JUSTICE Interview – AS vs NZ

JUSTICE INTERVIEW

By G Force

 [i]G Force (G):  So, being crowned the best freestyle emcee in Australia must feel alright yeah?[/i]

Justice (J): No doubt man, feels real good.

[i]G:  Run us through your battles on the night.  First round you drew Surreal.  He has a large following in Melbourne and has beaten you before, what was running through your head at this point?[/i]

J: Not much. As soon as they read out Surreal I was saying to myself “I bet they’ll call my name.” I was pretty focused and wasn’t phased who I battled, but you could tell that both of us were real hungry to get to the next round. In my opinion the battle could’ve gone either way, especially since our styles are fairly different, and we appeal to two different audiences.

[i]G:  Then to follow that up you had to battle Syndey’s Anecdote who was also highly regarded in the battle line up.  What were you thinking then?[/i]

J: Since the line up was announced I’d made up my mind that Anecdote was gonna win the Australian final. So when we were battling I just wanted to go out and have some fun. Dote has some insane battling abilities and heaps of his stuff went over the crowds head, but it was still heaps of fun as it was probably the freshest battle I’ve taken part in.

[i]G:  And to finish it all up Dragonfly in the final, thoughts?[/i]

J: Dragon Fly came with some nice lines and had a real relaxed delivery which worked for him, but the crowd didn’t really appreciate some of his stuff and started to boo him a fair bit. The crowds behavior for some of the dudes was pretty disrespectful, but I do appreciate most of them getting behind me and helping me get the win.

[i]G:  There has been some animosity towards you in past battles, particularly the heats for this and even in the final.  Few crod boos etc, what are your thought on this?[/i]

J: It bothered me in the beginning, because I didn’t really understand why guys were booing me for doing well. Nowadays I couldn’t give a shit. I don’t battle to impress certain people, or to live up to others expectations/”battle guidelines”. I battle to get my name out there and to essentially pay my dues. If guys don’t like the fact that I’ve done well for myself, how is that my fault? Instead of booing me why not boo the judges? There’s too many egos out there.

[i]G:  Claims of pre writing some of your punches have plagued you since you began battling, what do you have to say to those who believe this?[/i]

J: Not much. It’s funny most lines that guys pull me up on are the one’s that actually came off the top. But yeah, I have some writtens, I would say that all “good” battle mcs probably do. Whether that means thinking up lines before you go onto battle or writing them last week, it doesn’t matter. You’re on stage to make a fool of the other person. But all that aside, I still don’t understand why guys are hating on me when I always rebut the other guys lines, talk about his appearance, and talk about stuff on the night. Every mc has filler that they will revert to if they are running out of things to say. A lot of guys say I’ve recycled lines and stuff (I still can’t think of any) but I can’t name one good battle mc who hasn’t had some filler or a line that they’ve said twice just out of habit, and the fact that the rhyming word triggers that line. I’m starting to babble a bit so I’ll stop here, but essentially I don’t battle to impress anyone or to coincide with what others do. I do my own thing and it’s helped me do well over the year. Guys should just respect that and do their own thing rather than worrying about me so much.

[i]G:  So, New Zealand huh.  You are but a small lad, surely you must be getting slightly intimidated?[/i]

J: At the moment, I’m not that phased but I’ve got a feeling as soon as I step out on stage over there people are gonna be like “what the …?” So it might be a bit hard to get them to listen but we’ll see what happens. I just wanna head over and have some fun.

[i]G:  What did you think of their team last year and what are your opinions on the battle and the result?[/i]

J: They had a pretty solid team, apparently a few guys who were supposed to come down couldn’t make it or something so I’m not sure if it was at full strength, but a few guys definitely impressed. It would’ve been real hard performing in front of our crowd.

[i]G:  What do you think of this years Aus team and who do you think will stand out over there?[/i]

J: I think this year’s team is a clear example of the “new generation” in battling. Looking at some guys in the team and looking at what battling was about a year ago or so, things have definitely taken a turn for the better. I gotta say if Anecdote is on point he should shred dudes over in NZ. He has insane ability. 

[i]G:  Do you think there is anyone who should be in the team that isn’t there, from what you have seen and heard from battles in the country?[/i]

J: I can’t really speak for other states, but I think Surreal and I both deserved our spot. We’ve really “paid our dues” in terms of battles over the last year and have done fairly well from it, so this was really the icing on the cake.

[i]G:  You know I beat you at Double Beef yeah?[/i]

J: Still bitter?! Haha we’ll have a rematch kid.

[i]G:  If you could battle anyone in the world, who and why?[/i]

J: I’d probably say Diabolic or Nocando, just so I can get the chance to see them battle in person. Both are insane.

[i]G:  Alright, over talking about battles.  What’s happening with third world?  Your rocked a well received set just before Layla at Underground sound 2, been dropping a few tracks over mp3.com, collaborated with a few artists, J-Flow etc.  What’s next for the militia?[/i]

J: We wanna get some more gigs and get our names out a bit more before we jump into anything. We’ve got some good stuff lined up for a demo which will hopefully be finished sometime soon, so heads should keep an eye out!

[i]G:  Cool, so back to battles, haha.  Do you ever get sick of it, being a battle emcee, battling and being labeled as just that?[/i]

J: Hell yeah. Battling really takes it out of you, and I’m at a point where I just have no motivation to keep it up. It’s more an obligation to myself rather than a passion nowadays and I’d much rather focus on making music and doing shows etc.

[i]G:  Do you have goals as a battle emcee?  One would think they would almost be achieved and will you retire when they are reached?[/i]

J: I didn’t have goals when I first started, after last years Aus vs. NZ however I really wanted to be up there. Now that I’ve got that I’ll probably focus heaps more on making tracks and getting our music out there.

[i]G:  What’s the best line you can remember spitting and having spat at you?[/i]

J: Haha I hate this question. I really can’t think of the “best” line I’ve spat over the year, however the freshest line I’ve heard toward me was probably at Real Deal when I had to battle Kaos. I said something about him being my back up dancer and he came back with “I’m bout to rape you/you just mad coz your back up dancer just upstaged you”

[i]G:  What are the best and worse prizes you have won in a battle?[/i]

J: Best prizes would have to be the stuff I won at the national final. Got a wicked new phone, SM-58, some k-swiss sneakers, and a tonne of clothes. Worst prize? I got some really oversized t-shirts once that looked like night gowns on me.

[i]G:  Well, good luck in N.Z bro, I think yourself and the team will shit it in.  Any last words?[/i]

J: G’day to all the guys from the battle. Look out for Third World Militia stuff coming real soon. Peace man.

[i]G:  Cheers mate[/i]