[Apologeticz]

A little late to this discussion, but I agree with Bagz, I don't think that it will help text. The movie won't be in theaters, and its exposure will be limited, so it won't have anywhere close to the impact that 8 Mile had. Text is like an unacknowledged offshoot of rap, it started to get popular in 2002-2003 for people who wanted to rap, but strictly for those who had the privilege of internet access, which wasn't easy at that time. If video and audio was as available 15 years ago as it is now, I am not sure that text would even be in the discussion at all, because at one time, it was the ONLY outlet to participate online with others from across the world. Some of the best and most popular stage battlers, however have a background in text, but the sad thing is that it's not acknowledged, even though text was the silent influence that helped lay the groundwork for how bars are interpreted and structured, once the internet opened up. When battling with mixtape bars was the thing to do during the early days of Smack DVD, there were text based battle sites that emphasized complex bars, traces of which, and even exact lines that can still be heard some 15-16 years later on major battle rap leagues and platforms. You can literally chronologize the influence of text when guys like Conceited, Q.P., Heartless and others got off of their computers and brought text to the camera, changing battle rap as it was known. Right now, text as it currently is, is outmoded, and is only really acknowledged and practiced among very small circles. However, there is a way to revive it, and that would involve online battle sites ceasing from being so insular, expand their markets to the rest of battle rap via video and even stage, and then recognize text as an important way of battling. If we're all still here then there is a market for it, and if there is a market for it, then it can grow, but it certainly won't grow by itself.