The First Filipino Rap Battle League, popularly called FlipTop or FlipTop Battles, is the Philippines' premier rap battle contest joined by underground and amateur rappers. FlipTop is sometimes described as a modern day Balagtasan, where two rappers are pitted against each other in a battle of acapella rap.

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Battle

        In general, the contest consists of three rounds with a time limit for each contender set by the referee. Overtime is applied if the battle is a draw. The first turn is determined by a toss coin. Scripted or non-scripted bars is allowed. Cursing, bashing, mocking is not prohibited in the battle but the contenders must not take it seriously and personally. Both sides can also bring props for the event. Filipino language is the primary medium although other languages or dialects can be used. The winner is determined by the decision of the judges. The criteria for judging are the usage of words, audience impact and rapping style.

        There are different conferences in Fliptop such as Filipino Conference, and English Conference.

 

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Fliptop has three different battle formats which sometimes combined with Freestyle:

• Written - Now the most common in all FlipTop tournaments, it has no background music. The bars have no measure but it has a rhyme.

• Freestyle - At first the most common in all Fliptop tournaments, there's still freestyle battle but not so often as the written format. Sometimes it has background music and sometimes it doesn't have. The bars have no measure but it has a rhyme.

• Old School - Commonly used on tryouts. It has background music, and sometimes combined with Freestyle.

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There are different variations of rap competition in Fliptop:

• Dos por Dos - Tag-team freestyle rap contest. Emcee or Femcee. It can be Freestyle or Written.

• Five on Five - Five-member team freestyle rap contest. Emcee or Femcee. It can be Freestyle or Written.

• Femcee Battle - All-female rap battle. It can be Freestyle or Written.

• Intergender Battle - Male vs. Female rap battle.

• Royal Rumble - A rap battle consists of more than three emcees randomly attack or bash each other.

• Secret Battle - Same as the other battles but with limited audience.

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