Recap: On an impeccable run since his return to the battle rap scene versus Dre Dennis, Prez Mafia continues his successful run with another strong and winning performance here against wily vet Money Bagz. Round one was fiery on both sides, but Mafia’s more intricate (“Nigga you could tell I’m better, nigga we could fight, he won’t be able to read the right, he get Helen Keller-ed!”) punches and sizzling wordplay more than edged the round, despite an overall solid, but a (“If it’s war, he getting hit with a 2×4 like I brought Hacksaw Jim Duggan out!”) little-too-old-school turn by Bagz. Second wasn’t even close as Prez stepped it up a notch with some dizzying (“So if you ain’t passing up the shine, I’ll make your team give it up for’em, like when the crowd not reacting to the line!”; “Spine shot!, nigga your next disc [disk] gonna drop with some features on it!”) haymakers in between fiesty name flips and potent storytelling bars, while Bagz, failing to take advantage of his first appearance on the URL/Smack stage, barely made it out of the round what with mostly modest lines that seemed like they were lifted from his Grind Time days. Last round saw Prez, who obviously wrote his best material for the first two rounds, go the safe route with more name flips and name schemes/history lessons that were both hit and miss, giving Bagz an easy opportunity to avoid a 3-0, which he did with some hard-hitting (“A real emcee would freestyle and choke before he took another man’s raps!”) personals and stifling wordplay.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prez Mafia -“I look at God, like what more do you want?, fro me to die?, first nunn than Bagz, I look at Smack and he proved this is a sign…it’s nothing but communion and a rhyme, ‘cuz I’m back for the bread, but you give me two crackers instead and I didn’t even whine [wine]!”
