Why Twitch Chose This Project
Twitch needed consistent, culturally-driven live programming to fill their broadcast grid and reach new non-gaming demographics. I developed two original competitive formats that delivered 40+ hours of Twitch-exclusive content per month, spiked peak viewership past 1M live concurrents, and helped Twitch convert hip-hop culture audiences into long-term, high-retention platform users.
This initiative directly supported Amazon Music’s strategic expansion into performance-based, culturally anchored live content on Twitch positioning battle rap alongside gaming and creator-led shows as a new pillar in their broadcast identity.
This wasn’t just an event, it was IP architecture. I translated an underground art form into a repeatable broadcast property Twitch could promote, merchandise, and scale like an esport.
The Tournament That Kept Battle Rap Alive
When live events shut down, I built the largest rap battle tournament in history during the height of COVID, keeping fans around the world entertained and giving artists a platform when the industry was frozen.
Built as a Twitch-exclusive seasonal broadcast property to anchor cultural programming during a platform-wide live event drought—designed to fill hours, retain viewers, and onboard new non-gaming audiences.
Creative Direction
- Led a broadcast-ready identity spanning logos, palettes, motion systems, lower-thirds, timers, match cards, and interstitials.
- Reinterpreted KOTD’s 2010 Grand Prix DNA into a modern, sports-adjacent visual language optimized for Twitch.
- Directed cross-channel rollout for Twitch front page, VOD packaging, YouTube thumbnails, and social campaigns to drive weekly appointment viewing.
- Preserved underground authenticity while elevating presentation to league-level polish under small-room constraints.
Production & Operations
- Ran a rolling production tour across multiple cities under active pandemic restrictions with small-room, limited-attendance builds.
- Managed logistics end-to-end: routing, venue access, crews, artist travel and hotels, testing compliance, isolation timing, and contingency rebooking.
- Authored SOPs for pre-event check-in, safety briefings, slim-crew builds, rapid strikes, and time-coded run-of-show pacing for live broadcast.
- Oversaw full financial architecture from concept to finish line including $50,000 championship prize distribution and six-figure artist payroll and operational disbursements.
Format Design
- Revived the Grand Prix as a high-stakes regional bracket with unambiguous advancement and elimination rules.
- Implemented 4-week prep windows between rounds to increase performance quality and narrative anticipation.
- Built a weekly content cadence, faceoffs, features, and recaps to sustain momentum and meet Twitch’s programming expectations.
- Engineered competitive integrity by creating a standardized 10-point battle scoring system paired with a meta-ranking algorithm that graded judges themselves, ensuring the most accurate evaluators staffed the playoffs and finals.
Impact
- Peaked at 1M+ concurrent live viewers with global front-page Twitch placement during finals weekend.
- Kept battle culture active through the harshest period for live entertainment and stabilized KOTD’s ecosystem.
- Proved the digital tournament model at scale and unlocked the runway for Season One’s expansion.
- Established a repeatable blueprint for lean, high-stakes, broadcast-quality battle rap.
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North (Detroit)
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East (New York City)
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South (Atlanta)
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West (Los Angeles)
Over 1 Million Live Concurrent Viewers; A Global Twitch Takeover
The First-Ever Battle Rap Season on Twitch
Spanning four cities and 48 contracted artists, S1 ran from August 2021 to April 2022 with a fully programmed 40-hour weekly content slate including live events, faceoffs, recaps and editorial shows. I built a rolling production ecosystem with regional reps, salary caps, judging infrastructure and consistent front-page Twitch placement, turning battle rap into a broadcast property rather than a series of isolated events.
S1 — League Architecture, Integrity Systems & Weekly Broadcast
A season-first model for battle rap: four regional divisions, a transparent scoring framework, salaried rosters under strict caps,
and a weekly content cadence designed to meet Twitch’s programming needs.
Monster Energy served as the main sponsor of S1, with on-site and digital branding integrated across every event and episode.
League & Format (Seasonality)
- Four divisions across North, East, South, West; standings updated weekly from June 2021 through playoffs in April 2022.
- Regular season into a 16-man sudden-death playoff bracket; finalists compete for $100,000; semifinalists awarded $5,000 bonuses.
- Salary-cap roster model enforced across all regions for fairness and parity (strict caps per artist, per rep, per season).
Judging Commission & Scoring Integrity
- Commission curated and staffed weekly; 16 total judges in pool, 4 per season battle and 6 per playoff battle.
- Standardized 10-point round scoring → Total Battle Score (TBS); live fan vote contributes 30–27 (≥75%) or 29–28 (<75%).
- Judge performance ranked over time against aggregated fan vote to identify the most accurate evaluators for playoffs/finals.
- Electronic scorecard submission and 1-minute decision clips integrated into the live broadcast flow.
Regional Reps, Contracts & Caps
- Reps recruited and contracted to scout, sign and mentor 12 artists per division within hard salary caps (e.g., $2,000 → $250 tiers).
- Rep responsibilities included artist onboarding (contracts + W-9), logistics triage, and event readiness with local production support.
- Centralized ops: SOPs, budget controls, and approval workflows designed to keep parity and momentum across all regions.
Programming Model & Live Ops
- City stops filmed six battles each: 3 broadcast live and 3 aired “as-live” the following weekend to maintain the schedule.
- Weekly slate included faceoffs, recaps, and ancillary shows to help fulfill Twitch’s 40+ hours/month content target.
- Rolling production crew, travel/accommodation management, and safety-first runbooks for lean, repeatable builds.
S1 Season Schedule
Weekly live cards, “as-live” programming, and editorial shows across four divisions — built to maintain a consistent 40-hour Twitch slate with front-page visibility and narrative continuity.
- Reverse Live vs Stewie Newton W
- The Saurus vs Cali Smoov W
- Madflex vs Fate W
- Look Back Show
- Bill Collector vs Gauge E
- Times vs Shotti P E
- LL Coogi vs XQZ E
- Math Hoffa vs Dre Dennis E
- Mackk Myron vs K-Shmoney N
- Giddy vs Dallas Cash N
- Stack Almighty vs 100 Shot Frenchie N
- Cityy Towers vs Danja Zone N
- Match • South DivisionS
- Match • South DivisionS
- Match • South DivisionS
- Match • West DivisionW
- Match • East DivisionE
- Match • East DivisionE
- Match • East DivisionE
- Match • West DivisionW
Special Guests
Featuring ICE-T, Treach from Naughty By Nature & Immortal Technique, T-Pain & More
