Cedes P. | February 19, 2015
Lytes Edison is a talented emcee battle rapper, born and raised in Denver, CO. He sat down with us to discuss the ins and outs of battle rapping.
Lytes has been involved with music as far back as he can remember. He used to write songs as a young kid but didn’t start taking himself seriously until about 2 years ago. “I realized I was talented and so did the people around me,” Lytes says. When I asked him what he enjoyed most about his profession he replied, “It allows me to just be myself, no facade, just me.”
This emcee definitely exercises his freedom to be creative within his battles. He is lyrically inclined, his word play is mind blowing, and he is not afraid to be aggressive with his “up in your face” delivery. “I’m here to battle.” Lytes says, “I’m not here to be friendly.”
Although Lytes is aware of his talent he stays humbled. When I asked him “When are you completely satisfied with your work?” He replied, “As an artist I am never satisfied, I can always do better.” As well as recognizing his own talent, Lytes gave recognition to Colorado’s very own “Squizzy Gang” which includes upcoming rap artists Pries, Trev Rich, and A.P. “Competition wise Squizzy is definitely a group to beat- BUT as far as battle rappers go? Yeah, no one is seeing me.” Says Lytes.
Battle rap is definitely not an easy craft to master. He said to be a successful battle rapper you must posses these 5 traits- swagger, intelligence, be lyrically sound, and of course, have some dope word play.
Lytes would describe his style as unique. He has great energy and his aggressiveness sets him apart from other battle rappers. We are excited to watch Lytes grow as an emcee and we have our ear to the streets for his upcoming battles!
Photos: Blake Jackson
