ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Pictured are Lynn rappers Thomas Rosirus, stage name Tommy Choppa, left, and James Bazile, stage name Jimmy Zoe.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — If the misogyny and homophobia in rap music bother you, check out the Premiere Rap Battle League.
This 10-member troupe, whose mission is to provide a platform for hip-hop artists to showcase their talent, are kinder, gentler rappers.
“Music is a way to express yourself and every artist has their own opinion,” said co-founder and Lynn resident Daniel Hawkins. “But our view is if you have nothing nice to say, keep it to yourself. We don’t have any of that type of stuff in our battles.”
To see and hear for yourself, the league will perform on Saturday, Jan. 28 at VFW Post 1011 in Peabody. Admission is $10.
“We have a strong supporting cast right now,” he said. “Lots of young kids putting more into music and making time to create songs.”
The competition features one-on-one battles as rappers face off for about three minutes. A panel of judges and the audience decide the winners. Many of the performances wind up on YouTube, where rappers track the number of page views.
The league was organized six months ago for young people to avoid violence and do something positive in the community, according to Hawkins.
“Bad things are easy to do, but doing something positive can change your life for the better and that’s what makes rap worthwhile,” he said.
Freshmen rappers Tommy Choppa, 21, whose real name is Thomas Rosirus, a native of Haiti who lives in Lynn, and Jimmy Zoe, given name James Dazile, 25, who grew up in Lynn, will be there.
Times have changed for rappers and the time for dissing women and the gay, lesbian and transgender community is over, they said.
“It’s like me telling you black lives matter, but I don’t like gay people; it doesn’t make sense,” Jimmy Zoe said. “Music brings people together and that’s what we’re about.”
Still, these rap competitions are not exactly G-rated. Both men acknowledge there’s lots of swearing and four-letter words fly around the stage.
There’s a lot to rap about when it comes to living in Lynn, they said, When they tell people they’re from Lynn, they get curious looks.
“We have more of a story to tell because we have more nonsense on our plate than most other people,” Jimmy Zoe said. “If you grew up here, you deal with crime, drugs. There’s a lot of pain. It’s Christmas, but not everyone will get a present. We know how you feel and it’s reflected in the music.”
Tommy Chappa describes his sound as Lynn-based, which he calls a tough place to live. His influences are rhythm & blues, rock and roll and reggae.
“We are trying to pick everyone up,” he said. “We’re all in the same boat.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.