Recap: Rookies vs. Vets battle between Quban and a solid throughout, but nothing momentous Young Kannon, what with a debatable 2nd and 3rd round, comes down to the 1st which saw a boxer’s robe-clad Quban deftly apply a pugilist mentality to his lyrics, bobbing, weaving and scoring with a bunch of stinging 4-bar setups, some fire wordplay, fly name flips and hitting punchlines to take the round and the win.
Verdict: Quban (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Quban – “I’m weighing in at 175 pounds and reach doesn’t matter when I’m walking ’em down!”
Recap: O’fficial can rap her ass off and that’s cool. But sometimes one can’t help but wonder if she’d notch some more wins on her belt if she matched her proficiency for bars with sturdier angles and less redundancy. That said, it should also be noted that O’fficial always shows up and when one of the few knocks on you is lack of preparation as is the case with 40 B.A.R.R.S., that’s an advantage in which the Bardashian rapper–displaying a versatile mix of fiery punchlines, spirited personals and flexing mayhem–can fully cop to, especially after 40 (after using some dope wordplay to take round 1, before a punch-heavy and condensed O’fficial took round 2) choked away the deciding 3rd round.
Verdict: O’fficial (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O’fficial – “Shit wearing in your chest at times, you not ready, everybody want to be O’fficial, but not at the top heavy!”
Recap: URL/QOTR Watch the Throne battle between Casey Jay and Bonnie Godiva spouts a gang of spicy punchlines, some dope wordplay, a handful of Math Hoffa mentions, a boatload of lit personals (including a sublime rebuttal from Casey in round 2) and plenty of mayhem while staying competitive throughout. However, a spitfire and uber-personal 2nd round by Bonnie Godiva along with enough quality punches in the deciding 3rd round to out-ratio a pretty solid, but also elongated and angle-excessive turn by Casey Jay gives Bonnie the edge in the final round and the win.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “It’s a shame to see, the type of pussy no one claims in the league!”
Recap: Griping about your opponent coming with Remy Ma mention’s when you were one half of one the most infamous female rap battles in recorded history seems a little strange to me, but what can you do. Either way, Lady Luck vs. Ms. Hustle, while showcasing that the veteran Luck can still bring it lyrically, a way more consistently spicy (and professional, what with Luck often talking while Hustle rapped) Hustle took it to another level via 3 rounds of raucous darts, piercing name flips, head-twisting personals, razor-sharp punchlines and some excellent wordplay to score a 30.
Verdict: Ms. Hustle (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ms. Hustle – “I bet you walk around with your strap-on all day, I could bet my life you stand up and pee!”
Recap: Fire battle between the versatile/punch-heavy Viixen the Assassin and a gun/wordplay-lit First Ladii Flamez ends up–after the two split the first two rounds (Flamez taking the 1st round, while Viixen edged the 2nd)–with a turned up Flamez saving her best round of the night with a resounding 3rd, a turn that saw the Richmond, VA, spitter shine throughout with top-notch lyrical efficiency that spouted haymaker after haymaker via gritty stylings, an effective change in cadence and piercing personals/punchlines to beat back another dope and angle-lit round from the Assassin, however this time with no kiss on the cheek necessary.
Verdict: First Ladii Flamez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: First Ladii Flamez – “Kindergarten vibe…I don;t draw nuthin’ but large 9’s!”
Recap: Punching with superlative conviction for 3 straight rounds while flexing with a boatload of righteous single black mother semantics, piercing/scathing personals, stunted lyrical heaters/schemes, boastful barbs and well-executed wordplay, Yoshi G lessens the thot bar antics for pure emcee idolatry while beating back a snapping, punch-heavy and hitting at times, but a bit personal-redundant and lethargic Tori Doe in what was still a competitive 3-rounder from URL/QOTR’s Watch the Throne 4 card.
Verdict: Yoshi G (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Yoshi G – “Me swallowing babies, you killing babies, no way you’re matching me!”
Recap: From No Coast New England, a good 1-rounder between Chilla Jones and CGA sees the latter get aggressive and score with some bombastic punchlines and hard-hitting personals. But a more versatile and steady with the heat Mr. Jones, whether he was delivering some piercing gun bars, flexing metaphorical wordplay, mocking personals, fire schemes or scintillating punches/name flips, ends up earning the win here.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “Young Christmas, ‘cuz you so muthafuckin’ gifted?!, not at all, how about we change your name to Young New Years Eve?…you about to drop the ball!”
Recap: The nuanced wordplay and stifling rap flow of Dot Everything always keeps things buzzing. But in this rooftop 1-rounder from Shots Fired Battle League, an aggressive, name flip-spazzing, meatier with the punches and consistently spicy Emerson Kennedy gets the win.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “I catch a case then I break, bitch I’m leaving Cali smooth [Smoove]!”
Recap: Can’t front, I was looking forward to seeing a version of that ‘Squad’ scheme Your Honor has made famous. And while we missed out on that, The District’s favorite did give us a newfound (and hilarious) way of talking through your round when you’ve forgotten your bars, as he did here vs. Ill Will in the 3rd. Not that better preparation would’ve mattered much as outside of a dope opener to force a debatable 1st round, this one was all Ill Will as Yak-town’s finest pulled off yet another sublime display of stifling punchlines, raucous darts, sizzling name flips and festering personals that more than left their mark to handily take the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Already killed John John, now I’m putting Honor amongst thieves!”
Recap: A couple of spiffy freestyles for the Swamp tag-in-turned-cameo only displayed an ounce of the Bear’s versatility here, as T Top also drops a wide mix of fierce 4-bar set-ups, piercing punchlines, rigid name flips/gun bars and boastful shiners to beat back a solid, but mostly unvaried effort from Devy Ruffin in this 1-rounder brought to you by LetsTalkAboutIt TV.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I’ll let a razor come out, he leak, he leak, it’ll be like Spanish women kissing…cheek to cheek!”
Recap: While Eaze certainly made an emphatic case on being a good dad, threw some piercing shots at O’fficial’s girl group The Bardashians and provided some other noteworthy punches, in this 1-rounder from Zoo Battle League, a more direct and fully-clipped O’fficial, steadily armed while dishing plenty of righteous heat/punchlines, startling amounts of mayhem and aggressive name flips, earns the win.
Verdict: O’fficial (W) 1-0
Favorite line: O’fficial – “I clean house with the sweeper like I told ya to leave me!”
Recap: Granted, his 3rd round rebuttal was fire and a shitload of fiery punchlines and personals kept Nunn Nunn in the bout. But a couple of questionable tactical decisions by the North Carolina rapper: two elongated rounds (esp. in the 3rd, where after a blazing start, Nunn was clearly losing steam towards the end) and filler bars spent complaining about getting the likes of Shotgun Suge for your next battle after a tournament in which you did well, but didn’t win (or even make it to the final round) would hurt Nunn in the end, while giving a way more condensed Suge–dope (esp. in round 1) and witty throughout with the ‘white boy/junkie’ themes and also scoring with a gang of spirited name flips and piercing gun bars/punches–a close win.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “God asked me to have a heart…nah, I got one [Nunn] for you!”
Recap: Way too soon to state that Glueazy’s fallen off. But is the hunger for battle rap still there? Only he can answer that, although some recent showings by Glu of late have started to produce whispers. And even getting away and venturing to the West-coast doesn’t seem to help Glu as in this 3-rounder from The Riot Network versus LL The Mayor, while some of the flexing punches we’re used to seeing from him are there, a lack of preparation gets in the way what with the former Gooonie failing to overcome slip-ups in both of the latter rounds after a pretty gritty 1st. And those unforced errors by Glu combined with a consistently raucous, righteous-spitting and solid-punching Mayor scoring a 30.
Verdict: LI The Mayor (W) 3-0
Favorite line: LI The Mayor – “They don’t call me The Mayor because I’m a Republican or a Democrat, nigga they call me The Mayor ‘cuz when nigga’s send shots, I’m in my hood politicking how we gonna send them back!”
Recap: Fire battle between Mr. Wavy and Drugz features a shitload of eccentric gun bars, performance-heavy showmanship, fiery personals (esp. from Drugz during a superb 3rd round: ‘You tore the building down verse this nigger [points at K-Shine looking on in the crowd] like literally…but you never did it again!’), stunted lyrical shiners (esp. during round 1) and a host of formidable punchlines. And while Wavy may have went a little overkill with the name flips (as is expected against Drugz), most of them were pretty dope, while the always aggressive Drugz flexed a versatile game that often gets overlooked when it comes to The Gun Show. That said, an equal ratio of haymakers in the 1st round makes that one a tie, before Wavy clearly took the 2nd round with a standout and an almost flawless turn that gave the Brooklyn rhymer the edge going into a final round. And while Wavy was still cooking plenty of heat in the 3rd, an aforementioned sublime turn by Drugz would give him the round and force a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Mr. Wavy – “You barely made a name after the group…this nigger Kelly Rowland!”
Recap: A couple of dudes we haven’t seen on the battle rap stage in a while, Mack Mel and D.O.T., meet up for a Banned URL battle and it’s a goodie with Mack’s serving up a gang of gritty street boasts, loaded gun lines and steely punchlines/personals, while the returning ‘Reach Gawd’ came through with his notorious palette of young G-theatrics amongst moments of witty banter/name flips/punches, trap talk and protruding reaches. A competitive battle throughout, the main difference here was the consistently spicy Mack unloading with enough steady heat to take the first two rounds with nary a sign of ring rust. On the other hand, while overall D.O.T. (minus his usual hypeman Gwitty) impressed here and there (esp. in Rd. 3 to force a debatable), too many dry spots and pedestrian bars from the BK spitter would assist in him losing the battle.
Verdict: Mack Mel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mack Mel – “.22 3’s, blow through his stomach, leave his liver cracked, now D.O.T. [dot] body on the floor…it’s a Twister match!”
Recap: For as many resounding gun bars and pure, utter mayhem Dre Dennis can toss at you on any given night, the execution doesn’t matter much when you know how often you’re going to get lit up and tattered to shreds. Still, a pretty solid showing by Dennis gets edged by A. Ward, who’s combination of mocking personals, hitting punchlines, witty barbs, rich storytelling and Christian-tinged darts were not only well-executed, but showed off a slightly more versatile pen to gain the edge here in this highly competitive 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: A. Ward (W) 1-0
Favorite line: A. Ward – “If I smoke you it’s ‘My bad Ward, the editing is taking some time’, if you smoke me, A. Ward versus Dre Dennis dropping later tonight!”
Recap: Both battlers offering righteous rhythms, but also playing the part of charlatan in their bars all the while keeping it entertaining and competitive throughout the battle, in this 3-rounder from URL, Yoshi G and Bill Collector appealed to their fans when it came to providing a lively performance (tho I think Yoshi’s final round kneel-down could’ve played out better). Yet, outside of a versatile/lyrically stunting and sublime 2nd round takedown by Yoshi, it’s a performance/punch-heavier and wittier Bill Collector who takes round 1, before edging the deciding 3rd partly due to some spicy personals to earn the win.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “You be trying to fuck all these broke battle rap nigger’s when you shoulda just fucked Smack…bitch, we would’ve been the main event!”
Recap: Competitive 1-rounder from TakeOff Battle League finds Lord Rose delivering a lengthy, but pretty solid screed of raucous raps, boastful darts and tasty name flips. But a way more condensed Jet The Nitewing, scoring left and right with delicious wordplay, righteous set-ups and festive punchlines/personals/name flips and also helped too by quite a few dry spots from his opponent, gets the edge here.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “I’m from the West my nigga, but I could be so Tampa with it, crack his shit open, pick his brains, yunno, tamper with it!”
Recap: In his first return to battle rap after getting the Covid, Don Marino impresses all the way through his 3 rounds, spouting that Mexican pride but also dishing a boatload of spicy personals (at opponent Marvwon and the host Smack), intense struggle bars, some fiery wordplay and piercing punchlines/gun bars. For the veteran Marvwon, while rarely seen on the URL stage, the Detroit vet’s often-witty punch-game kept things competitive and was sublime at times, but an overall topsy-turvy showing along with Don’s comeuppance here would still give Marino the shutout.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I had small leagues bidding for me and Nitty, they was calling soon, I use that plate to cover this plate, like I’m leaving the BBQ”
Recap: At his best when he’s rapping with a purpose (instead of just trying to out-rap you), deftly breaking down his opponent, tossing in some dope sports flips/4-bar setups and dropping nimble gems within his rapid-fire punches, Murda Mook serves up a consistent, personal-lit and fiery mix of all three to beat back (we score it as a debatable 1st round, followed by Mook edging the 2nd and 3rd) a dope, gun-bar heavy and also personal-driven Tay Roc in this much-anticipated and competitive battle from URL.
Verdict: Murda Mook (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Murda Mook – “The hammer clap, ’til the handle burn like candle wax, Tre on your hat, you don’t even get a Chance to rap, dead rappin’ better promotion, see his fans react, I told Smack, ‘I need chicken’, he sent the Family pack!'”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from GOTG, Young Kannon’s versatile array of vivid gun bars, mocking personals and slightly more consistently hitting punchlines/similes beat back a pretty solid, mayhem-lit and witty at times effort from a rapid-flowing, but not-quite-as-steady Yung Deezy.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Stop wolfin’ cousin before I shoot the shit like a good discussion!”
Recap: Despite some so-so name flips, a pretty solid, punch-heavy at times showing from Brixx while making things competitive, still wasn’t enough to beat a more versatile, angle-savvy and consistently lit Bonus in this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Bonus (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bonus – “Tre-8, revolver spinning like the cake mixer!”
Recap: While a brazen, hardbody showing here by Ms. Miami (her 3rd round being her best) here should warrant her receiving more plates from battle leagues in the future, a battling-for-the-second-time-in-one-day Ill Will not only impresses with his rife for spitting bars, but also with a barrage of braggadocios sexual exploits, head-ringing punchlines, witty/boastful darts, piercing name flips and festive gun bars, giving Will, more importantly, enough distinguished and consistent heat to take the first 2 rounds for the win in this Born Legacy bout from URL.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Your name is Ms. Miami from Queens, what’s the reason?, Hi, my name is Mr. Oklahoma from Cleveland!”
Recap: One-rounder from Alpha League Rap Battles finds the bullish/raucous punches of Ace Boogie serving up a fiery plate that should get her a lot of fresh looks in the future. But even on a day where it looked like she might stumble at times, Casey Jay gets enough sips of that water to stay on her feet, spout a hot series of fierce name flips, illicit gun bars and piercing punchlines/personals to edge the win.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “I’ll cause a scene, [lifts arm like a gun to point at Ace Boogie] bald head, turn Ace Boogie into Ace Amin!”
Recap: Fonz’s boatload of boastful shiners, head-ringing bully talk and consistently spicy punchlines/name flips scores with enough haymakers to beat back a gritty and pretty solid effort from Drew B in this competitive 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “You a homi, I bang cans, hang man, Drew a body!”
Recap: Saving his best round for the deciding 3rd against a confident, but sometimes pedestrian opponent who still brought him to the edge via a boatload of punch-heavy darts on a variety of themes, after getting edged in round 1 and then handily taking the 2nd, Th3 Saga uses a barrage of piercing name flips, dope wordplay and raucous punchlines to beat back a pretty solid effort from N8.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I love the strap, try me fam, an ugly smack, he wobbly damn, then double-tap…Zombieland!”
Recap: 3rd round was iffy for both battlers (tho a choke by G Will helped B. Magic edge the turn), but in the opening rounds of this 3-rounder from West Coast Elites, B. Magic and G Will unleashed a gritty and mayhem-friendly punchfest that the slightly more personal, condensed and haymaker-lit Will took by taking both the 1st and 2nd rounds for the win.
Verdict: G Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: G Will – “But your career, you used to be crazy, you used to go hard, now your shit is like a dirty Uber driver, you ain’t got no stars!”
Recap: While the disrespect was certainly there (esp. in the latter rounds), for the most part Arsonal puts them aside and instead relies on a rugged combo of hardbody punchlines, stinging name flips, witty barbs, boastful darts and steely gun bars to beat back an overall solid, raucous and dicey with the personals at times, but intricacy-lacking and much less consistent O’fficial in this Kings vs Queens 3-rounder from URL.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Arsonal – “You the bitch nigga’s chill with when they ain’t got no money and no more weed to smoke!”
Recap: DNA returns to battle rap after a long hiatus and delivers what you’d expect from ‘The Champ’, a consistently spicy, thorough, name flip-savvy, political/racial-centric, punch-heavy, talking too to Viixen The Assassin, who while showing up with 3 aggressive, momentous at times, wordplay/personal-lit and boastful turns, wandered into a couple of dry spots and a slip-up or two here and there, especially during the 1st and 3rd (which we’ll call a debatable due to so many indirect bars from DNA, tho overall it was still stellar) rounds. For DNA, who may be a victim of some reverse sexism due to the polls on the app of this URL Kings vs. Queens battle, it’s an impressive win nonetheless.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “When we walk in the room, notice they get to staring, I told the culture they don’t deserve me, this the closest I’m a get to Karen!”
Recap: Very likely the most intriguing battle on the 2020 URL Kings vs. Queens card, seeing as they once were a real-life couple, Charlie Clips vs. Couture is not only a chance to see who can rap batter, but also witness the two air all their dirty laundry for all the world to see too. That said, outside of some slip-ups in each round by Clips (which were made up for with plenty of nimble freestyles and sound effects), the bout certainly lived up to the hype with both emcees going all the way in when it came to stinging personals that included (esp. Couture during what was a stellar 2nd round) graphic sexcapades, battle rap couple life, rich storytelling and responsible parenting. Add to that a plethora of heavy-handed punchlines, some fierce wordplay, witty barbs, fire name flips/schemes and boastful shiners and you’re left with an entertaining and competitive matchup with a punch-heavier Clips taking the 1st round, the extra spicy personals of Couture taking the 2nd round and despite Clips getting off to a bit of a sluggish start, with an equal amount of haymakers in a final round that featured a variety of sizzling themes overall, we can call this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Couture – “Sike, I lied nigger, every time we had sex, you almost died nigger!”
Recap: In this Kings vs. Queens battle from URL, C3 uses a gang of spicy personals, well-executed schemes and fierce punchlines to keep it close against Rum Nitty. But Nitty’s wide range of blistering gun bars, boastful shiners, meaty name flips and downright nasty personals are more than enough to take rounds 1 and 3 (call the 2nd a debatable) for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I can’t stunt, I’ve been itching to lace fronts, one of these bitches gonna get it in they head Smack, let’s rap!”
Recap: Huge get for Gates of the Garden, having the likes of a returning-to-battle-rap Young Gattas on their stage after a long hiatus from the scene. And in this 1-rounder versus a pretty solid and consistently gritty Lady Caution, Gattas handles her business without an ounce of rust, verbally assaulting her opponent with an exquisite barrage of spicy punchlines/gun bars, some sizzling wordplay, scorching personals and piercing 4-bar setups for the win.
Verdict: Young Gattas (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Gattas – “I’m armed with two sticks like a fucking snowman!”
Recap: A battle that epitomizes why you shouldn’t run with narratives, how a battler’s popularity can effect views from both his peers and the so-called ‘exprets’ in the battle rap blogger field AND why almost every URL/App vote result can’t be taken seriously, a prolific-punching, personal-lit and wordplay heavy at times Casey Jay edges rounds 1 and 2 of this Kings vs. Queens battle against Swamp for the win. And while Casey still gets the win here, judging from the reaction from nearly the entire battle community, you would’ve thought that Swamp got bodied as the South Carolina battler’s overall pimp stunting, sexual innuendo’s, witty personals, entertaining storytelling and boastful darts (which clearly got him round 3) just seemed to have gotten overlooked in a bout that was close throughout.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “You know I got good delivery, I’ll bring the mill [meal] straight to you…I’m good at catering!”
Recap: A battle 3 years in the making, Snake Eyez versus Geechi Gotti, finally takes place on Gotti’s ‘The Riot’ league and while the final score might not be indicative, for the most part it’s a goodie. The ever-aggressive and raucous Snake, amped up from jump for a battle he’s long wanted, came through with a hardbody and personal/punch-heavy 1st round that seemed to provide proof that he’d be on his A-game throughout the battle. Yet, a more condensed, witty, brazen, metaphor-rich, personal-lit and spitfire turn by Gotti would not only edge Smake’s stellar opening round, but would lead to a battle that was on its way to being a classic, to becoming tense at times and bar-wise, pretty ordinary. Snake, seemingly bothered throughout the battle at the ‘gas’ his opponent was receiving, would let the crowd effect his game plan, often talking through Gotti’s raps, stunting unnecessarily and while his latter two rounds were cold at times, spoke up for Harlem and delivered a talking too when it came to the personals, overall nothing Snake could produce would equal what he dished in the 1st. Meanwhile, confident throughout the battle with an Afro-pick in hand to back his swag, Gotti just kept impressing, scoring with more ‘one eye’-jokes, systematic breakdowns on Snake’s inability to reach top tier status, that ever-ready gang talk, freestyles and piercing punchlines that more often hit than not for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “But don’t you still live with your pops?, you gonna fuck around and get your daddy clapped, weird ass think he an official Crip just because he handicapped!”
Recap: Hey, at least this time it appears that Tsu Surf tried to finish his 3rd round. Still, after getting eked out by a slightly punch-heavier Surf in round 1, 40 B.A.R.R.S.’ gritty wordplay, steely personals, hitting name flips, a fire 3rd round rebuttal and boastful shiners were enough to handily take the latter two rounds as well as the win over an opponent who was not only less potent as the battle proceeded, but with his inability of late to consistently give us 3 smooth rounds, may want to start thinking about taking a break from battle rap.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “You out here burning bitches, talking about you’ll give me that WD easy, when that dick is a clearly apparent how you do bitches greasy!”
Recap: A closer battle then what the reactions and recaps have showed, a performance-rich K-Shine’s raucous rhythms, nasty personals, witty anecdotes, flashy gun bars and piercing punchlines/schemes are enough to give a punch-heavy, but wordplay-moderate and a bit slip-up prone E-Hart, a rare loss (debatable 2nd, but Shine took the 1st and 3rd rounds) in this Kings vs. Queens 3-rounder from URL/Smack.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I changed the game, you ain’t got the same passion as me, Johnny Tapia, about to fill the whole casket with E!”
Recap: After getting beat back by a superbly-executed, gritty and punch-heavy turn from Big Hann in round 1, Swave Sevah takes advantage of a less potent opponent and also uses a variety of witty personals, hardbody bangers, Philly trap talk and requisite mayhem to edge the latter rounds for the win in this Rookies vs. Vets 2, 3-rounder from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Swave Sevah (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swave Sevah – You?, you like the avatar for average bars!”
Recap: Plenty of fire moments in this gritty 3-rounder from RBE between Snake Eyez and Heavy Half (who replaced Head Ice for this match) with the Chicago rhyme-slinger throwing some fiery shots at URL while defending his home RBE turf when he wasn’t spouting a gang of rigid name flips, hitting gun bars and flexing punchlines throughout the battle. Snake Eyez, however, took it up a notch during his turns. The Harlem battler not only scoring with his usual mix of prison life exploits, but also tossing in a slew of spicy wordplay, piercing name flips, boastful darts and hardbody punches to make for a debatable 1st round, before taking the 2nd round and edging the 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “I said little nigga, be happy for this card you on, Omarion…Ice Box!”
Recap: Really dope 3-rounder from West Coast Elites between Da Kid Clutch and Rum Nitty sees Clutch go crazy with a versatile showing of fire personals, gully street darts and rigid name flips/punchlines while Nitty (outside of an extremely short 1st round that he seemingly called quits on due to forgetting his bars) did his part in making this battle sublime with a gang of exceptional gun bars, piercing punchlines and a bit surprisingly (for Nitty anyway) hitting displays of witty barbs and rankling personals. Altogether a close one with Clutch taking the first round and Nitty taking the 2nd, a crazy-on-both-sides 3rd gets edged by a slightly more punch-heavy Nitty to earn the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Torture, lift a stick, blizzy drip, this the last time you gonna see him on the mic [Mike]…’This Is It’!”
Recap: Still recognized all these years later as one of the best punchers in the game, a stumble-free B. Magic flexes his punch-game with a gang of sizzling name flips, piercing wordplay, witty barbs and hitting personals/gun bars to earn a win over a pretty solid, stunting and punch-heavy, but overall not quite-as-potent Coffee Brown in what was a dope 3-round (score it a debatable 1st with Magic edging both of the latter rounds) matchup from URL, that could’ve been even better if not for Danja Zone’s constant overreactions looking on from the crowd.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Magic – “She a thot, had niggas fuckin’ until her tracks fell out, at Coffee crib, they used to call that bitch the Maxwell House!”
Recap: A couple of things that always leaves you shaking your head in battle rap: dudes who can’t separate street shit from battles and battlers who get pissed at the audience for cheering on one of their lines. That said, no contest here as Teewhy’s florescent gun bars, boastful darts, fiery name flips and sizzling punchlines/wordplay combine to easily beat back a mostly mediocre Chris Hood in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Teewhy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Teewhy – “Buck-fifty to the face ‘cuz I’m generous, I come back to the hood with a smile…it’s a fundraiser!”
Recap: Dope 1-rounder from the Colisseum Battle League between Swagtanna and Teewhy offers up a competitive display of spicy set-ups/name flips and smooth darts from Swag, while Teewhy brought the heat with his own dose of blistering gun bars, a boatload of hitting name flips and fiery punchlines/personals. And while both battlers kept it on-point with a barrage of hitting lines, it’s Teewhy’s ability to outscore his opponent on the haymakers that made the difference here.
Verdict: Teewhy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Teewhy – “Head shot on his sewing machine…mean, he was literally minding his business!”
Recap: Took him getting off ‘Zen mode’, but versus the heat coming opponent Franchise’s prolific trap talk, gun bars and righteous personals, after edging the 1st round and then getting out-punched in the 2nd, Th3 Saga summons an aggressive and uplifting set of boastful shiners, hitting punchlines and piercing wordplay to take the deciding 3rd round for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Ninja blade, you throw a star at a Franchise, you get a Dynasty!”
Recap:League of Championship Kulture 1-rounder between Geechi Gotti and Young NASA sees the latter put on a loud and boisterous, but also versatile, personal-lit, funny at times and punch-heavy showing that was impressive on its own. But flexing off the jump with a couple of spicy rebuttals and then delivering a resounding display of righteous name flips, piercing punchlines, boastful darts, witty barbs and spirited mayhem/personals, Gotti is able to thwart his opponent’s competitive turn with an even better round of bar efficiency and execution.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Nigga, don’t you owe me bread, what you finna to do?, ‘cuz I’ll kidnap his boo, meaning if I don’t get my other half nigga neither will you!”
Recap: Confident enough in his raps to go first even with the coin flip coming out in his favor, an aggressive throughout Real Sikh puts a dope show with a wide load of loaded punchlines, witty darts, mocking personals and crazy nice set-ups. But damn if Chilla Jones didn’t take this Rookies vs. Vets battle seriously, the Boston King Pen scoring with a couple of fire rebuttals when he wasn’t also lighting up the scoreboard with a gang of sizzling name/bar flips, steely gun bars, boastful shiners, belittling vet talk, spicy 4-bar set-ups/punches and fiery wordplay/personals that coupled with a two condensed turns in the opening rounds gives Jones the win before a debatable 3rd.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “Real Sikhs can’t even cut their hair, so it’s ironic that you want this fade now!”
Recap: Pretty solid 3-rounder from League of Championship Kulture ends up a draw as a (“I ain’t come to talk about the skeletons in ya closet, but I got a bone to pick!”) punchline-lit Baby James delivers a slightly cleaner 1st round to edge things there, before a more condensed, punch-heavy, raucous and versatile Danny Myers returns the favor and edges the 2nd. 3rd round is another goodie with some hitting name flips/wordplay from Danny and more fiery mayhem/gun bars/personals from James. But surprising once again with another condensed turn that also spouted a couple of nice rebuttals, allows Danny to earn a draw for the final round and make this one debatable.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Ain’t you a boxer?, ain’t no fight, I got the right route for this nigger, ‘cuz once I hot James’ toe knee [Toney], it’s Lights Out for this nigger!”
Recap: That ‘Where I’m from, Black lives still matter…unless that nigga still standing at the other side!’ line from gritty, Kid Chaos sound-alike Poppy G was hard. As was a bunch of other hardbody rhymes and storytelling bars by Mr. G in this 3-rounder from 5th Dimension Battle League. Too bad for Poppy tho, as a more condensed Emerson Kennedy spouting a gang of spirited, highly potent 4-bar punches to go along with fluorescent schemes and slick wordplay would be efficient in earning the 30.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “If Pop was a kernel first, I’m just making concessions!”
Recap: In this competitive 1-rounder from GOTG, a solid, gritty and mayhem-lit showing from Funeral F.A.M.E. gets beats by the graphic street hustling tales, heavy gun bars and stinging punchlines from Kyd Slade.
Verdict: Kyd Slade (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Kyd Slade – “We ain’t never like super heroes ‘cuz we always had bad luck with public defenders!”
Recap: Quick to segue from written’s to off-the-dome hijinks due to his amazing freestyle ability, the ever-witty and spontaneous AR-16 still makes for a memorable show. But in this 1-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League against Ish Mulah, a lack of steady heat from AR combined with a combative Mulah dropping a boatload of bruising punchline after punchline to go with some piercing personals and plenty of mayhem, gives Ish an impressive win when you consider too that his opponent rapped twice as long as he did.
Verdict: Ish Mulah (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ish Mulah – “Quick to give him the first shot like loosen up!”
Recap: Dope 3-rounder from RBE finds Chef Trez and O-Red doing what they do with mostly fiery results. The Chef, after getting edged by a more potent Red in the 1st round, steps up his recipe game in the latter rounds, using a spicy mix of flexing rebuttals, hitting gun lines and stirring/braggadocio (“I took your spot, it’s mine’s now, give me your honors, you removed the ‘locks, I grew the ‘locks, I was more fit for the roster [Rasta]!”) punchlines to make for a debatable 2nd round, before edging the 3rd over his ever-confident opponent, who while consistently spicy/personal and wordplay-lit throughout the battle, fell a little too hard on cuisine-related punches and rebuts that fell a little flat, which in turn helped to cost Red his edge as the battle proceeded.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: O-Red – “I’ll throw a left hook that’ll floor a pup, then the four will bust, head shot, ringing a Chef bell like ‘Order up!'”
Recap: Not sure what happened here as in this Quarantine battle from Body Bag Battles as we get two rounds from B Magic and only one from his opponent PG. Either way, PG’s consistently gritty and raucous punches easily beat a solid, but shortened Magic in ’round 1′. But since only Magic makes an appearance in ’round 2′, we’ll have to call this one a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: PG – “This ratchet will let you down like she ain’t in the mood!”
Recap: Midwest vets with plenty of memorable Summer Madness exploits, Calicoe and Aye Verb, go at it for 3 rounds at SM 2020 and it’s certainly a goodie with plenty of lyrical stunting, boastful barbs and piercing personals to keep it competitive what with Verb peeking through the 1st round before Cal edged the 2nd. The deciding 3rd? Another close one that saw both battlers cook with a wide load of rich similes, braggadocios heat and fiery 4-bar setups, but in the end a way more condensed Calicoe gets the round and the win.
Verdict: Calicoe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Calicoe – “My stamina ain’t some shit that you wanna stand against, you rambling, my bars consist of with what I’m standing in, nigga, I was 12 when I found out sandwich bags was for sandwiches!”
Recap: Both Too Major and Loso bring a lot of hot personals and punchlines to this 1-round battle from Florida battle league BearArmz. A close and competitive matchup with a dope effort from each battler, it’s a more consistently spicy, versatile and wordplay/name flip-lit Loso who earns the win in the end.
Verdict: Loso (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Loso – “Couldn’t rap with Loso if you was on a tape with Clue!”
Recap: An aggressive lyrical warfare through and through with some rigid personals here and there from both battler’s, a slightly more consistently hitting, name flip/mayhem-rich, witty at times and wordplay/punch-lit Ill Will takes both of the opening rounds of this URL/Summer Madness 10 matchup vs. John John Da Don for the win, before an angle-bent and spicy when needed JJDD edged the 3rd to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’m the Michael Jodran of this shitm ‘cuz I’m the only one who can get out of space and still ain’t animated!”
Recap: A battle years in the making (and closer than a lot of people have given it credit for), a righteous talking to from K-Shine in round 2 gives the NWX capo the win in this spirited bout versus Chess. The two battlers, who have been forever linked due to them both battle rapping from a very young age, a similarity in styles and course, the near fisticuffs that was produced between the two at Summer Madness, definitely brought their A-games to the battle with Chess getting busy throughout via gritty punchlines, some exquisite wordplay and lucid gun bars/name flips and a performance-heavy Shine doing his thing with more direct personals, fiery schemes, boastful barbs and piercing punches/name flips/gun bars. That said, it’s a more condensed, versatile and gripping Shine who takes both of the opening rounds for the win before a more haymaker-lit Chess snatches up the 3rd to avoid the 30.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “You’d rather place the blame ’cause you got a lane that you ain’t pursuin’, it’s URL, Shine – even yesterday, JayBlac, the stre…everybody but Chess!, nigga, you ain’t influenced, quit playin’ stupid, stop pointin’ your finger and put that boom box on your shoulder, you gotta face the music!”
Recap: Reducing Charlie Clips to 4-bar set-ups and jokey-jokes might work for the Hollow Da Don’s of the word, but it’s probably not a good idea for other battlers to try that concept on him. As a brazen Geechi Gotti–in a battle some had him edging due to that mid-round slip-up in the final round from his opponent–should know by now, Clips isn’t your average, everyday battler. Nah, along with the often sizzling set-ups and witty barbs, one also has to look out for a fly rebuttal game, head-ringing schemes, ill personals and as showcased here, the potential for off-the-dome heat at any moment. That said, a competitive and altogether dope Summer Madness 10 bout from Clips and Gotti sees a more punch/set-up-heavy and versatile Charlie take the opening round while a more condensed, impression-friendly, (“We all know this ain’t the same Clips we been watching, this nigga edited!”) righteous and haymaker-lit Geechi edged the 2nd. The last round, crazy, alluring and intense on both sides with plenty of well-aimed personals to spare, would see the continually hard-hitting Clips’ dish a couple of spicy rebuttals to go along with a bunch of flexing/race-centric personals and a gang of room-shifting freestyles that would not only make up for the aforementioned slip-up, but overall allow the Harlem vet to edge what was an effective, unusually (for him, anyway) uber-righteous, but not as head-ringing turn from Gotti.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “With 18k’s I feel like an Ultimate Madness check…after taxes!”
Recap: Da Smoke of NY does a nice B. Magic impression and kicked a gang of gritty, but mostly pedestrian lines, but in this 1-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League, Magic’s consistent barrage of sizzling gun bars, suave name flips and piercing punchlines to be too much in the end.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 1-0
Favorite line: B. Magic – “I’m about to go nuts with the mil [meal] like Five Guys!”
Recap: Continually spicy for 3 rounds with a boatload of greasy gun bars, flexing punchlines, piering name flips and stinging wordplay, NXT puts up a 30 on an often-gritty, but a little flow-challenged and pedestrian Jayrone in this 3-rounder from The Riot Rap Battles.
Verdict: NXT (W) 3-0
Favorite line: NXT – “You slide out West and be a fucking target, they wave Glocks, Tay Roc…come in Caution!”
Recap: A couple of Winston-Salem, NC, battlers, Glueazy and Punchline, go at it for one round on Body Bag Battle League and its the way more punch-lit Glu who takes it on the end. The Smack vet using a bunch of mocking personals, rigid gun lines, righteous heaters and some brutal mayhem/name flips to handily get the win and keep his stamp on his hometown.
Verdict: Glueazy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Glueazy – “I like Punch, I’ll spike Punch…[points arm out like a gun] pour the 5th in him!”
