Elites 8 Episode 65 at Vagabond Highlights the Deepness of the Richmond Hip-Hop Community; Tre St. Fauntl3roy Wins Cypher
Richmond’s hip-hop community took center stage at Vagabond as Elite’s Season 8 premiere blended high-level performances, raw battle energy, and a rare open-mic producer segment that put the crowd at the heart of the show.
by Jebril Thomas
Monday, May 4, 2026 | 10:00PM
RICHMOND, Va. — Vagabond, the East Broad Street venue, hosted Episode 65 of Elite on Sunday, April 26, representing the Season 8 premiere of the popular showcase referred to as "The Mecca 2K26." This episode featured a headline performance by Richmond emcee Radio B, the 30 Emcee RVA Rap Elite Cypher, Sound Clash, and battle rap segment from Southpaw Battle Coalition.
Beyond the performances, many of the artists in attendance came to simply have fun — and did exactly that, creating a loose, energetic atmosphere that carried throughout the night.
Southpaw Battle Coalition offered a three-round battle, known under the Bloody Knuckles moniker, featuring Intro the Nomad and One Forever. During an interview for The Richmond Seen, Intro the Nomad gave his take on how he felt about the battle.
Intro the Nomad battles against One Forever at CNTR... (Photo: E. Jackson for The Richmond Seen)
"I was dealing with quite a bit of turmoil prior to the battle and it really affected my material," he shared. "But for me, the most important thing was making sure that I showed up and completed my side of the agreement. When others choose to make an excuse to leave, it is called a no-show, and I will never do that even if I lose or forget everything."
One Forever heads up against Intro the Nomad at Bloody Knuckles, Vol. 1 in Richmond, Va. (Photo: E. Jackson for The Richmond Seen)
Showing up is the foundation of Nomad’s journey, and what makes that journey worth it, is when the audience hears that work being put to work.
"The response from the audience was incredible. Nothing compares to that feeling," he added.
When we spoke with One Forever after the battle, we asked him, "How did you feel about his camera bars." He said, "I felt like he put some attention to detail. I felt like he thought about me bro. It felt good. He talking to me."
In addition to the actual battle, he spoke on his plans and future career moves. "I'm going to shift my focus to my music and stop battling. This event will remain very important for me, but I will attend it in the audience. The battle has to be put on hold for a while."
As for the reason behind the change of name that happened last year, Intro the Nomad stated, "I've been using that name for around ten years and haven't accomplished anything with it. It happens every three years that we have to revise our words because we don't like the material we once wrote. So far, this name works better for me."
There was one thing from the battle that captured everybody's attention. Intro shared, "I knew that they were filming, so why not put Camera Bar in there. It just happened naturally because my mind decided to travel that way."
Tre $t. Fauntl3roy wins the cypher after a 3-way sudden death against Cin the Ceige and Just Cam.
The Sound Clash also delivered a standout moment, as BDM maintained her title in an incredible clash against Just Cam.
The most unique part of the showcase occurred at the end of the scheduled performance, when the 80404 Club, a group of SP-404 producers, were brought to the stage and given the opportunity to play beats they created on the spot. All that was required from the audience was getting up, grabbing the mic, and start rapping. There was no list, no curation, nothing of the sort; everyone could take the mic at any moment and perform their material, whether it was their song or unreleased beats played by producers.
This type of segment is increasingly rare due to limited time available during shows that have been curated. This is why RVA Rap Elite allows their audience to get closer to the emcees — its a great deal of trust and respect towards the attendees.
RVA Rap Elite, Episode 66 returns to Vagabond on Sunday, May 31.
Save $5 when you use code TRSEEN at RVARapElite.com.
RVA Rap Elite Season 8, Episode 66 take place at Vagabond Sunday, May 31 in Richmond, Va.
Thank you so much for reading. We’ll see you Sunday, May 31st!
We’d love to know what you thought about the show. Please email thoughts and suggestions to info@therichmondseen.com
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All photos by Eric Jackson
