Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gabriel Labarbera. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gabriel, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I am currently in the midst of the most meaningful project I have worked on in my time with Universal Battle Realm.

The 10th Anniversary event.

This event represents how far we have come as a league. All the years that have passed, the community that has formed around this sport, the battlers who built it and others who have visited our stage, the bills and stress that came with all we’ve lost and achieved, are to be honored by this event.

This event has been in the works since last November. It begins with making the decision as a team that we are going to undertake producing the most important event in our history. We begin outlining who we want performing at this show, where it should be held, what it should be called, who should battle who and of course, how much it will cost.

This is standard for most events, but its grandiose nature created much more difficult obstacles. It would require lots of funding from the staff itself, fund raising, more time away from our families and long working hours. Especially for myself, as I have played a very important role in the organization of this event and I will be performing in it as well.

I became a staff member in 2021, but I had been battling with UBR on their roster since 2015. I rode my bike from CNM after class to one of their events on Menaul cause I heard they had rap battles there and Id never seen one live. I was hooked from that point on. Fast forward back to 2021, I had organized several smaller events for the league and represented us on different platforms across the country over the following year. I felt very useful to the league and as though I had finally become part of the fabric of UBR. After 2022 I found myself acting as the figurehead of the league mostly due to being the most active veteran battler and staff member from that point on.

The reason this is meaningful to me is because I did not have a community of my own pre 2015. I had graduated highschool and was entering college with a one track mind. It was through UBR and Battle Rap That I met 99% of the people I know today, who are close friends and partners of mine. I feel I owe it to them all to help create an event that reflects how thankful I am for the trust and support they have placed in me. I wish so often that I could experience again the feeling of the first event I witnessed on UBR and the energy in that room. My goal is to try an replicate it with this event to the best of my ability.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ive always been a competitive person and writing/ public speaking were passions of mine well before I attempted being a battle rapper. I began watching battle rap events back in 2014, on the channel known as A.H.A.T T.V. The opportunity to write and perform material that was clever, rythmic and entertaining was very attractive to me. I found myself engaging in online forums for many years with other aspiring battlers. After I moved back to Albuquerque in 2015, I had been looking for hip hop events in the city that i could attend. I found a flyer for a Universal Battle Realm event and I decided I had to go see it. Once the event was over I’d asked a staff member how I could get involved. At that point I was booked for a try out and thus began 9 years of battle rap events for me.

There is so much I could discuss about battle rap from both the perspective of a battler and that of an event organizer. I’ve spent many years now doing both. As a battler you face a significant amount of competition and a large expectation to improve consistently. Everyone has a different relationship with the art form and how it can /should be presented. It takes time and many failures to find your voice and become a personality within the community. It takes hours of writing, studying, promoting and practice to stand out among your peers. I feel that in the beginning my work ethic and willingness to make fun of myself is what set me apart from my immediate peers. Additionally my appearance is rather unique. While 99% of the participants of battle rap dress casually I am always in formal ware when I perform. I find that it sets different expectations in my audience when they see me and that helps me captivate their attention once they hear me begin to rap. I feel the goal of any performer is to be “the show” and you do that by being a spectacle in one way or another. This method has served me well for years and contributes to the success I have seen.

Recently I won the opportunity to debut on a very respected league in Milwaukee, known as the Black Ice Cartel. This was such a significant opportunity for me to break into a new audience that had never seen me perform and make new fans. The footage is set to drop soon, but it cannot do justice the actual experience of rapping on that stage, in an octagonal cage, in a room filled with over 200 people that included some of the most well respected battlers in the world, cheering for me as I battled my opponent and won. It was so incredible to be the representative for New Mexico in that room. I am so proud to tell people where I’m from and to help the battlers in my region make new fans out of the people who had just seen me perform. Being the person that the battle rap community can think of when they think of New Mexico is truly one of the most motivating elements of this sport.

I would say there are a few important things to know about this sport. First, regardless of what you may have heard, anyone can battle rap. It takes practice and dedication to studying the art form, but it is not something only some people can do. Second, this is a sport you need to be able to separate your feelings from. You will hear awful things about you, your family and the people you love in the most disrespectful ways possible. However, most of the time this is being said from a competitive and performative place rather than one of true malice or hatred. It’s meant to be entertaining. Of course their are lines to be crossed, but that is why you should study other battles to get a sense of what those lines are and when you can cross them. Third, you need to accept that this is an expensive hobby. If you choose to battle in other places, you will be required to pay for your travel and hotel for many years. This sport is a labor of love, and we all do what we can to make the most of it. If you choose to participate, understand that you are entitled to nothing from anyone. You should battle rap because YOU want to make a name for yourself.

Now as an event organizer I have a few more pieces of advice. First, as I said earlier this is a labor of love. You will not make money off events, you will always be disappointed in some element of it, and you will always feel that fans, battlers and even your peers are not reciprocating your efforts from time to time. At that point you must make piece with the fact that you are helping throw events because you love the art form and want the community to thrive. Secondly, you need to be an active participant in the community. You should attend as many local events as you can and show the support that you would like to be given. Third, you still need to do research on the battle rap community. Stay in touch with other leagues staff and watch for rising stars in the scene that you can book. All of this advice loosely revolves around the idea that you will only “get out of battle rap”, what you “put into it”.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think it is difficult to learn what qualifies as “good material” and “bad material” in battle rap. This is because the sport is always evolving and what was considered good 3 years ago isn’t the same as what is seen as good now. Because of this, it is important to study and watch battles across all years and platforms because it will help give new comers a sense of perspective. What you will most experience from noncreatives is a sense of apprehension. They aren’t sure how to enjoy the sport or how to listen to material in order to understand it. Sometimes they won’t be aware of inside references being made and it turns them off from the battle. Additionally, it is difficult to know all of what has already been said in a battle before. Overtime you realize how hard it is to be original or creative and you must put more and more effort into finding the nuance that makes you unique. This will sometimes discourage non creative from wanting to discuss material with you or propose ideas to help you write because they don’t understand the format that well. The best thing to do is find people you can “spar” with (discuss battle rap ideas with) and get perspective from other battlers.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As time has gone on I have begun to realize the likelihood of being famous for this outside of New Mexico may not be in the cards for me. However, this does not discourage me at all. Instead, I have realized what I want my legacy in this community and league to be. I want to build the necessary “bridges” So to speak, that help future battle rappers from New Mexico reach the right platforms to help boost their success. I think we have alot of talent in our state that has yet to find it’s voice or be acknowledged by our neighboring states. If I can help increase the likelihood of success for future battlers, then I would find that fulfilling.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/universalbattlerealm?igsh=ZDNybHNkenlyd2Ju
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/CKYiZeikRPJZHYPY/?mibextid=JOZb8W
• Twitter: https://x.com/UBattleRealm?t=IYRurnDyDNVd8KURdwrvig&s=09
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@universalbattlerealm?si=yc3NEV5r2_1LHzvf
• Other: UBR X THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY EVENT

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Image Credits

The 3 photos of me at the battle event in the gold jacket are all by “Live Free” or ” Shep Hard Media ” aka Noah shepherd