MHS hasn’t exactly had a reputation as being a rapping hotbed in the past, but that hasn’t stopped a handful of students from picking up the hobby as of late.  Ever since “Cracka Jack,” regarded by many as the godfather of Mariemont rap, took the school by storm years ago, the number has grown exponentially. It appears safe to say that rapping is the latest fad to hit the student body. With an increase in rappers comes an increase in competition, and the Warpath took a look at some of Mariemont’s finest.

     Junior Addison Mendenhall, known in the rapping industry as “Two Punch,” boasts over 250 views on two songs that he uploaded to YouTube last month.

     When asked if he was the best MHS had to offer, the self-dubbed “young rising rapper” was modest.

    “Some say I am, others say I’m not,” Mendenhall said.

     Another candidate for the top spot is Nick Butcher, a senior who only recently picked up rapping. Butcher was a little more up front with his opinion of his abilities.

     “I would definitely say I’m the best,” he said. “I think I’m pretty good at starting and ending with a good quick line that fits with what I said previously.”

     Butcher, who goes by “Big Red,” considers himself a different type of rapper than Mendenhall.

     “I would say the biggest difference between me and Addison is that I don’t write whole songs down,” the senior said of his competition, “just a line or two when I think of it in class.”

     The veteran of the group is senior Joe Rolander, who first began rapping a couple years ago.

“I first started rapping the summer going into junior year,” he said.

Rolander, who has had various nicknames during the course of his rap career, most notably goes by “JRO.” The senior clearly believes he is the top rapper in the school, but thinks there is definitely talent around him.

     “Butcher is a good rapper, but I think he needs to spend more time polishing his lyrics,” Rolander said, adding words for “Two Punch” as well. “I respect his gumption to put his music out there,” he said.

     Senior Cole DeCamp favored Rolander of the three, but had complimentary words for Butcher. “He’s pretty good at free styling. I’ve seen him go for a whole song before.”

     The input wasn’t limited to current MHS students, as alum Nick Stirsman, a freshman at Ohio University, also voiced his opinion.

     “He’s got that yacht club swag,” Stirsman said of Rolander, but he then admitted that he hasn’t heard Butcher rap in a while.

     Although he considers himself more of a freestyler than a producer, Rolander has recently developed a new single. “Da Mikey Limp ft. Dirty Mike and Lil’ Coop,” a song making light of a bad situation, currently has a music video in the works. The song references senior Mikey Wirthlin’s unfortunate ACL tear during the football season, and Wirthlin can be heard in between lines doing Rick Ross-esque grunts. The song is the first Rolander has produced, and features a beat handmade by junior Chris Comisar.

     Comisar, who many believe is the “beat master” of the high school, also favors Rolander.

     At this point, it’s clear that “JRO” has an edge over his competition. But the school year is young, and there is plenty of time for the young talent of MHS to knock Rolander off his throne.