Thaddeus David instantly was approved by the panel after he was named number 10 Freshest in the Northwest to open the list with a declaration that 5 Moor Game artists would soon follow by Q Dot. Thaddeus has owned the stage getting active draws at his shows opening for some big names this year plus the release of the Trapitol Trill EP and a couple loose singles with a solid video game. There may have been universal love for Thaddeus, but things got difficult quickly when it was announced that Thaddeus beat two artists by only two tenths of a point who were Raz Simone and the PDX veteran Illmaculate.
The young gunner Raz Simone is hot off a fresh year having released a solid solo EP and an EP with Sam Lachow which preceded a national tour. On the other hand, Illmaculate continues to uphold his battle rapping roots having just came back from his second Europe tour and released the Chron: Legacy EP. Based on the criteria of the past 6-8 months and a passionate speech delivered by Luvva J about paying respects to the battle MC, when D-Money proposed a vote the panel decided to keep Illmaculate alive over Raz 5-1 and to hold the fresh spitting talent for a future list. It quickly became apparent that it was a very close battle now between Thaddeus and Illmaculate as the panel was split if they should honor hip hops roots of battle rapping or expectations and commercial success. In the end, the vote was split 3-3 and it was the fans that spoke giving Thaddeus David the #10 spot! Did the panel make the right decision? Chime in on the conversation on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #FreshestintheNW.
Stay tuned for the whole TV special on Seattle Community College TV this weekend and find out who will be #9 tomorrow!
To skip the rules fast forward and go straight to the debates at the 5:35 minute mark of the video.
