Recap: From RBE, just when you start to appreciate Swave Sevah battling more often these days, the Team Homi capo shows that his increased productivity could be affecting his preparation as a handful of stumbles from Sevah here against fellow OG Moon before a surprising choke in the (had Moon edging round 1 before Swave edged round 2) deciding 3rd round helps give Moon (who shined throughout with a host of gritty punches, witty personals and flexing grown man chatter) the win.
Verdict: Moon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Moon – “…that means if we got any problems or complications, I’ll become your personal travel agent, I’ll put a nice little package together for you, I could make heaven or hell your next vacation!”
Recap: From RBE, while Robin Rhymes’ witty punches and gang of fiery personals supplied this 3-rounder with plenty of competition, a more versatile, wordplay-heavy, punchline-lit, brazen and also personal-crazy Bonnie Godiva would prove to be too much in each round, giving Bon-Bon a well-earned 30.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “Y’all gave me another bitch that you never believe in?, your name Rhyme but you’re never the reason!”
Recap: Capped by a superlative opening round that was as punch-lit, mayhem rich, fire personals and metaphorically heavy as one would expect from him, after dominating round 1, a still hard-hitting Fonz then edges both of the latter rounds to get the 30 in this URL/Initiation 2 matchup vs. Tink Da Demon. The Delaware rapper getting off to a hot start in each round, but struggling a bit with his breath control and consistency in the first round and despite making things more competitive with his gang of torture racks and morbid polemics in rounds 2 and 3, just couldn’t keep up with his opponent’s more steady burners and rigid name flips.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “Blast the heat, with this chopper I’m Th3 Saga, fighting demons with a magazine!”
Recap: Colorful and graphic with the mayhem, crazy with the name flips, rambunctious with the gun bars and spazzing with a gang of spicy set-ups/punchlines, despite a mostly solid and punch-lit effort from opponent Born, a more consistently stifling and flow steady Mackk Myron does enough to take all three rounds for the win in this KOTD S1 playoffs round 1 matchup.
Verdict: Mackk Myron (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “The strap black, ugly as ever…One More Chance!”
Recap: Loud and aggressive throughout, but not really scoring much due to a boatlaod of subpar punches and way too many weird Tay Roc mentions. In this 1-rounder from iGrind Battle League, JUSDJ did manage to dish some more substantive raps midway through his round to make things a bit competitive. However, displaying an ability to grind out a win even with minimal preparation, a Swamp who wasn’t on his A-game when it came to delivering consistent heat, still proceeds to line up enough gritty haymakers to get his arm raised at the end.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “9 times outta 10 if you see me I got a gun boy, I’ll paint half his face like Reepah Rell than spin the block and paint the other half like NBA Youngboy!”
Recap: As good as it is to see Philly vet Reed Dollaz battling more often these days, shame on Reed thinking it was cool to copy his opponent here and pull out his phone to recollect his bars in round 3. An automatic choke (as was the case for Bigg K in round 2) in these confines and with K out-punching and edging Reed in round 1 and briskly freestyling his way through round 3, what would’ve been an impressive win by Reed (who had am extra gritty and terrific round 2) gets screwed up by his own misdeed.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bigg K – “It’s getting scary for Reed [read], are you afraid of the dark?”
Recap: There’s no denying that Midnight Madness (with a pugnacious assist from Twitter Spaces) has provided a competitive lift to battle rap and this much heralded matchup between Nu Jerzey Twork and Snake Eyez pushes the case as both battlers get busy throughout with a plethora of hard, aggressive rhymes and fiery personals laced with all sorts of steely command and mocking tones. A battle that also provided a rudimentary backdrop of Twork coming off a choke in his last bout and Hardcore belt champ Snake (who didn’t put the belt on the line here) participating in a brawl when we last saw him, stayed close throughout even while NJT rapped longer than his opponent for all 3 rounds. Still, after a crazy dope-on-both-sides, but debatable round 1 Twork’s more direct heaters, gang of gritty punchlines, wicked gun bars/schemes and head-ringing haymakers would edge him both of the latter rounds the win over over Snake’s often raucous, but not as steadily hitting punches.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Fuck you being locked up, you not tough, I don’t wanna hear no jail stories from the top bunk!”
Recap: In addition to a trio of fire rebuttals, Yunus uses a bunch of whimsical punches, jaunty gun lines and slick name flips to score enough haymakers for the win over a witty/personal-lit at times and mostly solid punching effort from Big Red in this 1-rounder from iBattleTV.
Verdict: Yunus (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Red – “I’m nice with the backhand, they think I’m passive-aggressive!”
Recap: Outside of Danny Myers reaching a bit with the name flips and Rolla (“They say never judge a book by its cover, but I could tell a story [points trigger finger] by its index!”) getting a little winded with the punches towards the end of what was a pretty dope turn, a 1-rounder from Tha Smoke Session that was equally littered a gang of well-laced street darts, brutal mayhem and gritty punchlines on both sides still comes up as a debatable nonetheless.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “You ever found out that your nigga got killed and your face was grim, but you refuse to delete his number because that erases him?!”
Recap: From Pyrexx Battle League, against a punch/wordplay-lit at times, but mostly pedestrian rhyming and slip-up prone Mr. Bey, Coffee Brown uses a stifling barrage of fire name flips, steely gun bars, braggadocious zingers and stinging punchlines to easily get the win in this mostly one-sided 1-rounder.
Verdict: Coffee Brown (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Coffee Brown – “I’m a different breed of bitch, do you know what you in for?, I’m really a dog when it’s time to ride…I’m [stretches arm out like a gun] hanging out the window!”
Recap: From RBE, relying less on shock value in light of more potent punchlines, spicy religious darts and crafty personals/braggadocious zingers, after taking an L in round 1 to a punch-heavier A. Ward, a slightly more condensed and consistently hitting QB comes back to edge both of the latter rounds of this 3-rounder for the win over an opponent who despite some hard-hitting punches and personals in rounds 2 and 3, could never get back in the same steady groove as he displayed in the opener.
Verdict: QB (W) 2-1
Favorite line: QB – “So my razor gonna carve him in a perfect scuplture, ARP offered me a plate, I what’s on the menu?, he said a culture vulture!”
Recap: A 3-rounder from We Go Hard that was shrewdly set up by its two participants, Fetttuccine 20 and Mack Mel early last year, ends up being well worth the long wait as both Mel and Fetti brought the competitive fire, grimy street riddims and gritty punches that you’re used to seeing on WGH. However, while the battle stayed close throughout with both battlers dropping a plethora of haymakers and slinging gun bars, it’s the more versatile, name flip/personal-lit, performance-stunting and intricate/smilie/punch-rich (esp. with that 1st round ‘Walls of Jericho’ line) Mel who edges each round for the Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: Mack Mel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Mack Mel – “Put an AK in my hand, nigga’s know Mack gonna lift it, fuck it I’ll put this foreign down and [rock!] ya shit…I love black-owned business!”
Recap: In a dope KOTD Season 1 tournament battle for the championship that was littered with hot punchlines, fiery wordplay, feelgood metaphors, piercing personals and head-ringing name flips from both sides, after the two split the opening rounds (had Bill Collector edging round 1 and Pass edging round 2), in what was a crazy and punch-lit 3rd round to decide it all, it’s a slightly more condensed and performance-lit BC who barely edges the final round for the win and the $100K check.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “You trying to get pass me nigga?, it’s tricky Pass…flea-flicker!”
Recap: From RBE, against an Ill Will who clearly wasn’t on his A-game throughout this bout what with the amount of subpar bars and struggles with his flow, Rosenberg Raw spouts one of his most consistently bullish, punch-heavy and name flip-lit turns ever. The PA vet handily upending his opponent in round 1, before getting edged un round 2 thanks in part to a more condensed, potent and steady run by Will, but also via one too many pedestrian bars during a slightly elongated turn that would cost him in the end. The 3rd and deciding round as well as the battle would be won by a steadier-punching, boastful and haymaker-lit Raw, who after witnesssing a so-so effort from Will, overall was clearly more motivated for what was mostly a one-sided battle.
Verdict: Rosenberg Raw (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rosenberg Raw – “Who got the will pack, he getting smoked in this jawn, I don’t know what time his homies be on, I could tell you about me, broad day know the toasters is on, arm close to the body like I forgot to put deodorant on!”
Recap: As much as we talk about his gritty trap talk and syrupy angles, too often T-Top’s wit doesn’t get enough credit for him becoming a top tier mainstay. And indeed, in this URL Resolution 2 matchup against Charron (prepped on two weeks notice), the Bear’s funny bone and versatile approach would certainly help him earn a draw. Top, using a bunch of piercing set-ups, solid storytelling and hitting (“We need a classic fileld with content, it’s only gonna work if we both do it, this ain’t a Weekend at Bernie’s and I ain’t carrying no white boy this whole movie!”) punchlines to edge round 1, before a more consistently punch-lit, off-the-dome sharp, personal-crazy and witty as ever Charron took the 2nd round to tie things up going into the 3rd. The last round was just as entertaining and competitive as the first two with Top dishing some hilarious personals to go along with a gang of fiery punches, while an elongated and a bit topsy-turvy but still scoring Charron would deliver a multifaceted turn that with enough haymakers to quantify with his opponent and make this bout a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Charron – “Your bitch sucks dick in HD, mine has a PHd…the brain’s different!”
Recap: From Voices of Battle Rap, devoting his trio of rounds to a gang of witty barbs, stifling personals/wordplay, bullish street darts, piercing punchlines and of course (since he was facing a ‘URL rapper’) pointed zingers at his old URL home, even in light of a pretty solid (esp. with the name flips) 3 turns by opponent Jey The Nitewing, a more consistently blazing Bigg K pulls off the 30.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bigg K – “I’m direct, knowing he a sucker, you big ass, spam eating Samoan muthafucka!”
Recap: “Do you believe in a lyrical coincidence?!” LOL. Capped by a hilarious 3rd round that featured a gang of mocking personals and 2 rounds beforehand that were littered with biting schemes, braggadocious punches, witty barbs and ill breakdowns, in this 3-rounder from Rap Off, an angle-lit Frak (who also displayed some dope comedic timing here) beats the breaks off a hard-hitting at times (round 2 was his best), but slip-up prone to the point of choking away his 3rd round Danny Myers (who is clearly battling too much) to score a 30.
Verdict: Frak (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Frak – “It seems like all your friend’s names match their various actions…he had a friend named Carrie, he had to carry his casket!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from The Riot, while Rio Nkosi’s OG stylings and righteous punches got better during the second half of his round, altogether the ATL battler’s gritty raps still didn’t maintain near enough heat to keep up with Chef Trez’s more consistently piercing punchlines, hitting personals and stifling wordplay/set-ups.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I never been the Safari type, that’s why I’m so quick to load my Chrome!”
Recap: An aside, the way Calicoe does running commentary during an opponent’s round is just hilarious to watch. What a showman that guy is. The irony here tho (and what would contribute to Cal’s win) is just how much work Chess would give Cal to play with, especially, as we’ve seen from him plenty of times in the past, what dope freestyle game as the Detroit vet has. After all, do Cal’s ill personals (some off-the-dome, some wriiten) on Chess throwing up during battles hit as much if the Young Gawd didn’t literally throw up again here (and yes, the first round was an automatic L for Chess, because regardless if it was due to too much excitement, nerves or issues with acid reflex, severe issues with your vocals that causes you to leave a battle mid-round and take a handful of minutes to deal with them can only be chalked up to a lack of preparation). Then too, even if Chess didn’t have to leave the stage, as gritty and punch-heavy as he was during the opening round, a few subpar lines/name flips here and there by the Cake Lyfe capo combined with a slightly more condensed, storytelling-lit and scheme/punch/wordplay-spicy Cal would’ve edged the round anyway. Moving on, round 2 would be a clear win for Chess, what with a gang of piercing personals, hitting struggle bars and lucid punches that handily beat a solid, but less haymaker-lit turn from Cal. The deciding 3rd was a close one, but with Chess (who overall was pretty solid here) contributing a slip-up during the round as well as one too many punches that lacked moxie, an ever-confident Cal would use some more off-the dome theatrics and a rich combo of metaphorical bangers, hitting personals, scoring wit and straightforward, but steely vet talk to take the round for the vic.
Verdict: Calicoe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Calicoe – “He tried check me [Checkmate!], you a hundred pounds with no goons, what you got speed Chess? you getting clocked right after your move!”
Recap: Did Danny Myers think that his opening rounds were so fire here that he get away with a lazy 3rd? Or is he battling so much (again) that he just didn’t have the time to conceive a better final round? I’d love to know. Because after splitting (had the more prolific-punching and slightly more haymare-lit Ave edging round 1, before a rebuttal-crazy, wordplay-spicy and versatile Danny handily took round 2) the 1st couple of rounds here vs. Ave on this URL Any Given Sunday card, the Bar God would surprisingly use the same metaphorical, name-dropping angle that he infamously used against Drugz in their battle a couple of years back. But this time with a topsy-turvy effect that clearly wasn’t suited for a large crowd. And with that, it’d be a personal-heavy, brazen and righteous punching Ave who would easily take the deciding round for the win.
Verdict: Ave (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ave – “The only way to take Ave light is in a funeral line!”
Recap: If Lu Castro really does want to be on MTV’s Wild ‘n Out, at the very leasst he’s certainly earned a try-out as his often electrifying performances in battle rap remain consistently fiery. And while Lu does need to make inroads with his pen game, when it comes to made-for-TV hijinks and capabilties, the guy certainly belongs somewhere. And perhaps Lu’s charisma and synergy are why a vet/TV star like Charlie Clips would request a battle with him and show him a thing or two on how to reach the next level. The Harlem great putting on a superb showing in this 3-round URL Any Given Sunday match with a gang of fire rebuttals, mocking personals, piercing punchlines, stifling lyrical bangers, jaunty schemes (esp. that round 1 ‘big dog’ special) and righteous darts that despite 3 mostly solid rounds from Big Lu, still garnered the aggressively consistent Clips a 30.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “Hey nigga, if this .4 hit ya, all dogs go to heaven Lu, don’t let the Lord get you, potato on a barrel, I’ll turn a .45 into a dog whistle!”
Recap: Effectively scoring with a gang of gritty/rapid one-two punches and a bunch of witty barbs, in this 3-rounder from The Battle Academy, Kaboom takes advantage of one too many slip-ups by Danny Myers in round 1 to take the opener and then after losing out to the more name flip/punch-heavy Bar God in round 2, edges the deciding 3rd with another run of piercing bars that haymaker wise out-lit his opponent just enough to get the win.
Verdict: Kaboom (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Kaboom – “Bitch, you’ll get leaned with a stick like a kickstand, I’ll shoot a couple in ya face like Kiss Cam!”
Recap: After a debatable round 1 of this much anticipated URL Resolution 2 match between Ave Verb and Eazy The Block Captain, a couple of seismic, gritty, punch-heavy, personal-lit and witty rounds by Eazy in both of the latter rounds (including a round 2 classic) gives the Gun Titles general the win. Eazy, on go from jump, but still battling a habit of longwindedness (which hurt him a bit in round 1) with his rounds, really impressed with his versatility here. The Philly battler also displaying well-thought out themes, some fire schemes, getting righteous when needed and even buttoning up his usual need for trap talk a bit. And while Verb kept it competitive with a fiery and braggadocios opening round as well as a virtuous and hard-hitting at times 3rd, a mostly pedestrian middle round combined with Eazy raining down haymakers with fierce abandon, gave the St. Louis vet little chance at winning.
Verdict: Eazy The Block Captain (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Eazy The Block Captain – “You called me out nigga, I accepted, you made your muthafuckin’ bed, ‘cuz I will not lose to a nigga who take a rubberband out his braids and shakes his muthafuckin’ head!”
Recap: A solid rebuttal to begin things in case the battle ends up close, but a filthy barrage of hardbody street rhymes, boastful barbs, fiery name flips/gun bars and consistently gritty punches ends up doing the trick for Cortez, who after witnessing a gang of piercing punches/personals from a competitive Statz G, would need the whole clip to score more haymakers and beat back his opponent in what was a competitive 1-rounder from Houston Bar Code.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “Shit get ugly when the blade cut his cheek at a acute [a cute] angle!”
Recap: Considering that they were once ‘boys’ you had to know that Hollow Da Don vs. DNA was going to get pretty personal at times. What one didn’t expect tho was to what extent it’d go personally or how emotional Hollow–a longtime vet and a guy who almost always keeps it professional on stage–would get here, which in the end would help in him losing the battle. A 3-round matchup on URL’s Resolution 2 card that was also a pretty tense at times, aggressive and spirited on both sides and competitive throughout certainly lived up to the hype that these two Queens, NY, heads (who both go back all the way to the days of Grind Time) had long built up. Indeed, while Hollow would slow flashes of brilliance in the early rounds with his noted unorthodox punches/personals and maelstrom of wit, it wouldn’t be till the final round that he’d be able to keep up with his opponent’s versatile barrage of potent bars, spicy storytelling/angles/schemes, ill personal breakdowns, witty barbs and off-the-dome heat. As a fly rebuttal/freestyle game by DNA (often in response to Hollow either talking through his rounds or going off on emotional outbursts throughout the battle or awkwardly stopping and re-starting his rounds) combined with a more consistent effort overall would give the former NWX capo the win as he would edge rounds 1 and 2 before a debatable 3rd.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Of course you could tell me about Blackjack, you a drug addict, you took your first hit on 17!”
Recap: In a battle he clearly wanted to win (word has it that not only had Don been wanting to battle A. Ward for at least two years, but the back-n-forth these two were engaging in online after the match was announced got a little testy at times), a versatile and hard-hitting Don Marino gets in his own way once again, choking away what could’ve been a fire 2nd round (after getting edged to a just as punch-lit, but also off-the-dome spicy Ward in round 1) to lose this WarTown Battles 3-rounder, before taking round 3 in a competitive bout that was also laced with fiery personals, schemes and set-ups by both battlers throughout.
Verdict: A. Ward (W) 2-1
Favorite line: A. Ward – “You are a URL benchwarmer, Coach P gets to choose y’all reps!”
Recap: A bit of an oldie from Street Status, but a 3-rounder between MVP and Chef Trez that was still a goodie as the former’s plethora of gritty punches and rich similes kept things close and even had him edging the opening round. However, with an always prepared Trez rocking the crowd and his opponent with a consistent barrage of piercing name flips, spicy rebuttals, fiery gun bars, sizzling punchlines and to top things off, a crazy freestyle coming off a mid-round fight that broke out in the crowd in round 3, it’s the Chef who delivers more than enough treats to take rounds 2 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I’m dumping shots, but I’ll put the gun down ‘cuz I could fucking box, weave game better than a bitch that club a lot!”
Recap: Cortez, who’s been talking a lot lately about needing his peers to start ‘putting respect on my name’, stops by iBattle for a 3-rounder against the lyrical wordsmith that is Xcel and after a debatable and fire-on-both-sides round 1, uses a righteous at times, personal-heavy, gritty, and more punchline-lit rounds 2 and 3 to earn the win over an opponent who gave a game effort, but just couldn’t keep up with Cor’s verbal barrage in the latter two rounds.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “It’s global warming, I make blocks hot for the winter!”
Recap: First, props to XQZ for that “Office Space” bar, as a huge fan myself, I would love to see more of them in battle rap. Moving on, the judges were all on point here. Had the action-packed and slightly punch-heavier Bill Collector also taking the opening round, before getting sloppy with his flow and bars in both of the latter rounds (tho his rebuttals were nice as well as his freesttye ability, because that’s what the vets should be able to do when they find themselves trouble remembering their bars) and leaving his opponent, who was consistently witty and punch/angle-lit (esp. when it came to taking a different approach with the infamous ShowOut punch) throughout, with more than enough room to earn the win in this KOTD tournament S1W20 battle.
Verdict: XQZ (W) 2-1
Favorite line: XQZ – “Bill, we all watch porn so there’s nothing to worry about, just some days you gotta beat those insecurities out!”
Recap: Never count out J. Murda, who in this matchup from RBE against an always off-the-dome ready, punch/gun bar-lit and gritty Chef Trez comes back after getting beat in round 1 with a couple of condensed, punch-heavy (“I’m in the cirb with two ratchets, it’s polygamy!”), wordplay spicy and raucous rounds to edge round 2, before using a couple of fire rebuttals in the 3rd to help him to a debatable final round and make this one a draw.
Verdict: Draw
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I’m more than great, but check this shit, I’ll test this bitch, start disrespecting him, like you Puerto-Rican?…I’ll call you Mexican!”
Recap: As entertaining as this one-round ‘Man vs. Kid’ matchup was between Lil Slap and Danny Myers, when it comes to experience, cognitive ability and verbal hijinks, is it really fair for a vet like Danny to be taking on a teenager in a battle? Of course not. But by now we all know that Danny will literally battle anyone and the fact is that even tho a bunch of his raps were clearly influenced by Geechi Gotti, all that gas from the crowd aside, Lil Slap wasn’t that bad here. The youngster going straight as at Danny with a plethora of fierce punches and personals with many landing on their mark. And while he does need to work on his stage presense, versatility and probably shouldn’t let his very pedestrian homies rap again, for a 1st-timer, Slap definitely showed that if he’s willing to put in the work, he can have a future in battle rap. Other than that, Danny was just Danny here. Leaving the intergalactic mayhem at home and going after Slap with a trio of fire rebuttals, hard-hitting personals, aggressive punchlines, witty barbs, some stellar wordplay/storytelling and well-oiled ‘grown man’ talk, it’s the Bar God who handily gets the win.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “All them times your tooth fell out and you found money under the pillow? that was your Daddy all them days!”
Recap: Now arguably one of the top 5 performers in the game, Jakkboy Maine’s oft-electrifying execution of his bars plugged in with a vocal sound system that’d make Sgt. Larvell Jones proud has definitely helped raise his stock in battle rap. However, here in this one round Banned against Chess, while Jakk served up plenty of surreal moments (including an elastic Bronx dance move that even had his opponent showing love), an elongated turn with a little too much filler plus a more versatile, witty at times, personal/punch-heavier and wordplay/name flip spicy Chess would give the latter the win in what overall was one of the better battles from this last-minute card.
Verdict: Chess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chess – “All these made up words and never slang shit in your life?!”
Recap: Offsetting a creative use of the stage lights by his opponent with a fire rebuttal to start off his round before dialing up a plethora of fiery trap talk, salacious wordplay/struggle bars and some fire punches (without a single mention, as EK had suggested he would earlier, of his Caucasian better half), T-Top puts together enough work to beat back a punch-heavy and versatile, but not as steadily potent turn by Emerson Kennedy in this 1-round Banned battle from URL.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I had to watch my cousin shootig heroin in the living room, you came in this world with money, but I was born with a silver spoon!’
Recap: From URL’s recent Initiation 2 card, in a close battle soaked in plenty of hard-hitting trap talk, rigid struggle bars and gritty punchlines from both sides, the slightly more consistently spicy, personal, set-up/storytelling-lit and wordplay heavy Kyd Slade edges rounds 2 and 3 (call round 1 debatable) for the win over Real Name Brandon.
Verdict: Kyd Slade (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Kyd Slade – “We not the same, you nigga’s re-up money is pocket change, I swap my gun with his gun, I been good at the stock exchange!”
Recap: From RBE, a couple of things we learned from this battle: Bigg K is still hilarious and punch-lit as ever and when you consider that displaying some wit helped him spout his best round (rd. 2) here, in the future Jae Millz may want to consider showing off his funny bone in battles more instead of complaining about battlers who in his eyes joke too much. That said, more condensed while dropping a bunch of crazy similes, rich storytelling and witty personals throughout each round, it’s K who earns the 3-0 despite what was overall a pretty solid, gritty and punch-worthy effort from Millz.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bigg K – “Suck a drag queen dick, I will slap and lean your shit, this is personal like asking what vaccine you get?!”
Recap: Death is something you don’t come back from and neither is Geechi Gotti’s round here. The 2021 Champion Male Battler of the Year getting his 2022 off to a tremendous start with a complete obliteration of Mike P in this 1-round Banned matchup from URL. Indeed, whether it was sublime personals on everything from his opponent’s man-bun to continually hard-hitting darts going at Mike’s girl to hard street rhymes that glistened with that real talk the Compton, CA native is known for, in his first battle of the year Gotti not only gets off a classic, but effectively dismisses to the crowd of onlookers anything Mike had to say (tho it was pretty raucous and solid) afterwards.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Caffiene, just ‘cuz this nigga play Call of Duty for y’all for a living don’t mean ypu mean you gotta keep giving him Black opps!”
Recap: Able to offset a gritty and often sublime-punching Reed Dollaz with a wicked freestyle game to go along with a barrage of hardbody punches/personals, fierce wordplay and stinging name flips/set-ups of his own in a more condensed and versatile 2nd round (after Reed took round 1) before handily the 3rd, Ill Will does just enough to get the win in what was a pretty dope and competitive 3-rounder from RBE.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “2 baretta’s, chop over the shoulder…like a masseuse!”
Recap: Against the witty at times and often raucous/bullish raps from Real Sikh, JC immediately goes for the kill, using a gang of morbid bangers, unwholesome name flips/wordplay, graphic mayhem and sick punchlines to get the win in this competitive 1-rounder from URL’s Banned card.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “I’m that nice, I could clap twice and the room get lit!”
Recap: What’s up with Dot Mobb members getting so agitated when going up against Bonnie Godiva and she spits some crew-laced personals at them (see Bonnie vs. OG Prana)? Either way, despite a pretty solid (tho he did go overboard with the name flips) and gritty performance from LL Coogi, it’s a more condensed, less filler-prone, colorful scheme dishing and punch-heavy Bonnie who edges this Rap Committee 1-rounder for the win.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “I am arranging your death, your name Coogi, so I figured something colored would fit!”
Recap: From Verbal War Zone, a pretty straightforward verdict here that might’ve been helped by the one the best off-the-dome battlers in the game, Chef Trez, possibly finding himself unable to rebuttal due to his having to rap over beats. Who knows. Either way, a gritty affair on both sides that saw Trez easily out-punch opponent Da Bull Boog in round 1 before Boog handily returned the favor in both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Da Bull Boog (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Da Bull Boog – “Nigga left me unseen, almost unfollowed him, hit me with the silent treatment, hit him with a silencer!”
Recap: From The Rap Committee, only a week after her Yoshi G battle, a slightly more consistent Pristavia uses a gang of blistering punchlines/schemes, some intertwined Godspeak, noble name flips and a bunch of piercing personals to take the 1st and 3rd rounds and beat back a righteous, wordplay-heavy at times and witty/personal-lit C3 in what was a competitive 3-rounder.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pristavia – “This was a foolish intent, I’m as true as it get, I’ll go to every crib you ever lived in and burn up all your dresses…like you as a kid!”
Recap: MyVerse is such an anomaly. Has the skills and wants to sit at the table and eat with the top tier female battle rappers, but always has an excuse not to battle one of them. Still, after yet another long hiatus away from battle rap, as clearly seen here in this Rap Committee 1-round matchup against Chetta, the ‘Sex Symbol’ can still rap her ass off. Whether sporting some dope multi’s or a bunch of fiery punchlines or some gritty name flips and witty/mocking personals, even during a round that was a little longwinded, versus the repeated bully bars and aggressive mayhem from her opponent that at times became a little redundant, the versatile Verse delivers more than enough heat to earn the win.
Verdict: MyVerse (W) 1-0
Favorite line: MyVerse – “You’ve had that twinkie up in your purse for weeks, it’s only right for a fat bitch to feeding her insecurity!”
Recap: From IBattle, pretty solid, gritty and at times personal-lit effort by Lavelle The Artist still gets edged in all 3 rounds by an off-the-dome spicy, gun bar-heavy and more consistently punch/wordplay spazzing Chef Trez who frankly speaking needs to get some big name plates this year.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I got hella choppers, a hundred different stocks like Nasdaq!”
Recap: Hey, even Fonz (who had all the material and hitting punches here, but was hurt by one too many slip-ups and an elongated turn) in his opening bar acknowledged Drugz’s incredible ability to quickly prepare for a battle. Add to that a cleaner flow, a bit lengthy but well-crafted punches, superb Ave angles and a bunch of aggressive/blazing heaters, gives the Gun Show the win and a bit of an upset in this 1-round Banned battle from URL.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Put the piece up to his roof, he could see the leg dump, then give Fonz a shell, it’s a Easter egg hunt!”
Recap: A grudge match long in the waiting, it takes Remy Ma’s new league, Chrome 23, to set up and stage QB Black Diamond vs. 40 B.A.R.R.S for 3 rounds. And while the face off between these two opps was crazy and lit, outside of a pretty dope round 1 (which an unabashedly disrespectful, totally vicious and punch-heavy QB edged), the battle itself turned out to be pretty one-sided as a mure steady with the heat 40 just proved to be too much in the latter rounds. The Boston native (who’s only flaw here was a bit of longwindedness with her rounds) flexing in rounds 2 and 3 with a gang of potent punchlines, spirited/nifty wordplay and in giving her opponent some of her own medicine, a bunch of hard-hitting personals that combined to handily beat back a couple of topsy-turvy turns by her longtime rival and earn the win for 40.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “Who say Diamond studded, buddy was always at the clinic ‘cuz that kitty had a leak, shit was like Remy prison visit’s gotta Pap every week!”
Recap: As yet another reminder on why you can’t take the URL App vote seriously, despite Nu Jerzey Twork choking away this 1-round Banned battle to Real Name Brandon, somehow he still had 2,000-plus votes stating that he won as I write this recap. SMD. That said (and no disrespect to RNB who with his consistently-lit punches, stinging personals and spiffy wordplay, was just straight fire here), with the dominating storyline coming out of this battle being NJT choking once again, who’s to blame (to the point that his current manager Anwar and ex-manager Rome DMV had a heated back-n-forth online about who managed Twork better) and what to do about it, here’s some unsolicited advice for Twork (who when it’s all said and done has no one to blame but himself for his continual mishaps): no more distractions leading up to battles. As in, within the 48 hours leading up to a battle, no going out, drinking or partying, no phone calls (unless of course, it’s an emergency) and no stupid Twitter beefs (in fact, stay off social media altogether). No anything. Nothing but staying on lockdown and practicing his rounds over and over again right up to the battle (and that even includes any pre-battle interviews) to the point that they’re so embedded in his head, that hopefully he’s never capable of choking again. Hey, if professional athletes can take away the distractions while they prepare for a big match, then so can Twork (esp. when you consider the amount of $$$ he’s being paid nowadays). And if his manager can’t make sure he has no distractions beforehand, then Twork should find himself a new one.
Verdict: Real Name Brandon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Real Name Brandon – “You thought you was gonna get up here and push a fat nigga around?, I ain’t Norbes at all!”
Recap: In what was a much needed win after taking a hiatus from battle rap to get herself re-energized after going through what had to be a humiliating losing streak, O’fficial uses a gang of bruising punchlines, fiery name flips, a fly opening round freestyle, spicy angles and some flexing gun bars/wordplay to take rounds 1 and 3 (call the 2nd round debatable) and get the win in this Chrome 23 matchup against fellow Bardashian Casey Jay, who while delivering a trio of fiery turns that gamely displayed her lyrical dexterity, overall just couldn’t keep with her opponent’s steadier heat.
Verdict: O’fficial (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O’fficial – “She was afraid of coffins way before Covid, she was at the end of rounds way before slogans, I was stopping nigga’s waves way before Moses!”
Recap: The 1st battle from Remy Ma’s new Chrome 23 league, Yoshi G. vs Pristavia, turns out for the most part (I don’t know what was up with that light guy being all up in the visuals and battlers face’s) to be a goodie with Yoshi getting her lyrical swerve on to make things competitive while a versatile, punch-heavy and even witty (esp. in round 3) Pristavia more than lived up to the hype (and her recent Gun Titles recruitment) with a trio of fire turns that more than kept the crowd in tune. That said, thanks in part to Yoshi getting her Murda Mook on with 3 elongated rounds that while hitting and thot-provoking at times were each loaded with way too much filler, while her opponent finessed the stage with everything from fire rebuttals to heavy-handed punchlines (esp. during a classic round 1) to fiery Godspeak to piercing name flips/similes to a well-crafted round 3 that flipped the script on anyone who might’ve predicted that the Christian rapper would get preachy with the Thot Queen, this battle would not only amount to a shutout but prove to be Pristavia’s finest outing yet.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Pristavia – “How is she the savage?, one call for a hit and you all will get killed, clip longer than your father’s trip to the store to get milk!”
Recap: While a more condensed and mostly scheme/punch-lit Couture did her thing (without much use of props btw) during this Chrome23 bout, Ms. Hustle may want to look in the mirror and blame herself for losing. A very close loss, but a loss nonetheless. And here’s part of the reason why: a creative and highly personal, but poorly executed 3rd round that was set-up well (tho Anderson Burruss or someone from her EFB clique would’ve been a better choice to play the commenter) and made plenty of sense when she brought out Ms. Pak (considering her and Couture’s notorious past on QOTR), but didn’t utilize her fully and altogether was topsy-turvy when it came to the punches. And with the battle tied (had Hustle edging round 1 and Couture edging round 2) going into the 3rd, after Hustle wrapped up her wayward turn, all Couture needed to do was stay consistent with her game plan, a versatile, well-themed, consistent, personal/aggressive when need be and witty at times effort that got her the final round for the win and locked down her top tier status.
Verdict: Couture (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Couture – “The East coast is popping, but you out here throwing up [tosses some nuts out on the stage] ‘Nut!’ like you from Compton!”
Recap: Dope 1-rounder from URL’s Banned card sees a lyrically spicy, punch-lit at times and versatile (including a solid rebuttal) Nunn Nunn give one of his more consistently jarring rounds to make things competitive. Yet, for all of his opponent’s heat, a well-equipped Rum Nitty would have an answer. The Phoenix, AZ, vet using his turn to deliver a barn-burner of potent set-ups, stinging name flips, fire similes and hard-hitting wordplay/metaphors.personals to score more than enough haymakers for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Nothing nice, you fittin’ to get smoked, y’all think this nigga lit bro?, whole career a fuckin’ joke, even spell his name with an innuendo!”
Recap: A friendly-fire affair with a cameo appearance from Rosenberg Raw (whom Bill Collector, in a sudden change of heart, really wants to battle now) in round 3, this highly entertaining 3-rounder from RBE turned out to be a real goodie. Swave Sevah, excellently mixing it up throughout with a flexing punch game, pointed storytelling/street tutorials, witty personals and piercing set-ups, still came to win when he wasn’t constantly dapping up his opponent. While BC, ever the showman, parlayed his enthusiam for batlling his longtime friend with 3 sturdy rounds of rich performance bars, some dope chain punching/wordplay (including what seemed like a fierce Daylyt impression), fiery (“You should’ve just took on Bill…dine and dash!”) personals/punches and resident jokes. A fire battle all the way through the end, we got Bill edging a fire-on-both-sides round 1, Swave taking the 2nd and a debatable 3rd which fittingly makes this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Swave Sevah – “No discretion, heart turns cold when I hold the weapon, lead off and re-load the Wesson and commit stickup’s with snub noses like Covid testing!”
Recap: A lyrical barn burner on both ends as well as a semi-rematch of their previous 2-on-2 matchup (where B. Dot teamed up with Real Sikh to face Kid Chaos and Arsonal), B. Dot’s continuously flexing punches that were often intertwined with some killer personals, stinging gun bars and sizzling wordplay/name flips are just enough to beat back a more scheme-heavy and often stifling, but not-as-consistently spicy run by Chaos in this altogether dope one round Banned battle from URL.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 1-0
Favorite line: B. Dot – “I never wanted this Kid…Tristan Thompson!”
Recap: Kind of weird watching a battle where like half the audience could care less about the battle (much less making noise while the battle proceeds) going on right in front of them. Nonetheless, in what was pretty much a boastful, street bars/gritty punchfest, the more consistently harder-hitting and less pedestrian-bar prone Swamp gets the win over Black Aladdin in this 1-rounder from Black Elite Battle League.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “I’m the type of nigga, if you play stupid, they only gonna talk about how I shot him, Rest in Peace to Kendrick Johnson, it should’ve been this nigga they found rolled up in a carpet…not him!”
Recap: WRGB judged video battle that was originally planned for 3 rounds, but was knocked down to two after an already down 0-2 Pash Porter decided that she didn’t want to kick her 3rd sees Bonnie Godiva get downright mean and personal with it. The Yonkers, NY, vet dialing up a gang of bruising punchlines, fiery wordplay/schemes, piercing domestic drama allegations and even a sonnagram to top it off and get the win over an opponent who while scoring at times with some gritty punches, couldn’t overcome a 1st round choke, the fact that she had to read her bars during her 2nd round and of course, Bonnie’s lyrical dominance.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 2-0
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “You wanted Nuborn ‘cuz you was a new born that was never claimed, picked Nuborn and had a newborn you didn’t save?!
Recap: Two battlers from the school of unbridled mayhem, Danny Myers and Rio Nkosi, go at it for 1 virtual round on The Riot and it’s the veteran Danny who dishes a more substantial and punch-heavy discourse to earn the win.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “We don’t do paper work, we handle business off blood vials!”
Recap: From Onsite Battle League, a close 3-rounder with plenty of fiery gun bars, steely name flips, gritty punchlines and outright mayhem, despite some added spicy wordplay/set-ups and mocking personals from Stretch Millz, a more metaphor/similes-lit and consistently brazen with the punches Young Kannon manages to edge the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Keep ya grip tight, two hands on a .12, you wanna die at noon or midnight?!”
Recap: Gotta admit to kinda missing Cortez’s old ‘top tier money’ outro. That said, in this 1-rounder from GOTG, Cort’s rapid blasts of mayhem, nuanced heat and more rigid punches/personals work to enough effect to beat back a pretty solid overall, but too often-reaching turn from Dre Dennis.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “You stand still or the steel drawn, this arm? it lift a pole, I’m just showing him real form!”
Recap: In this one round Banned battle from URL, while the performance-heavy material was there for Shotgun Suge, the preparation just wasn’t as a handful of slip-ups from Suge along with a gritty, versatile, punch-heavy and clean-flowing Ryda gives the latter the win.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ryda – “The only time I care about what your life like is in an obituary!”
Recap: A dope, one-round punchfest with a bunch of hardbody lines, spicy personals and head-ringing similes on both sides, it’s the more direct, versatile, scheme-heavy and haymaker-lit Pristavia who gets the win over Nunchi Chinks in this battle brought to you by Queen of the Ring.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Pristavia – “Before I was rapping, I was still a beast, wasn’t trapping but concealed a piece, kept the .40 with the .9 like they got married in the Middle East!”
