Battle records are vinyl

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 records made up of brief samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 from songs, film dialogue, sound effects, and drum loops for use by a DJ. The samples and drum loops are used for scratching

Scratching

Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...

 and performances by turntablists.

Battle records are often released by DJs banking on their celebrity or looking to capitalize on rare items in their collections. Creative, novel, or bizarre inclusions are especially prized. Often, the samples featured on these records do not have the blessing of the original copyright

Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

holders. Because of this, the use of pseudonyms and anonymous releases are common.