Recap: In this 1-rounder from Bayou Battle League, O’fficial does a nice Nu Jerzey Twork ‘Strapped In’ impression, but other than that fails to do anything noteworthy (or consistent enough) to keep up with the well-finessed punchlines, stinging personals/name flips and myriad of heat provided by a way more condensed and filler-light Twork.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “I’m talking semi’s and more and with your partner gone, that’s no more Double Impact, y’all can’t get busy no more…O performing all alone, it’s the Millennium Tour!”
Recap: Fierce, 1-round battle between Swamp and Chi-town’s King Krash goes the former’s way as the South Carolina battler’s more condensed turn, which contained a boatload gripping mayhem, witty personals and rugged punchlines/schemes, was more than enough to beat back a hard at times, but elongated and hit-n-miss round from his opponent.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “I wish I could sleep peacefully, fuck a cover, it ain’t till I tuck my pistol I feel warm in the bed!”
Recap: Rare forfeit here as an emotionally bent Jakkboy Maine (who also got booed at the end of hsi 2nd), the brunt of a classic 2nd round by opponent John John Da Don, gives up his 3rd round (ironically, this blog had the battle tied 1-1 going into the final round) by jumping into the crowd in an attempt to confront a heckler who kept interrupting his turn. Jakk’s refusal to return to the stage would in turn give JJDD the round and the battle in an entertaining grudge match that featured a plethora of heated personals from both sides, some dope punchlines, a pretty excited Tay Roc, , a bunch of head-ringing gun bars, a well-executed 1st by Jakk that deftly played to JJDD’s rep for copying his peer’s style and of course, a sublime, punch-heavy turn by JJDD in the 2nd that was highlighted by a $79.99 ‘Black Wealth’ chain, courtesy of Walmart, being hurled into the raucous crowd by John John.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “You fuckin’ fruit! 12-gauge will bust his grape, vital signs go ‘Wooooooop’, let’s just say that Shotgun got one thing straight!”
Recap: URL PG battle between Killa Tyme and Ty Main features plenty of mayhem and righteous gun bars. But after edging the 1st round thanks in part to a more condensed turn that was just as haymaker-lit as his opponent, the more name flip/set-up rich Main also takes the 2nd for the win before Tyme came back with his best round, the 3rd, to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Ty Main (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Main – “This one for my respect, I thought about choking him to death, I will stab this nigga, fuck loading up with Tek, I rather take a blade, run it by his neck, then it back in Tyme [time], that’s a butterfly effect!”
Recap: You’d expect a tight, competitive and fiery one between ex and current group members and that’s what you get here as newfound NWX head Don Marino faces off against former NWX rep Th3 Saga in this blistering 1-rounder from GOTG. A near debatable with both battlers spilling their guts worth of sizzling punchlines, fierce personals, ringing mayhem, potent name flips/gun bars, Spanglish and slick wordplay to make for an almost equal amount of haymakers, what with less filler and even lesser predictability to his bars, the edge here goes to Mr. Marino.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I’ll let it blam, the big fall, triggers on both sides…pinball!”
Recap: When he’s not writing for female battle rappers, Quantum Physics’ pen can hang with the best of them. As seen here, where QP drops a shitload of rich metaphors, forthright schemes/personals and wily wordplay on Emerson Kennedy in this rooftop battle from URL’s Standoff card. But reminding everyone that he’s no slouch either, EK more than holds his own against the SONS vet, using a bunch of stinging personals on his opponent’s battle career, fiery 4-bar set-ups/punches and some flexing play on words of his own to edge both the opening round and the deciding 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “You right, you are my biggest fear…and that’s being old with potential!”
Recap: An equal amount of haymakers, fiery schemes, gimmickry, witty barbs and wicked punchlines throughout their battle make John John da Don versus Jerry Wess (from the URL app) a close and competitive one. But the veteran JJDD’s more condensed and name flip spazzing 1st round coupled with slightly more intricate wordplay and more pointed personals in the 2nd allows the ‘Other da Don’ to edge the first two rounds and gain the win before Mr. Wess, after a bit of a slow start, takes the 3rd with what was an onslaught of rich set-ups and righteous mayhem.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “This what you call a risk?…only the people that got the Apple watch!”
Recap: Dope, iBattle, 1-rounder between Quban and Reepah Rell is edged by the former who with a slightly more consistent and well-crafted array of spicy punchlines, stinging mayhem and wily personals, after going 1st is able to hold on and sneak past a pretty solid, but less potent turn by Mr. Old Head Bars.
Verdict: Quban (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Quban – “The fans counted me out, so many times, they ran outta fingers and toes, but I’m snatching my respect, a robbery, you knows how this goes, any wrong move and an Operation…I’m a light up the nose!”
Recap: Kicking some raw street drama to go along with a boatload of aggressive heaters, fiery schemes, rugged pontifications and well-lit punches/personals/jokes, even while rapping a couple of minutes longer than his opponent Piranha (who was solid throughout his turn and had a few spicy rebuttals to boot), a more consistently nice Gunhood Zeke does enough to get the edge in this 1-rounder from Anybody Can Die Battle League.
Verdict: Gunhood Zeke (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Gunhood Zeke – “Nigga you ain’t get caught sneaking in nigga’s houses, you got caught sleeping in nigga’s houses!”
Recap: Capped by a gritty, aggressive, superbly-executed, mayhem-lit, performance-rich and punch-heavy round 1, Ace Amin manages to hold on with a slightly more condensed, but just as raucous 2nd round to edge that one and beat back a versatile throughout, gun bar-waving and name flip/punch-savvy, but also a little too indirect at times and punch-predictable (tho he still got better with each round, so much so that he won the 3rd) Holmzie Da God in this dope Banned battle from URL.
Verdict: Ace Amin (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ace Amin – “You bi-polar, everything black and white?, [click, click] now your mouth full of gray matter!”
Recap: Adeptly utilizing a modus operandi consisting of rugged punchlines, flighty gun bars, gracious jokes and lofty schemes/personals, here against fellow battle rap vet The Saurus, a consistently nice Marv Won’s only misstep is a costly, flow-challenge 2nd round on his way to a win in a matchup that was literally 13 years in the making.
Verdict: Marv Won (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Marv Won – “The flames hit different when you looking in the mirror, nigga, the chair roll different when you pushing it yourself!”
Recap: Dot Everything’s steely flow, greasy street chatter and gritty punchlines/mayhem make for a one-dimensional, but competitive and pretty solid showing. But in this 1-rounder from Hit List Battle League, a way more versatile Qleen Paper, not just stuck on dishing raucous punches, but also nice with the witty barbs and searing name flips, is able to drop a more condensed round of haymakers for the win.
Verdict: Qleen Paper (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Qleen Paper – “I’ll get your bitch ass knocked off, with the big K, it just look like the pistol, ‘cuz the stock off, if she hit, I’ll put that bitch on Everything like hot sauce!”
Recap: Delivering a wide load of fiery (“All that plug talk where you stash the cocoa, that’s a nono, this Nut’s all cap with his cane (‘caine); Planters logo!”) punchlines, sizzling personals, witty barbs and piercing 4-bar set-ups/schemes, Charron would’ve won this battle against Geechi Gottti if he hadn’t done one thing wrong: rap for too damn long. Indeed, after edging a potent and spirited-on-both-sides 1st round, the Canadian battler’s penchant elongated turns would hurt him in the latter rounds even after an almost flawless and (“We breathe different these emcees different, you gang bang I’m rich our G’s different!”) spitfire 2nd round that didn’t look like it had a chance of being beaten until Geechi came through with is own stash of steady heat, rambunctious punches, lofty wordplay/personals and 3 dope (“You wanna hear about niggas who ain’t never been on the block, rappin’ ’bout things they ain’t never did on the block?, keep watchin’ King Of The Dot!”) rebuttals for the draw. And with Charron still ahead in the battle going into teh final round and kicking yet another a savvy, personal-heavy, witty and punch-heavy turn in the 3rd, Gotti’s ability to take it up another level with a couple of fiery rebuttals that along with a slightly condensed turn that was rich with haymakers as well as hardbody gun bars, stifling personals, quality freestyles and humorous darts, allows Geechi to edge the 3rd and make this one a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I’ll let a .9 clap you, matter of fact this AK will make the floor shake, street nigga, I took all my bitches on court dates!”
Recap: A rematch of their 1-round battle in Chicago from some years back (which we had Clips edging), Charlie Clips and JC go at it again, for 3 rounds this tine on the URL App Event 1 card. And just like the first time, this one is close with Clips’ usage of fiery wit, witty personals and searing punches taking the first while JC’s resounding mayhem, amusing personals and steely punches/punches doing just enough to take the 2nd round after a slow start. The deciding 3rd round however goes to a much more versatile, punch/scheme-heavy, jocular, set-up crazy, personal-stinging and consistent Clips, who also works with enough zest and potent angles to beat back a solid, but oft-redundant and a bit erratic turn from JC.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “All I do is knock-off J’s like Rum Nitty getting dressed!”
Recap: One would expect a guy who names himself ‘Murda’ to talk about plenty of…murder. And with a gang of raucous 4-bar punches, graphic strings of mayhem, fiery gun bars and flippant personals, B-more’s Murda lives up to his name with more than enough consistently hard-hitting bars (esp. during an epic round 1) to beat back a gritty, but much less nuanced and underwhelming till the 3rd round King H.
Verdict: Murda (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Murda – “Battling this little nigga got me grip type hot, ‘cuz I’m the reason ya shit might drop…bitch, you the reason might not!”
Recap: Minus a couple of 3rd round slip-ups, J. Murda gives it all his gritty, religion-bashing and mayhem-dishing best in this spicy and gregarious GOTC matchup versus Th3 Saga. But for the man also known as ‘Sensei Saga’, a more condensed and versatile 3 rounds of well-crafted name flips, hitting personals, a gang of fiery schemes and steadily fierce punchlines/wordplay add up to 10’s for each round and a 30 at the end.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “All that ‘F the world don’t get F’d by it’ is nothing more than when insecurity starts to creep on you…that’s like saying, ‘Y’all know my slogan, cheat on ya girl before she cheat on you!'”
Recap: Gritty punchlines, aggressive gun bars, righteous mayhem and of course, because it is a Caustic battle, plenty of racial shiners here in this 3-round, KOTD matchup versus Mackk Myron. Add in a handful of fly rebuts and freestyles by both rappers, this close and competitive battle stays tied going into the 3rd round, before the slightly more consistent and personal-flexing Caustic edges a pretty solid turn by Mac to edge the deciding round on points and potency for the win.
Verdict: Caustic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Caustic – “I gotta ask y’all, what kind of Mac is this?, look like he be in the Popeye’s throwing hands and shit, you like the heavyweight champion of defending chicken sandwiches!”
Recap: Not much in the form of aggression here as Bill Collector versus Slim 7 Hunnit turns out to be one of the most casual and laidback battles you’ll ever see. And while each battler seemed to have been woken out of bed then brought to the stage to rap, B.C.’s more damning raps/personals and witty jargon along with a fly in-round rebuttal prove to be more than enough to beat back his opponent’s mostly meager punches and take this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “The flow light, y’all ain’t peep the blitz?, he need more pads!”
Recap: Pretty congenial, intergender, gender reveal battle between West-elite’s Geechi Gotti and RX has a more theme pointed, personal, witty and wordplay-heavy Gotti scoring with enough flair (after a debatable 1st) to take both the 2nd and 3rd rounds and beat back a mostly solid and lyrically sharp run by his opponent.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I mean, think about it, I ain’t choosing for y’all, but I think action figures are way much cooler than dolls!”
Recap: A more condensed 3 rounds paired with a sublime 1st round are the difference here as Tay Roc and Glueazy go at it for a trio of spastic, aggressive, gun bar-lit and punch-heavy rounds on the URL stage. Glu, continuously rocking the scoreboard with a shitload of gritty punches, rugged heat, piercing name flips and festive wordplay/personals, would only be hurt by a few dry spots here and there, some dated personals and a slight lack of versatility especially when it came to wit. On the other hand, a more measured Roc scored left and right with dope set-ups to his punches to go along with head-ringing gun lines, a bunch of racial stingers, witty barbs and some excellent execution with the angles with his only slight coming from one too many name flips/shots at the Goonies. A fire and competitive battle nonetheless, Roc takes the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’ll put a shell in you, hit his Head and Shoulders…Selsun Blue!”
Recap: Even without the random, oft-hilarious potshots at his opponent’s fellow IV Horsemen Loso throughout the battle, Mackk Myron’s gritty mix of searing punchlines, spicy name flips, stinging metaphorical play and witty personals/set-ups do just enough to edge the first couple and get the win before a personal and punch-heavy A. Ward takes it up a notch to salvage the final round in this dope, 3-round barfest from GOTC TV.
Verdict: Mackk Myron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “The only time I use an angle…is when I send your mama a dick pic!”
Recap: Crazy, dope and punchline-lit battle between Chilla Jones and Nu Jerzey Twork sees NJT display why when he’s focused, so many of his peers feel he’s one of the best in the game. Indeed, during the 1st and 3rd rounds, Twork just spouted haymaker after haymaker with near-flawless execution not only using Chilla’s own slogans against him but also a boatload of stirring/witty anecdotes, head-twisting punches, fierce name flips, some stellar wordplay, fiending personals and raucous gun bars to take the 1st and edge the 3rd over an aggressive opponent who after a so-so (for him, anyway) 1st round, stepped up in both of the latter rounds (got Jones edging the 2nd round) with a wide load of deft schemes, some well-aimed heat of his own, piercing punchlines and rigid personals. Altogether, a superb bout with Twork earning the win.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “You figured you could go over with them white people and go on a rampage, here go somebody else makin’ it all about you, that’s a fan page, we do shit only niggas can Chill, that’s a man cave!”
Recap: Packing enough fiery gun bars, gritty punchlines, pointed personals and rugged street chatter to make his presence felt, a performance-heavy Piranha dishes enough consistent heat to edge the unique rhyme patterns and festive wordplay of Anubis for all 3 rounds in this competitive matchup from URL.
Verdict: Piranha (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Piranha – “Test me A and get 90 out the [holds arms out like a gun] 100…like strip club change!”
Recap: Rambunctious with the punches, electric and performance-heavy enough to edge the 1st round, Big T gives Rum Nitty all he can handle in this 3-round, App Event 1 battle from URL/Smack. But assisted his opponent’s usage of old personals in the 2nd round as well as a lack of consistency with his bars in the latter rounds, Nitty’s continuous flexing via rapidly fierce punchlines, stifling name flips and an over-the-top paunch for sizzling gun bar recourse, would garner the Phoenix, AZ vet wins in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds for the come-from-behind win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Free gun smoke, I tell a nigga come see ’bout me, all gun lines, every chance I get I’m a speak my piece [peace]!”
Recap: Well, that was an unexpected turn. After a spitfire and debatable 1st round, filled with a boatload of fiery lyrical darts and gritty punchlines from both Danny Myers and Pass, the so-called ‘Bar God’ goes into cold turkey mode and pretty much throws in the towel on the battle, cutting short both his 2nd and 3rd rounds due to just ‘battling last night’. Not a good look for a West-coast vet, much less a disappointment to crowd members who expressed their feelings on seeing Danny concede defeat. For Pass too–who shined throughout the battle with a gang of stinging personals, braggadocios heat and some nifty wordplay–beating Danny when he was unprepared and not at his best, must feel a little displeasing.
Verdict: Pass (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pass – “I’m whupping your ass for block ritual, I’m Shock G this old rapper Underground, but he not Digital!”
Recap: In this Black Ice Cartel battle versus Chef Trez, noted puncher Danja Zone turns it up a bit and grinds hard enough to force a debatable 3rd round. But before that, too many dated bars/schemes by Zone as well as punchlines that were a little meh at times obscure an otherwise solid showing. Then too, with the Chef dishing more consistent mayhem, gritty punchlines, fiery name flips, a couple of fire rebuttals and genuflecting gun bars at random during the 1st and 2nd, this battle was already was already in the bag before the final round.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I would say we could line it up in the streets, but I know you don’t trust that, so we could do a cage fight, fuck rap, jab, hook then let a knee in Zone…touchback!”
Recap: With Tori Doe it’s never really been a question about ability. As Doe’s highlight reel would surely attest to, when the Harlem emcee is on top of her game, she can spit hot punchlines and stinging wordplay with the best of them and that’s probably what earned her this battle with Chess. But what also almost always comes into play with a Tori Doe battle is effort or lack thereof and once again her lack of preparation continues to be her kryptonite as after a flexing, (“Guess I am a dirty little bitch, ‘cuz I’ll [points arm out like gun] get a nigga hit before I let a nigga hit!”) spitfire turn in the 1st round (that only got edged by a more heavy-handed on the punches and condensed turn by her opponent), in what might have been her biggest battle yet, Doe proceeds to let the fans down with a solid, but shortened 2nd round before literally giving up her 3rd round midway in lieu of a minor slip-up. And while Doe disappointed again, a confident, at times belittling (“My gun, just like Tori, mad pretty, but got a nasty bang! to go with it!”), raucous, name flip spazzing, scheme-heavy and flexing with the punchlines throughout Chess just stayed consistently nice with his, scoring a 3-0 in his first intergender match and coming out with nary a scar.
Verdict: Chess (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chess – “I ain’t gonna talk about you aborting your child ‘cuz maybe you just wasn’t ready, but don’t talk like you could son me when you couldn’t even do that for the one in your belly!”
Recap: A bit of a surprise matchup between Arsonal and Drugz sees the Jersey vet captivate the small room crowd with a gang of fiery lyricism that coupled with plenty of witty personals/anecdotes, some solid name flips, stunted punchlines and fierce schemes, edged Ars the first couple of rounds over a nice-with-his and gun bar heavy, but less versatile and a bit long-winded opponent. A multifaceted and personal hitting Drugz easily takes the 3rd round over what was pretty much a throwaway turn from Da Rebel.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Arsonal – “I’m toe-tagging, double C on my sneaks, my closed [clothes] caption!”
Recap: Bill Collector’s capacity for providing (“Better yet, let’s have a two nigga’s that can’t fight, fight!”) wit, urban street semantics and performance-rich theater are a welcome addition to almost any battle. But when the Pennsylvania rapper is able to add some top-notch bars to his arsenal, he makes for a formidable opponent against any battler, including here against T-Top. Still, while BC sometimes gritty trap talk, humorous anecdotes and other festive name flips/punchlines make for a competitive battle and even a debatable 2nd round, overall ‘The Bear’ would prove to be too much, lyrically wrecking BC in the 1st round with his own series of steely (“If I ever hear he making a statement, I’ll put his face in the pavement then drop off half of Bill like a payment arrangement!”) name flips, fire rebuts to ward off his opponent’s more pointed personals and spitfire schemes as well a more personal 3rd round/closing verse littered with fiery set-ups, well-lit pontifications and a boatload of searing punchlines to take each round and the battle.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “You got knocked out, I fell on stage, just know the difference, the fans killed me, [but] I took my lick like a Prohibition!”
Recap: A returning-to-the-battle-stage MyVerse versus RX on KOTD turns out to be a tale of two entirely different halves. As after dominating the first round with banging soliloquies, stinging braggadocios lines and jaunty punchlines/name flips, RX follows up her spicy opening round with another lyrically sharp and (“You’ve been idol, but I still recognize your talent Queen, we both used to do ballet, but I grew up [points arms out like shooting a gun] to balance beams!) punch-heavy turn in the 2nd that keeps her well out in front of her solid at times, but inconsistent opponent. But then a rusty-at-first MyVerse was suddenly replaced by the solidified and in-her-bag MyVerse we last saw taking Bonnie Godiva, dishing a trio of fiery rebuttals to start off her 2nd round, before seguing to aggressively (“She a pawn, I’m trying to stack bigger pieces, how you a stare master [stair master] in the face, but your ass really need it?!”) taunting personals, nifty schemes/name flips, some unorthodox, but lofty wordplay, witty barbs and a gang of flexing punchlines to comeback and edge the middle round, before (with the help of a choke by RX) easily taking the deciding 3rd round with more of the aforementioned artillery as the previous round and stamping her return to the ring.
Verdict: MyVerse (W) 2-1
Favorite line: MyVerse – “When it comes to looks alone, I find it troublesome, how you say you top 3 but got the struggle bum!”
Recap: Light-skin lookalikes J. Murda and Teewhy bring the heat, mayhem, hitting personals and gritty punchlines to this 3-round, iBattle matchup. And while it’s a competitive one throughout, a slightly more consistent with the punches as well as more intricate Teewhy, after a debatable 1st round, edges both rounds 2 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Teewhy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Teewhy – “Nigga, I’m a tool raiser, bust in the crib like where the loot playa?, two lasers, one on you, beam on a band, I’m a Room Raider!”
Recap: With each battler clearly motivated to alleviate their status in the game, both Truth Watson and Teewhy bring A-game material to this spitfire, URL “One Off” battle. South Carolina’s Truth, confident throughout the match, stays competitive with a wide array of stinging schemes, some intense personals, storied personals and especially during an almost flawless 2nd round, a gang of flexing (“His face on a shirt, soon as I unload the toy, I’ll put ‘T’ on a tee, I’m dressing like the old Soulja Boy!”) punchlines. But even with his opponent’s impressive taunts serving as pretty formidable, Teewhy would be undeterred. The Jersey rapper coming through with 3 consistently gritty rounds of mayhem, potent name flips, frenzied performance bars, standout personals on the battle rap genre, spicy set-ups and roundhouse (“Why battle me?, I’ll make you hold this ‘L’ and spin off like an Allen key!”) punchlines to edge both rounds 1 and 3 and gain the vic.
Verdict: Teewhy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Teewhy – “What’s up with us?, dedicated years to y’all to get left in the fucking dust, trusted y’all vision and y’all out here booking one-eyed niggers…the fuck is up?!”
Recap: In addition to A. Ward supplying a just-as-fire rebuttal game, a versatile and punch-heavy Chef Trez has his work cut out for him for the first two rounds in lieu of the Christian rapper also dishing a host of fiery punchlines, witty barbs, jaunty name flips and some stinging mayhem to match his opponent’s potency and points on the scoreboard. But after the two battlers split the opening rounds, helped a bit by Ward’s solid, but 1/3rd pontificating and filler-bent turn, it’s a still cogent with the punchlines, gun bar swinging and fly with the schemes/punches Trez who takes the deciding 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Who cold as this?, no matter where I go my opponent’s get slaughtered, I haven’t seen a person this year who went harder, so fuck talking about who pen harder, ‘cuz I write nothing but nice shit…like a kid’s author!”
Recap: Competitive 1-rounder from Dade County Elite Battle League between Lord Rose and Danny Myers’ sees both battlers cook with some heavy name flips, aggressive punchlines, rich storytelling bars and plenty of boastful barbs. But helped in part by Rose rapping twice as longer as he did while also flexing a bit more versatility than his opponent, an also more condensed Danny gets the edge in this one.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I’m a distinguished puncher, lean a brother, spleen a rupture, it’s always the social life of a genius suffers!”
Recap: Dope 1-rounder between Coffee Brown and Glueazy sees the former get extra lyrical with hers, dishing fiery schemes, gritty punchlines, some solid wordplay and feisty personals/name flips that kept the crowd in tune with a little room for filler. However, a downright disrespectful Glueazy, flagrant with the personals, witty and gratuitous with the heated punches, all the while a bit more consistent with the bars and mayhem, gets the win what with one too many haymakers during a more condensed turn.
Verdict: Glueazy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Glueazy – “Keep thinking I’m a joke ‘cuz I’m white, the silencer [chhh chhh] sound like I opened a Sprite!”
Recap: With Smack in attendance, Charlie Clips gives URL ‘magician’ IE Reign a shot in a 3-round freestyle battle outside. And while Reign showed himself capable, delivering some quality off-the-dome punches here and there, besides a debatable 2nd round, no way could he keep up with the veteran Clips’ more spicy rebuttals, knack for using local references and witty punchlines/personals.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “You look like a Gap mannequin that wear Old Navy!”
Recap: A Pass equipped with a bunch of mocking personals, hard-hitting history lessons, boastful barbs and piercing punchlines/name flips versus a well-prepared and clearly motivated Don Marino dishing a gang of versatile punches/personals, hometown heat, lofty name flips and well-oiled Mexican bars makes for a fiery, competitive and even split during the first two rounds of this URL/Smack Volume 5 battle. In the deciding 3rd round however, a solid and condensed effort by Pass would get handily beat back by a boatlaod of killer personals and set-up/punchlines by Mr. Marino, giving the Miami legend a well-earned win.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Marino – “Dan Marino in the shotgun, I hit the screen Pass!”
Recap: Chef Trez had to earn this one as Sway’s gritty trap talk and piercing punchlines not only made their mark, but kept him in the battle throughout. However, a couple of nice rebuttals in the opening rounds, along with some fierce wordplay, a boatload of stinging punches, ill similes/personals and a bunch of ever-reliable and visceral gun bars, allows the Chef to edge the opening rounds before a slightly punch-heavier 3rd by Swav kept Trez from pitching another shutout.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “You supposed to be on URL with me representing the South, you heard that?, I should backhand you for leaving me hanging…give you your Smack!”
Recap: In this hard-hitting 3-rounder from Smack, doing his research pays off big for Shotgun Suge, who with a boatload of stinging personals and fierce punchlines during the first couple of rounds hit to the duplicity of his opponent Franchise’s love for gun bars and other notorious street semantics. Indeed, Suge’s consistently flagrant and versatile execution of his bars would astutely work to overcome the Canadian rapper’s systematic mayhem that while mostly potent here, seemed prototypical at times and at times also lacked his more multifaceted opponent’s flair for gritty urban narratives and flexing punches. Franchise would however deliver enough consistent heat, performance-ready punches and stifling struggle bars to edge the 3rd.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “Hey Smack, I still let the nina clap, you got me battling a soccer player?, I need a fee for that!”
Recap: Going forward Danny Myers might want to keep his private life to himself. Just saying, ‘cuz whether it’s his 10 kids, that $12K he gave T-Rex to battle awhile back or the illicit allegations in the air surrounding his marriage as well as his wife don’t seem to be ever going away when it comes to battle rap. And when you battle as often as Danny does, being on the other side of, frankly speaking, what was a scathing, explicit, punch-lit and undeniably classic 2nd round from Mike P, a flawless turn that went all-in on Danny’s other half and his personal priorities, one has to wonder how much a man can take. Tho to be fair, Danny always came to compete and once again delivered. The performance-stunting Bar God competing throughout this URL App 1 battle with a gang of fiery punchlines/name flips, hardcore/witty personals (had to chuckle when Danny started going in on Mike’s girlfriend in round 3, yet had to remind Mike about all the shit he just said about his wife in the previous round after Mike told him to ‘chill’) and brazen mayhem/boasts. But after the two split the first two rounds, a close 3rd round gets edged to Mike P as ‘Main Stage Mike’ used a versatile barrage of fierce gun bars, piercing punches and feelgood personals during a condensed to beat back a pretty solid turn by Danny for the win.
Verdict: Mike P (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mike P – “Your slogan has become your life, and in the process, yo’ eyes been covered, you not stayin’ by the woman you love? Well, that don’t surprise me, brother, you on stage screamin’ ‘Parallel!’ on the same nights you and your wife should be beside each other!”
Recap: The very loud and raucous stylings of Sleepy Haze are able to score here and there with some witty barbs and astute punches. But in this 1-rounder BattleRap Society, too many pedestrian bars from Haze and G Lowe’s nifty, but still potent punch, personal and gun bar/name flip game are enough to silence any blowback.
Verdict: G Lowe (W) 1-0
Favorite line: G Lowe – “Bitch, I’m lead gripping and you gets no attention…Meg Griffin!”
Recap: As expected, Chilla Jones versus Rum Nitty turned out to be an incredible battle with all the booming haymakers, ringing gun bars, stinging (Chilla: “I’m a gun fanatic, follow the guidelines of Chill, if you Rum, then I’m vodka that’s five times the steel [distill]!”) punchlines, fiery schemes and stunted wordplay one could ask for during 3 highly competitive rounds. Ironically, while some might call it fitting that this bout ends up as a draw (we’re calling the 1st round debatable before Chilla took the 2nd and Rum took the 3rd), one can’t help but think that as electric as Rum was with his crafty bag of righteous heat, performance-heavy zingers and sublime punches, with the history of these two former Writer’s Bloque members, Rum choosing to pass up on almost any personals (as opposed to Chilla, who went there quite frequently with some hilarious effect) could’ve made a difference between winning. No knock really on Run as personals aren’t his forte, but still. Then too Chilla, a rapper’s rapper, but long known for elongated rounds, may’ve won this battle here if he was able to keep his final round a little more condensed. Nonetheless, when two top tiers go at it like this, you can be sure that you got your money’s worth.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “You don’t got it this nice, you can see the effect when I punch like a comic book fight!”
Recap: Take away the dude with no shirt on in Shotgun Suge’s entourage and you have a spitfire, near classic battle here between Suge and Pat Stay. Kidding aside, it’s been quite an impression that the battle vet Pat Stay has been making since he recently entered the URL and in squaring off here against a Shotgun Suge that stayed on point throughout the battle with his aggression, grittiness and a fire (“I’ll let the Wave hit you, he a castaway, to beat me, you’ll need the luck of the Irish, and this ain’t (Saint) Patrick’s Day!”) punch game, the white guy dressed in the flower jacket would need to pull out all his tricks to win. And that he did, edging the highly potent Suge in both the 1st and 2nd rounds for the win with a consistent mix of flexing personals/narratives, banging (“I don’t care if you 6’9” [6ix9ine], I’ll do Shotti dirty!”) punchlines, stinging name flips, witty banter/impressions, a couple of fiery rebuttals, a rich performance game and an epic Shaq dunk for those who still think white boys can’t. A more condensed and still punch-heavy Suge would take the 3rd round over an opponent, who while still funny and fierce with his bars, came with a little too much filler.
Verdict: Pat Stay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pay Stay – “I’m up here fuckin’ flexin’, I’m gettin’ drunk in Texas [drunken texts] like messages from my ex’s!”
Recap: Dope 1-rounder between Ish Mulah and Ru Bando sees them both deliver on their rhyme patterns. Ish, ever aggressive and bullish with the content, scored with a gang of hardbody shiners, while Bando flexed with a plethora of righteous gun chatter, stinging punchlines and scheming wordplay. No doubt, a close one. But with Bando overall coming more direct with the bars than his opponent, while also dropping more haymakers in less amount of time, the edge here goes to the kid from BK.
Verdict: Ru Bando (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Run Bando – “You think you the face of this league ‘cuz you did great with Chess?, this .9 on my waist, body the face…Mr. Potato Head!”
Recap: He should have stopped after that spitfire ‘Fe Fi Fo Fum’ line. In yet another case of a battle rapper doing too much, Dre Dennis (already slighted by a Jakkboy Maine imitation that while entertaining, didn’t score any points in the original category) is still ahead in this 1-rounder 75% of the way thanks to a gang of salacious gun bars, fierce punchlines and a fire, mid-round rebuttal. But just as he has the battle practically won, Dre’s penchant for elongation comes back to bite him as the last quarter of his turn sees him dish mostly solid, but redundant heat that essentially cost him the battle. Oh yeah, that and a consistent, punch-efficient, sound-effects-a-blazing, scheme-potent, performance-stunting and back in his bag Jakkboy Maine.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “My mind got a little shady ‘cuz I drew the .80 and forgot about Dre!”
Recap: Damn, talk about turning it up. After a pretty solid 1st round that still got beat back a more punch-heavy and versatile Geechi Gotti, O-Red goes into ‘savage’ mode and dishes two of the hardest rounds of his battle career. The Newark, NJ, vet getting downright nasty with it via a gang of strong-arm wordplay, steely verbal darts, brazen personals (esp. during a flawless and perfectly executed 2nd round = classic) and piercing punchlines. And while Geechi continued to compete hard with a variety of stinging personals of his own, some solid rebuttals/freestyles, dicey name flips, vivid storytelling bars and gritty punches to keep it close, this Champion of the Year vs. Champion of the Year SMACK Volume 5 battle would come down to a more consistently spicy and elevated O-Red edging both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O-Red – ” I drive-by in a G37, you gonna remember me, holding the .8, sideways, out the Infiniti!”
Recap: Well-earned, 1-round win for Big Kannon as opponent Lucky Desperado really came nice with a wide load of spicy punchlines and wordplay during his turn. But with BK spitting a gang of impressive rebuttals and freestyles to go along with a fire name flip and punchline/personal game, an upset win just wouldn’t be in the cards for Lucky on this day.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0′
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Every time I Googled you, You Tube’d you, yunno trying to find some prep for this nigga, it was same results…a wrestling nigga and a Mexican stripper!”
Recap: Civil rights battler Ooops versus conscious rapper B. Dot had all the makings of a goodie and this 3-rounder from KOTD didn’t disappoint. B. Dot, with turned-up screeds on his opponent’s real life bouts with politics and activism, gave it all he had, dishing a plethora righteous schemes, a fire 2nd round rebuttal, pointed personals, plenty of nifty (“If I hear one gun bar, I’m a slap the pistol out your hand before you speak up on it, look you dead in your eyes, as soon as you blink I’m on it, grab your gun, don’t even know if it’s empty, but shit…don’t I always think I’m Loaded?!”) punchlines and fiery “woke” speak for all 3 of his rounds. Still, one particular note here and yeah we get it, it’s a battle. But considering all the work Ooops has done in the social justice field, does B. Dot go overboard with the personals (esp. politically) when these two share the same cloth when it comes to battle rap? That being said and perhaps motivated by battling a fellow ‘conscious rapper’ who happened to call him out, this is one of the best Ooops you’ll ever see. The St. Louis battler consistently spitting a wide load of blistering heat, fire-set-ups, crazy personals at B. Dot, scorching barbs on police brutality and a boatload of spitfire (“They say the revolution will not be televised, well thanks to us it’s getting You Tube’d!”) punchlines that lit the room. A competitive and fire battle throughout often makes for a tough call. But with B. Dot almost rapping twice as long as Ooops in both rounds 1 and 2, both dishing an equal amount of haymakers during the rounds and Ooops displaying more versatility and intricacy with his bars in each round, the edge here goes to Ooops. And while B. Dot again had an elongated turn in the 3rd, his straightforward, conscious, direct and potent series of polemics would be enough to beat a round by Ooops that while dope and determined in its own right, was mostly directed at Charron.
Verdict: Ooops (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ooops – “Anybody that think I didn’t stand a chance, here’s the retaliation, they said onscreen I can’t touch Dot…well, I recalibrated!”
Recap: While her 3rd round contained the more grandiose bars, it’s Yoshi G’s 2nd that stands out in this QOTR battle. The sexually brash emcee spouting a host of perfectly-executed punches/set-ups and scorching personals before deftly angling her way into a series of spitfire braggadocio thot bars which altogether summed up her battle rap psyche (a classic round that even earned her a couple of Jaz faces). And while opponent Toni Blanco came through with 3 pretty solid and at times gritty/punch/personal/heavy rounds of her own, one too many dry spots and a more haymaker-lit Yoshi G would give the latter the 30.
Verdict: Yoshi G (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Yoshi G – “You always speak on the negative aspect of thot…you pessimistic!”
Recap: Slightly more consistently potent with the bars while snapping with a gang of spicy personals, piercing wordplay, rigid gun bars and righteous punchlines/4-bar setups, J2 edges a dope and punch-heavy but a little less versatile and not quite as hitting turn by Yoshi G in what was still a highly entertaining and competitive 1-rounder from RBE.
Verdict: J2 (W) 1-0
Favorite line: J2 – “Silencer, I’m about to make a hit I’ll never hear…I’m Beethoven!”
Recap: Slinging a whole lot of mayhem with the bars in addition to a gang of gritty punchlines, Primetime makes for a solid effort here in this Renegade Rap Battles 1-round matchup versus Ill Will. But with the ability to score more consistently with the punches, extra diverse with the heat, condensed, witty and much nicer than his opponent when it comes to name flips, Ill Will easily wins what was altogether still a competitive showing.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “You was just a waterboy, Bobby Boucher, I’m showing you, I’m your father today, big machete, get Time in a half…that’s holiday pay!”
Recap: The Trap NY presents a dope punch-fest between Kush Cloud (can we get him some more plates, please?) and B Magic with the former unleashing a boatload of nifty punches, piercing name flips/personals and slick (“Built your name on Street Status, just to die on Ave when it counted the nost!”) wordplay that added up to Cloud taking the 2nd round after a debatable 1st and leading things going into the 3rd. The final round, however, would serve as yet another exercise in quality vs. quantity as Cloud would deliver an overall solid, but incredibly longwinded turn that got more and more tedious as it went on. And that elongated run by Kush would easily get overrun by a much shorter, but highly efficient and punch/name flip turn by Magic, allowing the St. Louis vet to take the round and score a debatable.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: B Magic – “I’ll push you in the air, past the sky Cloud, Anthony Davis, I’m connected wherever eyebrow [I brow]!”
Recap: Mixing fiery mayhem with a nice pound of (“I ain’t come to play not a game with you, gay fight, the flame hit you!”) wit and a boatload of searing punchlines/schemes, after a debatable 1st round and a punch/wordplay-heavy/God-barking Xcel easily taking the 2nd, Sha G is able to make a comeback, win the 3rd and make this competitive 3-rounder from iBattle a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Xcel – “Head shot, I’ll put your cabbage on your dog…no sauerkraut!”
Recap: A little too reliant on name flips overall, but more succinct with his stealthy punches to edge round 1 before faltering to a way more punch-heavy and wittier Spade in round 2, Real Sikh takes advantage of his opponent’s wanton nerd persona with a personal-spazzing and mockingly clever 3rd round to gain the win in this Proving Grounds matchup from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Real Sikh (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Real Sikh – “The .44 my lady friend, sparking all day with it, don’t toss it, I’ll stay with it, I feel like I dump this bitch every week…we gotta on and off relationship!”
Recap: After infamously missing the recent Loaded Hollows vs. Gun Titles 2-on-2 match, it’s no doubt that a lot of battle rap fans were yearning to see who’d the ever popular Tsu Surf would face upon his return to battle rap after his latest bout with street drama. That the pick would be Reed Dollaz was probably a surprise to everyone, including his peers. And after a 1st round that saw a rapidly punching and verbally intoxicating Surf overwhelm the Philly vet with ease, it would seem that all the Reed doubters who predicted an easy Surf 3-0, would be correct. But in the latter two rounds Reed would finally get in his bag and show up, pressing on the ‘Rambo’-mode button and spouting a boatload of gritty (“Black hoodie on over the braids, Surf will splash on Roc, water go in the cave!”) punchlines, hitting personals and gripping street narratives to make the bout competitive. And while a lucid on his own life dealings, punch-heavy, (“Snatch his tre [tray], every time you on SMACK bring your food to me, I hate I gotta try Reed (read) in front my class like the school bully!”) mayhem-loving and name-flip spazzing Surf would still dish more than enough haymakers to take an altogether fire round 2 for the win, thanks in part to his opponent once again struggling with his 3rd round more due to his own continued comeuppance, Reed would salvage the final round and avoid the 30.
Verdict: Tsu Surf (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tsu Surf – “They hit my arm, now when I shoot it don’t turn fully, boy, I’ll flip Dollaz like Smokey counting Worm money!”
Recap: Taking advantage of a Franchise who wasn’t quite on his A-game throughout this match, much less was perhaps a little too bent on attempting to display his versatility beyond his usual dispensary of flagrant gun bars, E. Ness’ 1st and 3rd round combo of nifty punchlines and salacious name flips/performance bars work with enough efficiency to take each round and win this highly entertaining battle.
Verdict: E. Ness (W) 2-1
Favorite line: E. Ness – “I’ll leave ya next to ya big homie and let him decide, ya casket it fit perfect…like a Tasty cake lemon pie!”
Recap: Long-awaited battle between battle vets Rone and Charron is a bit surprisingly more littered with aggressive personals than the comedic hijinks that both are known for. The matchup still makes for a close and competitive goodie tho with both rappers bringing their A-game and Rone’s 2-year break from the stage serving as a suspenseful backdrop. Still, for all of Rone’s nifty punchlines/schemes, (“But his karate-action arms, that’s his true talent, throw some melons while he’s rapping, he’ll make a fruit salad!”) witty-isms and extra confident boasts, for the first couple of rounds Charron had an answer. The Canadian spitter scoring at will during rounds 1 and 2 with a boatload of hitting (“Your whole family’s racist, I’ve killed so many Smack rappers I’m your grandpa’s favorite!”) personals, less filler, stronger wordplay, some jaunty rebuttals and a gang of potent punchlines that were enriched by their fiery set-ups. The 3rd was just as dope, aggressive and heavy on the haymakers as its two predecessors, but it’s a slightly more potent over and condensed Rone who edges the round to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Charron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charron – “The Philly Prince Will get sonned in Cali, I’m Uncle Phil, slashed throat, they put his face on a shirt, “RIP the Frat GOAT”, this time when you go viral on a tee [T] it ain’t for fat jokes!”
Recap: With an elongated King Kamonzi spitting a gang of mostly mediocre punchlines while strangely drenched in themes surrounding time, one would think this 1-rounder would be a lay-up for the likes of a vet like Swave Sevah. But clearly showing he had close to zero interest in battling his opponent, Swave resorts to using his turn to pontificate on the state of battle rap, tag in one of his Team Homi bro’s for a minute of fiery punches and just in case the viewer thought that Swave didn’t take this battle at all seriously, toss in a few throwaway bars at Kamonzi for good measure before completing his round. In other words, a pretty lackadaisical effort from Swave that allowed his opponent (who, to be fair, did mix in some crafty punches that hit here and there) to get a win he clearly didn’t deserve.
Verdict: King Kamonzi (W) 1-0
Favorite line: King Kamonzi – “I’m 50, you 50, that’s a century let’s keep it a buck!”
Recap: Confident and aggressive the entire time during this Smack Volume 5 battle, DNA uses a barrage of stinging punchlines, wily personals, flexing schemes, opponent style breakdowns and pointed name flips/wordplay to beat back fellow battle vet Aye Verb in this 3-rounder from Smack. And while Verb put forth a pretty solid, visceral, personal, set-up/ punch-heavy at times and scheme-drenched effort throughout the match, in each round the St. Loui capo just couldn’t keep up with DNA’s consistency and potency.
Verdict: DNA (W) 3-0
Favorite line: DNA – “I’m on a tear and T know (Tarantino), I shoot till the clip outta order, doctors shaking tables, trying to make him stable, ‘cuz how he gonna ‘Showtime’ if he hooked up to basic cable?!”
