The crucible of the verbal jousters continues to take center stage in the burgeoning Puget Sound hip-hop community - an upward trajectory since the early 2000s, even in terms of MC battles. Battles such as "Brainstorm" and other freestyle competitions have, however, been largely replaced by pre-written and arranged feature battles like the one going down Friday at The Backstage at the Capitol Theater. Once again, Heretic The Heathen's For MCs By MCs Battle League sets the tone for premier hip-hop battles and events, this time by inviting some standout writers and MCs from Seattle to battle the best of The 360.  Fortunately, there is not any true "bad blood" between the areas, but a slight rivalry is alive and healthy. The all-ages battle is a preliminary invitational to see who will make the eight-person teams that will officially represent The 206 and 360 in an official area code battle to be announced later this fall. If you are interested in the next level of rhyme battling and repping your town/city/area code is essential - this is the place to be.

FOR MCS BY MCS: THE 360 VS THE 206 PRELIMINARY BATTLE, 7:30 p.m., Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 45, 360.754.6670