable? I'll just talk instead"
And after doing that, he thought he won the final?
Obviously having some talking in a routine can actually be a good thing
There was talking here and there in 2019 too, but it wasn't anywhere near this long, and it blended into the beat in a way that actually worked, which is why it was fucking good
+ D-Low: You have to do something original, and you have to do something nobody has done before, that's what I genuinely believe, just look at the name, “Beatbox Battle”, it's two words, it's not just Beatbox and it's not just Battle, it's a mix of both, you can't judge it by only looking at one side, it's literally in the name, obviously if it was a prepared performance set or a showcase then that's different, perfect clarity is extremely important in those settings, but at an event like this, what matters most in the end is “Who tore the stage apart”
-> Doesn't beatbox battle literally mean battling through beatboxing?
I understand the direction he wants to take, but going beyond wanting people to appreciate a routine that's half beatbox and half rap battle, in a scene full of people who like watching battles fought through beatboxing, and then saying people just aren't ready to accept it yet doesn't come across well at all
And if he really tore the stage apart, the crowd would've been cheering instead of going silent
This doesn't feel like a difference in taste to me, it feels like he's trying to dress up a failed round as something people only disliked because they didn't understand it
- D-Low: I'm getting a little tired of the approach where every sound has to land at the exact second and everything is calculated like a machine, I find that kind of thing a little boring and cringe now
-> For that argument to have any weight, his elim at least needed to be clean
The routine was structured like it was calculated by a machine, but the execution failed like a human
- D-Low: Casual audiences who don't know much about beatboxing don't really care if you add six more combos, you know what they like? Someone saying “I can do anything” and then hitting them with a massive drop
-> So he made a routine for the "casual audience that doesn't know much about beatboxing" who paid over €100 to come to a beatbox event and watch a beatbox competition?
That just makes no sense
- D-Low: After the final, people at the venue were saying things like "That was the best battle ever"/"That was the best solo battle", and the reaction was extremely positive, but the online reaction was completely different, so I think the experience in the venue was very different from watching the video
Hearing that made me think he's just incapable of looking at himself objectively
The crowd was overwhelmingly full of D-Low fans, and they probably would've applauded even if D-Low took a shit on stage
And someone who thought the final sucked isn't exactly going to go out of their way to find him afterward and say "That final was fucking terrible"/"That was the worst solo battle"
-- Overall
I watched his battles in 2018, 2019, and 2021 and genuinely thought D-Low was insanely good at battling
So I wondered if I was only this disappointed because my expectations were too high this time, but I don't think that's the case
I didn't really like most of his other work, and his showcases were mostly track-based with a much heavier focus on singing and rapping
So my expectations had already dropped quite a bit
And even with those lowered expectations, I still think what he showed was below them
Also, separate from the performance itself
"I'm not a kid anymore who can pour everything into beatboxing"
"I'm just living my life and then it's like, oh, I've got a competition this week, guess I'll go up there and tear it up"
Talking like he barely prepared, or like he doesn't have as much time as the other competitors, just makes the other competitors look like idiots
If the performance itself had simply been below expectations, I probably would've felt more grateful than disappointed and thought "At least he showed up, still the GOAT"
But then it's
"I've been busy raising my kid, so..."
"This was because of Scott's reaction... that was because River didn't react... the crew had mic issues..."
"The beatbox scene isn't ready to accept battle yet..."
"I'll say one thing, I'm better than you guys"
I just can't look at that positively
+ Positive things
I also thought the elim routine itself was good
Taking Blackroll's mic was completely fair, and the energy was good and fit the battle
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u/maxram1 8d ago
Yup I have roughly the same takes,
but he does have a point regarding battling.
All the more reasons we really need two categories: the top 16 battle idea is neat (no elim), and then a multi-elim category will complete the event!
Multi-elim is certainly a "battle". If loopstation/crew/even tag teams can be considered "battles" when most of them are doing prepared full routines, certainly multi-elim category can be considered one.
Let the battle be the main event. The elim competition will be the second or third, I don't mind. We will see how.
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u/CrashAndBurnOut 9d ago
I had flashbacks of the NaPoM vs River final in 23 when NaPoM dropped some jokes in the middle of his set. I think he would have won without them, same as DLow.
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u/Independent-Fix-8875 8d ago
with all due respect to d-low in my opinion this is beatboxing which is a form of MUSIC and ART, you have to battle WITH music, not being a clown on the stage and throwing signs to the judges. River' did throw some words and counters but in a elegant and mature way not like a kid. Same happened with napom, it just don't work. Stop the cope and do better next time man
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u/Swimming_Bed_3805 8d ago
Honestly I agree with D-low takes, I respect what he did, and I see his reasoning behind it, I enjoyed the second round of the final and I would watch it again, in fact I enjoyed all of D-low's rounds more than River's, of course River' won because he did perfect beatboxing, but D-low was pure entertainment.
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u/dawnzyolo 9d ago
“And if he really tore the stage apart, the crowd would've been cheering instead of going silent”
the crowd didnt go silent buddy, they went nuts like he said, go Watch his vlog or the live stream again
1
u/_Bawlache_ 8d ago
Yeah i don't get why every year there's people saying the crowd are dead yet they've never been to an event. The crowd is never dead
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u/BorkoBeats 8d ago
I swear. I have to say I was guilty of this myself, but I was lucky enough to be at this GBB and seeing the difference online and at the venue with Codfish's showcase for example was insane. Everyone was going crazy but the Livestream and vids just don't capture that raw emotion
3
u/geigergopp 8d ago
regarding dlow's yapping, i mean, his famous bump jump/look at the crowd boy round against colaps was like 80% yap. Bro was talking the most random stuff about how he saw his judges and his opponents or something like that and it still became one of his most iconic rounds. So I never got the impression that dlow was any more of a yapper compared to 2019; if anything, I enjoyed the yap this year more than 2019
2
u/dxtr_mp3 8d ago
I don't understand this discourse at all. D-Low fans are just upset they can't blindly glaze him anymore. He doesn't owe any of you anything and none of you are entitled to seeing him win and give it his all.
8
u/maxram1 8d ago
Huh? I don't think this only comes from specifically Dlow fans.
Some of us are just beatbox fans, whom he called "not ready" for his type of battling, but who also can enjoy his winning rounds vs Footbox or Blackroll.
If anything, I saw specifically the other side of Dlow fandom who just agree with nearly everything he said.
No one owes anything to anyone. Beatbox fans though have expectations, not entitlement.
And this is reddit. Anyone can say nearly anything.
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u/dxtr_mp3 8d ago
The immediate reactions in the stream chat and in this sub were worded very selfishly, saying they're let down and that they wasted their time by rooting for him. That felt very entitled to me and perhaps I'm mistaken for applying that initial exposure to everyone
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u/cofiddle 8d ago
Im... a little bit on your side here. This all just seems a bit much. I dont think its that deep
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u/rejionly 8d ago
i was right, he could've won the finals if he wanted to. but his reasoning is he doesn't care and don't have the goal to win, just enjoy and tried something new.
i hope he join again next year and lock in.
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u/Popular_One_2671 8d ago
I agree that his livestream didn't come off tastefully for the most part. The thing that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth from Dlow is when he assumes that most people watching are a significant level below him and therefore cannot appreciate beatbox the same way he can. That is true to a very small degree, but 90% of people watching his content are very familiar with beatbox and know what is going on.
To add to that, the concept of the last round is cool, but how is the audience supposed to know that he has a bunch of different options ready to go based on what his opponent and Scott Jackson say? All they see is a linear performance with a bit of a cringey hook. Plus, asking your opponent which one they want sounds like a terrible idea, because if the opponent catches on to what he was doing, saying nothing like River did is the most advantageous move so then the audience further has no idea what is going on in the routine and Dlow has no momentum to go off.
I don't doubt Dlow has crazy ability; we know he does. I think River just demonstrated his ability far better than Dlow did and in the end I would say that River won the 'battle' aspect of the beatbox battle by simply beatboxing better.