Judge Da Beast - "Slenderman"

It's a beautiful thing to see diss tracks in the 802 again. As important as community is, listen: we've got enough to spare here in Vermont. Genuine beef is a rare thing. Even our actual emcee battle tournaments are friendly, family affairs. Judge Da Beast is having none of that shit.

A transplant from the Bronx, Judge Da Beast is part of the emerging Street Religion crew / label / collective from down south. (Other members include recent New England Hip Hop Awards winner Yung Breeze and standout spitter Raw Deff.)

On one hand, talking about "Southern Vermont" is absurd when it's two hours from Newport to Brattleboro. On the other, though, it is bizarre how everyone south of Montpelier gets ignored. If that's an exaggeration, it ain't by much. This humble blog is every bit as guilty as anyone else. The Burlington scene dominates the coverage -- it's the biggest city with the most venues and home to most of our media outlets.

It's also the part-time home of Colby Stiltz, purveyor of good vibes, weed raps and New Age spirituality. Like too many rap beefs in 2017, this conflict got started on social media. Journalistic obligations aside, I refuse to research who started what. Life is fleeting. All we need to know is that Judge Da Beast was motivated to aim two verses at Colby Stiltz, and thus was "Slenderman" created.

So far, Stiltz is sticking to his #PositiveVibesOnly brand and acting like this doesn't exist. Too early to call it, though, considering this track isn't even 24 hours old yet.

In the meantime, check out Judge Da Beast's album Arraignment. He's got a track in the works with Jarv, who dropped a brutal four minute diss track of his own earlier this year, "Stifle". Colby's most recent album is Down to Earth.

Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.