The Southwest Sixteen Champion
Tri Eye Gang-Mark the Dark
“I don’t dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day; I’m dreaming for a living”
The Southwest is a literal desert coupled with a desert of options when creating a wave for independent artists to be successful and well known. However, the work of people like Aero of Aero’s Independent Studio and T.I.O. Vile, T.I.O. Eternity and AO Mega, they have managed to create the most talked about and viewed show on Proview Networks that highlights the talents and lyricism of the artists of the Southwest.
The show managed to survive the difficulties of Covid-19 and through the period of shutdown the anticipation for the show grew and the roster of entrants grew to new levels. The show managed to highlight talented names such as Beanz Valentino (the best known teenage emcee in the region), Kraft, The real KB, and a long list of other artists who displayed their lyrical talents. Because of the work of the T.I.O. gang who helped film, curate and book along with Aero the show was a hit and became a social media sensation. There was controversy and lots of debate over the artists and due to that the talent of theirs was seen by an audience that was intended by its creators. A big thank you is due to the talented people behind the scenes as well as the talented people on camera. We salute the entire production team and all of the entrants and eagerly we anticipate the second season.
The first season boiled down to an incredibly close competition between King Ra Raw the Ruler and Mark the Dark. Both emcees managed to fight off competition from artists who brought their best bars and engaged with fans, family and friends to create heated voting. The last episode battle between Mark the Dark and King Ra Raw the Ruler truly did hold some of the best bars of the competition and as you can see below the gloves came off. The ultimate winner of the show would be Mark the Dark edging out King Ra Raw the Ruler to become the first season’s very own champion. At each step you can see Mark the Dark’s lyrical dominance earn him the next spot with ease. He did not face opponents that could keep up with his work ethic and pen throughout the competition. You can catch up on all the activity by following Facebook page by clicking the name The Southwest Sixteen. You can watch the entire season on by clicking on the words Proview Networks where you can find quality local programming such as Shut Up and Talk, The Buck D and Shondeen Show and of course the Southwest Sixteen episodes from start to finish. Watch the final episode and the championship bout episode below and wait with us for the return of the show for season 2 which will be sure to highlight more of the notable talents from the entire region!
As the winner, Mark the Dark chose to highlight not only his music but also the work of his group the Tri Eye Gang. This is the mark of a true winner to take the stage with his group not just highlight his own work! The featured photo shows Danny Blacc on the far left and Masen Free in the middle and of course the winner and champion Mark the Dark on the right. You can also find their music on all streaming platforms by clicking the name Tri Eye Gang. You can also listen to their music below on spotify! Congratulations to the champ and to the entire Southwest Sixteen Show for a memorable first season!