Recap: A bunch of fire punches, hard-hitting/witty personals and dope rebuttals (esp. in round 2, which he edged) by Nunn Nunn in this URL/UM5 ‘Extra Battle’. But one too many indirect darts by the North Carolina battler as well as a slightly more consistent/versatile O-Red, who pulled off a well-finessed class in wordplay, triple and quadruple entendres, name flips, off-the-dome heat, robust mayhem and gritty punches/personals, gives the Jersey capo just enough mileage to edge the opening round and the deciding 3rd for the win in what was a highly competitive and aggressive matchup.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O-Red – “Got Nunn [none] in the back, that nigga dead stock!”
Recap: From Chrome 23, one of those out-of-nowhere matchups that feels like their names were picked out of a hat, Rum Nitty versus Gattas, while earnest, competitive and aggressive throughout, suffered a bit from a somewhat lackluster crowd as well as Gattas leaving her noted wit at home. The Chicago vet instead delivering 3 rounds of mayhem, some stifling lyrical darts and esp. during round 2, a gang of hitting personals. But outside of a topsy-turvy mid-round that his more consistent opponent managed to edge, a turned-up Nitty armed with a barrage of hard-hitting name flips, fiery gun bars and sizzling punchlines who takes rounds 2 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Off top, you know I’m a shoot, but I pulled up to the wrong event…I had a Chrome 22!”
Recap: Earnest effort by Royalty, after forgetting his rhymes midway through his round, to gamely freestyle his way through the rest of his turn and avoid choking. Either way, with Young Kannon dishing a blistering barrage of hard-hitting rapid-fire punches, boastful darts, flexing gun bars and stinging gun bars with almost zero filler, it would’ve required a huge endeavor by the West-coast up-n-comer to overcome YK’s sizzling performance in this 1-rounder from Big Slap Battles.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “The .40 casual like stone-wash jeans with Steve Madden’s!
Recap: I know it was only one or two bars, but Mackk Myron does a phenomenal Bill Collector impression. That said, in this tight Season 1 KOTD tournament battle, an often elite, personal-lit and witty punch game from Mackk versus the performance-heavy, unorthodox (“One time the plug gave me short China, boy was I Dumbfounded!”) punchlines/name flips from Bill equates to Mackk taking round 1 before the Loud Boys capo edged round 2 to split things going into the 3rd. The final round, which served up more of the high energy we’d seen from both battlers throughout the bout, ends up tied too as Bill and Mackk equally finessed with the haymakers during their identical alloted time.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “Now correct me, y’all think he about to beat me or something?, Bill my little brother he can’t beat me at nothing!”
Recap: Could just be me, but sometimes I think 40 B.A.R.R.S. purpsoefuly steps up her pen game when she’s a facing a dude as opposed to a female. Either way, in this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden, when the Boston wordsmith wasn’t scoring with a barrage of stifling personals on opponent Dre Dennis, it’s a boatload of stellar punches mixed in with plenty of nifty wordplay and bruising metaphors that gets her more than enough haymakers on her way to a well-earned win over what was a mostly dope, heavy on the personals and versatile showing from Dre.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 1-0
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “You don’t have a tear because your career is an autobiography, you gotta book yourself!”
Recap: Seeing Jerry Wess back on the stage here on this URL Civil War 2 card after a long hiatus (apparently due to an injury) against Lu Castro and I was immediately reminded of a couple of things: Wess’ performance game can easily compete with Lu’s, his losses are almost always close and Jerry’s punch acumen doesn’t get near the appreciation it deserves. Add to the mix a Castro who’s been in quite a slump of late and it’s no wonder that Wess gets the 30. The Brooklyn-based EFB member utilizing a plethora of stinging/mocking personals, rigid gun bars, stifling wordplay, fiery punchline/set-ups/schemes and rich performance bars to preserve the shutout after a topsy-turvy Castro (who may be battling too often these days) choked in round 1, before coming back with two solid and competitive, but still a bit flow-challenged turns that all in all may leave Big Lu having to go back to the drawing board.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “Find him in a hole, Cast dead, Golden Girls, he paid a heavy price, buried him dark-skinned, by the time they fimd him Betty [bet he] White!”
Recap: Pristavia vs J2 from Remy Ma’s Chrone 23 league sees both battlers keep it competitive with aggressive darts, well-laced up personals and fiery punchlines. However, while J2 came through with some hot punches/schemes here and there (esp. the ‘hum to Allah’ line in round 2), one too many pedestrian bars and preachy lines by the ATL rapper in addition to a slightly more versatile, wordplay-heavy, personal-lit and consistently hitting Pristavia gives the Gun Titles empress a 30.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Pristavia – “Nigga, didn’t you go through homelessness?, then you should feel right at home in another box!”
Recap: Competitive (esp. when Shotti P made use of some spicy personals to take round 2 after getting edged by a punch-heavier Pass in round 1) but still not too many highlights in this Season 1 tournament KOTD matchup that overall was way more regular weed than Afghan Kush. Either way, with a reliable mix of high octane braggadocios darts, a flexing rebuttal and a bunch of piercing punches/wordplay, it’s the more resilient Pass who takes the deciding 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Pass (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pass – “This a cliffhanger, I got the eagle eye on the kill, I’m living at my peak, you really wanna die on this hill?!”
Recap: Considering the weight of the names, a bit surprised that this 3-rounder from HOC Rap Battle League received such little promotion. Either way, while Head I.C.E. kept things competitive for two rounds with his parlance for gritty street talk, indirect but flexing punches and witty barbs, Ill Will’s persistent combo of rambunctious punchlines (esp. during a stellar round 2), stinging personals, fiery name flips and gripping mayhem/gun bars would in the end prove to be too much, thus giving the Yaktown native a well-earned 30.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’m from Pontiac where we can turn babymamas into ransom notes!”
Recap: From URL’s Summer Madness 5 tournament, taking advantage of a Fonz mired in inconsistent punches, a lack of wit and a surprising 2nd round slip-up, a more consistently hitting, gritty, personal-lit and trap talk spicy Swamp takes both of the opening rounds for the win before a debatable 3rd round that while giving witness to Fonz finally putting it all together like the Landlord we’re used to seeing, still was only good enough to match the brazen polemics from South Carolina’s finest.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “The last battle, it was ‘Paige’ [page] this, ‘Paige’ [page] that, nigga flipped Paige [page] too fast and read me wrong!”
Recap: A dope, well-crafted and punch-heavy 3rd round by Ave in this Chrome 23 3-rounder vs. O’fficial doesn’t make up for a couple of braggadocious and hitting at times, but overall a bit predictable and seemingly uninspired turns by the former Cave Gang capo in the earlier rounds, leaving the consistently gritty, scheme-lit, gun bar popping and punch-heavier Bardashian with the win after she edged both of the opening rounds.
Verdict: O’fficial (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O’fficial – “DNA, Tay Roc and Dizaster?, I mean the list of men is growing for me, didn’t think I could fuck with the hottest nigga’s till I turned into Lori Harvey!”
Recap: Always a dope and unique way to test your pen, compliment battles are also a must-see for their sheer amount of entertainment value. But, hold on. Does Frak, a professional comedian (amongst other gigs) by trade, have an advantage going into one of these compliment battles against a battle rapper who doesn’t do much in the way of comedy when he/she raps? Most likely, yes. But by pulling all the spots, Geechi Gotti made sure that wouldn’t be an issue here. The Compton rapper using plenty of deadpan humor, rich storytelling, a couple of spicy rebuttals and a gang of witty punches/personals to take the latter two rounds (after his opponent edged the 1st) and beat back a pretty solid, Gotti lingo flipping and hilarious at times, but a little too redundant, filler prone and a bit elongated 3 rounds from Frak.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geecho Gotti – “[sniffs around Frak] I ain’t never smell good credit before!”
Recap: Making an out of the blue appearance in a 1-rounder on iBattleTV, JC still leaves his mark, using a consistently hitting barrage of dismissive personals, killer Godbody bars and flexing punchlines/similes to beat back a solid and gritty, but nowhere-near-as-flashy turn from King Jables.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “I know that may seem worse, but your whole intro into battle rap was ass-backwards, a breeched birth!”
Recap: Making excellent use of some steely name flips, a couple of spicy rebuttals, hard-hitting punchlines/similes and piercing personals, in this 1-rounder from iBattleTV, Ill Will cruises to an easy win over a consistently gritty and earnest, but topsy-turvy J Geans.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Toolie grip, nigga this ain’t no movie script, when this Will got caught busting in the crowd, I ain’t have an uncle my mama could move me with!”
Recap: Participate in battle rap long enough and rematches are bound to happen. Still, while many heads consider Rum Nitty’s battle against Iron Solomon to be amongst Rum’s finest, for me it’s Rum’s 2013 battle against Danny Myers, a spitfire KOTD classic and was littered in sublime punches from both sides, that’s often overlooked and should be at a million views by now. Either way, with Danny battling like every week these days (and even calling himself now the ‘King of Rematches’), Myers vs. Nitty receives the sequel it didn’t need. And while Part 2 (aka the headliner from URL’s To Live and Die in L.A. card) is a goodie (and thankfully didn’t feature as much dapping as the 1st match did), it doesn’t come anywhere close to matching the consistent, punch-lit performance of its predecessor. An aggressive. off-the-dome spicy and punch-heavy Danny (who’s clearly changed up his battle rap blueprint ever since his Frak battle) offering up a sublime turn to handily take round 1 before Rum steps it up and just gets downright gully with it in the latter rounds, hitting on the rebuttals, fiery gun bars, witty/mocking personals, gritty mayhem and stifling wordplay/set-ups to take rounds 2 and 3 over a much less hitting showing from Danny to earn the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Reckless, I’m a bury him. embarrass him, take the metal and crack his face till it start to Cave like I’m from Maryland, no comparison, they just don’t get it, till somebody die…like inheritance!”
Recap: In a close 3-round GTX battle that was littered with blazing gun bars throughout, in both the 1st and 3rd rounds Saynt takes advantage of an off-the-dome light and less potent with the punches Chef Trez (who surprisingly enough was at his best with the personals here), with a slightly more consistent set-up/punch game that edges the aforementioned rounds for the win.
Verdict: Saynt (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Saynt – “Now everybody’s a gremlin, let this bitch test me, I’ll put this gremlin in a box, that’s a NFT!”
Recap: From WestWorld Battle Rap, EFB members NXT and Hansel go at it for three rounds and it’s a dope one. Both battlers highly aggressive with their raps, but there was plenty of substance that came with it through a barrage of sturdy punchlines, resident West-coast flossing, piercing name flips, roundhouse personals and a bunch of mayhem-lit boasts that for the most part made their mark on both sides. Tied (had NXT edgung round 1, before Hansel out-punched his opponent in roudn 2 to even things up) going into the deciding 3rd round, the final round turns to be an equally efficient banger with Hansel delivering another stream of consistently hard-hitting punches, while NXT went a completely different route via a crispy run of braggadocio (“I been here 7 years, that bad luck done ran out!”) darts that highlighted his battle rap resume and struggles coming up in the game versus that of the relative newcomer standing across from him.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Hansel – “Shotgun, one pull gonna hit you and like two more of you haters, thats 3 nigga’s in one release…this shit a jumpshot creater!”
Recap: In front of what seemed to be a timid Chrome 23 crowd (Remy Ma might want to look into changing her venue), a raucous, but competitive back-n-forth between Ms. Hustle (who also had some fiery schemes and aggressive angles on her plate) and Viixen The Assassin (aggressive throughout as well, but with a more workmanlike performance overall) gets edged by the more punch-lit, personal-spicy, versatile, steadily hitting and less predictable Milwaukee, WI queenpen, who after getting edged by a slightly more stellar round 1 by Hustle, came back with more potency to her bars in both of the latter rounds to earn the vic.
Verdict: Viixen The Assassin (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Viixen The Assassin – “So much I can get away with like murder, beat a bitch up for singing like Ike Turner!”
Recap: Drop Da Rula starts off solid with a bunch of fiery gun bars and gritty wordplay/punches here and there. But in this down South 1-round “in Da Kitchen” card, Rula’s struggles with his flow as well as subpar bars during the latter half of his round to go along with a Chef Trez unloading on his opponent with a barrage of damaging name flips, stinging punchlines, spicy rebuttals and piercing set-ups/gun lines gives the Chef yet another win on the ledger.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Your punches like putting your grandparents on your job application…a bunch of old references!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from No Coast Raps, Jey The Nitewing crafts out a vociferous and steady barrage of flagrant name flips, gripping 1, 2 set-up/punchlines and charismatic boasts to make the most of his 5 or 6 minutes of rhymes and get the win over a consistently gritty, but too often dry-spot bent Father Focus Confucius.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “I ain’t believing shit, oh he did time too?, probably beat his bitch!”
Recap: Longtime vets at battle rap and also close friends outside the ring, Real Deal and Rone put forth 3 competitive, hilarious at times, punch/metaphor-lit and sarcastically-bent rounds in a compliment battle in front of a Barstool crowd that couldn’t help but stay in tune due to both battlers shining throughout. A close one that was heavy on the accolades, a bit of a slow start by Real Deal allowed Rone to edge round 1 before a slightly more punch-heavy (“Your name is Adam, who couldn’t take a rib from you?!”) RD took the 2nd round to tie things up heading into the 3rd. And with the last round being equally funny as well as a bit sentimental, it’s only right that this ends up being a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Rone – “He wouldn’t even let me pay for the pizza we had, I tried to Venmo him back and he deleted the app!”
Recap: From URL’s Ultimate Madness 5 tournament, round 2. The O.G. Head I’C.E. puts forth a pretty solid and competitive effort with plenty of hardbody raps, some unique, ‘bottle’-capped word association lines (with props included) and a few hitting personals. But it’s a JC heavily armed with a gang of sizzling gun bars, festering God-body punches and a fleet of seismic punchlines who earns the 30 here and moves on to the next round.
Verdict: JC (W) 3-0
Favorite line: JC – “Changing my stock, I gave every nigga I came with a Glock, no instructions, just aspirations…aim for the top!”
Recap: In what was arguably his best overall performance since his Your Honor battle (tho his matchups against NJT and Ace Amin are also standouts), a more versatile, angle-lit, gritty, witty at times and personal/punchline spazzing Swamp flexes with 3 straight rounds of mostly (a couple of slip-ups in rounds 2 would help him get edged there) consistent heat to take rounds 1 and 3 and beat back a pretty solid, simile-spicy, gun bar/name flip fiery, but not as steadily hitting with the punches Rum Nitty in what was a dope battle from URL’s Summer Madness 5 tournament.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “EFB full of manure, we liked y’all better when it was kahlua, when Geechi and Rum came with Coffee in it!”
Recap: Dope URL Summer Madness 5 tourney matchup between Fonz and Real Sikh sees the latter get busy with a aggressive plate of hard-hitting real talk, some crazy wordplay and stining braggadocious bars. While a never-lacking-for-confidence Fonz scored left and right with a gang of sizzling name flips, witty barbs, bullish darts and a versatile array of fire punchlines which when combined allowed the Landlord to outscore his opponent in both rounds 1 and 2 for the win before a slightly more turned up and consistent Sikh edged the 3rd.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Fonz – “If I put a red dot on his wrap, nor Johnny or Quest can stop me from fucking up Haji!”
Recap: Dope 3-rounder here from KOTD’s Season 1 tournament features Pass vs. Ciddy with both battlers bringing their A-games. What with an ever aggressive Ciddy scoring with sizzling multi’s, intricate/hardbody (“All I need is two fingers, Bruce Lee push-ups!”) punches and a bunch of hitting personals, while a just as combative Pass used a boatload of fiery name flips, boastful punchlines and piercing wordplay/style breakdowns to stay on pace with his opponent throughout the battle. Close throughout with barely any room for filler, had a slightly more haymaker-lit Pass edging round 1 before Ciddy returned the favor in round 2 to even things up. Last round might’ve been slightly edged by a still pugnacious Ciddy too if not for a hitting rebuttal by a still game Pass to start his round, therefore making this bout debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Pass – “You could never be on my level, you reaching still ain’t get it, he know this Town Bidness way beyond Ciddy [city] limits!”
Recap: From KOTD’s Season 1 tournament, against the intricate punches of Madflex, after a doppelganger-ish turn that saw him lose the opening round to his more consistently hitting opponent, Bill Collector gets back in his bag of witty barbs, spicy contorted punchlines and stinging performance bars and returns the favor to take each of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “Transphobic boss…I’ll fire IT!”
Recap: Although we’re pretty certain that the opportunity to receive bigger paychecks played a huge part, give Charron the credit he deserves for coming back to the URL, where in the 4 battles he’s participated in this year alone, he’s had to face much stiffer competition over the course of 4 battles than he probably has during his entire career. That being said, while the Canadian vet’s penchant for fire off-the-dome polemics, killer wit, stellar personals and an often sublime punchline game will always allow him to sit at the top tier table, as witnessed here against Nunn Nunn on the Civil War 2 card, it’s Charron’s knack for longwinded rounds that often gets him in trouble. As after taking round 1 with a versatile, punch-lit, boastful and uber-witty turn that served up an abundance of haymakers and beat back a pretty solid round from his opponent, some pedestrian rebuttals and an inability to consistently match the potency of Nunn Nunn (who was steadily hardbody throughout the battle with a gang of stifling real talk darts, cunning wordplay, gritty punchlines, fiery schemes, hitting personals, spicy race angles and a dope rebuttal in round 3) during a couple of elongated turns, would edge both of the latter rounds to Nunn Nunn and give the Wilson, NC mainstay the biggest win of his battle career.
Verdict: Nunn Nunn (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nunn Nunn – “Say anythingg that ain’t true and I’m a pause your whole round like J2!”
Recap: Finessing left and right with a fiery punch game throughout while adding his usual assortment of hard-hitting boasts, piercing name flips, a solid rebuttal and potent street talk, Geechi Gotti takes the two rounds handily and gets the win over a witty and personal-lit at times, but outside of the wisecrack-filled 3rd that scored him a debatable, not nearly as consistent with the punches Kitchen Qleen in this 3-rounder from GTX.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “You gonna be popping 30’s till you end up in the dirt fool, BUt at least ya family ain’t have to take care of you no more, see death got perks too!”
Recap: Not to get emotional here, but let’s not front like seeing Danny Myers pay homage to B. Magic’s battle career the way he did in that 3rd round wasn’t touching (and deserving) to say the least. Back to the battle, tho. While Danny had some dope rebuttals and spitfire punches here and there, a flow-challenged round 1 to go along with a Magic on top of his game in the two early rounds via a gang of rapid fire punchlines that killed when it came to set-ups, wordplay, metaphors and similes, would give the St. Louis vet (who also surprisingly pulled out a new slogan) the win in this Shots Fired Battle League 3-rounder, before a slightly more potent Danny edged the 3rd.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Magic – “You can’t see while I’m playing, I’m the 6th man!”
Recap: Unfortunately, having only 11 days prep can even bring the chokes out of two battlers who normally come prepared. So after the steady Christian-bashing and punch-lit Fonz loses the opening round of this URL Summer Madness 3 tournament matchup thanks to a last-minute visit from Earl, it’s only right that a gritty dart throwing and personal crazy Pristavia return the favor via a lack of remembering her bars (twice) in round 2. Split going into the 3rd, it’s the Landlord with a more consistently spicy, sexually explicit and punchline vicious turn who gets the win over a solid and gritty, but much less potent go-around from Pristavia.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Fonz – “I already made one girl sit down and P next!”
Recap: Considering the fact that they’ve battled twice already in the past, it’s a little weird seeing O-Red and JC meet up for a 3rd time in the first round of URL’s Summer Madness 5 tourney no less. But whatever. As with the earlier meetings, the two battle vets kept it competitive here while banging out a slew of braggadocious punches, slick wordplay/name flips, aggressive schemes and a few hitting personals. Still however, with a 2-minute time limit per round that most likely hurt the usually interminable Red moreso than his opponent, it’s the more concise and punch-lit JC who takes each of the first two rounds for the win before a clearly more potent O-Red avoided the shutout by taking the 3rd.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – ” I could shoot all y’all at once like a family portrait, you nigga’s literally gotta get it together!”
Recap: Rum Nitty, a last minute replacement for Nu Jerzey Twork in this first round URL Ultimate Madness 5 matchup against Real Name Brandon, serves up a plethora of consistently fiery name flips, sizzling wordplay and stinging punchlines to get past a pretty solid and gritty effort from RNB and get the win in a battle that was shortened to one round due to Rum having only 5 days prep.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “This some shit to be mad for, ‘cuz they put me out this bitch with 5 days notice…I can’t wait to run into the landlord!”
Recap: A 5th go-around at this tournament thing and it’s embarrassing that URL still can’t get their shit together as far as organizing and getting their judging system right. First of all, pay the damn judges. Secondly, to kill any thoughts of bias, no more than 1 current battle rapper should be allowed to participate in judging. And hell no to ever having judges on stage again as there’s no way one can properly judge a battle they’ve only seen once, much less while on stage in the midst of crowd noise, rapid punches that can easily be missed upon a first listen, etc. Instead, the judges should be in the back on separate monitors with ear pieces and allowed to watch each battle again if need be. I mean, with a $100K on the line, you want to get this shit absolutely right and it doesn’t take a genius to do so. Then too, and no knock against Geechi Gotti, Rum Nitty, Fonz and Real Name Brandon (who’ve all won previous tournaments). But with as many battle rappers URL has on their roster, why not spread the wealth a little bit and give other battlers, males and females, a shot at winning the big prize? All that said, in a close battle filled of rugged street shit, braggadocious bars, some flexing wordplay and gritty gang talk from both sides, I had the slightly more hitting Gotti edging round 1, but Tru Foe out-punched Geechi in the 2nd to split things and a more punch-lit and flow steady Gotti took the final round for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Nigga, do you wanna know what would’ve happened if I shot you?, your momma would’ve seen you lying and said that’s not true [Tru]!”
Recap: Choosing to go first against a rebuttal/freestyle elite like Chef Trez seems to be putting yourself at a disadvantage. But having seen the brash wizardry of Skinny Man Bang against Swamp in the past, one can’t be too surprised. And with a boatload of aggressive punches, gritty wordplay and flexing gun bars, just as ge did versus Swamp, SMB kept it competitive (even edging round 2 here). However, even on a day that saw him surprisingly fail to recollect his bars midway through the 3rd round, Trez being Trez never loses control while sizing up the room to immediately switch to freestyle mode and with a gang of steely off-the-dome heat takes the deciding final round (after edging the 1st) for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “You called me God in the face-off, so why try me now?, your mind is sick, but now you thinking you gonna catch a Godbody?, I don’t think he in that 5 percent!”
Recap: From URL’s Ultimate Madness 5 tournament, despite Swamp’s slower Southern drawl serving as a bit of a hindrance in a battle with time limits, in a fiery, close and competitive bout against a pretty solid, bullish and name flip-lit Shotgun Suge, after getting edged in round 1, the South Carolina battler’s raucous punches, boastful barbs and hitting street lingistics are enough to take rounds 2 and 3 from a slightly less potent Suge and earn the win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “It’s a difference when you look in the mirror and know you the GOAT, the stick got a switch and a button on the side like a Roku remote!”
Recap: With KOTD champ Real Deal (outside of a fire round 3) struggling with his angles and clearly dishing a wide load of inconsistent punchlines in both of the early rounds, I’m not sure how a Saynt that was steadily killing it with a variety of shrewd punches, performance-rich gun bars and hard-hitting set-ups during rounds 1 and 2 manages to lose this battle. But oh yeah, this is KOTD and we’ll just leave it at that.
Verdict: Saynt (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Saynt – “Fuck John Cena, this Black smith is my peace maker!”
Recap: A battle 10-plus years in the works, Cortez vs. Tsu Surf finally happens on the URL’s Civil War 2 card and for the most part it’s a goodie as both battlers made it competitive and came to fight. A turned up Tez (esp. during a killer 2nd round) would come packed with shitload of gritty punches to go along with some witty barbs, spicy Surf lingo flips and fiery personals. While an aggressive Surf dished a gang of stifling wordplay, hard-hitting personals (esp. during the deciding round 3) and multifaceted punches that for the most part landed hard. As for the elephant in the room that started with Aye Verb accusing Surf of ‘stealing bars’ during his opening round? Simply put, a non-starter as Surf not only has it been proven online that he didn’t plagiarize (tho he did, for a minute, have a similar cadence and rhyme pattern to that Quilly freestyle) anything, but the idea that flipping a handful of bars you’ve heard somewhere else is suddenly a flagrant foul that gets you tossed out the game would disqualify quite a few of your favorite battle rappers, including some top tiers. That said, a few things that hurt Cor a bit during this bout: choosing to go first (only because the feeling here is that with Cor having a better rebuttal game than Surf, he could’ve scored more), one too many indirect bars and the usage of that same raucous, but at times longwinded boilerplate rhyme pattern he’s been utilizing since his Grind Time days. Still, an easy decision on this one with the more haymaker-lit Surf taking rounds 1 and 3 for the win, while Cor returned the favor in round 2 to avoid the shuout.
Verdict: Tsu Surf (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tsu Surf – “They said this could go either way, listen Jon B, if you aint trying to be where Jon be, don’t listen to what people say!”
Recap: A boatload of gritty trap talk, piercing name flips and bullish/stinging punchlines gets Shotgun Sude the win over a solid/gun bar-lit and gritty, but overextended via the subpar punches Lord Nen in this 1-rounder from Hoc Rap Battle League.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “Drake on a hit, what’s gonna happen next only Lord knows!”
Recap: Could’ve sworn that during their long battle rap careers Pass and Aye Verb had already crossed paths on the big stage. But surprisingly they hadn’t. So thanks to GTX the two vets finally meet up for a competitive matchup that featured a boatload of braggadocious darts, steely punches, solid wordplay and hitting personals/name flips. A close one that had them split (had Pass edging the opening round while Verb came back to edge the 2nd) the first couple of rounds, it’s a witty at times, more consistently-lit and personal-bent Pass who takes the deciding 3rd round for the win.
Verdict: Pass (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pass – “This will be his obituary, big words in black print, this what it was vs. what it is, they said Verb in past [Pass] tense!”
Recap: From HOC Rap Battle League, with both Man Murray and Swamp (“You try me and I’m going over the edge like toes and small sandals!”) equally cooking and dishing a gang of gritty punches/personals during this 1-rounder, a competitive bout is spoiled by each battler struggling with their flow to the tune of a trio of slip-ups from both sides that ended up making this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Man Murray – “After this they gonan say Swamp got fucked up like a natural disaster, so why the fuck are you worried about Midnight Madness when you not gonna make it to the morning after?!”
Recap: Maryland vs. Maryland. Oppa vs. Yunus on GTX in what apparently is a rematch between these two young up-n-comers battlers. And while the battel was filled with lots of energy on competitive flair on both sides, the end result was pretty decisive as Yunus’ often-exquisite wordplay, crazy schemes, witty barbs, piercing combo punches and more intricate raps/boasts were enough to score more than enough haymakers in both rounds 1 and 2 for the win before a performance-heavy Oppa was finally able to match his animated artillery with more substance and efficiency in the 3rd to edge it there and avoid a shutout.
Verdict: Yunus (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Yunus – “I could make a line about anything, I’m pathological!”
Recap: Can’t say that before this battle took place, that it didn’t cross my mind that DNA vs. O’fficial would potentially be a better bout if NWX was still a group. Well, let me admit that I was wrong. As for the most part, the two former crew members really gave it their all, while putting on a dope and competitive show. O’fficial, who had a crazy and versatile round 1 (her best), came with it, dropping a plethora of spicy gun bars, hard-hitting/mocking personals and gritty punchlines to stay close. While DNA, shrewdly rocking the crowd with a bunch of fire punches that were laced with local references, when he wasn’t scoring via a bunch of disrespectful personals, fiery wordplay and piercing set-ups/name flips, was in top form as usual. An entertaining matchup that also sliced and diced with plenty of chatter on what happened their former squad, had the slightly more potent O edging round 1, before DNA with the help of some stinging off-the-dome darts and a couple of not-quite-as-steady rounds from O’fficial, taking both of the latter turns for the comeback win.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “I guess why they brought me to Charlotte, so I could get my team back from New Orleans!”
Recap: Spitfire battle from URL’s Kings vs. Queens 3 card between Geechi Gotti and Jaz The Rapper as the two seasoned vets both brought their A-game’s to a bout that nary had a dull moment. Jaz, aggressive and performance-spicy from jump, punchline-lit throughout, hard-hitting with the personals amd (“Y’all wanna know if I spit or swallow? don’t matter I’m still catching a nut in the mouth!”) wordplay, adeptly utilizing her opponent’s signature moves and at times talking down to Gotti in a poised manner rarely seen, proved to be effectively strategic with her rounds. On the other hand, Geechi would never let up, the 3-time COTY dishing a bunch of potent personals on Jaz and her Bardashian crew when he lighting up the scoreboard with a gang of witty barbs, some solid off-the-dome lines, bullish punches/metaphors and scorching gun bars/street rhymes. Competitive with some dope name flips, roasting sessions and similes mixed in, a fire round 1 that featured some fiery stunting on both sides makes for a debatable before a slightly more versatile Gotti took round 2 before a slightly more condensed and punch-crazy Jaz came back to take the final round and make this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “You been around me and my Crips, bitch my gun was popping cherries before you even got dick!”
Recap: Arguably the best battle from the URL’s Kings vs. Queens 3 card, Tay Roc and Viixen The Assassin make the case with 3 competitive and aggressive (esp. on Viixen’s part, who almost literallly knocked Roc down with a couple of her more rambunctious performance bars), gun-bar-lit, punch-heavy, witty at times and personal-crazy rounds that kept the crowd captivated throughout. But while the loud and brazen (esp. when she was flipping some of Roc’s prior shit) Viixen proved once again that she’s capable of going toe-to-toe with any top tier battler, male or female, in the end Roc just proved to be a little too much here. The B-more vet steady flexing with a more versatile, original and consistent game that also included some fire schemes, a gang of head-ringing name flips/punchlines, sizzling wordplay and a couple of dope rebuttals to edge each round and score a Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I ain’t got no chill, bitch don’t get rocked for real, this little white girl say ‘Catch me outside!’ and find out how a doctor feel [Phil]!”
Recap: From Hoc Rap Battle League, a surprising amount of witty personals from both battlers makes this 3-round Cortez vs. Snake Eyez even more entertaining. Yet, after the two split (had the heavier-punching Cortez taking round 1 before a harder-hitting and Spanglish-lit Snake took the 2nd), Tez’s continually fiery braggadocios lines, mocking personals and hard street rhymes in the final round added up to a gang of haymakers that coupled with a short and mostly pedestrian turn by Snake gives the Brooklyn capo the win.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “Nigga’s swear they Hardcore ain’t never get their belt took!”
Recap: With all the ghostwriting allegations still in the air as well as many feeling that she still hasn’t come close to performing on the level she did during her Tori Doe battle (which saw her leave earth for 3 rounds), can anyone be blamed for doubting whether or not Yoshi G came up with that spitfire 2nd round rebuttal herself? Put me down for $50 stating she did come up with it on her own. For one thing, for all her issues with delivery and execution, Yoshi can still rap and display some dope punches and schemes when needed. Now that we got that out the way, 3-0 Clips. From the hard-hitting/disrespectful personals to the religious disses (capped by a surprising and downright mean cameo appearance from ‘Jesus’ himself in a classic round 2) to the witty barbs to the character assassinations (esp. when it came to the name flips) to a stellar scheme and punchline game, Clips was just on one during this URL Kings vs. Queens 3 match. Couple that with an elongated and mostly dry 2nd round to go along with a 1st and 3rd round by Yoshi that while littered with earnest thot bars and mocking personals, were both topsy-turvy at best and you end up with a shutout.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “Bitch, I’m extra nice, you tried to disrespect my sex game, got me extra tight, this dick already put you on a new stage, you better respect the pipe!”
Recap: From URL’s Kings vs. Queens 3 card, an easy win for an overall way more punch/personal-heavy Casey Jay (tho she still needs to work on structuring her rounds better and that so-so 2nd round was certainly beatable), but I’m still scratching my head on this one because from a strategy standpoint I don’t know what Aye Verb was thinking. I mean, we know that Verb can fight through the crowd boo’s ‘cuz he’s been dealing with that shit since his Charlie Clips battle. But this ‘Cocaine Yeezy’ shit comes off as Verb going through an identity crisis. And not performing his noted (and usually well-received) ‘Showtime’ bars? Plus, waiting till round 3 to stunt at his best by going Kevin Samuel on his opponent with fire riffs on Black queendom and self-responsibility, yet dumping the angle halfway to go back to a mostly subpar lyrical, schmiral style that clearly wasn’t landing throughout the battle? Yunno, come to think of it, maybe some of the boo’s were worth it.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “Think we dumb?, Judge Mathis, I know a crackhead when I see one!”
Recap: A URL Kings vs. Queens 3 battle that might have given the hardcore battle rap fan a little wariness what with Jakkboy Maine and First Lady Flamez being a couple in real life (‘Could they really go full throttle on each other considering that they live together?’), Jakk via a gang of hard-hitting punchlines, piercing performance bars and witty/slick personals and Flamez, armed with a bunch of stifling personals, bruising schemes, slick wordplay and gritty set-ups/punches, still managed to put on a dope and competitive show that kept the crowd captivated. Still tho, after a more haymaker-lit Flamez took the opening round, an equally entertaining, punch-lit and aggressive on both sides round 2 made for a debatable. But helped a bit by a still scoring Jakk letting his foot off the pedal bar-wise towards the end of his turn, a turned up, versatile and more consistently brazen Flamez woud handily take the 3rd for the win.
Verdict: First Lady Flamez (W) 2-1
Favoriet line: First Lady Flamez – “Jakk, you got me fucked up, exactly why I’m snapping, single black mom on Christmas, I make a lot happen!”
Recap: From The Battle Academy, a competitive 1-rounder between Prep and Shotgun Suge ends up with the more condensed, quicker-to-his-punches, just as gritty, personal-lit and brazen Suge edging it out on the end.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “Gun jam and then we improvise, man I’ll steall all your silver with this nickle .9!”
Recap: Split going into the final round of this gritty RBE Straight To It rematch between Money Bagz and Chef Trez, a surprising choke by Bagz in the 3rd and deciding round helps give a consistently gun bar/punch-lit Trez the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “You can’t get the drop on me, my reaction time on Gwitty level!”
Recap: Some hard bars, witty lines and plenty of aggression from That Nigga Rob, but in this 3-rounder from Battle Coliseum, it’s Chef Trez’s consistent barrage of piercing gun bars, mayhem-lit punches and stirred-up rebuttals that ends giving the Chef a 30.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “What’s sad is, i’m just having fun this battle while I’m murking you, like Shaq is rapping, I make Magic happen, this gonna be a thirty too [32]!”
Recap: From URL’s Kings vs. Queens 3 card, despite an also wordplay-spicy C3 dishing a barrel of hardbody personals that we haven’t seen the likes of against JC since his Bigg K battle, the consistently fiery Michigan vet lets loose with a gang of Godbody punchlines, stifling name flips, hitting braggadocious bars and witty/piercing personals to take rounds 1 and 3 (w/ C3 additionally adding a couple of dope rebuttals to a punch-lit on both sides turn, call the 2nd round debatable) for the win in what as a highly competitive matchup.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “I lot of y’all can’t find a reason to beat up a bitch…I see 3 [C3]!”
Recap: From URL’s Kings vs. Queens 3 card, Shotgun Suge uses a fiery and aggressive barrage of stifling name flips, dizzying trap talk, rude personals, understated wordplay and bruising bully bars to take the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win over an just-as-aggressive, mostly punch/personal-heavy (esp. in round 2 which earned her a debatable) and overall pretty solid, but not as consistently spicy Ms. Miami (who really needs to learn how to handle the crowd when they’re showing her love).
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “My first bank account was under my mattress!”
Recap: B. Magic’s first appearance on GOTG finds him barely breaking a sweat as the St. Louis vet uses a steady barrage of spitfire punchlines and flexing wordplay/similes/name flips to handily beat back an earnest, but overmatched Zay Smoove.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 1-0
Favorite line: B. Magic – “.9 clapper, this here spine cracker, bring a quarterback ain’t no safety on this linebacker, these two arms will raise your roof like a contractor!”
Recap: A mostly competitive URL Queens vs. Kings 3 battle between Fonz and Shooney Da Rapper that was littered with brazen punches, plenty of sexual hijinks, steely name flips and greasy personals, after the two split the first of rounds (Shooney with a superb, punch-lit round 1 took the opener, while a more haymaker-rich Fonz came back to take the second round), is won by Fonz, who with a bunch of aggressive/hard-hittimg personals, fiery wordplay/set-ups and gritty/versatile bangers, handily beat back a solid, but not as potent turn by Shooney.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Fonz – “Girl you got a beautiful smile, and I’m not just talking shit, but you know how you get rid of a bitch dimples?, fill her jaw with dick!”
Recap: A couple of bars or two maybe. But other than lazy penmanship, can’t imagine why a seasoned vet like Big Kannon would drench himself in so many old and tired E. Ness/Making da Band personals as he does here in this RBE Straight To It 3-rounder. And with Ness (not only one of the most consistent battlers in the game, but also an underrated puncher) doubling up on the piercing wordplay when he wasn’t already excelling via a steady, oft-entertaining and bruising punch game in the 1st and 3rd rounds (had BK edging the 2nd), it’s the more persistently hard-hitting Bad Boy alum who gets the win.
Verdict: E. Ness (W) 2-1
Favorite line: E. Ness – “QB on vacation, I can’t go without the strap, grumpy old man I can’t go without my nap!”
Recap: From round 1 of KOTD’s Season 1 tournament, a close one between hard street rhymes and gritty punches of Clone and the rich metaphors, sturdy name flips and boastful rants from Pass comes down to round 2 (had both the opening round and the 3rd as debatable) which turned out to be the clear turn thanks to Pass’ stinging off-the-dome stylings and overall harder hitting personals/punchlines.
Verdict: Pass (W) 2-1
Favoriet line: Pass – “They got me in front of a Clone, this whole season I’ve been battling my fucking self!”
Recap: In a sane world, Danny Myers would probably battle a little less. As recent performances have shown that the Bar God’s immense proclivity for battle rapping can sometimes effect his preparation. Still, here in this dope 1-rounder from GOTG vs. the Gun Titles 1st Lady Pristavia, there’s no doubt that Danny came to win. The West-coast vet delivering a strong and aggressive showing that featured a bunch of raucous punches, grimy personals, nitfy off-the-dome theatrics and all sorts of mayhem to keep the crowd in tune. That said, it wouldn’t be enough. Because you see, there’s a reason Pristavia is a rising star in this game. The Brooklyn rhyme-slinger blowing past a pretty solid effort from her opponent with a fiery barrage of mega-lit personals that touched on everything from fatherhood to Danny’s battle career, while also putting up haymakers with a plethora of fiesty wordplay, stinging set-ups and righteous, Christian-laced burners that put the God in God for a well-earned win.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Pristavia – “Life is a parallel universe Danny, ‘cuz while you was an absent father who didn’t teach his son how to stand up, there was some stand-up dads showing his lil man how to slam dunk!”
Recap: From KOTD’s Season 1 tourney, I’ve never understood the Daylyt/Bill Collector comparison’s either as BC’s more eccentric punchlines/personals, witty barbs, underlying wordplay, creative gun bars and performance-rich darts effectively combine to take all 3 rounds here over Dunsh, who despite a bunch of trolling personals, nifty punches and a hell of an innovative round 2, had already been out-scored in the early rounds before choking away his 3rd.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “Angry girlfriend, I repeatedly burst texts [Tek’s]!”
