Recap: From Krack Liberty Battle League, proving once again how fire he is once he shows all the way up, a more condensed Nu Jerzey Twork uses a versatile mix of syrupy punchlines/storytelling, hitting personals, some stellar wordplay, hard-hitting gun bars and piercing set-ups/name flips/personals to edge the first couple of rounds and gain the win over a rebuttal/freestyle-lit and mostly punch-heavy, but not as witty as usual and a little predictable with the punches Charron. A shortened 3rd by Twork combined with Charron’s best and most consistently hitting round of the battle, would give the Canadian vet the finale.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Smack killer?!, aw, bless y’all Charron, we gon’ chastise Charron, put him in check, get him in check, check his testosterone!”
Recap: In this Born Legacy 7 battle from URL, after a couple of topsy-turvy, aggressive, but pretty redundant opening rounds, Glueazy finally chokes (after ironically getting off to a hot start) away his 3rd round. But then looking back, did Glu really have a chance to begin with? That’s just speaking practically to how sublime JC was here. The Michigan battler confidently in his bag for 3 rounds while delivering nothing but straight heat via a gang of witty personals/storytelling, spitfire punchlines, persistent mayhem and piercing name flips/set-ups/wordplay to handily earn a shutout.
Verdict: JC (W) 3-0
Favorite line: JC – “I got him running in pain, covered in stains like a mattress flip!”
Recap: Take out a half-hearted and shortened 3rd round from Nu Jerzey Twork and you have a fire battle here against Charlie Clips. To start, there was a superlative 1st round from both rappers that saw a versatile, punch-heavy and witty Clips somehow edged by a raucous, (“You fucking fool, bust a move, dump a tool [Bwoh!]…guess what room he in? the other room!”) mayhem-induced and haymaker-drenched turn by NJT that even featured an early ‘Strapped In…’ bar. Undaunted by losing the 1st round, Clips showed his veteran steel with yet another fire turn in the 2nd round, breaking down Twork’s style with plenty of jocular (“Just because he screams and adds ‘Bwoh!’, it does not make him lyrical, nigga be like ‘I’m masked down, potato on a barrel, smell a hash brown…[sings] Call JG Wentworth, 877 cash [Bwoh!] I want my cash now!'”) call stylings, using some excellent crowd control and spitting some dope punchlines/personals. But Twork wouldn’t have reached his top tier status if he wasn’t equipped with a spitfire pen, as he shows again in the middle round with more visceral heat, a nice mid-round rebuttal, understated fiery wordplay and aggressive (“I’m like Charlie with longevity…extended Clips!”) punches/name flips/personals that made the round a tie. Partly due to the aforementioned indolence from Twork, the final round was a lay-up for Clips who for his part used a steady stream of fiery schemes and hitting punchlines to easily take the round and make this one a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “You’ll catch stray’s, ASPCA, I don’t play with bitches, Red you said something earlier?, well I’ll throw something in Oshun [ocean] when I spray the biscuit and he’ll get found in the Pacific, like a ghetto bitch that’s trying to say ‘specific’!”
Recap: Loso uses a gang of sterling name flips, hard Christian-laced punchlines and a slew of righteous personals/schemes to beat back a solid and sententious, but mostly one-dimensional Houndawg Buck50 in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Loso (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Loso – “I could charge big fees on any big leagues, I’m a wild card, like the 6th seed!”
Recap: A series of nifty punchlines laced with a gang of sexual innuenndo’s (amongst other things) make for a solid effort by Hefner Charming. But in this 1-rounder versus Viixen Teh Assassin, the Wisconsin battler’s hardbody punchlines, piercing name flips, flexing gun bars and hard-hitting personals prove to be too much for her oddly named opponent.
Verdict: Viixen The Assassin (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Viixen The Assassin – “They turned you in so I could eat, this dude a lunch ticket, I’ll beat him till the gun got a white girl body…the butt missing!”
Recap: Houston’s Scotty, who oft-times struggles with consistency, makes for a more steady, solid and at times gritty effort here in this 1-rounder against Charron. But for all of Scotty’s effort, the visiting Canadian opponent still proves to be too much, dishing a quartet of fire rebuttals alomg with witty self-deprecating punchlines, stinging hometown heaters, random shots at other battlers and a boatload of fiery barbs/schemes during his turn to warrant the vic in the end.
Verdict: Charron (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Charron – “This ain’t the old Charron, do your research, I got the confidence of T-Rex buying smedium t-shirts!”
Recap: From URL’s Born Legacy 7 card, a super-competitive, hard fought and overall dope 3-rounder between Th3 Saga and Chef Trez. A consistently aggressive Trez edges round 1 over a brazen, religious-laced and set-up/punch-lit Saga with a slightly more versatile, punch/wordplay-crazy, gun line-bent, religiously-tinged and personal/scheme/freestyle spicy turn of his own before a surprisingly off-the-dome-lit, 4-bar set-up/punch-spazzing, personally/Cave Gang-angled and simile-lit Saga edged round 2. Helped by some rare displays of wit and a spicy rebuttal, a slightly more condensed Trez would take round 3, using a gang of graphic mayhem, ill set-ups and fiery punchlines to edge another dope, righteous/storytelling-rich at times and Christian-bent, but a little filler-prone Saga and gain the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I could body a Horseman like BoJack!”
Recap: Here versus Xcel on the KOTD stage, the comedic, name-flip potent, storytelling, hometown-friendly and rebuttal-lit stylings of Frak not only make for an insane 2nd round, but more importantly a tie going into the 3rd. But just like he did to take the opening round, Xcel’s on-point lyrical jousting, punch-savvy wordplay, Jewish barbs, wit and sizzling set-ups/personals prove to be enough to take the deciding 3rd round and earn the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Why come fuck with the hood when white privilege sided with you?, but y’all love adrenaline, so that help me find this clue, this put you close to danger, but not really in it, this is the VICE for you!”
Recap: Goddie Lumenati’s derisive punchlines and scathing name flips make for some delicious haymakers here and there in this 1-round battle from GOTG against G Lowe. But one too many pedestrian bars from Goddie, plus a more consistent, punch-heavy, witty, name flip spicy, gun line spazzing and off-the-dome-nice-with-his G Lowe gives Mr. Gun Barz n Glasses the win.
Verdict: G Lowe (W) 1-0
Favorite line: G Lowe – “Snitch nigga, what the fuck is dirt to a ditch digger!”
Recap: Spinning a barrage of nifty multi-syllable linguistics, fiery/witty rapid-fire punchlines and stinging personals throughout the battle with relative ease, Brooklyn emcee Sean O Sean would do enough to edge a versatile and punch-heavy, but not always consistent turns by Real Sikh in the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Sean O Sean (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Sean O Sean – “No even fight, he the weakest type, this shit easy…as being white!”
Recap: It doesn’t get much better than this one as Emerson Kennedy and Jey the Nitewing each deliver an exquisite 3 rounds of steady, potent and crowd-pleasing bars and schemes. EK, slightly more lit when it came to hard-hitting (“You supposed to be toe taggin’, keeping up the race, you know, even up the pace with the East to be the greats, Jey, every time you choke East, the West reap all [Reepah] the mistakes!”) personals, but also just as fire throughout in lieu of a boatload of stirring punchlines, loaded abstract stingers, aggressive and (“Niggas chains getting rung, I don’t chase fame from a gun, but for a band on the side, I might change on the run, hop out and wait till Nite [night] show, put his name on a drum!”) well-finessed wordplay, stayed on his A-game. And Nitewing, with perhaps a bit of a monkey on his back what with all the heat he’s gotten for choking (a theme that EK had no trouble reminding him of throughout this battle) during battles, stayed flexing with consistent ease during his turns, all the while keeping the pressure on his opponent with a wide bag of witty barbs, banging (“You probably thinking this angle is getting fucking old, but you keep acting like you wasn’t told, can’t survive off what your mother knows, she can’t save you when you touch the stove!”) punches, dizzying metaphorical shiners, rich set-ups and a couple of over-the-top rebuttals. An altogether spitfire battle with nary a dry spot that also displayed plenty of braggadocio zingers and lofty struggle bars from each side, the scoring here saw EK needing a gargantuan opening round to edge the 1st, the two battlers traded an equal amount of potency with their lines to make that one debatable and the deciding 3rd round going Nitewing’s way what with one or two more haymakers.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “You wanna know my theory of relativity?, get his relatives first!”
Recap: O-Red at his finest here with some incredible wordplay, sterling punchlines, gritty gun bars, fly set-up’s/schemes and…wait for it, a boatload of salacious (“What y’all didn’t see was what happened when we went outside, he re-arranged his whole vibe, ‘cuz he knew he shouldn’t have touched me, he just tried some cute shit on cam, and it got ugly, thought I was your average good guy till he saw Chucky!”) personals in the 3rd round, indeed overall with a nary any filler. That’s more than enough heat from the Jersey vet in rounds 1 and 3 (with Murda’s 2nd round being his strongest, we’ll call that one a debatable) to beat back a pretty solid, mayhem-inducing and also stinging with the (“I’m a boss, don’t stare wrong, I’ll hit Red solo or a couple will get a round like beer pong!”) punches J. Murda in this ‘Closer’ battle from RBE.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O-Red – “You’re a peasant B, it’s shit like this that bring out the Alex Trebek in me, ‘cuz now [turns to ARP] you gotta pay a second fee for disrespecting me, get charged twice for the same murder…it’s Double Jeopardy!”
Recap: Exciting Banned Legacy 2 battle between Ryda and Stuey Newton is high on the action, mayhem, punchlines, pontifications and gun bars. And if that’s not enough, Stuey also displayed a nice rebuttal game, while Ryda supplied plenty of witty personals to add some levity to the scene. A competitive battle throughout, it’s Ryda, coming back from a subpar performance in his last URL battle against Th3 Saga, who gets the win with a sublime 1st and 3rd rounds in which he flexed his versatility with nary a dry spot. And while the always fiery Stuey came hard with the punches and ringing wordplay throughout the match (esp. during a spitfire 2nd round), the West-coast vet hurt himself a bit with elongated turns in the aforementioned rounds that couldn’t keep up with his opponent’s overall potency.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ryda – “So I don’t wanna hear all that Black power shit that you be blabbing out ya mouth, because you can’t be on this stage screaming ‘Black Lives Matter’ when it’s ‘All Lives Matter!’ in ya house!”
Recap: Mostly solid and fierce battle between Qleen Paper and T Top as a seemingly motivated QP kicks that real street drama along with witty personals, festive (“This bitch loud, some shit you ain’t trying to hear like an intervention, big chopper, I gotta put it on a stand like it’s a witness!”) gun lines and slick punchlines to stay competitive for two rounds, before running out of gas midway in the 3rd. However, even for all of QP’s real talk and more acidic lines, for each round Top would have an answer for everything his opponent dished via steely trap talk, stinging personals/name flips, rich storytelling schemes and his own barrage of heated (“It ain’t a game, the dessert so long I gotta pray for rain!”) punches to earn a 30.
Verdict: T Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T Top – “Speaking of coke, I remember when my uncle wouldn’t sell me nothing, now he the first one line for me to sell him something, cops used to ask us questions, but I ain’t tell ‘e, nothing, fat nigga, used to keep an 8-ball in my belly button!”
Recap: Nice effort by Heiron, the winner of Charlie Clips and DNA’s “Draft Night 3 Road To DNA” tournament, who solidifies his spot as a rising up-n-comer with a solid, aggressive and versatile showing (tho his pen did lose some steam towards the end of his turn) here in this 1-rounder versus DNA. That said, bringing his A-game to prove once again that he never takes anybody light, DNA’s consistent flexing of lofty punchlines, earnest gun bars, some wicked wordplay and steely name flips along with some nice rebuttals and a random freestyle mixed in to cap his turn, makes this one a no-brainer.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “From here on out, the plan is to take Heiron out, I studied you and found out your real name, so for the rest of the round we gonna hear Ron out, Ronald Dawson, see that name is clever, but I can make it better, ain’t it crazy, I’ll have Ronald running in the 80s…this the Reagan era!”
Recap: Pretty solid 1-rounder between the visiting Ryda and Houston’s Tubbs features a whole lot of nifty punches/personals and mostly competent name flips from the latter and a wide array of staunch punchlines and righteous heat from the Goonie vet. And while both battlers had their missteps, during his turn Tubbs especially struggled at times with his flow and that along a couple of more haymakers as well as a nice mid-round rebuttal by Ryda, gives Mr. ‘I Like To Name My Guns’ the vic.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ryda – “Life support, nigga that’s what you all on now…and when you pull on Tubbs that’s when it all goes down!”
Recap: Yeah, after out-punching a topsy-turvy Brixx Belvy in both of the opening rounds, a consistently gritty Shotti P might’ve had the 30 if he hadn’t slipped up midway through the 3rd round of this KOTD battle. Either way, it’s still a searing performance by the Detroit vet that included a gang of spicy personals, boastful barbs and some flexing wordplay on his way to a win..
Verdict: Shotti P (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotti P – “I’ll pistol-whip him, his vision blurry, he think he trapped in a flashback, if he don’t act like he dead, the strap to his head like a dad hat!”
Recap: After such a poor showing in his recent comeback battle versus K-Shine, the reality is that Jae Millz had nowhere to go but up if he were to choose to battle again. And despite still struggling to be more intricate with his bars, here in this RBE ‘Closure’ battle versus E. Ness (an addendum to their classic Making Da Band battle that P. Diddy called a ‘draw’) Millz not only does well in getting back to basics with cocky punchlines, some stinging metaphors/wordplay and steely mayhem, but he also avoided what was a major flaw in the aforementioned Shine battle: dated bars. That combo along with a filler-prone, pedestrian drenched Ness easily gave Millz the first two rounds, before the Ness we know for spicy punches that match his raucous intensity/performance came back to take the 3rd round while beating back a very basic and 90’s-esq. turn by his opponent.
Verdict: Jae Millz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jae Millz – “Pussy, I’m a professional and this my profession, my AR like A.I., that’s how I Answer your question!”
Recap: A true ‘away game’ for Fonz when you consider that he takes on opponent Duce in the latter’s home state of Florida, the Cleveland, Ohio battler still manages to dominate this 3-rounder from URL’s Born Legacy 6 card. Indeed, in front of an electric crowd, Fonz uses a boatload of sizzling gun bars, disrespectful personals, fire set-ups, boastful barbs and hard-hitting punchlines to handily beat back a gritty and solid effort from Duce, who while sporting a versatile array of pointed darts, hometown pizzazz and some spicy off-the-dome zingers, too often took too long to get to his punches and overall just couldn’t keep up with Fonz’s rapid bangers.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “Give Duce [deuce] a buck-fifty, I’ll lower his face value!”
Recap: Slightly more condensed with less filler, Shotgun Suge’s raucous punchlines, fiery name flips and righteous mayhem are enough to beat back a solid, but hit-n-miss turn by D Flamez in thsi 1-rounder from Bullpen Battle League.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “So let’s settle it, he irrelevant, you only tough behond your lines…Zeke Elliott!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from Gates of the Garden, Buttah From Da Block puts on a solid effort with some nice, aggressive punches here and there. But too many reaches and predictable/pedestrian bars from BFDB along with a more condensed Chef Trez who consistently killed it with fire name flips, steely gun bars and fierce punchlines/rebuttals over the course of his 3 rounds, gives the Chef another $30 meal ticket.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “No bragging, but I’m the real plug, I do the dope rapping, how you want it, throat-slashing or straight-faced like no passion?, it’s just you and my gun…butter-n-toast, old-fashioned!”
Recap: Solid and competitive 1-rounder between Ish Mulah and Moon sees the former’s more condensed turn, littered with a variety of stinging name flips, some able wit and flippant mayhem/punches, edge out the O.G. Moon’s gritty, but slightly less consistent showing.
Verdict: Ish Mulah (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ish Mulah – “Respect the goon, think I’m a allow you to show your ass?, never Moon!”
Recap: Besides taking advantage of his opponent’s ring rust with some witty personals, Cortez uses a barrage of slick punchlines, feisty verbal mayhem and rich name flips to beat a confident, but mostly-subpar-till-the-3rd-round Metaphor.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “The minute this nigga crack a smile, I’ll crack his smile, nerd nigga, square off top like cap-n-gown!”
Recap: Calm, cool and collected battle…yeah right. Loud, aggressive, intense and witty at times KOTD battle between West-coast vets Dizaster and Danny Myers contains a shitload of braggadocio lines from both rappers, heated gun bars, fierce punches/wordplay, nifty rebuttals (esp. from Danny) and a large quantity of steely personals which in the end would give Diz the victory after an elongated, but consistently fiery turn in the deciding 3rd round. That was after a more versatile, funny and (“He gonna say I ain’t a legend, try to play me like I ain’t Top 5, bitch I will stuff an Avocado up your mama pussy and make you watch live!”) punch/wordplay-heavy Myers took the first before Diz came back to tie things in the 2nd round with a (“All I got to do to win is clown on him like a twisted, metal car!”) visceral, more potent, performance-heavy and audacious turn that beat back a less haymaker-inducing round by Danny. And while he did rap twice as longer as his never-lacking-for-confidence, lit with the Arab jokes opponent in the final round, Diz’s continued riffs on Danny’s place in West-coast battle rap, well-researched storytelling bars, sharp-witted schemes and stinging metaphors/punchlines would prove to be too much for even the Bar God in the end.
Verdict: Dizaster (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Dizaster – “You’re 6 years older than me and call me an O.G.!”
Recap: A battle that the punchline feen and true lyricist can appreciate, poker face perps Mad Face and Jey The Nitewing go at it for 3 fiery and competitive rounds with a more condensed Mad Face hanging in there throughout the battle via a boatload of clever punches, flexing (“I was hoping you got you stupid, the dumber the better, Nitewing with a chip on his shoulder, let’s ruffle his feathers!”) wordplay and permeable name flips/gun bars. But for all of Mad Face’s colloquial stunting and fire innuendo’s, the Richmond, VA, battler occasional bouts with mediocrity and near slip-ups would work hurt him here and there. That said, with Nitewing’s longer turns and an equal ratio of haymakers from each battler, both the 1st and 3rd rounds were scored as debatable’s. Thus leaving the 2nd round as the deciding factor, which the overall aggressive and versatile Nitewing handily takes what with a couple of fire (and rare) mid-round rebuttals, gripping (“I’ve studied everything about you nigga, your battles, your movements, this is basic shit, I prepared these rounds for a better you that, that you can’t even face me wit’, you’d have more of a life if you put into it that effort that I put into taking it!”) personals and consistently banging punchlines.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “My nigga you basically fucked, niggas that told you about me wasn’t making shit up, even ya mama tried to warn you nigga, keep making that Face and get stuck!”
Recap: Crazy, dope, competitive and gun bar heavy Banned Legacy battle between Prez Mafia and Holmzie starts off going the former’s way as even after both battlers dished a killer 1st round, one too many dry spots by Holmzie allows Prez to get the edge there. The latter rounds not only kept the crowd entertained, but were lit with heavy-handed punches, fire name flips and quality wordplay as well. Indeed, after a solid, but a bit underwhelming-compared to his stellar-1st turn by Prez in the 2nd, Holmzie would deliver the best round of the battle with a sublime, witty at times, personal and brazen go-around that would even things up going into the final round. And while Prez and Holmzie both dished strong 3rd’s with an equal amount of haymakers, the way more condensed Prez gets the edge for the win here.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “You seen Surviving R. Kelly?, now this 16 got a minor feel!”
Recap: A 3rd round choke by Danny Myers still doesn’t take away from the too cold ‘Bar God’ hitting with enough consistently raucous, punchline-savvy and name flip-lit (esp. during a stellar 2nd round) bars in both of the opening rounds, while beating back a sublime at times, but gun-bar obsessed, a bit redundant with the set-ups and elongated Franchise in this fiery and competitive Banned battle from URL.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Every line got a gun, he sho’ got over here though, look how loud we clappin’, these rounds, two .30’s [2:30’s], maybe two .45’s [2:45’s] with crowd reaction!”
Recap: Anyone who’s done their homework would know that even before the Dizaster incident, Math Hoffa had long wanted to ‘test his pen’ versus Charlie Clips. And why not? Clips has long solidified his status as a top tier battle rapper and if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. That said, it’s too bad that it took Clips (hka ‘flip-flops’) not helping Math during his post-battle fight versus Dizaster (and Co.) some years back for these two to finally meet in the ring. Not that a Clips vs. Math match wouldn’t have had a gang of funny personals anyway as amongst other attributes, they’re both known for their wit. But do we really need to hear endless schemes, jokes and references to a Diz fight (which, to be frank, Clips came much harder on) that took place years ago and that Math still can’t get over? In other words, the feeling here is that Clips vs. Math warranted a Summer Madness card without the Diz drama, not a less worthy showing on ARP’s ‘Closure’ event (no disrespect to a fly concept, but still). As for the battle itself, the verdict is a a clear one with Clips taking it easy, even with Math delivering a pretty (“You pussy behind them bars, you a conjugal visit!”) solid 3 rounds. Whether it was taking on fake (or real) personals, challenges to his street cred or redundant shots by Math towards his dad all the while serving up nice rebuttals, gritty (“Math, I could keep fucking you up with these bars, but I want you to start living your life, you know what hurt a gangsta nigga more than bullets? when you give them advice!”) personals/name flips, steely pontifications and spitfire punchlines throughout his 3 rounds, minor a debatable 2nd round, a more versatile, prepared and haymaker-dishing Clips just proved to be too much in the first and 3rd rounds, thus gaining the win.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “It’s funny, you decked Dose, then your career started glowing up, then Diz decked you, then everything started slowing up, it’s the first time I ever seen an Arab stop somebody from blowing up!”
Recap: Mostly lackluster battle, oddly filled a plethora of dated bars, between veteran spitters Real Deal and Marvwon doesn’t pick up any steam until the deciding 3rd round which sees the two get far more lyrical with the punchlines and struggle bars. However, it’s a slightly more consistent Real Deal, both with the flow and the punches, who edges round 3 to win this one.
Verdict: Real Deal (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Real Deal – “They thought I’d be dead or strung out, so now they see the inspiration in me, when I came out the hood, it blew their mind like Clayton Bigsby!”
Recap: Against a mostly unprepared, mostly stale with the jokes and all over the place Mo Mula, a hyped up Gwitty, via a fresh plate of rapidly fierce punchlines, piercing personals and some head-ringing wordplay, makes for easy work to score the win on this 3-round We Go Hard Love Day card.
Verdict: Gwitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Gwitty – “All you got is the Cakes, you a basic bitch!”
Recap: Fierce 1-round battle between JC and Chicago rapper King Krash sees the latter go hard on the God-complex angles/themes, sermonizing and gritty street lines with a flair of confident aggression throughout his turn. But JC being JC, even if not totally on his A-game, still brought a heavy load of stinging punchlines, flagrant gun bars and potent name flips from his palette to score enough haymakers and earn the vic in this one.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “The mere fact that I come from nothing means I will always reach for something, I even reach and bang the hammer without thinking, so don’t rush to judgment!”
Recap: Controversial battle between the returning-to-the-ring-after-a-4-year-hiatus Ms. Fit and Phara Funeral features 2 spirited and competitive rounds (I had a debatable 1st before Ms. Fit edged the 2nd) that were highlighted by a wide load of fiery personals and piercing punches from Fit, while the bar-heavier Funeral stayed lit with some dope wordplay, gritty punches and hitting name flips. In lieu of an unsportsmanlike conduct that should’ve been called on Fit for distracting her opponent and throwing money down on the floor while she rapped in round 1, round 3 is where things got hectic and tensions started to appear above the surface as a consistently aggressive Fit used the final turn to deliver one of the most well-crafted, personal, witty at times and scathing turns we’ve seen from a female in battle rap (making it a classic) history. But with the mention of Phara’s mother (although there really wasn’t any direct shots taken) in a handful of her bars, Phara would allege afterwards that her opponenet broke a stipulation in the battle contract, leading to Ms. Funeral choosing not to spit her 3rd round and therefore handing Fit the win.
Verdict: Ms. Fit (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ms. Fit – “All the nigga’s you done smashed [Aaawww!], can’t even keep track of your bodies…till we read the Smack card!”
Recap: Surviving some reaches here, a pretty solid Bay-area legends scheme as well as a bit of a flow-challenged 1st that got overwhelmed by a versatile and (“They banking on you to beat the angry farmer…I’m the goat-puncher!”) hard-punching turn by Bigg K, Rum Nitty dishes enough otherworldly punchlines, sizzling (“I’ll get a lane popped, raise Glock’s, light on a pole, that old Kendrick…give K dot’s!”) gun bars, mocking personals and fiery wordplay to easily take the 2nd round before edging a close 3rd with more consistently potent ammo and make for a victorious return to KOTD.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I pop the clip and give you afterburner…Harvey Dent!”
Recap: While an otherwise leisurely Verbal War Zone Battle on the Beats bout between Der Dennis and Eazy The Block Capatin gets highlighted by Eazy tagging-in a female emcee to drop some crazy bars in round 3, the more condensed, gritty, punch/personal-lit and slight;y less flow-challenged Block Captain’s manages to edge the first couple of rounds for the win.
Verdict: Eazy The Block Captain )W) 2-1
Favorite line: Eazy The Block Captain – “You skinny now, you’ll fit up in my trunk boy!”
Recap: Prez Mafia’s battle rap career has been filled with so much drama off the stage that coming up with dope personals on him shouldn’t be hard for any opponent. But in this 1-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League, Snake Eyez doesn’t just come at Prez’s neck with the personal stuff, but also a trip through Spanish Harlem that included some quality Spanglish, mocking schemes/punches and shout-out’s to past Harlem legends. That along with aggressive/bullish punchlines aimed at taking out Prez’s soul made for a pretty solid battle even with Prez rapping too short. Yet with all the haymakers Snake was dishing, it’s a clear win for Dot Mobb.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “It’s all gimmicks, he not live, get in here rapping in the voice he don’t talk with outside!”
Recap: No debating the result here: Goodz got the 30. But let the record show that in the 1st round Cassidy was kind of nice (that is, except for jacking Danny Myers’ ‘Who in here believe in a parallel universe? (I do!)’ slogan), albeit utilizing a gritty but monotone flow throughout the battle, the ever-boastful Cass was still able to spit some (“I’m too popular, never lost a battle Smack, I made battle rap popular, you got popular off battle rap!”) hard punches here and there to make things competitive and even give you hope that this would turn out to be a dope match. But after the 1st round however, things went south…and fast as Cassidy–already so in love with himself that he’ll rap your head off if you let him–just could never get back in a groove, rarely lighting up the scoreboard with haymakers while spitting mediocre bar after mediocre bar after mediocre bar. Indeed, Cassidy’s 2nd and 3rd were really hard to watch. So hard in fact, that not only could you not wait for this hour long battle to be over with, but anyone choosing to re-watch this much-hyped bout would probably be wise to just skip Cass’ turns after the 1st round and appreciate Goodz’s ultra-smooth, versatile, (“How you The Hustla, but looking like the customer!”) personal-heavy, narrative-crazy and punchline-lit performance.
Verdict: Goodz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Goodz – “These industry niggas, when they career die, they be looking for a buzz to get hot, now they coming over to battle rap, what the fuck we look like, Love & Hip Hop?!”
Recap: Snake Eyez uses gritty schemes, a host of salacious punchlines and sizzling gun bars to easily take out a loud, but low-grade GL in this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “I’m not the one to test, like Grandma making cake in the kitchen, watch where you step!”
Recap: In sports, just because you know what play the opposing coach is drawing up, doesn’t guarantee that you’ll win the game. And the same theory applies to Franchise, who despite almost always slinging 90% gun bars, still makes for a formidable opponent with his graphic punches, rich performance bars and at times witty verbiage. That said, the Canadian battler’s commitment to dispensing heat is what gets him the edge in this URL/Born Legacy 6 battle against Chef Trez. A consistently energetic, gun line-centric, punch-drunk and haymaker-drenched round 1 goes Franchise’s way before Trez (who despite losing the opening round, still had a pretty dope turn) went ham in the 2nd round with what might be a record ‘5 of those things’ (aka rebuttals) that along with some spicy name flips, fire gun lines and fierce personals/set-ups, nicely combined to tie things up heading into the 3rd round. The last round was a close one with Trez delivering his usual tasty combo of rich punches/personals and off-the-dome burners. But despite getting off to a bit of a slow start, Mr. No Lacking uses a series of gritty street darts, power punches and steely mayhem to edge the final round for the win.
Verdict: Franchise (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Franchise – “Dump the body, toss the heat, talk is cheap, creep up with the ladder like Dawson’s Creek!”
Recap: Born Legacy 6 battle between JC and Mike P sees the latter give it his all, including some resounding punchlines, nifty video game bars, some witty personals and a pretty inspiring 3rd round that halfway through, spoke on more important matters in life. That said, yeah JC might dap his opponent’s too much during battles, but if that’s only thing you can criticize him for after he gives you straight rounds of sterling punches, spitfire wordplay, raucous bangers, graphic boasts and piercing name flips/set-ups as he did here, then you might be the problem and not him.
Verdict: JC (W) 3-0
Favorite line: JC – “It’s true, you never called me out, but you did say yes and that’s important ‘cuz accepting an ass-whooping is just as bad as asking for it!”
Recap: No doubt you will probably never see someone win a battle 3-0 with less effort than this one. With opponent LT choking away his first two rounds, instead of Jakkboy Maine going into his written’s for the kill, he mockingly freestyles a shortened 1st, before doing the same and tagging-in LB The Boss to finish his 2nd round. And in case you didn’t already know that it wasn’t LT’s night, upon finally producing a quality round, the St. Louis battler suddenly quits halfway in the 3rd allowing Jakk to drop the off-the-cuff lines and give the fans a measure of original lyrical showmanship along with fire punchlines/name flips for a win that will never come any easier.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “[Bwoh!] Basically, if Lil’ T wanna be Big T he gotta raise the bar!”
Recap: Don’t really speak on these things too much, but it’s kind of bugged watching this battle and seeing Th3 Saga on stage being rooted on by his old NWX bro K-Shine, who just happens to be standing side-to-side in the crowd with his old Dot Mobb bro T-Rex…just saying. But back to the battle, a pretty fire 1-rounder between Saga and the always competitive Fettuccine 20 with the former dishing a dope load of storied schemes/personals and variety of spicy (“So just behave or this right will drop you before you lifting your cannon…then it’s over 20, like $19.99 plus shipping and handling!”) punchlines that were sometimes mixed with religious flair that were only hurt when he struggled a bit with his flow and got a little too mean with the personals. As for Fetty, a hard and gritty round that were finessed by heated punches, searing (“The llama spit, or he get pistol-whipped, the butt came out of nowhere like Rihanna’s did!”; “I’ll turn his lights out in a small room…now it’s a BANNED! battle!”) wit, ill personals and potent gun bars which combined made for a debatable battle when taking in the few shortcomings Saga had as well as an almost equal amount of haymakers between the battlers.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “If this will make your head tilt like you ain’t really convince me, then this right hook make her not certain like the feeling was empty, the left hook, Westbrook, when I’m hitting ’em swiftly, I caught 20 3 times like I did it for Nipsey!”
Recap: Not sure where the ‘soundalike’ stuff comes as not only are the cadence’s much different, while Steams can certainly dish some rich schemes here and there (but nowhere near Chilla’s level), the feeling here is that the Brooklyn spitter’s more noted for his unorthodox wordplay, gritty punches and 4-bar setups than anything else. That said, outside of a close 2nd round, Chilla Jones just toys with Steams here, using a gang of ridiculous punchlines, pointed personals, stinging metaphors, boastful shiners, fierce gun bars and of course, heavy-loaded schemes to easily take the 1st and 3rd rounds over his sometimes flow-challenged opponent, gain the win and end up settling for a debatable 2nd round thanks in part to the Kingpen rapping too long.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “A knife to his face, swipe through the Cakes, slice through his face, I’m Nelly in ‘Tip Drill’!”
Recap: Having clearly prepped many of his bars (as well as his wardrobe) around his opponent’s well-noted gang membership, Nu Jerzey Twork’s strategy of going extra personal with Rum Nitty not only includes fire bars, but a literal slam dunk on Rum by Shotgun Suge (which Nitty returned with a dope rebuttal that’d make Spud Webb wink), Blood flag-waving and mentions of Rum’s family that in a rare moment, got Nitty to completely lose his cool and leave the stage. That sudden ‘intermission’ would come after a classic 2nd round from Rum, an extraordinary, performance-rich fete a fete that contained a host of sterling gun bars, sizzling (“Y’all said he was gonna beat me to death?, you’re right [makes like he’s firing a gun]…he died first!”; “Gun butt, it crack inside the hood…Reaganomics!”) punchlines, the aforementioned rebuttal and eccentric performance lines/wordplay. Still, Twork wasn’t just about personals here in what altogether was a spitfire battle even with all the tension in the air and the near fisticuffs. Withstanding a shitload of searing heat from his opponent in both the 1st and 3rd rounds (less so in the 3rd, as Rum’s turn while still pretty solid, was still his least potent) as well as the aforementioned 2nd, Twork’s pen game proved to not only be reliable, but multifaceted and stellar, whether it was via gritty wordplay, bodacious name flips, flexing (“K-clip, press down on a half-moon…’Do Not Disturb!'”) gun lines or fly (“I slide on an opportunity [tune Nitty], yeah Steams said that too and I shouldn’t be tossing his shit, I already left shells in one Cake, don’t get lost in the mix!”) angles/set-ups that were steered by a righteous flow/performance that stayed on-point and consistent throughout the battle. Or in other words…Jersey.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Old sniper rifle, fresh out the repair shop…fuck Rum, this shit Vodka, I got a clear shot!”
Recap: Well, this one took an unexpected couple of turns. Harlem’s Jade versus Chicago emcee P.A.N.I.C. on QOTR starts off blazing with a punch-heavy, brazen and wordplay-lit 1st round that scored a draw while leaving you thinking that this battle could be a classic. But then everything went left what with P.A.N.I.C.suffering from a couple of slip-ups in the middle round, before giving up round 2 to a still consistently spicy Jade. And then, just when one was looking forward to P.A.N.I.C.getting back on her feet and mounting a comeback, come to find out like 5 bars in that the two battlers wrote their 3rd round together in order to take some personal shots at co-league owner Deebo. And while two battlers sharing a round was unique and perhaps a first in battle rap, with the amount of talent both Jade and P.A.N.I.C. have, would’ve much preferred that they continued competing against each other.
Verdict: Jade (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jade – “I get extra greasy when I fight, Vaseline and cocoa butter, nothing of mine pinch, you must ain’t read me right like the fine print!”
Recap: With a live band behind them, Cortez and Bilzar battle on a beat for 3 entertaining rounds, whiel riding each beat almost to a tee (esp. the speed-rapping Bilzar in the 1st round while adeptly free-styled over the “Big Pimping” beat in the 3rd). After a debatable round 1, a punch-heavier Bilzar took the 2nd before Cortez came back with a more steady flowing 3rd to take the round and earn a tie.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Bilzar – “I’m the best they could find, you just the best they could get!”
Recap: Solid 3-rounder from RBE sees both Mr. Mills and B-Magic struggle a bit with their flow’s, but still deliver on hard-hitting punchlines, righteous name flips and gritty street fare for the masses. Split going into the 3rd, while also taking advantage of his opponent’s nimble slip-ups, a more consistent with the heat as well as fiery scheme-dishing Mr. Mills takes the final round and gets the win.
Verdict: Mr. Mills (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mr. Mills – “You ain’t never met a nigger like me, I’ll shoot up your whole set, I’m a mini Spike Lee!”
Recap: Funny how at the beginning of Bill Collector’s 1st round Drugz seemed to be shaking his head at the thought of Bill not taking this battle seriously, when as unorthodox, off-the-cuff and entertaining as he can be, outside of Bill and perhaps the people in his camp, does anyone have a clue what Bill’s coming with before a battle? Good thing for Drugz and the crowd tho, Bill did take this Banned Legacy battle serious, even bringing his Super Duper Scope with him for verification. And with that, what proceeded was a pretty dope and competitive battle, Drugz (aka ‘The Gun Show’) bringing a wide load of fiery gun bars, stinging set-ups/name references, a couple of biting tag-in’s (from NJ Twork and C3) and piercing punches/personals in 3 mostly condensed rounds. While Bill, ever the showman, would come heavily armed with a gang of witty barbs, some scintillating punchlines/wordplay, mostly hitting name flips and a host of Gooonie disses. A close bout till the very end, it’s a more qualitative Drugz who edges rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “What are you calling yourself nowadays?, Bill? the Devil, that just means there’s be hell to pay!”
Recap: In this gritty 1-rounder from Alpha League, a mayhem-friendly Piranha uses an aggressive stream of raucous punchlines, mocking personals and glistening gun bars to beat back a solid, but flow-challenged turn from OT 7even.
Verdict: Piranha (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Piranha – “If I up the nina, it’s time for heaven, 6:51…put the .9 to 7!”
Recap: Losing a 1-round battle after you were ahead on points is a rare occurrence, but it happens here as after killing shit with hardbody punchlines after scintillating name flips for 2/3rds of the battle, Ru Bando succumbs to a handful of reaches, some subpar darts, one too may shots at random peers in the crowd and an overall elongated turn that ended up being edged by a condensed, gritty, name-flip spazzing, gun bar-lit, visceral scheme-friendly and punch-heavy round by Quban.
Verdict: Quban (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Quban – “Glock 17 or 19, either way it’s the same Ru-tine [routine] in ya face!”
Recap: Long armed with a sizzling performance game that’s now a staple of his resume to go along with a boatload of feisty punchlines, stunted wordplay and fierce name flips/personals, in this entertaining 1-rounder from Streatz Entertainment, a consistently scoring Big T handily beats back the gritty, but flow-challenged raps from Mr. Mills.
Verdict: Big T (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big T – “I’ll bring Mills to ya door super cheap…like Uber Eats!”
Recap: Spicy personals, hitting punchlines/gun bars, fire set-ups and gritty name flips/schemes, in this 1-rounder from League of Championship Kulture, it’s all there for Don Marino, indeed enough steady heat to beat back a solid overall, but not as versatile or potent Young Herb.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I raise the tool, it got a little kick to it like Cajun food!”
Recap: Good to know that there’s a Christian battle league out there, but damn if hour-long battles doesn’t make one wary. That said, for all the elongated turns, Th3 Saga vs Voice The Poet is still a goodie with an apparent (via the dicey personals unleashed aplenty from both sides here) and intriguing history between the two battlers that for example had Voice the Point challenging his opponent’s religious cred throughout the battle. Good thing outside of getting edged by a scintillating, boastful barb-throwing, punch-heavy and condensed 2nd round from Voice, Th3 Saga came more than prepared, using a plethora of sizzling name flips, ego-busting personals, righteous spiritual speak, fierce punchlines/schemes/wordplay and witty barbs to take rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “‘Cuz he ain’t grew up how I grew up, I’m talking metal grip, fake IDs and hood rental whips…me and my shooters in one Accord like Good fellowship!”
Recap: Race angles against white battle rappers are usually par the course. But add some wit and spicy punchlines to the mix along with enough piercing personals/name flips/blazing gun bars and even against a punch-heavy, but slightly less versatile Nunn Nunn, in a 1-rounder you can squeak out a win like Zig Zag does here.
Verdict: Zig Zag (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Zig Zag – “You think I’m here to question your gangster or if you racist?, I got a question that’s way more valid…like why the fuck do white people put raisins in they potato salad!”
Recap: Don’t Flop battle between Th3 Saga and Impact goes just about the way Saga predicted it, with his opponent using half of his bars on religious angles and Saga’s old porn addiction. Still, while Impact was able to use the previously mentioned themes to deliver on some witty punches and nifty personals in a more condensed 2nd round to edge that turn, his bent for filler and oft-pedestrian bars along with a more versatile Saga dishing a slew of mayhem-inducing lines, steely punchlines/name flips and some fiery schemes with mixed in with religious flair, proved to be enough to take the 1st and edge the 3rd for the vic.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W)
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You packing the 5th or you in the car trying to stretch for the slammy, boy I’ll black with the fist or leave packed in the whip like a Mexican family!”
Recap: Nice effort here made by the always (“Against Teewhy, you showed an awful flaw, sugar or not, spit out tea in my house, you drink it off the floor!”) combative, name flip/scheme-heavy and gritty Ish Mulah. But at the end of the day Jerry Wess just proves to be way too much, firing on all cylinders with crazy (“I does this, you move fast, I’ll slow you down with a slug Ish [sluggish]!”) name flips, fiery punchlines, ill personals and fly gun bars that even with a venue change, continued to score at ease and earn a 30.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “To me, you know what’s more gangsta than killing a nigga? Making him work for you!”
Recap: Bill Collector finally gets a chance at revenge with this long coveted battle against Hitman Holla and receives an outcome many in the battle rap world probably didn’t expect: simply put, Holla out-barred him. Yeah, that’s right, the man who made ‘performance’ a category, chose to lean more heavily on his pen to win a battle, using a gang of fiery (“Man, if this nigger ain’t a bitch than please enlighten men, ‘cuz we had Bill running like Clinton in ’93!”) personals, some glistening wordplay, dope name flips, lucid gun bars and potent punchlines to take all 3 rounds and beat a witty (“You did what you did little kid, [points at forehead] but not today, [k]not joking, I am [k]not kidding, I am [k]not to play, [k]not never again, never [k]not, [k]not [k]not I say!” throughout, self-deprecating, sermonizing and performance-rich, but elongated, a bit filler prone and too often Show Out-addressing BC, in an altogether entertaining battle that brought ‘Closure’ to the two combatants longstanding feud.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “All that loudmouth shit, I’m Hitman, I don’t go for it, yeah you lost a fight, well swing now or get over it!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from League of Championship Kulture, Memphis rapper T.E.D. makes for a solid effort with some nice punchlines and flexing mayhem here and there. But with his name flips and attempt at free-styling not being his strong points, you’re left with a lopsided affair as a consistently dope Geechi Gotti’s rambunctious gunplay, mean punchlines, robust rebuttals/name flips and jaunty wordplay literally had you hooked on every bar.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Fuck the police, I don’t mess with oink’s, the .40 kicking like an extra point!”
Recap: As much as Young Ape impresses with an opportunistic load of gritty (“The rounds is lighting, shot up the car that I found him riding, did a number on the back of the whip…how’s my driving?!”) punchlines, a more versatile, potent with the gun (“Dome hit, left nothing but thoughts in the casket, now it’s a suggestion box!”) bars, fiery with the name flips/wordplay, angle-savvy and even a bit personal JC just came more equipped with the tools to take this dope 1-rounder.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “I won’t say that I saw you get killed on RBE, but you definitely choked and you didn’t win, it was pitiful, how you bottom shelf and still can’t reach your pinnacle?!”
Recap: Gates of the Garden 1-rounder between C3 and Dre Dennis sees the former spit a solid round littered with a few nice rebuttals, sanguine verbal gymnastics and gritty mayhem. But one too many pedestrian bars from C3 along with a more versatile and entertaining Dre Dennis, who seemed to score at every opportunity, especially when it came to fire/witty personals, heated punchlines, lofty gun lines and potent name flips/set-ups, puts another dub in the Loud Boys column.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “Ruger airing, shoot a parent, emergency pops last, put mama down firsr like Emergency contact!”
