No Bias. No Narratives.
Mister Greco Recap: Unloading on his opponent with plenty of gritty punchlines/personals, braggadocios bangers, solid name flips, potent gun bars and feisty wordplay for all 3 rounds, a benevolent, but unapologetically savage Ave makes quick work of a nice and righteous at times, but mostly inconsistent C Moneii.
Verdict: Ave (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ave – “Let me speak clear son, this battle might be your life, but I care none, see? this was a shot to see where you went like a flare gun!”
Recap: Fire battle between Kid Chaos and J-Krooger sees them both on their A-game with the versatile Chaos flexing everything from spicy/witty personals to head-twisting (“Rifle slamming, bullets all over his back like they micromanaged!”) heat, while the more condensed Krooger unloaded a plethora of fiery name flips, dope wordplay and jaunty gun bars throughout the battle. A competitive bout with little in the way of filler from both sides, tho the 1st round was equal on haymakers, a more succinct Krooger gets the edge there. 2nd round showcased a spitfire, performance-heavy, superbly-executed turn from Chaos that beat back another punch-heavy, but not quite as potent run from his opponent. The 3rd and deciding round was yet another goodie, but the more personal, multifaceted (including another nice rebuttal) Chaos gets the edge over what passed for a potent at times, but somewhat redundant go-around from Krooger.
Verdict: Kid Chaos (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Kid Chaos – “I will actually slap box you where my open hand will be a fist, or let my stock rise after this PG, but I’m a definitely get Banned for this shit!”
Recap: From the URL app…Young Kannon and Xcel spit a boatload of lyrical heaters, righteous mayhem, sturdy name flips, ready and loaded punchlines as well as stinging personals in this highly competitive 3-rounder from the URL Banned Legacy card. Noteworthy when considering that both battlers came through with 3 weeks and nary a stumble, the vic here goes to YK who edged the first two rounds via a slightly more consistent and condensed turn in the 1st, before landing more haymakers to take the 2nd. Call the 3rd round, which overall saw Kannon and Xcel come down a notch bar-wise, as a debatable.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Give X bucks after he gone…that’s alimony!”
Recap: Short, but fiery on both sides, battle between Prep and Funeral F.A.M.E. sees them go at it in a 1-rounder that’s highlighted by Prep’s ability to deftly mix in fierce written punchlines/name flips with nasty freestyles on everything from lines from previous battles to wall murals. And tho Funeral F.A.M.E. delivered a solid, name-flip lit effort in return, Prep’s more stable punches, versatile hijinks and verbal dexterity makes it a well-earned win for the DMV.
Verdict: Prep (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Prep – “Your bitch text me when you all alone, she hit me like ‘that short nigga at work’, I threw on cologne, I was beating that pussy up, knowing what I’m doing is wrong, just bodying the box…all in Funeral home!”
Recap: Take out a minor slip-up that occurred due in part to his opponent talking through his round and Quban, flexing throughout with fiery name flips, righteous personals and stifling punchlines. manages to beat back a lyrically fierce, gritty and wordplay-lit, but not quite as consistent with the bars Tori Doe in this solid 1-rounder from Bring Ya Barz Battle League.
Verdict: Quban (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Quban – “Synthetic weaves, your hair not real but you real…oh we gonna laugh at that, ‘cuz if I hold and spray, let’s see this will help keep ya wig intact!”
Recap: Gritty, competitive 1-rounder between Ill Will and Blaxkface sees the latter score with some fierce punchlines here and there. But a demonstrative Ill Will, extra nice with the name flips and flagrant gun bars, mixes in some piercing punches of his own to go along with a fleet of witty personals to get the win.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Coming at Ill, but you won’t beat him, and anybody can die the same day, competition? I don’t see ’em, they wanna see if you gonna sit in Will chair or a wheelchair…don’t cheat ’em!”
Recap: In this competitive 3-rounder from Black Ice Cartel, Capboy Hurt, sturdy with the heat and fluorescent with the mayhem/punches, puts on a solid showing. But a performance-heavy and more versatile Qleen Paper displays some rare 3-round consistency via a barrage of stunted name flips/gun bars, gritty punchlines. fire set-ups/schemes, rigid jokes and some hard personals to take the win.
Verdict: Qleen Paper (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Qleen Paper – “You let it ring, huh?, man, get the fuck outta here, this shit just seem aww, Kawhi Leonard, I’ll bring two to Milwaukee and stop all that ring talk!”
Recap: Flexing throughout the battle with a gang of mocking personals, piercing punchlines, screeds on Christian hypocrisy, on-point breakdowns of his opponent’s style and some stifling name flips, a consistently nice Kid Chaos easily scores a 30 here in this Proving Grounds battle versus a punch-heavy (esp. in round 3) at times, but also oft-indirect and oft-bloviating Street Hymns.
Verdict: Kid Chaos (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Kid Chaos – “Bro, you rap like a bitch and think that mean you got a broad mentality!”
Recap: From URL’s Banned Legacy 3, helped by a Mackk Myron who while dishing a mostly rambunctious punch game, couldn’t really get into his consistent bag of bullish/electic darts and witty personals until the final round, an aggressive, steady with the fiery heaters and stifling with the personals, angles, similes and punchlines Ryda manages to edge round 1 and handily take round 2 for the win, before getting edged by a more versatile, witty and more in control Mackk in round 3.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ryda – “The Goonies will turn into Black Market media, you won’t even get a chance to start pleading your case, I’m talking Banned Legacy, nigga’s be shooting for 3 days straight!”
Recap: Both having had beef’s with Drugz alone makes for a compelling battle, but personals aside, in this 1-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League, it’s Gwitty’s potent name flips, fiery punchlines and righteous mayhem along with a solid, O.G.-bent turn by Moon being cut short, gives Paper the win.
Verdict: Gwitty (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Gwitty – “Arm strong, we could jump him it’s smooth, he out of space, stomp his face…first nigger to walk on the Moon!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Queen of the Ring, a gritty, wordplay/personal-heavy and aggressive Chayna Ashley having a better 1st half then her 2nd proves to be a non-starter as opponent C3’s struggles with her flow (even in the midst of some hard-hitting personals/punches and a fire freestyle thrown at Chayna’s hypeman T-Rex) throughout the bout prove to be her undoing with an eventual choke giving the battle to Ms. Ashley.
Verdict: Chayna Ashley (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chayna Ashley – “Now you fucking with a true vet, think random, I don’t choose wreck, veer aside, right by the big names like blue checks!”
Recap: This much-hyped T-Rex versus Bill Collector battle is a tale of two halves with witty and visceral personals, references to past lore, boastful barbs of mayhem, salacious gun bars (esp. via Bill’s highly maneuverable Super Duper Scope) and other lofty punchlines dominating Rex’s 1st and BC’s first two rounds. The first round easily being the best, Rex edges the opening round with a more consistent and condensed turn, before a still-turned-up B.C. comfortably takes the 2nd with a dope performance that included some very pointed (“…it would’ve been a news article that read ‘This Nigger Dead!’?, is that what happened when Head I.C.E. man put you to bed?!?”) personals at his opponent. 3rd round was pretty much a wash what with neither battler going for the kill, but delivering enough fiery heaters and solid punches to make the 3rd a draw and the battle a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: T-Rex – “Your son gonna grow up a pussy Bill and you did it, he said ‘Daddy how you want me to swing back nigger…you didn’t!'”
Recap: Punchline for punchline, in this 3-round battle from KOTD, Illmaculate and B. Magic are about equal on potency. That’s except for a 1st round Magic edged with a more concise turn. But with Illmaculate mixing in biting breakdowns of his opponent’s style, witty barbs, piercing name flips and a gang of fiery personals along with a solid punchline game as well as Magic struggling with his flow during a shortened 3rd, the latter two rounds are Illmac’s for the taking along with the win.
Verdict: Illmaculate (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Illmaculate – “Good Shepard, Catholic school you, I transcend bars to father greatness, that’s Mutulu, don’t let facts confuse you, top 5 convo’s, you can’t skip past me like ads in Hulu!”
Recap: While there are certainly others to blame as well for exploiting the narrative over the years, most of the onus on Rum Nitty chiefly being a ‘gun bar’ dude falls on Nitty himself. The self-proclaimed ‘Gun Line King’ (going back to one of his earlier battles against Tycoon Tax) deceiving us all by making it seem he’s so one-dimensional in various battles and interviews, all the while chasing Tay Roc for the notorious title. The nerve of the guy, fooling us all in this URL/NOME 4 battle with a gang of prolific verbal heat that included a flawless 2nd round here against K-Shine, with more than just stifling gun bars on the menu, but also a steady proliferation of nasty punchlines, daunting wordplay, rich metaphorical zingers and sublime name flips on the entrees as well. Indeed, another reminder that Nitty’s versatility with the heat keeps getting overlooked and only makes him more dangerous. Not to knock anything Shine did here, the performance-heavy NWX capo delivering 3 dope rounds of gritty darts, frenzied anecdotes, piercing name flips/personals, raucous punches/gun bars and some witty barbs. All the while lacking the consistency to keep up with his opponent in the first couple of rounds, before a rare trio of slip-ups by Nitty in the 3rd helped Shine avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “You know I’m clapping, stone-face savage, so the pole I’m packing, go over heads…with no reaction!”
Recap: Well, that was entertaining. And to be fair to Queen Vixen tho, getting triple-teamed in a 1-round, one-on-one battle and having a nude picture of yourself exposed for all the world to see, would probably make anybody tight. That said, Hustle already had this battle won before Viixen and the other chick made their cameos. Not that Vixen didn’t have a solid turn with her own series of mayhem and nifty punchlines. But an amped up performance by Hustle that was matched by more raucous punchlines, hitting personals/schemes and righteous 4-bar set-ups, would prove to be too much in the end.
Verdict: Ms. Hustle (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ms. Hustle – “Bitch, I’m excited, I heard you like fighting, but that last bitch?, you ain’t even hit her not once, now it make sense why you was fucking Chilla Jones, y’all both take too long to get to the punch!”
Recap: 1-round, Onsite Battle League ‘SummertimeShootOut 3’ battle between Nu Jerzey Twork and Mway Ojae sees the latter come through with some gritty punches and nice set-ups/schemes during his turn. But one too many subpar name flips and throwaway bars from Ojae along with a more versatile, punch-heavy, metaphor-bent and gun bar/personal/name flip spazzing Twork, gives New Jerooz the vic.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Wait, y’all really think he be on Jefferson, selling dope with the blue stamp?, hey Tom, I really had quarter brick, half a brick and you still giving Ojae the juice man [OJ da Juiceman]!?!”
Recap: Even with an up-n-down and energetic Barz Major dishing plenty of mayhem while rapping thrice as long as him, in this 1-rounder from GOTG, Prez Mafia’s more condensed/visceral punches, fire set-ups, sterling performance and toxic personals/gun bars are more than enough to take this one.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “You ever see a body twitch after the head shot?…yeah, nigga you getting on my last nerve!”
Recap: With a boatload of gritty punches, in this 1-rounder from Bulldog Battle League, despite a somewhat monotonous flow Tyshone TV impresses. But a way more condensed, performance-heavy. rebuttal-kicking, wordplay savvy, hitting with the personals/name flips and just as punch-centric as his opponent Prep, does more to edge this one.
Verdict: Prep (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Prep – “If ain’t what you saying, it’s how you saying the things you say, your delivery is what’s hurting you…like labor pains!”
Recap: Close and solid 1-round battle between Showtime and Teewhy delivers aplenty on the mayhem, fiery gun bars and braggadocio lines. But even with Showtime coming hard on the aggression/performance axioms, eventually it’s a more consistent, versatile and wordplay/name flip/punch-heavy Teewhy who crosses the finish line first.
Verdict: Teewhy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Teewhy – “I ride up, big blazer, I’m a risk taker, get kidnapped and hung up over a mountain in big danger, you gonna die like the movies, but right before I tell you how [bwoh!], I’m a end Show with a cliffhanger!”
Recap: Even with Bad Newz’s hardbody raps, sometimes abstract shiners and head-ringing mayhem causing plenty of havoc throughout this battle, over the course of 3 rounds, a more consistently nice and versatile Swamp’s more potent punchlines, stinging name flips/personals, gritty street narratives and witty darts prove to be too much for the less intricate Cave Gang member in this fiery Banned battle from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “I ain’t playing with not one of these muthafucka’s, its devouring time, last time it was Your Honor, now the honor is mine!”
Recap: After displaying a superb punchline game to easily win the 1st round, Da Kid Clutch’s pen melts a bit and becomes less consistent in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, allowing fellow West-coast battling vet Danny Myers to use a strong rebuttal acumen along with a boatload of fire name flips, righteous ‘parallel universal’ bars, heated gun bars and fiery set-ups.punches to win the battle.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I ain’t do no promotion for this battle, but I’m still a realer nigger, because Michael Myers ain’t have to say shit before he killed a nigger!”
Recap: Over the course of this 3-rounder from Renegade Rap Battles, Chef Trez’s wide assortment of fluorescent gun bars, over-the-top mayhem and fiery name flips/punchlines combine to make easy work of a performance-heavy, but flow-challenged and lyrically unsteady Chris Trotter.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Chopper rounds make his head spin, Dead or what, Alive? [Bwoy!} they found him dead then!”
Recap: Solid, gritty and name flip/punch-heavy effort by Daddy Mason still gets beaten by a more versatile, performance stunting, rebuttal-waving and wordplay/name flip/punchline-spazzing Quban in what turned out to be a nice, competitive 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Quban (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Quban – “It’s a bare-knuckle brawl, I’m here to get rid of you, but he was talking wild, like he want me to show him what that ‘matic do, I’m a sit on the couch, the AR gonna tell it all…it’s a Vlad interview!”
Recap: Two of the best free-styler’s/rebuttal feen’s in the game, Chef Trez and Bangz, go at it on the iBattle stage and for the most part it’s a goodie with each battler flexing their off-the-dome skills (which allowed for some entertaining crowd participation) in between written’s that mostly engaged in your usual assortment of fierce mayhem, braggadocios lines and gritty punchlines. That said it’s Trez–way more consistently nice with his punches in the deciding 2nd round, while matching his opponent in impromptu shiners here and there, who takes the match in the end after also winning round 1.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Speaking of bitches, your’s can learn this death lesson, I’ll body him then assault Bae…who think the Chef flexing?!”
Recap: Houston Bar Code 1-rounder between Holmzie Da God and Statz G sees Holmzie delivering one of his better rounds…ever, getting crazy lit with gritty punchlines, some turned up wordplay, well-crafted name flips and of course, healthy gun bars–a superb turn that stayed consistently fire throughout and easily beat back a solid, but filler-prone round from his opponent.
Verdict: Holmzie Da God (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Holmzie Da God – “I will beat your ass like Celebrity Death Match on MTV and keep beating your ass until I best of Statz [stats]…I’m the MVP!”
Recap: Black Ice Cartel delivers yet another dope 1-rounder here, this time between Showstoppa and a returning-to-the-scene Lotta Zay. And while the veteran Zay used a gang of nifty punchlines to drops a nice load of haymakers during his elongated but pretty solid turn, a slightly more consistent, performance-heavier and less reach/filler-prone Showstoppa came through with his own series of jaunty punches, witty barbs and righteous gun lines/name flips to edge this one.
Verdict: Showstoppa (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Showstoppa – “…then let the chrome spray and this ratchet hitting everything moving, she in her hoe phase!”
Recap: Despite both battlers struggling with their flow at times and making for debatable 2nd round, a lyrically bent J. Dose and a punchline-spazzing Prez Mafia still make for a solid 3-rounder on this KLBL card. However it’s Prez, consistently more potent and condensed overall, who easily takes teh 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “What’s popping Dose, let’s see if I can pull a Larkin off the belt [Bwoh!}, spin his head around, like he talking to himself!”
Recap: Roasting his more pedestrian opponent Ha Double with stinging personals (including reminders on the status of their current day battle rap careers since they started in the same PG class years back) and delivering his usual assortment of fiery punchlines and lofty schemes/gun bars that were matched by over-the-top aggression, in this 3-rounder from Bayou Battle League, Danny Myers takes the first two rounds here for the win before a more consistent Double’s braggadocio synergy and forthright punches/wordplay easily salvages the 3rd.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Nyers – “Go get that nigga Ha, it’s gonna be plen…[long pause] it’s gonna be plenty of trouble, oh y’all ain’t catch that?, I stumbled into a bar and said gimme a Double!”
Recap: Impressive showing by Drugz, who for 3 rounds brings a boatload of heated artillery from his noted ‘Gun Show’, yunno, visceral mayhem, fire 4-bar set-ups, lofty punchlines/personals.storytelling and of course, a load of righteous gun bars to unload on King Jables and after a debatable 1st round, beat back his solid and aggressive throughout, but not-quite-as-nice opponent in the latter two rounds and win this iBattleTV matchup.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “…bet things were going good on the job, then they gave him one of them late night shifts all to himself….shit went haywire, he call the bell(???), customers complaining, he put all the back pain relief medicine on the bottom shelf!”
Recap: Competitive and fierce 1-rounder between newly appointed, NWX member Don Marino and newly appointed Cave Gang member Bad Newz features a host of venom, airy gun semantics and hardbody punches from Newz. But a more versatile and slightly more consistent with the punches Marino–flexing with his storied Mexican bars, but also scoring with plenty of jaunty punchlines/personals, fire set-ups, some stinging Spanglish/hand-offs, witty barbs and a very rare rebuttal that he spit despite going 1st–gets the win here.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “How you gonna stop this?, that’s the mean bars, that scheme hard, not a Chico talking white like I applied for my Green card!”
Recap: Don Marino scores this one about right, using flexing personals, lofty gun bars, stinging name flips and a boatload of fiery punchlines (esp. during a spitfire round 2) to come from behind, take the latter two rounds and beat back a research-heavy, but after spazzing with fire/witty punches and personals in the first round, very inconsistent Jonny Storm.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I said we could go to war, I could give him war, Tsu Surf said I look like the Uber driver?, that’s ‘cuz I bring the mil [meal] to ya door!”
Recap: A more condensed, punch-heavy turn to edge a favorable round 1 for both battlers, a gang of stunted ‘Your Honor’ flips, spirited gun bars, witty barbs/personals and some righteous undercutting on the vet tip, for Bill Collector it’s all there in this Banned Legacy 3 matchup against an opponent who after dishing a dope opener, faltered by relying too heavily on dated personals, which in turn contributed to a pair of sluggish rounds 2 and 3 as well as a 30 for BC.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “I woke up snapping…like a tough guy in the 50s!”
Recap: A wide array of piercing punchlines, crazy set-ups, stinging name flips, hard-hitting (“That box is past its Prime, you ship it out daily like Amazon!”) personals, hometown angles and wordplay-savvy zingers from Bonnie Godiva and RX makes for a dope battle here on the KOTD stage. Yet, in light of the slightly more overall punch-heavy RX taking round 2 after a debatable 1st, behind a round going into the 3rd, a spitfire, mid-round rebuttal by Bonnie would highlight a head-ringing turn that allowed the NY femcee to win the final round and make this battle a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “Abortions are a women’s right…and honestly, you should try it!”
Recap: This 1-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League features another nice effort from Jersey vet Spee Dolla, who uses a gang of gritty punchlines/wordplay, some ill sacrilegious lines and a consistently spot-on flow to stay in the mix. But Th3 Saga, fresh off his battle on URL with Chef Trez, shows off his ability to bring his A-game regardless of what stage he’s on, combining a high energy performance with fire set-ups, some heated struggle bars/personals, devout religious speak, fiery punches/schemes and to his opponent’s chagrin, a boatload of potent name flips to get the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Get in my face and B. Dot me the death, gonna be a tragic fate, ‘cuz everybody claim to be woke till I’m at a wake!”
Recap: Super gritty, punch-lit and competitive effort from both Mack Mel and Jerry Wess in this Banned Legacy 2 battle from URL. A bout that also included several well-aimed cameos from various peers, some piercing personals, plenty of stinging name flips (tho Jerry did go overboard at times), a boatload of flashy gun bars, multiple Goonie mentions and even a couple of shots at the URL staff, with a debatable 2nd and 3rd round, this one comes down to the 1st, which a slightly punchline-heavier and more consistently spicy Mack edged to get the win.
Verdict: Mack Mel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mack Mel – “Whatever spot you on, I’ll clean up everything if the mop touch ya, won’t warn ya, just throw some old clips on ya corner, they Blockbusters!”
Recap: Take out Shotgun Suge struggling a bit with his flow at times and a 3rd round that didn’t quite meet the mighty high standards set by the previous rounds and you have a spitfire, dunkfest of a battle between Suge and Rum Nitty. 1st round was crazy and performance-heavy on both sides with Suge in his bag kicking hard bars mixed with super grit, (“I’ll kill your whole family, you already know, one word and I’ll drop your niece off at a R. Kelly show!”) wit and surly aggression. On the other hand, Nitty came just as nice with a plethora of rigid (“So let’s get one thing straight…your vital signs!”) punchlines, potent gun lines and some fire wordplay/name flips. However, for being slightly more condensed, the edge in the 1st goes to Suge. Round two was an imitation of the 1st with both battlers staying on their A-game via the aforementioned bellicosity as well as visceral schemes and more fiery punches with Run edging the round with an equal amount of haymakers in addition to a couple of nice rebuttals. The deciding 3rd round was still solid, but a little flat for both battlers however, but with Suge having to cut his round short due to a memory gaffe, a more flow crispy and punch-centric Rum takes the round and the battle.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Just got a little mo’ Hawks [mohawks] in, Indian in the cupboard, don’t even start him, Nina sparker [BAOW!], get a giant bald head…Tiki Barber!”
Recap: Good one between Pass and Ill Will on the KOTD stage with the former kicking a variety of fierce punchlines, nice name flips and nifty braggadocio lines that his Oakland hometown crowd more than appreciated. But Pass’ bent for filler and oft-pedestrian bars throughout his rounds combined with Ill Will’s gritty, performance-adept, rambunctious, satirical, gun bar savvy and personal/name flip heavy rotation of bars, no matter the round gives the Pontiac, Michigan rapper a well-earned 30.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I learned at a young age when you pushing that rock, nigger’s will run and shoot and post up against you, that’s why it’s easy to put two arms to ya chest Pass, I know fundamentals!”
Recap: App Gang exclusive from URL features a strong, wordplay-lit and gun bar-heavy come back from Nu Jerzey Twork after he choked in the opening round. But consistently thrifty with the play on words throughout the battle, well lit with his personals/name flips/sound effects and spicy with the gun bars and personals as well, after getting edged by a punch-heavier Twork in round 2, it’s a resilient Big T who hangs in there and beats another pretty solid turn by his opponent to edge round 3 and get the win.
Verdict: Big T (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big T – “Strap popping like when Urkel flirt!”
Recap: If you thought that a battle rapper who happened to be named Lu Cipher (as in ‘Lucifer’, get it?) was getting a battle versus a popular Christian battle rapper (in this case Loso) based on his unique moniker alone, you would be wrong. Because with a nice combo of nifty punchlines, nimble lyricism and a supreme confidence that let’s him decide if his own bars were ‘trash’ (even if you dared have the gumption to cheer them on), Lu Cipher is a pretty solid and versatile rapper. Thus, a competitive and fiery bout which thankfully for his sake, a slightly more consistent Loso didn’t take for granted, using fierce name flips, stunted schemes and jaunty personals/punches to edge what was a close rounds 1 and 2 and earn the win.
Verdict: Loso (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Loso -“Bro, I wasn’t even going to kill you, I was gonna let you make a truce with us, but since the devil wears Prada, I had a designer bag for Lu Cipher [Lucifer]!”
Recap: Stalking the stage, confident, performance-heavy and back on his grind with sizzling punchlines, fiery name flips/personals and heated gun bars, in this 1-rounder from Houston Bar Code, Glueazy makes quick work of a solid overall, but up-n-down Gutta.
Verdict: Glueazy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Glueazy – “100 proof and even tho URL don’t fuck with you, you could be anywhere in the world right now, but you’re stuck with Glu!”
Recap: As much as John John da Don deserves credit for really getting innovative via the wardrobe-change-for-bars in the 1st round, overall O-Red’s surreptitious lyricism and consistency would prove to be too much here. The Jersey vet (who was surprisingly pretty condensed throughout here) scoring mightily with fiery wordplay, potent sports bars, seismic gun play, hard braggadocio lines, fire personals and fierce schemes/set-ups to beat back a pretty solid and versatile, but not always steady with the potency showing by JJDD.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 3-0
Favorite line: O-Red – “I be doing what I want, they wouldn’t boo this [Buddhist] with a monk, naked nigga, sky-diving, you knew this [nudist] from the jump!”
Recap: An astute ability to dish a wide load of fire 4-bar set-ups/punchlines, ringing gun bars and sizzling name flips has always kept the performance-heavy Jerry Wess in every battle he’s been in so far, thus making him a proven commodity for bigger stages on talent alone. That said, Wess doesn’t lose this dope and competitive matchup against Chess as much as his opponent’s ability to showcase a more versatile display of hitting punchlines, flexing schemes, visceral mayhem/boasts, dicey personals, lofty heat and more intricate wordplay allowed the newest Cave Gang member to stay in the bout, even when out-punched and force a debatable 2nd and 3rd rounds after taking the 1st with more potency to his raps as well as some filler bars from Wess. And for Chess, after recent bouts with his flow that caused him to look very minuscule in a couple of battles, managing to get back on his grind with nary a slip-up here, much less any room for error against an opponent on his A-game, is something he should be very grateful for.
Verdict: Chess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chess – “I’m just here, giving the fade…ambre!, drag this nigga, bounce his head…Stronjay!”
Recap: The first official appearance of ‘thot bars’ from a versatile, storytelling-rich, punchline/wordplay-crazy and consistently spicy Yoshi G and an altogether fire, gangsta-lit, punch-heavy and educational, but elongated and dry spot-prone OG Prana allows Yoshi to edge what was a pretty dope and entertaining 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Yoshi G (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Yoshi G – “Every good plan starts out as a thot [thought], bitch!”
Recap: Yet another solid showing by the performance-heavy, facial expression loving (“‘Cuz when you dead in the casket, you ain’t got one!”) and punch/mayhem-centric Bankhead against a top tier opponent should get him plenty of notice. But here in this Black Ice Cartel, 3-rounder versus JC, the Michigan battle vet’s more condensed, consistently potent, fiery wordplay-drenched rounds which contained a boatload of fire gun bars, dead bodies and stinging punchlines/set-ups would be too much for even his eccentric opponent to handle overall.
Verdict: JC (W) 3-0
Favorite line: JC – “I heard you turn into an animal on stage, well I think they sorta lying [lion], I’m test it, when I reach for the belt, just hope he morph in time!”
Recap: A KOTD battle drenched in witty/hard-hitting personals and wild, entertaining schemes gets the serious treatment from Real Deal in the deciding 3rd round, the Pittsburgh vet using a series of righteously hitting darts to edge the final round for the win.
Verdict: Real Deal (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Real Deal – “No friends are trying to hang at your pad, you loser, you drunk-ass abuser, you can catch him on the weekends like A Star Is Born, just some drunk hanging in his garage like Bradley Cooper!”
Recap: Gritty, competitive and punchline-savvy showings by both Chuck Book and Lu Castro in this 1-rounder from GOTG. But a slightly more versatile, witty at times and much less flow-challenged Mr. Book edges it despite an equal amount of haymakers between the two battlers and a fire Castro freestyle near the end of his turn.
Verdict: Chuck Book (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chuck Book – “I talk money, for instance, your talk is cheap, and what that mean is of all the nigger’s I paid to battle…nigger you cost the least!”
Recap: Even with a shortened performance that he seemingly didn’t his whole heart into, in this 1-rounder from Houston’s Bar Code, Nu Jerzey Twork reminds everyone that talent is a unique gift, dishing enough spitfire punches and fiery gun bars/name flips to easily beat back an elongated and mostly pedestrian showing from local spitter Buretta Blaze.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Pole bang, gun blaze then gun blaze, pump gauge, punch face, I don’t wanna give nobody else the beats…Just Blaze!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Manslaughter Battle League, T Top gets everything but his opponent’s birthplace right, dishing sizzling trap talk, veteran battle rapper chatter, gritty name flips/personals and fierce punchlines laced with urban street flair to beat back an earnest and versatile, but mostly pedestrian with the bars Solidfoeluchi.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I got the key to the streets, I’m like the mayor with the bricks, I’ll take him with the grip and spray the nigga whip, if I put a hit out on Luchi then every day it’s getting lit!”
Recap: Solid 1-rounder between Brixx Belvy and Dre Dennis features some nifty punchlines and fierce braggadocio lines from the former. But a way more consistent Dre Dennis, hitting left and right with righteous gun lines, some lofty wordplay/punches and steely name flips, ends up taking this one easy.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “Nigga’s surprised, ain’t expect me to lift up the hammer…Captain America!”
Recap: Weird to see Chef Trez only dish one rebuttal during a 3-round battle. But here against a pretty solid punching, Asylum The Crow, he wouldn’t need them as the Chef went haywire anyway with a gang of potent punchlines, flexing gun bars and some piercing name flips to take each round for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “You from Arkansas, you said right?, whoop-die doo nigga, the shit is great, Ar’s ya state’s initial’s?, [well] my AR could change ya initial state!”
Recap: Geechi Gotti versus Head I.C.E. might’ve looked promising on paper, but the battle itself tells a very different story. Simply put, Gotti’s rambunctious name flips, steely boasts, witty personals, spitfire gun bars and gritty, urban-laced punchlines combined to do unbearable harm on an at times elongated opponent who when he wasn’t struggling with his flow, oft-times immersed himself in nonsensical punches and pedestrian abstract barbs that went nowhere. And with a 3-0 over the former KOTD champ, it’s yet another impressive victory for Gotti.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “This ain’t the same I.C.E. that battled Goodz, he should be getting no bread, so unless your grandma came to suck all our dick’s…we not getting that old Head!”
Recap: Banned Legacy 3 battle between JC and Cortez sees the kid from Brooklyn rap his ass off for 3 rounds with a versatile mix of fiery punchlines, wily boasts, flippant personals and some nasty name flips/wordplay. But as he’s always capable of, JC just took matters to another level here, the much more condensed emcee, delivering even finer wordplay, fierce name flips, fire set-ups, witty personals, heated gun bars and crazy punches that produced haymaker after haymaker, especially during an almost flawless 2nd round. And with the Michigan battler also taking the 1st round, despite a debatable 3rd (‘Tez’s best round), it’s still an impressive win for JC nonetheless.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “You can’t keep blaming your lack of battle releases on your opponent’s, see that’s that usual Cort shit, I devour nigga’s and you can still click ‘view’ on them corpses!”
Recap: RBE ‘Closure’ battle fittingly serves up Bonnie Godiva versus QB, what with the two finally facing off after exchanging some fisticuffs following a QOTR card almost a decade back. As to be expected the battle was littered with personals, Bonnie boasting about winning the fight all through the battle when she wasn’t dissing her opponent’s looks and lifestyle in and outside of battle rap. While QB remarked on how Bonnie’s used the fight to boost her career, when she wasn’t flipping on Bonnie’s recent domestic abuse issues, sex life and the help she received in the earlier fight from her ‘tranny’ uncle. Then too, the match would also see a gang of punch-heavy theatrics and wordplay-lit maneuvers from both battlers. However, with the help of Bonnie having some dry spots here and there and at times miss timing her aggression, a more witty, condensed and haymaker-savvy in all 3 rounds QB would earn the win.
Verdict: QB (W) 3-0
Favorite line: QB – “Now you YTG?, fucking crew hopper, tell me which one’s you following, you rap like whoever dick you swallowing!”
Recap: It’s no secret that the usually venerable Glueazy has been slumping of late and in this 3-rounder from KLBL, the always performance-ready E. Ness takes advantage, sporting a host of jaunty punchlines, a boatload of witty barbs and steely shiners/personals to beat back his slip-up prone opponent in the deciding 3rd round and pull off a minor upset.
Verdict: E. Ness (W) 2-1
Favorite line: E. Ness – “You should quit the Goonies and become a new gangster, I’ll super glue your chin back together when your jaw break, these 3 rounds of unreleased hits, these the Lost Tapes!”
Recap: Delivering well-crafted name flips on a whim, lofty gun bars and jaunty punchlines/wordplay with steady aggression, Xcel does just enough to beat back a gritty and competitive, but not quite as consistent Real Sikh in this fierce 1-rounder from iBattle.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “If he sick [Sikh] I’m terminal, that’s what we on this stage for [Stage 4]!”
Recap: From IBattleTV, plenty of wide-ranging cultural references, rich similes, ringing mayhem and even Real Deal confessing to a love for booze in this matchup with a punchline-lit Dego Diavolo that stayed competitive to the end with a draw after Diavolo edged round 1, a 2nd round debatable and Deal taking the 3rd with a little help from his flow-challenged opponent.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Dego Diavolo – “I’ll finger-fuck ya bitch till every finger jam!”
Recap: 30’s can be so deceiving sometimes what with the implication that the winner bodied their opponent. But that’s not always the case such as in this battle against Danja Zone, Holmzie Da God really gave a great effort, punching his heart out, adding some wit and even spouting some real street shit/struggle bars that the ‘been there’ crowd could appreciate. However, a couple of mistakes by Holmzie didn’t help matters. Such as the usage of nonsensical similes in the early stages on the bout and comically going at Danja for repeating bars in past battles would turn into a huge no-no as Zone was able to turn the personals that into a couple of fly rebuttals. Still, when it came to a spicy punch game combined with a wide load of boastful barbs and some sublime wordplay throughout his 3 rounds, even with two elongated rounds against a fierce competitor who made him earn it, the lyrically sharp Danja Zone just had too much in the tank.
Verdict: Danja Zone (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Danja Zone – “Look here I cook squares in hot hot round like a waffle iron!”
Recap: A bit of an intense 1-rounder between newcomer J.O.T.S and Nu Jerzey Twork sees the Goonie honcho get consistently busy with raucous punchlines, blazing gun bars and some fire wordplay/set-ups/name flips to easily beat back an aggressive and sometimes nice, but mostly pedestrian turn from his opponent.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Tool clap, I’m gripping a gun if I see a tool need, bump into to you [shoulder checks J.OT.S] like it’s funny seeing you here!”
Recap: Sure, Franchise had a heavily armed and spitfire round 1 (which I had him edging in spite of a dope, punch-heavy turn by Ave). But when you’re equipped with 90 percent gun bars, maintaining such a raucous pace can be a challenge and it showed. As while Ave stayed on his opponent’s neck, during this URL Born Legacy 7 bout, with even more brazen punchlines, witty/flexing personals, fiery schemes and hard-hitting mayhem/name flips in the latter rounds (all the while challenging his opponent’s street cred), Franchise just couldn’t stay on key, delivering both a gun-centric, but topsy-turvy 2nd and 3rd round on his way to a loss.
Verdict: Ave (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ave – “So whoever try to help get extra, I tried to tell y’all from teh gate, Franchise ain’t safe, we health inspectors!”
