With Queen of the Ring’s biggest
card — No Holds Barred —
approaching, Andrew “POP”
Wansel. sponsor and huge QOTR
supporter, wanted to give back to the
fans. POP along with Blackchunlee,
a.k.a Dell, came up with the “NHB
Tournament”; a tournament that
would take place on Queen of
the Rings “Rep the Brand” radio
show. Sixteen contestants battled
each week until the last two were
standing. This gave supporters,
from league owners to fans — and
even battle rappers, a chance to
show their battle rap skills while
competing for a stage pass to NHB.
This tournament brought out plenty
of supporters, from artists like
Montez Love to league owners like
Black Ice and Miz to battle rappers
such as Born and BK Fynest. The
final battle was between Montez
Love and Hemi. This was a solid
1-rounder between the two, but one
contestant in particular had the
better performance, and that was
Hemi, a battle rapper reppin’ New
Orleans. Hemi shared his thoughts
on his weekly battles; winning a
stage pass to the epic NHB event
and getting an opportunity to battle
O’fficial.
Dilly: First, I would like to
congratulate you on winning the
QOTR NHB tournamen —
Hemi: Thank you. I support
Queen of the Ring. First, being
a ladies man; second is the fact
that they have bars; third, because
of the Southern chicks making
noise. I’m proud to be a part of it.
Dilly: That’s what’s up. Females
are definitely doing their
numbers. You won a stage pass
to NHB; can you share your
experience about NHB? How did
you feel about the event?
Hemi: Its’ the best I’ve been to so
far. The ring by itself is the best
setting in battle rap. To have it in
a venue like Irving Plaza made it
feel like u were at a boxing match
in Vegas. I walked through the
whole venue and every angle was
A1. I have no complaints about
that event. All praise. I left more
than satisfied.
Dilly Brooklyn: Which battle
was battle of the night, in your
opinion?
Hemi: We’ll, they’re going to say
that I’m biased because I’m from
NO, but “O’fficial vs. Couture”
was battle of the night. Gattas
and Hart had the potential, but
the deal wasn’t closed in the third.
Dilly: O’fficial and Couture put
on. It was a good, entertaining
battle. What made you enter the
tournament?
Hemi: Being in the QOTR FB
group, they have the Rep the
Brand radio show and I would
always call in talking s**t. Plus,
I’d post saying, “I’m the best in
hemi
rising star
America.” So dell kept trying get
me to battle and I would decline.
The last time she asked, I said,
“this must be a sign to take a good
opportunity; to show why I feel
like I’m the best.” So, next thing
I know, I’m kicking Born’s ass on
the radio (Hemi laughs)
Dilly: Could you see you and
Born having an official, live battle?
Hemi: Hell yeah. I would smoke
Born. We talk s**t to each other
every time that we see one of
another.
Dilly: I would definitely like to see
a 3-rounder with you two. As you
were preparing for a battle each
week, did you find it harder than
when you had to prep for a battle
with a month’s time ahead?
Hemi: No. Not really, because
it’s only 1-round, plus it’s the
radio, where it’s all about bars;
no personals. You don’t need to
work on performance, just spit
bars. That’s easy to prepare for. If
I can take one solid day to write a
verse, that’s all I need. Plus, I can
freestyle at will.
Dilly: Which battle of the
tournament was your favorite?
Hemi: BK Fynest. Hands down.
We had promo and everything. I
really only wanted to battle girls in
the tournament. Just to say some
things I always wanted to say to a
chick.