The versatile Papo MC: from Hispanic freestyle figure to breaking into esports

The Argentinian freestyler daddy He has been in the elite of national battles for almost a decade and is recognized by many as one of the most iconic figures on the country’s scene. The rapper from Mar del Plata began his career competing in his hometown and in different parts of the coast, as well as rapping from collective to collective. And in these years he achieved titles and podiums in some of the most prestigious competitions: To dog face, Red Bull Battle, Freestyle Master Series (FMS).

Also Known As The Hardcore Beast, Papo began his competitive freestyle career during the so-called “Red Bull break”. That is, during the years in which the brand stopped carrying out the Red Bull Batalla competition. The return of this event and the Argentine championship dtoke In the first international final since the return, it marked the beginning of a first mainstream era of Argentine freestyle, which would end with the beginning of the second era, before the outbreak of El Quinto Escalón and the arrival of a new generation.

It is during this first era that Papo established himself as one of the most important MCs in the country. In 2013 he reached the final of the Red Bull Batalla National Final. When he fell to Dtoke, he was on the brink of becoming the first Argentine representative in the Red Bull Batalla “post-break”. Although that same year he would get several gold medals, even in pairs in A Cara de Perro, the competition that had taken recognition as the most prestigious nationally during the absence of Red Bull Batalla.

In 2014 he managed to play the four battles of the Red Bull National Final for the second time in a row but again came in second place, this time against Sony. Accustomed to giving great roles in the competition, the following year Papo managed to be among the top four of the date. After beating cover and underdannfell before Sheka in the semifinals of what many consider the best national final in Argentine history. By then, Papo had scored three consecutive podium finishes in his four Red Bull Batalla qualifiers.

Finally, La Bestia del Hardcore managed to register his name on the list of Argentine national champions in 2016. On his way he defeated Handle, MKS, klan already sony, in a repeat final. Papo represented Argentina in the Red Bull Batalla International Final that took place in Lima, Peru and is, to date, the event with the largest face-to-face call in the history of the discipline. There he reached the quarterfinals, where despite the great level he fell to the Spanish Skone —who was the champion of the event— in a battle remembered for Papo’s loss of voice.

The Hardcore Beast has participated in the international elite competition God Level. His first appearance in this event was solo, but later he teamed up with Wos and Trueno for the 3vs3 edition, known as “the freestyle world cup” on behalf of the country. Together the three national champions formed one of the most acclaimed Argentine “teams” by fans.

Later, in 2019 and 2020 prior to the pandemic, he made a pair with the Spanish Skone and with his compatriot Stuart respectively. The man from Mar del Plata and the man from Santa Fe together won the gold medal in the second of that edition of God Level.

With the arrival of the Freestyle Master Series (FMS) in Argentina, Papo was selected among the 10 initial freestylers to be part of the professional league, along with other legends such as Wos, dtoke, klan either MKS. In the first three seasons, La Bestia del Hardcore reached the last day with a chance to win. However, as in Red Bull Batalla, the title was a long time coming: despite having always finished on the podium and having obtained two runners-up finishes, he lost first place to Wos in the 2018 season, Trueno in 2019 and Stuart in 2021.

The fourth season finally saw Papo lift the FMS trophy, now in the edition with 12 participants and 11 days. got a total of 27 general points and 2879 points per battleafter disputing the title against Mecha, the current national champion of Red Bull Batalla, third international place and runner-up of FMS International.

papo organizer

In addition to competing and occasionally judging, Papo has embodied his love of the discipline as an event producer. Ego Fest stood out for the curatorship of the poster, which included names from the then emerging scene, such as Duki, Wos, Ecko or Dam with already consolidated legends such as Dtoke, Frescolate or Sony. Ego Fest had dates in the City of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Mar del Plata and also allowed the Argentine public to enjoy exhibitions with the historical figures of Spain, Skone and Arkano.

poker star daddy

In his pre-teens, Papo began playing poker through his brother’s influence. Still a minor, he began earning dollars that he was hiding from his mother. He is currently a PokerStars brand ambassador. His great poker achievement was reaching seventh place in the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event, just before the start of the fourth season of FMS Argentina.

Regarding the relationship that he finds between poker and freestyle, he said in his interview in Caja Negra: “freestyle works for me in poker and poker in freestyle”. He added that mentally speaking, freestyling helps him not to feel intimidated at poker events.

papo streamer

In 2019, Papo began his stage as a streamer on Twitch, where his content reacting to video clips and freestyle battles of his and other MCs stood out. In 2020, with the increase in the consumption of online content during the pandemic, the Twitch and YouTube channels of the rapper from Mar del Plata took a leap. His already established audience that followed him through his career as a freestyle competitor was joined by new people thanks to streaming alongside established streamers like Ibai.

Despite having qualified for the 2020 Red Bull Batalla National Final —an edition with great expectations for the return of legends such as Sony, Acru and Tata—, Papo decided not to participate in the event and broadcast it live from his channel. According to an article by Bolavip, this transmission reached 158 thousand people live simultaneously.

Currently has 1.8 million followers on Twitch and 2.48 million on YouTube, where its total views exceed 247 million. The most viewed video on the latter platform is his reaction to the Resident’s Bizarrap Session, with more than 8 million views.

Papo and esports

“I was presented with the opportunity to put together my dream team,” Papo said in the launch announcement for beast corp, his esports team. Although La Bestia del Hardcore would have slipped the possibility of covering other sports, for the moment it will focus on Counter Strike.

The roster, completely Argentine, will try to qualify for the first Major of the year. This will be defined in the RMR Americas, between April 5 and 9. And if a positive result was obtained for Bestia Corp, Papo promised to sign up again for Red Bull Batalla to seek the two-time national championship and represent the country in Colombia.

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