Staying in the Fight

It was a slow night at the Caribbean Grill. Just three weeksago, hip-hoppers packed the small North Dallas bar and grill tolisten to local emcees in a freestyle battle. But Monday’ssparse gathering is a showing of the true followers of the”Monday Nite Fights.”

Personalities from hip-hop station 97.9 The Beat —HeadKrack, Action Jaxon and DJ Phil — host the Monday NiteFights, a tradition started in December 2002.

At the fights, local lyricists and rap hopefuls faced off in arhyme battle. Sometimes the prize is the honor of winning. Othertimes, the victor walks away with Sony Playstations, athletic gear,DVD players or CDs.

The prizes aren’t what draw the lyricists back every week;it is the exhilaration of performing before a crowd and trying tothink fast while making a fool of their opponent. Earlycompetitions only received publicity through word-of-mouth andfliers.

Eventually, the event drew such crowds that the hosts were ableto buy radio commercials as well as find corporate sponsors.

Sometimes more than a hundred people gathered on the tile floorin front of the black wooden stage. Asian and Latino breakdancerswould hold their own competition between dance crews. Prominentlocal entertainers performed short sets between rounds of the rhymecompetition. Many artists, including Dow Jonez, Mes, the FabulousGrammatiks, the Trilogy and HeadKrack have taken the stage andperformed to an appreciative crowd.

DJ Phil always keeps the crowd involved, choosing songs with thebest production for participants to rhyme over. Phil doesn’tsay much, but he doesn’t need to. He makes the turntablesspeak for him by spinning records that excite the crowds, andsometimes by mixing and scratching.

Mondays at the Caribbean Grill are an illustration that musicbrings people together. With more ethnic diversity than a Benettonad, hip-hop unites the crowd.

With the start of the school semester, a lot of attendees arestill adjusting to their schedules, but HeadKrack is surethey’ll be back. He said the following has been too strongfor too long to simply disappear.

Nonetheless, the freestyle battles continue.

On Monday, about a dozen emcees faced off, including SMU’sown Leroy Price under the moniker of Red. Last week’schampion and crowd favorite is an Oak Cliff barber named Paper SacBrown. Newcomer Ronnie made it to the final round, but Paper heldon to his crown. He’ll be back next week, and so will theregulars.

The Caribbean Grill is located at 3068 Forest Lane. Doors openat 9 p.m. Call (972) 241-9113 for more information.