A Very Serious Analysis by Robert Scott

  Music is one of the most defining parts of culture and it has been so throughout history.  Just as society has evolved, music has been right alongside it.  Research has even shown that there is a "music center" in the brain, which is what can create those rushes of emotion and energy (or lack there of) when listening to one of your favorite songs.  From classical to EDM (electronic dance music), there really is a genre of music for everyone, and anyone can get involved in making new pieces.  Of course, similar to book genres, music genres have their own separate sub genres that can appeal to even more specific audiences.  In recent years, two of the most popular genres of music have been hip-hop and rap, with the two styles sometimes even blending together.  Artists such as Post Malone, Eminem, Drake, and others have thrown themselves into the public eye with these types of songs, which has also created a new type of competition among average people and famous artists alike; rap battles.  Found all over the internet and even in other media such as the movie 8 Mile, rap battles have become their own lucrative way for the people to gain respect from their peers, usually referred to as "street cred".
  I myself have poured multiple minutes into researching different rap battles, typical rhyme/syllable schemes, and the techniques used by the rappers in said battles to beat their opponent.  This has inspired me to create my very own analysis of possibly the most well-known and heated rap battle that has ever occurred; to look deeper into the lyrics and find not only their surface-level meaning, but also what may lie underneath said surface.  Ladies and gentlemen, strap into your seats, because we're going headfirst into the battle in Regular Show's episode "Rap it Up" between Pops/Mordecai/Rigby and the Crew-Crew.

 
  Staring off with Pops' beginning verse:

"Let's do this!

Beauty is in the center of all that you see

Simple, yet complex and fully textured

And beauty be a part of all that you be 

For you are the best rhymers that I've ever heard!"

Obviously Pops is trying to throw the Crew-Crew off their game with these beginning lines.  From my research, rap battles are typically centered around insulting (aka "dissing") one's opponent, though Pops made no attempt at any digs at the Crew-Crew during his first verse.  The only line that can be considered somewhat of an insult is "Beauty is in the center of all that you see", which works with the later lines to create a sort of 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' sort of vibe.  One of the most unique details of this beginning to the battle, though, is of course the very last line, in which Pops actually compliments the Crew-Crew's rhyming capabilities.  This technique of complimenting and being nice to one's opponent is somewhat rare in rap battles, as it creates a sort of fallback for the battler to seem more appealing to the audience, though it doesn't follow the usual formula.  A good move in some cases, and a very bold move to make off the bat. 

  Demolition (Crew-Crew member):

"Why you talkin' 'bout beauty man

Don't understand what that's got to do with you, fool

You guys are like spoiled hams in a can

Super bland, expiration date's overdue"

Honestly, the flow in this verse can be a little off-putting.  It's apparent that Demolition had some trouble forming this on the spot, with the first two lines reflecting her confusion over Pops' tactic of building the Crew-Crew up.  It seems that the she was able to get back on track for the rest of her verse though, seeing as the last two lines are the first concrete insults of the battle.  This being said, they are not the most hard-hitting, as there is no apparent personal attack made.  Demolition compares Pops, Mordecai, and Rigby to "spoiled ham", of course something that not many would enjoy, which sets up the rest of her verse for building on said comparison.
 
  Rigby:

"The canning of meat is quite a sweet treat

So thanks for comparing us so 

Your words so inspiring, ideas so concrete

You really put on quite a show!"

Off the bat, Rigby immediately throws Demolition's insults away by actually going along with her verse by indirectly agreeing with her comparison of him, Pops, and Mordecai as "spoiled ham" and also going on to say that the comparison is something that is enjoyable.  Given, Rigby didn't mention the spoiled part, but it's obvious that the game plan between the three before the battle was to deflect any attacks from the Crew-Crew right back at them.  This sort of mentality continues in Rigby's last two lines where he repeats what Pops did in the beginning verse and compliments Demolition/her verse.  Another bold move. 

  Blitz Comet (Crew-Crew Member):

"Okay, hold up, you wanna talk words and verbs?

But your face is distracting, so ugly it bugs me

Take care of that mess and sweep it under the rug please

So trust me, you're only taking matters from bad to worse

Only solution is to turn around in reverse"

The first line of Blitz Comet's verse is maybe the most interesting part of the battle so far, as it highlights a possible pattern from the Crew-Crew.  Both Demolition and Blitz Comet rhymed words in the same sentence during each of their respective verses, with Demolition rhyming "you" with "fool" and Blitz Comet rhyming "words" and "verbs".  Both of these sets of rhymes are, of course, not your typical "true rhyme" which the average second grader can understand; these rhymes were created by changing the stresses of the word mid-sentence.  It is apparent that the Crew-Crew uses these types of rhymes regularly in their lines, which paradoxically displays both a lack of preparedness and their ability to think on their feet.  The rest of the verse is centered on the most personal diss in the battle so far, where Blitz comment focuses a whole four lines on insulting Mordecai's appearance.  This type of insult is a common one seen in rap battles, and it is no surprise to see such a master of the game as Blitz Comet break out such a veteran of the insult field. 

  Mordecai:

"A gift to us, new perspective on things

Life looking different from where you stand true

So much to discover, so spread your wings

And take flight for a birds-eye view"

This verse right here is one of the main reasons why this battle is widely regarded as the most heated of all time.  Even after a solid verbal hit from Blitz Comet, Mordecai somehow finds a way to "turn it around" on him.  The "new perspective" mentioned in the first line refers to the fact that Blitz Comet told Mordecai to "reverse" his face, and after that Mordecai goes on the systematically tear town Blitz Comet's insult and even build it up again in his own favor.  He does so by telling Blitz Comet to "take off" in order to see a new perspective of his own.  The lines creating this hold so much to them.  In the simplest of explanations, Mordecai is telling Blitz Comet to just leave the battle, as he obviously isn't seeing things correctly and needs to rethink what brought him to the battle in the first place.  All of this, mind you, without one direct diss.

  Alpha Dog (Crew-Crew Member):

"Okay, this be gettin' serious

You guys are delirious, are you hearin' this?

Talkin' 'bout positive things, but you ain't got no game

And it's plain to see, you're strange to me, cause we be

Shining like diamonds, y'all be penny cash

Nice mustache, conquistadors be wanting it back

In fact, what are you?

A rat, a squirrel, some kind of fat meerkat who thinks he's rad

And look at that, your bird friend's dropping words absurd again

Useless bits of rhymes that expose the nerd in him

You think Alpha Dog is gonna lay down and let you win?

Your head be all inflated, I guess, just like a giant blimp"

Alpha Dog really hits hard in his verse, covering Pops, Mordecai, and Rigby all at once.  It's at this point in the battle that I'm sure he realized the Crew-Crew had a chance of losing and decided to absolutely go off; of which he did.  Alpha Dog acknowledges the fact that Pops, Mordecai, and Rigby had not yet made a direct insult at anyone in the Crew-Crew, most likely trying to get the audience to relate to his mindset.  He also uses a similar rhyming mechanism to Demolition and Blitz Comet, by rhyming words such as "win"and "blimp" by pronouncing them differently.  Alpha Dog spares no expense when it comes to the disses he throws at his opponents, with each of them being hit once.  Yet again, the insults are more based on appearance than anything else, with Pops' mustache and, a bit more darkly, Rigby's species coming into play.  Now, race and species has always been a big topic during rap battles, but I'll not go too far into it on account of offending any rats, squirrels, or meerkats.  The diss made about Mordecai more has to do with his words, so it appears that Alpha Dog was not a fan of Mordecai's verse at all.  Finally, Alpha Dog wraps up both his and the Crew-Crew's verses by effectively calling Pops an airhead for thinking that he could ever come out on top in a rap battle.

  Pops:

"It's been some time since I felt this way

Challenged by such worthy opponents

Your ryhme-scheme is good, but missing a few components

You may say things that hurt, or some that will sting

But for you, it's all just posturing

Look inside and be true to some real feelings

And the world will be yours, I'm assuring

So I thank you, good sirs, for this great contest

It's certainly been lots of fun

But there's nothing you could say to put me to rest

So really, I've already won"

It's apparent that Pops is nowhere near fazed by Alpha Dog's words, as he goes on to keep building up the Crew-Crew in the first two lines of his last verse.  However, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and after all of the building up that Pops, Mordecai, and Rigby had done throughout the battle, just the simple insult by Pops towards the Crew-Crew's rhyme scheme in the third line has such a large impact.  They has done nothing but compliment the Crew-Crew the whole battle, but at the very end Pops comes in with an absolute heater.  He goes on to rip even deeper, explaining that the Crew-Crew's insults are just them "posturing", meaning that they behave the way they do (insulting others) just to make them look better to others and feel better about themselves.  Even more savage, Pops leaves the Crew-Crew with some advice to find some "real feelings" and thanking them for battling before the battle is even over.  Finally, Pops drops the best finish to a rap battle ever heard by admitting that the Crew-Crew had no way of even winning the battle in the first place, as nothing they said could have held him down.  What a finish. 

  In the end, Pops, Mordecai, and Rigby won the battle in front of about ten people, solidifying their place in history as the champions of the rap battle that will be listened to for generations.  

Here's a link if you want to listen to the battle yourself, though have a fire extinguisher on hand for obvious purposes (skip to 0:40)-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cShvkLvdkFU