When & Why did this forum lose so much popularity ?

**coleowsuz** · 08-08-2019, 09:35 AM

Guess I havent been following battle rap much in the past few years. This forum is hardly active at all compared to a few years ago, can someone enlighten me. Is battle rap all together just beginning to phase out .?

**Neanderthol** · 08-08-2019, 12:02 PM

BR is not phasing out AT ALL but particular brands of BR are less popular

the particular brand of BR that a lot of people on this site enjoy(picture a world where Troy Brown is Lux ) is all but dead;
that leads to some of the few posters that do remain deferring to things like
" I don't watch battles much these days so..." or
" ___________(undeniably greatest new battler ) is terrible; I won't watch")
etc..

So theres that AND there was a time when trolls overpowered official representatives of the culture here, quite literally; that added wit people trying to control 100% of any narrative by forming echo-chamber FB groups where any dissenting voice could be muted, created an exodus (for the sake of trends and it was where discussion went.)

When this transition began, we watched as certain people/representatives tried to keep the connections to the site (Kingfly, occasionally Ganik, DBD/DBD Show) but wit trolls doubling down, that natural migration to FB groups, and the aforementioned loss of BR fanship (for the most part) of OOG members here, we ended up wit what we have .

Some people have gone off to some weirdo discord that is non-navigable and a clusterfuck but they're there; I tried, I did, idk maybe I'm too old for it

People constantly come and ask this very question but then just leave again

People have tried to breathe life back in, I know I've tried
Shouts to @iamHBY , whom I've incidentally had words with out in the FB world as our real names; he is the one singlehandedly keeping the site alive currently frfr

Not to sound like a nerd or a drama king but it really is one of the saddest things to happen in the last couple years.

I also do honestly think this has played a big part in the fall of KOTD in recent years.

**peace** · 08-08-2019, 04:07 PM

^ pretty much, sorta.

i stopped following KOTD closely after the bunker. for me, there was no point in keeping up if they didn't do cali events. wouldn't be surprised if others feel that way.

smack is killing it, but this forum doesn't fuck with smack as much as KOTD. URL wouldn't be enough for people to stay logged in.

forums are outdated, unfortunately. i think they still have a place. facebook and discord seem to be standard for internet discussions, tho. discord has its own battle rap universes, and some servers are literally active 24/7 with hundreds of users. there are also discord battle scenes, which are way more entertaining than they have any right to be. a downside is discord being a chatroom, but there isn't a demand for organization since nearly all of us in discord aren't as invested in battle rap as we were a few years ago.

i'm curious to see if the forum started declining when KOTD stopped regularly putting out content that appealed to backpackers. the last bunker was december 2016. (wait. it's almost been 3 years since the bunker died? what the fuck?) (edit: that means KOTD hasn't had a cali scene for 3 years. no wonder they're in their current state.)

erik keeping this site up despite its drop in activity is super appreciated. this is my GOAT forum.

**god level** · 08-08-2019, 07:49 PM

Man I read a lot of what Neanderthol was saying but then stopped to write this comment

So i was lurking rmbva/otbva for a few years before I decided to make an account. Let me tell you it was out of frustration of the narrative of the of of of the culture my guy. So many opinions that were trash and were being championed! And you can tell people bought into it. Saying Clips would 30 Hollow. People saying Danny Myers didn't have bars. I think also the lot of people realized how out of tune they really were or just ugly ass boys that lurked battle rap for whatever the reason and the demographic in rmbva was idk to me anyway. Shit like that shit like that. Honestly enjoyed reading the old "Q/A's" on rmbva tho.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coleowsuz

Guess I havent been following battle rap much in the past few years. This forum is hardly active at all compared to a few years ago, can someone enlighten me. Is battle rap all together just beginning to phase out .?

Ironically enough, the culture is more alive than it ever was. I just miss Tiger Ty, Soul Khan, Franco, Hommy Hom and the old Head Ice type characters.

**Shadowposter** · 08-08-2019, 08:37 PM

It would be sweet if the forum really came back to life. Think most of us just ran out of topics. Only so much you can say before you retread old ground.

And this place was always a bit more Kotd-centric which sucks as kotd fell off pretty hard. And all of Kotd’s best battlers (plus Avo) are now showing out on URL anyway. So it just seems like this forum died a bit of a natural death.

**Casual** · 08-08-2019, 08:45 PM

Yeah I ain't got much to add that hasn't already been said here.

Once a forum starts that decline it's a snowball effect. Especially a forum of this size...even at the peak we probably had what? 30ish consistently active posters? You lose a few of those and the threads start to dry up a bit, then you lose more people as a result of that because the forum isn't moving fast enough for them, repeat.

I dunno how much I agree with the KOTD narrative. I think that was true on rapmusic or even early rmbva but I think this site had mostly embraced URL before the decline in users.

Others have mentioned it but RMBVA specifically has always been less accepting or interested in the new age of battlers and that leaves us with less to talk about because the guys we wanna watch have mostly exhausted the matchups we want to see.

**cripplesunday1** · 08-08-2019, 08:56 PM

Still seems alive to me

**track 1** · 08-08-2019, 10:22 PM

this forum is still live. if you look on the members online ........25 members 1309 guests

everybody still comes on here but don't post just lurks.

**RickyProehl** · 08-08-2019, 11:46 PM

Casual makes a good point about the new battlers

As ive gotten older tastes change and i miss the old battlers more / find the new ones more cringeworthy

**coleowsuz** · 08-08-2019, 11:47 PM

Thanks for the responses, a lot of truth in there. This forum is certainly still alive, but not the the degree it once was in 2014 when I first started coming on here when I was in highschool. I Remember even the text battling section was pretty popular for a little while. What even happened to Seanzo and Eric Foreman and all the original mods of this forum ? Too many questions.
Overtime this place has kind of solidified a tight knit community of people who continue to come on here even tho the forums have died down a bit.
Also makes me kind of sad to see the dirtbag dan show doesnt get the numbers I remember it getting back when I used to tune in weekly.

**coleowsuz** · 08-08-2019, 11:55 PM

I miss the days of Ekelon and bojangles and all the ridiculous troll posters. I hope your all doing well, I'm trying to get back into battle rap I mostly just watch old grindtime battles but sometimes I'll try to branch out.

**track 1** · 08-09-2019, 01:45 AM

21 members logged in right now

1611 guests. most are still here just lurking

would be better if they all logged in and started posting again. why lurk?

**My Kall** · 08-09-2019, 02:00 AM

Battle-Rap, as a spectator sport, is probably a revolving door or a conveyor belt for fans. Lifelong viewers are probably rare. Maybe other forums like reddit/You-Tube, or more specialised forums pertaining to seperate leagues have more notoriety now than they did 5 years ago and replaced RMBVA? I'm tempted to make a come-back, I typically avoid reunions, but I'll make an exception for RMBVA.

**Profess** · 08-09-2019, 05:56 PM

Lil ills transition to a woman. Didn't seem like a big deal. Perhaps the culture has changed. I'll speculate that in 2014 that would have made a bigger splash

**coleowsuz** · 08-09-2019, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Profess

Lil ills transition to a woman. Didn't seem like a big deal. Perhaps the culture has changed. I'll speculate that in 2014 that would have made a bigger splash

Ahaha did that actually happen tho ? What ever happened to lil Ill?

**coleowsuz** · 08-09-2019, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by My Kall

Battle-Rap, as a spectator sport, is probably a revolving door or a conveyor belt for fans. Lifelong viewers are probably rare. Maybe other forums like reddit/You-Tube, or more specialised forums pertaining to seperate leagues have more notoriety now than they did 5 years ago and replaced RMBVA? I'm tempted to make a come-back, I typically avoid reunions, but I'll make an exception for RMBVA.

Damn I remember you posting back in 2014 when I was on here everyday. I feel the same way, this place was awesome a handful of years ago, makes me kinda sad to see how few people actually post on here now.

**Emancee** · 08-10-2019, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coleowsuz

Ahaha did that actually happen tho ? What ever happened to lil Ill?

Lil Ill is still here just in a different, let's just say, form...

**Profess** · 08-10-2019, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by My Kall

Battle-Rap, as a spectator sport, is probably a revolving door or a conveyor belt for fans. Lifelong viewers are probably rare. Maybe other forums like reddit/You-Tube, or more specialised forums pertaining to seperate leagues have more notoriety now than they did 5 years ago and replaced RMBVA? I'm tempted to make a come-back, I typically avoid reunions, but I'll make an exception for RMBVA.

Do you think a real fan of similar character to the nerd star of Bodied is a life long fan?

**Profess** · 08-10-2019, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coleowsuz

Ahaha did that actually happen tho ? What ever happened to lil Ill?

I looked for the thread a few hours ago. 2nd time today I couldn't find a link here

**Profess** · 08-10-2019, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coleowsuz

I miss the days of Ekelon and bojangles and all the ridiculous troll posters. I hope your all doing well, I'm trying to get back into battle rap I mostly just watch old grindtime battles but sometimes I'll try to branch out.

The mad oparah meme was epic

**Profess** · 08-10-2019, 02:45 AM

These days the board is at its best during ppvs

**track 1** · 08-10-2019, 04:44 AM

3500 guests right now on battle video archives

everybody that used to post on here, still comes on here

including battlers

**RickyProehl** · 08-10-2019, 07:32 AM

I miss the old days

**Profess** · 08-10-2019, 12:58 PM

Make rmbva great again

**My Kall** · 08-10-2019, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coleowsuz

Damn I remember you posting back in 2014 when I was on here everyday. I feel the same way, this place was awesome a handful of years ago, makes me kinda sad to see how few people actually post on here now.

Yeah I would definitely post here equally prolifically again if the off-topic section of the forum was more vibrant getting more traffic. I officially jumped off the battle-rap train back in 2016, but I became disillusioned with battle-rap in 2012. Battle-Rap's a journey, you hop on the train, reach your destination and then you say sayonara and depart. Traditional Hip-Hop music isn't a journey for me, I'll perpetually immerse myself in it. Battle-Rap was always just a Hip-Hop sideshow for me. If Hip-Hop was football, battle-rap was the half-time entertainment. But everyone's Battle-Rap journey is different.

**Profess** · 08-10-2019, 04:05 PM

Battle rap, the slam dunk contest on hip hop?

Do off topic board threads get listed in the side bar? I don't think so and that could limit the traffic there

**Zero** · 08-11-2019, 02:33 AM

This site's longevity being tied to KOTD's relevancy is telling

**Emancee** · 08-11-2019, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Profess

Do off topic board threads get listed in the side bar? I don't think so and that could limit the traffic there

I wonder if that may be a way to give the forum some life. A battle raps take on rap, culture etc. could be good. Things like when we judged Trump-Clinton using battle rap criteria - that was hilarious- etc.

**Profess** · 08-11-2019, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emancee

I wonder if that may be a way to give the forum some life. A battle raps fan on rap, culture could be good. Things like when we judged Trump-Clinton using battle rap criteria etc.

Look at Hilary playing defense as Don gets his round off

**RickyProehl** · 08-11-2019, 06:22 AM

The forums not dead its just not alive

**VAallDAY** · 08-11-2019, 08:08 AM

i dont watch no new battles unless its 2 old heads from back in the day like math vs hollow

cant fw the new cats so aint much to talk about

**Profess** · 08-11-2019, 09:15 PM

The solution is updating the rmbva website to a modern design and adding in advanced analytics features.

That being said, part of the charm here is the old school design. Coming here is like listening to a vinyl record.

**ToddMargaret** · 08-12-2019, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Profess

Make rmbva great again

i endorse this!

My work days are so much longer since rmbva became boring

**bobbylight** · 08-12-2019, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Profess

The solution is updating the rmbva website to a modern design and adding in advanced analytics features.

That being said, part of the charm here is the old school design. Coming here is like listening to a vinyl record.

Do you realize updating a forum to a modern design is the only reason this forum exists? Basically rapmusic.com was what everyone used to be on. Then they changed the format and this got made because people didn't like the change. Changing how the forum looks isn't going to get people to come back. If anything it will push people away.

**Profess** · 08-12-2019, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbylight

Do you realize updating a forum to a modern design is the only reason this forum exists? Basically rapmusic.com was what everyone used to be on. Then they changed the format and this got made because people didn't like the change. Changing how the forum looks isn't going to get people to come back. If anything it will push people away.

Thanks for the feedback Bobby. But correlation doesn't imply causation.

**bobbylight** · 08-12-2019, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Profess

Thanks for the feedback Bobby. But correlation doesn't imply causation.

Are you saying people left rapmusic for reasons other than the forum change?

**Profess** · 08-12-2019, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbylight

Are you saying people left rapmusic for reasons other than the forum change?

Are you Cathy Newman?

**bobbylight** · 08-12-2019, 10:46 PM

Fuck yeah I'm Cathy Newman.

**sikwidit** · 08-13-2019, 06:29 AM

Battle rap and this site used to be a daily routine for me. Somewhere over the years I completely lost my love for battle rap and I can't even quite explain what happened but there was a 3-4 year period where I didn't even visit this site. Nostalgia and curiosity of the scene brought me back but it's hard to get back into when the same threads, stickies are on the front page for over a month. Back in the day they wouldn't last 3 days that way. Makes it hard to be interested in any upcoming content

**Howiefelter** · 08-14-2019, 04:17 AM

Merge with grind or go home lmao

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