Intro
Ok first of all, sorry for putting this up so late, time has been limited for me. I would like to say sorry for any confusion. Me and Pakaveli have worked on this mag for the last few hours, so I hope it meets your expectations. Sit back and enjoy
Top 10 Writers
10. Grim Reapa
A very promsing writer, who is currently in the semi-finals of the SS tourny, Pool B. He can form a story, and make it interesting, with originality and nice imagery . The main thing I think he needs to work on is his wording, and rhyme scheme, to help with his flow which can be choppy at times. Other than that, this dude has really impressed me, I see him getting very good, very soon.
9. Issue
I hadn’t heard of the dude until he dropped this week. But I was pleasantly surprised, he told a nice story, and has shown real signs of potential, and I think that with some polishing, we could soon see this dude working his way up to a higher position
8. The Witness
The Witness has improved little by little every week, and he has showed his talent to those who have taken the time to see it. He has outlasted many SS tournament favourites and written some noteworthy OM's of late, including his very latest which may very well be yet another to his HoF collection. A class act and a friend of the entire community, The Witness contributes to several magazines and tournaments and still manages to leave feedback for new members to help initiate our newest members of the community. A respected writer who seems inches away from being one of the best, He continuously shows improvement and the desire to be a better writer every week.
-written by engivale
7. Pakaveli
This dude is getting better with each new piece, he has that beautiful poetic touch that I really like, and his imagery is also beautiful in every piece without fail. This dude is a regular in SS, and made an impact when he joined, be sure to look out for him, he’s going places.
6. Evolve
Evolve is a dope writer, In my opinion his flow is untouchable, that shit is soo perfect, I sometimes find myself lost in the flow, its crazy. He has a real talent for story-telling, and can really drag the reader into his pieces. Dude can have an attitude problems at times, but that doesn’t take away from his writing ability, dude comes with fire all the time, without fail
5. Feeble Minded
Not really known on the topical scene, as he is a legendary RB LLL head. But this dude really knows how to put a piece together, his shit is crazy for real, he is definitely one of my favourite writers. He is blunt and to the point with his Oms, none of this hidden meaning shit, which I really like. Dude has shown that he can do more than text, and I hope he keeps dropping, I really enjoy his work.
4. Born To Kill
One of my favourite writers, this dude has that dope flow, and can really come with some original shit, some of his pieces just blow me away. He keeps me reading, I don’t remember EVER being bored while reading a Born To Kill piece, there is always some sort of twist at the end, or something to keep the reader interested. Really nice dude, and a very dope writer.
3. Engivale
This dude arrived out of nowhere, and was instantly recognized for his amazing writing abilities. The first thing I notice about him, is his flow, it is very very good. Engivale has been the source of a lot of arguments lately, in SS him and atticus were going at it like cat and dog. But this doesn’t take away his talent for writing, this dude is one of the best, no doubt about it.
2. Atticus
Great writer, in my eyes, he is one of the best I have ever read on RB. He has some real abstract shit, and his pieces are always poetically beautiful, with deep meaning. His metaphors are out of this world, I dunno where the dude comes up with half of the shit that the does, but it sure as hell is impressive. He’s a really nice dude, who has kept the OM forum in perfect condition lately, and is favourite to win the SS tourny. Very good writer.
1. Nique
Nique has been dropping fire as of late, both of the pieces I have read this week are both deserving of a HOF place imo. She always has such great emotion in her pieces, that is what stands out the most to me, it really makes me interested, and drags the reader into the piece. Nique is definitely in my top 5 writers of all time on RB, and has proved why this week, with some off the hook pieces, shit’s crazy. Props nique, you’re fucking dope.
Top 5 Rookies
1. Forum
Forum is placed at the top of the rookie list this time round. His last piece of work had a very surprising take and this made it a good read. Though, he has been meddling with topical for a while I still reckon he needs that extra push to reach the next level and break into the top 10. So next time you see his piece, give him some constructive criticism
2. Dangermanship
This guy is literally unknown in the topical field. Though a late bloomer his last piece did surprise me and got me very interested to see how he would proceed. His latest piece of work, A Poet's Mantle, has managed to extract praise from the SS champ Attiucs himself. That goes to show, this guys going places.
3. Pious
Another no name and another unrecognized talent. The first thing that hit me was the similar structure to Engivale’s pieces. AS you all know Engivale is a top writer. I read the piece, Howling to a Concrete Moon and can tell that were onto something here. Though still needs refining…he could well go on to be another class produce of RB lol.
4. Ru Pious
Yup, I do believe him and Pious are different writers…well his piece was pretty good. Nice rhyming with an easy flow…some patchiness but I reckon that he could really chisel out to become a real class writer. However, I believe he has to delve into more unique territory…basically, bout time he stopped using general topics.
5. Licorice
Pretty short verse and I was kinda stuck between him and another writer. In the end I chose him for trying to write up something different than the current trend of om’s doing the rounds. His piece, - Paradise -, is more of a verse but I believe it’s more than enough to actually hook him a place at number 5.
Top Collaboration of the Fortnight
Unchained Melancholy
By Gay Bear and Grimreapa
Okay I was stuck between this piece and the piece by Mariah and Sneeky called Judging the Judge…Well I decided with this piece, mainly because I felt as the writer filled their personal potential better on this piece than on the other and both complimented each other’s verse well creating a well balanced and enjoyable piece. In totality, though this was enjoyable and good enough to be given special mention I believe that both writers shouldn’t rest on their laurels and put in even more effort to create a top write.
What some writers had to say about this piece:
Originally Posted by Nique
Cool piece. I felt that Gay Bear (LOL@ your name) was better executed as far as mechanics, but Grim provided more emotional input, which in return caused both of your verses to complement one another rather well. This was cool piece and I'm glad that there are new, potentially good writers producing in the Open Mic section. Welcome. And if you've been here for awhile, I apologize. Peace.
Originally Posted by Axeshun
...it was a good drop from Bear but because Grim's verse helped and I think if it would have been just you the piece wouldn't be deep, but I don't know if you knew his would compliment yours or not so I'll leave it at that...good job you two.
Solo Piece of the Fortnight
Ode to Heart Disease
By Issue
Excellent poetics here and a great comeback. I say comeback because I haven’t seen him dropping and then he drops this piece and gets praised by many of his peers. I believe it was the fluency and ease of language that aroused emotion and made the piece what it is. In totality, a very good comeback by a great writer.
What some writers had to say about the piece:
Originally Posted by Attiucs
I really like this piece a lot. Probably the first thing I've seen from you, and, it definitely made an impression. It almost reminded me a lot of Edan's, 'Beauty.' the only thing I didn't really like about this piece, was some of the word choice and placement. In many of the lines you had these solitary words that would be placed in such a destructive section of a line... And that little word would completely break away the fluency of the line. but, contectually I fell in love with this. The imagery was very inventive and original; strong sense of poetics. All in all, placement issues aside, this was great.
Originally Posted by Feeble Minded
this was really good. You had a very descriptive style that drew me into the topic... not many people can do that, they usually just bore me. You moved the "plot" along nicely, that is to say, you didn't waste too much time getting to the point. you did a nice job of describing heart disease "beautifully" if that’s even possible. lol
Interview with Engivale
the wittyness: I'm here with Engivale, former SS champ, and a regular around the SS and OM forums. What's up dude? thanks for doing this interview
RBEngivale: You're welcome. I'm chilling, basically, no work today so it's a good day. Thanks for having me.
the wittyness: no problem. So first of all, this has to be asked. You seem to become more and more abstract each week in SS, and some would even say you've started to write exactly like Atticus, what have you got to say to this?
RBEngivale: I think "some" take that way too seriously, trying to find similarities in our writing. My abstract stuff in OM is usually just to kind of waste time when I'm drunk, and then people think I was putting my heart and soul into it and I wasn't. And in SS, his format did kind of make me want to take after it, I admit that, because it looked cool to change the center and left and use different fonts, made it more reader-friendly I thought so I def started doing that more.
RBEngivale: Sorry. I write when I'm drunk, I guess. A pathetic but... laughable habit.
the wittyness: lol no need to apologise. This is your first season in SS, and you have certainly made a huge impact, what with beocming the Champ in like your first few weeks. How far do you see yourself going in the SS tourny?
RBEngivale: As far as I can make myself... I've got a tough match against Nique this week, and she's hungry right now - if you saw her verse last week you can see how clearly she's writing and the effort she is putting into it, she wants to win. So she'll be tough, I'll have to outdo myself. But I honestly consider myself to be a good enough writer to beat anyone at any time if I really take a few hours and just write.
the wittyness: word dude, Nique is in hot form at the moment. goodluck to you both. ok now, you seem to have been having a few disagreements (for lack of a better word) with Atticus, is there animosity there, or friendly banter?
RBEngivale: Oh, I think I just riled him up and he's young and really cares about being considered the best so he gets pissed when he's questioned or not saluted, the same as me or anyone else, it just happens to him less often because he's such a good writer. My problem started with when Nahlidge wrote this awesome piece, and then Atticus wrote like a 200-line short story and I thought he won simply because he wrote a piece four times the length of Nahlidge's, so of course it was going to be able to get more emotive and carry a better story, and at the time it was supposed to be a 60 line limit, but he wasn't penalized and won and I called him out and everyone got real pissed at me... ever since I've tried to just be decent to him, I'm over and done with it all. I just wish he'd stop being so mean to me all the time =D
the wittyness: hmmm, I see this stirring up a bit of a storm lol what tips would you give to new writers, that are trying to elevate?
RBEngivale: Eh, I'm honest... Look it up, that's just what happened. Anyways, new writers or writers in SS that got knocked out and want to beat the "vets" or what-have-you, I think first you need to pay attention to every word you use on every line... Don't waste words... Try to make it sound as fluid as possible, you want it to be accessible to the reader and set to a unique rhythm that you can establish as you'd like, experiment. And, of course, Read! Read all the ppl you see in SS and the OM Mag Top writers, they're listed for a reason.
the wittyness: word to that. Who do you think has surprised you most in SS this year, and who do you think will be dope in the future?
RBEngivale: Maven and Laureate have both survived. Maven may have a chance vs Nahlidge, I think. Surprised that Mindless lost, too. A good pick up from Laureate in that round, Mindless was the #2 seed. Laureate is good, though, highly underrated at 22, he was a tough match. I think you've done quite well yourself, although it keeps getting tougher. In the future... I gotta say --- Exact, he's a competitor, he needs practice. But he's good.
the wittyness: word. ok, now for the fun shit. I'll put out two names, and you tell me who you think will win,k?
RBEngivale: Word.
the wittyness: Born To KIll vs Nahlidge
RBEngivale: Nice. I really like BTK's stuff, but I don't think he rhymes quite so well as Nahlidge.
Plus, Nahlidge has this really clear voice he rhymes with, you can completely understand every line he writes, it's usually enough to put him over the top.
the wittyness: Atticus vs Nique
RBEngivale: Hmm. If I say Nique does it mean Atticus has to take offense? Shit. LoL. I think Atticus would take it. Barely... but I think he'd write his ass off for that one.
the wittyness: Mindless vs Brix
RBEngivale: Mindless - he is in better practice. That's all.
the wittyness: last but not least some new heads.....Grim reapa vs Forum
RBEngivale: I like both of those cats, they're cool guys... I think Forum would take it, Reapa seems to be swimming between styles and away from logic right now.
RBEngivale: like... me. lol
The wittyness: cool, so last but not least. Is there anything you would like to say to the readers?
RBEngivale: Ummm - I thought of this earlier - I've always been kinda abstract. Just look up all the shit I used to write, or my first four or five SS pieces b4 atty came in... just saying... I'm weird... I love you all, you're all cool with me and keep the place goin', Atticus you rock, and word to Baron Mynd who otta come back to SS after the tourny. Smoke and Drink.
the wittyness: lol word, thanks for doing this. Peace dude
RBEngivale: Later. You rock to witty ;()
Wtf’s
Wtf @ Nique not getting solo piece of the week
Wtf @ Pakaveli being THAT muslim
Wtf @ everyone eagerly anticipating this mag, we must be doing a good job
Wtf @ anyone who didn’t read this.
Outro
Alright, thanks for reading people, this mag was rushed, and left until the last minute, which I apologize for. But I hope you enjoy reading this. Big shout outs to Atticus for keeping the OM forum is such good condition, Pakaveli for being dope and helping me write this. And to everyone who reads this. Holla!
Originally Posted by Mariah.
