Recap: Admittedly, when faced against a notorious gangbanger the likes of Geechi Gotti, one couldn’t help but think that a vet like Shotgun Suge would transition a bit away from the movie reference lines and queries on what his opponent’s ‘life’s like’ that he’s known for, instead for more witty barbs (something’s Suge is more than capable of) and personals that reflected his own street aptitude. And while Suge did manage to bring a versatile dish of gun-laced darts, raucous bully bars, performance-heavy (including a noted pocket tap) shiners and gritty punchlines/name flips, against what was a Gotti that overall was on his B+ game (mostly due to long-winded rounds), Suge who’s often noted for being condensed, might’ve had a win here if he’d changed his strategy a bit. Instead, including a rebuttal game that included a rousing chest tap in round 2, fierce punchlines, fiery comeback’s for Suge’s slogans, steely gang speak, potent gun bars and notable yarns on real-life street drama, helped in part by Suge struggling with his flow a bit throughout the battle while cutting both his 2nd and 3rd rounds short, it’s Gotti for the 30.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I’m a street nigga, you can’t tell me that the block ain’t mine, ‘cuz you nigga’s like to argue over time limits, my nigga’s doing bids, really wishing somebody stop they time!”
Recap: In what was a dope Queen of the Ring battle from beginning to end with plenty of hardbody punches, ringing mayhem and menacing wordplay from both ladies, Jade uses a consistently spitfire 1st and 3rd round to beat back fellow We Go Hard battler Charisma.
Verdict: Jade (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jade – “Already copped, I keep it tucked so I’m talking crazy, hoping she heard me, 90s baby, I’m close to the .30!”
Recap: Although the allegations (and they do appear to be true) of Bad Newz stealing a couple of bars here lessens the bite of this battle, him and Tay Roc still put on quite a show what with both battlers dishing some exquisite mayhem, stinging gun bars, some salacious (BN: “He my idol, but tonight in this ring I’m son rifle, ‘bad news’ written all over this hammer, that’s the Gun Title!”) wordplay, gripping personals, snappy performance bars and plenty of gritty punchlines and potent (TR: “If we don’t kill him, we coming back for Newz weekly!”) name flips. Still, for all of Newz’ aggression and potency throughout his round, some pedestrian bars by Newz here and there along with an epic Tay Roc clearly on his A-game, dropping haymakers with rapid abandon with nary any filler throughout, would prove to be too much in the end.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Every nigger in my crew clap for me, I could send Chef and Raw like my food Japanese!”
Recap: With similar compositions of rich, anecdotal bars, performance and a shared love for sonically-inclined, verbal hijinks, Jakkboy Maine facing off against battle veteran Big T was only a matter of time. And besides a lopsided 1st round that a more consistently spicy, frequent Chicago-dissing and oft-mean with the punches Jakk clearly won, this one was a competitive one with Big Terrence coming back from a somewhat lackluster showing in the previous round with a performance-heavy, name flip friendly and wordplay (“Now Smack gonna lose Ciroc sponsoringship, ‘cuz Jakk spilled with the 5th and the blood in the mirror smeared off [Smirnoff]!”) sizzling turn that forced a debatable 2nd after his shirtless opponent’s intricate and flashy punchlines equally made their mark in the round. Still up a round going into the 3rd, Jakkboy continued to flex, dishing rapid mayhem with visceral punches that contained some nasty set-ups, crafty wordplay and heated (“Pistol in his mouth, now he Quiet…on the set!”) gun bars, another fire turn that beat back a solid and personal/punch-heavy, but not as consistently potent turn by Big T.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “…and fuck Kanye West, ‘cuz if slavery was a choice, so was his mother dying!”
Recap: iBattleTV matchup between King Jables and Steams proves to be witty (esp. on the side of KJ), punch-heavy, name flip savvy and loaded with mayhem. A more consistently nice and intricate (“Make a move or I wish you’d flex, the C’s will drop J and cables is what you’ll be hooked to next!”) Steams takes round 1, before a vigorous, flow-centric and haymaker aplenty Jables comes back and easily takes a 2nd round that was even more solidified by a Steams choke. Tied going into the 3rd, both battlers came with even more rigid punchlines and some dope wordplay. And while Jables was a little more versatile his bars, a slightly more consistent Steams came hard with enough heat to make this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: King Jables – “Ypu know he don’t travel, this clown runs his own league, hosts his own battles, like round 1 it’s on me!”
Recap: Ever animated and always welcoming newcomers to his ‘gun show’, a more condensed Drugz dishes more than enough heat and fiery punchlines to beat back a solid, but a little too filler-prone Whosane in this 1-rounder from The Colosseum Battle League.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Shots out the llama soar, everything in here will buck like the Dollar store!”
Recap: In one of the better PGs from 2019, it’s a flawless 2nd round that along with some surprising (“And you was just a Lunchable, I was always taught to cover my own ass, like if you say “grace” I say one right after you, just in case God don’t fuck witchu!”) wit and extra spicy personals/name flips that stand out for the normally gun bar/punch-heavy Swamp here as the South Carolina battler used a condensed and punchline-lit turn to edge round 1, before the aforementioned 2nd also earned him that round. And while the witty/slick storytelling (“I seen a nigga who had nothin’…still get bitch-slapped!”) backstylings of Your Honor had at the very least kept things close in the earlier rounds, the DC rapper could only muster (bird sounds included) a half-hearted effort in the final round, which in turn would help a still-on-point and gritty Swamp get the 30.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “You play with me I’m a grip the thing, the drum stick [drumstick] will leave ’em all flat like most bitches like they chicken wings!”
Recap: Not quite as thrifty with the wordplay as his opponent, but still live enough in the building to score with plenty of raucous punchlines, steely name flips/gun bars and loud, righteous street banter, an also cleaner-flowing Pop delivers more than enough stifling bangers in the 1st and 3rd rounds to get the win over West-coast battler Real Name Brandon in this close 3-rounder from We Go Hard.
Verdict: Pop (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pop – “You go by Real Name Brandon, Tuh!…nigga, my whole life I’ve been branding my real name!”
Recap: Take away Glueazy surprisingly choking away his 2nd round and you have a fire battle between Glu and fellow Goonie squad member Ryda. Still for all the bout’s competitiveness, it’s Ryda who earned the most shine here, delivering a versatile palette of fiery self-deprecating darts, sizzling gun bars, witty personals, stinging punchlines/name flips and during a spitfire 3rd round, a host of flexing shots at his former Cave Gang team and even a couple of shots thrown Smack’s way for allegedly mishandling his battle rap career. And while Glu would also dish a boatload of flexing punchlines, witty/pointed personals and heated gun bars to keep things competitive in both a debatable 1st round and a fiery 3rd, Ryda’s standout performance throughout the bout would prove to be too much in the end.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ryda – “And everybody wanna know if Ryda still Cave Gang or not, well fuck Ave, you asked Roc to give your answer!”
Recap: 1-rounder from Street Status features a cocky and solid with the bars, but elongated and a bit reach-heavy MVP succumb to DNA’s more potent punchlines, a couple of nice rebuttals and flashy gun bars/name flips.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “You said you put 30s into 16 like statutory rape?, well that bar deadly, I’ll remix it, I’ll put 40 in 16, I’m R. Kelly!”
Recap: Well, that was enlightening. In front of a Capital Battlegrounds audience that apparently didn’t get the memo on keeping quiet while the battlers rapped, Bonnie Godiva and OG Prama deliver a pretty heated (and lengthy) 1-rounder that saw Bonnie get extra personal with it (going after her opponent’s looks and even her kids with hardcore intensity), an OG Prana having to be calmed down on stage after literally wanting to fight her opponent in reaction to some of Bonnie’s more intimate disses (guess Prana didn’t get the other memo about this being battle rap) and Bonnie’s abused mug being printed on T-shirts for all to see during Prana’s turn. As for the match itself, while OG’s gritty raps, salacious personals and real street ethos made there mark from time to time and kept it competitive, the more consistently lit, personal/wordplay-heavy, aggressive, witty and sometimes downright just mean Bonnie took this one.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “You shaped wrong, it’s all muscle on muscle like gay porn!”
Recap: Along with some clever wordplay, stifling mayhem and piercing name flips, both 40 B.A.R.R.S. and Tootz spit a gang of gritty punches in this 1-rounder from Street Status. However, a clean turn by Tootz and a couple of stumbles by 40, gives the former the win.
Verdict: Tootz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tootz – “Jesus Christ, too young for mid-life so I’m coping with 40!”
Recap: Even tho it took on the feeling of being a handicap match what with LB The Boss (RIP) getting tagged in for gang of fiery missives, this 1-rounder from Bullpen Battle League still ended up being a goodie with the forever entertaining Bill Collector dropping his usual assortment of eclectic (“The can cover the arm, I’m reaching for a Pringle!”) punchlines, witty barbs/personals and lofty gun bars while an off-the-dome nice, name flip-lit and punch-heavy Casino stayed consistently spicy throughout the battle. That said, what an almost equal amount of haymakers during a near equal amount of time rapping, this one ends up being a draw.
Recap: Long overdue battle between Presidential Dubz and Prez Mafia only goes down for one round and sees the always aggressive and gritty Dubz, apparently with a lot to get off his chest, rapping twice as long as his opponent, but delivering consistent heat within his turn. Mafia, on the other hand, more condensed, witty at times and also dishing plenty of mayhem with the punchlines ends up turning in a pretty solid round that makes one wish this was a 3-rounder instead of 1. That said, it’s Dubz, slightly more versatile with his bars as well as more prepared (that’s a nod to Mafia cutting his round short) who earns the win here.
Verdict: Presidential Dubz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Presidential Dubz – “The bitches out here throwing the na na, you thirsty, doing anything for the na na, [but] this a different ratchet in ya face…he like ‘Nah nah!'”
Recap: In this fierce 1-rouder from WeGoHard, both Lu Castro and Dougy flex with gritty street bars, righteous gun lines, potent punches and moreso in the case of Dougy, stinging personals. However Dougy, more consistent and versatile throughout his turn and able to top his opponent by dishing more haymakers, who gets the nod in this one.
Verdict: Dougy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dougy – “Nah, I got a better plan, chopper on me, I’m a let the Harley shoot ya, and this shit a never jam, it’s a party pooper!”
Recap: Dunsh’s often (“Chilla Jones, 35 and still alone, looks like the ladies don’t appreciate your quill Jerome!”) biting, self-deprecating and sarcastic sense of humor makes this a close one overall. But after getting edged in round 1, a more versatile, consistent with the fire (“See, I was booked to destroy ya, and after this they gonna see me excel, so you can’t be that good of a lawyer!”) punches and angle-savvy Chilla Jones does enough to take the latter two rounds and win this entertaining battle from iBattle.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “That nose, looks like it’s one of Owen Wilson’s nose’s children!”
Recap: Vet vs. newbie. Lite-skin vs. Lite-skin. Those themes and a boatload of florescent gun bars/residual mayhem/piercing name flips by NXT along with witty (“We supposed to believe little Blake Griffin gets guns involved?!”) personals, some solid wordplay and boastful punchlines by Cali Smoov add up to a dope battle and draw in this 3-rounder from the Riot Network. Give the perfunctory heat-blasting NXT a clear vic in the 1st before Cali came back with a versatile and sublime 2nd to even things going into the deciding 3rd round which we’ll call a draw due to an equal ratio of haymakers.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: NXT – “You said Griz work at the call center, I’m all wit’cha…so he gave me the extensions for ya!”
Recap: In this time-stamped battle from Onsite Battle League, when Young Kannon wasn’t proving how much research matters in lieu of dishing spitfire personals, for 3 rounds he was delivering an aggressive and potent mix of fiery gun bars/name flips, flexing wordplay with his punches, colorful bangers that The Wire fans would appreciate and well-crafted, ultra-violent mayhem against an at-times nice with the personals and nifty punchline swinging, but way too inconsistent overall and admittedly unprepared in the 3rd round, Prep.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Like I started writing yesterday, I’m doing Prep bad!”
Recap: Rare to see the normally cool and copacetic Tay Roc stumble, much less get out of his comfort zone when it comes to staying professional on stage. But that’s the case here as after a debatable 1st round that saw both Roc and Pat Stay put forth equally hit-n-miss, elongated turns in which they both coincidentally attempted to try out their opponent’s style, Roc literally loses it. Starting with his temper during the 2nd round in the face of Pat Stay’s downright mean personals, smart aleck zingers, dope performance lines and aggressive punchlines. Then when a still heated (and behind one round thanks to Pat’s aforementioned comeuppance in the previous round along with his own penchant for redundant personals and mostly standard punches) Roc finally returned to his gun bar itinerary in the 3rd and despite a stronger turn bar-wise throughout, surprisingly slip-ups twice, leaving Pat Stay, already commanding the stage throughout with epic showmanship, more versatile his bars and schemes, stinging with some fly wordplay and finally with the verbal stamina to drop freestyles and haymakers at random with yet another opportunity to take the round, which the Canadian rapper obliged in kind to win the battle.
Verdict: Pat Stay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pat Stay – “People used to fuck with you serious, but nowadays in the URL you don’t get no W’s period!”
Recap: Drenched with a shitload of themes surrounding loyalty and at the end of the day, one of the most personal battles you’ll ever see, for the most part the much-hyped grudge match between Math Hoffa and Hollow Da Don lives up to the expectations even with it being over an hour long. 1st round was the best one what with the two vets clearly not holding back on anything, swapping some dizzying punchlines along the way, but explicitly sharing their own view on how this battle came to be in the first place via gritty narratives on past beef, Coney Island (and battle) drama, some guy named Dizaster, potent schemes, witty bars and oh yeah, a hilarious new nickname for Hollow from Math: ‘Splish Splash!’. And while Math would allude to being more more interested in exploiting his opponent than actually winning the battle, his hard-hitting and sometimes downright mean war stories throughout this bout, would beg anyone to differ. That said, the opening round, while certainly a close one, the edge here goes to Hollow for more astute (“You’ve been playin’ this tough shit for over ten years my nigga, that’s what you really get, accept your karma, it was a Dose of somethin’ Serius! [serious]!”) angles to his lines while also flexing a bit more when it comes to versatility and wit. The 2nd round was a clear win for Math as while Hollow was able to dish another punch-centric and at times personal-heavy turn, some mediocre bars/schemes here and there, a couple of so-so rebuttals and a Hoffa who was just relentless when it came to fiery (“This gon’ be biblical, ‘cuz how you living is ruthless, you think you know a (Noah) nigga ’til the rain come and it give you the deuces!”) personals, bully bars and schemes would be too much. And while a way more condensed Hollow spit another solid and at times moving (“You know what else ain’t change? Ya attitude, neither did ya bank account, he look at change as somethin’ bad so I’m a leave you dead how you are, y’all remember what he just said? “I solidify my spot with gorillas…”, which makes sense cause apes never evolved!”) turn in the 3rd and deciding round, Hoffa would do way more to make his side of the beef narrative believable, expounding on tales from the two’s old friendship, mixing in some witty personals, deftly punching with some nice wordplay and most importantly when it comes to the overall theme of the battle, letting loose on Hollow’s allegedly bad business dealings. With the consistently aggressive, bodacious, funny and (“Hollow come on… your whole motto’s a con You pushin’ loyalty is like the pope preaching out the Koran!”) punch-heavy Hoffa also doubling his opponent on haymakers in the final round, this ‘Closure’ match from RBE ends up being Math’s for the taking.
Verdict: Math Hoffa (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Math Hoffa – “Yeah, you beat Ars’, but ain’t matter cause he was punkin’ you, John John took ya Don status and put a slump in you, now ya name ain’t the same and it troubles you, ‘cuz Hollow’s just a ho and two L’s now he owe [‘O’] y’all a W!”
Recap: Giving a 1-round shot to rising newcomer Chico, Danny Myers witnesses the fledging rapper impress with a gang of nifty personals and some hard-hitting punchlines. Still, for all of his opponent’s comeuppance, Danny had an answer, using a variety of raucous punches, stifling name flips/personals, a couple of spicy rebuttals, some solid wordplay and a wide load of boastful shiners to spoil any chance of an upset.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I ain’t gotta lay my stats off ya, but I’m a world famous rap author, fans never knew Chico existed like Smack’s partner!”
Recap: In this aggressive and fiery 1-rounder from West Coast Elites, a more condensed Jade’s spicy/rapid-punching flow, laid back wit, sizzling gun bars and piercing wordplay are enough to beat back a gritty, versatile and pretty solid overall, but not as steadily hitting S.O. Finesse.
Verdict: Jade (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jade – “Then I’m deading your soldiers, two ratchets getting aired out like the friendship is over!”
Recap: Killer 1st round from a mayhem-lit LL Coogi (with plenty of fierce gun bars and stinging punches to follow in the later rounds), still isn’t enough to beat back a more condensed, scheme-heavy, wordplay-savvy, personal-scoring and braggadocios/punchline-spicy Xcel in rounds 2 and 3, giving the Team Homi vet a close, but impressive win in this dope 3-rounder from Spit Dat Heat.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “This match just proves that we both in the game, but not by the same rules, see I paid dues, you pay dudes, it ain’t the same move!”
Recap: A solid effort from Verce unfortunately ends up in a choke, leaving a fiery name-flip dishing, gun-bar spazzing and punch-centric B. Magic with an easy win in this 1-rounder from 413 Battle League.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 1-0
Favorite line: B. Magic – “What a minute, who told this muthafucka he should get brolic?, stuff ya fucking brains in, I’m trying to kick knowledge!”
Recap: In front of a raucous Bayou Battle League crowd for 1 round, 40 B.A.R.R.S. uses a boatload of stifling personals, piercing punchlines and rigid wordplay to beat back a personal-lit, but otherwise mostly pedestrian Double M.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 1-0
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “He the type that got more female traits than a straight man that I ever seen, he’s always worried about footage, but he makes T-shirts, that’s why he’s pressed for the screen!”
Recap: Faced with the mostly basic punches of hometown fave Saint, a performance-heavy Reepah Rell uses a gang of sizzling name flips, righteous punchlines, some fiery wordplay and even a few witty personals to turn this 1-rounder from Premiere Rap Battle League into a haymaker-lit, 1-sided affair.
Verdict: Reepah Rell (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Reepah Rell – “Plus, you look like the faggot type, you probably watch re-runs of Magic Mike!”
Recap: Solid Verbal War Zone battle between Swave Sevah and Pep delivers on cadence, fiery lyrics and some nice wordplay. But even with Swave coming through with a clean and spitfire 3rd rpund that was arguably the best in the battle, it doesn’t make up for too many slip-ups in the previous rounds as well as a more flow-admissible Pep’s more veracious, braggadocio bars and stinging punches.
Verdict: Pep (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pep – “You dumb or what?, you don’t wanna play Ock, white boy wasted, Rum and Srroc [Ciroc] in the same shot!”
Recap: Come-n-comer Erky Law shows a lot of potential in this 1-rounder against Chef Trez, flexing with a load of nifty punchlines, sporty wordplay and a variety to his bars. Still, never one to take anyone for granted regardless of what tier they’re on, a more condensed Trez’s more potent name flips, jaunty gun bars, lofty personals and consistently bodacious punches are all too much to overcome.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “You should just act, do comedy, we don’t believe that you spraying, I know that he was a grown kid soon as I spotted little man on his way in!”
Recap: While a pretty solid throughout Aye Verb brings some righteous vet talk and piercing punches to this Go-Rilla Warfare 1-rounder, his opponent Gauge, although rapping a little longer, still manages to use his cold flow to spout cocky stylings on street code ethics when he wasn’t dishing some witty (“The powder so white the brick stamp say ‘gluten free’!”) barbs, throwing shots at fellow Chi-Town rapper Big T or delivering enough worthwhile heat to earn a debatable.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Aye Verb – “You gotta win two rounds to be solidified, if I don’t lose two rounds I don’t get criticized!”
Recap: A dope battle with a bit of a surprise ending as Danny Myers and Stack Almighty face off in this 3-rounder from Bloody Scene Battle League. For the first two rounds anyway, both Myers and Stack came hard with blistering mayhem, hardbody punchlines, boastful shiners, some piercing name flips (moreso from Danny) and in the case of Stack, a couple of spicy rebuttals to split things going into the 3rd round. Then we saw Danny leave Earth, dishing 4 straight fire rebuttals to start off his 3rd before spouting a slew of daunting gun bars, dicey 4-bar set-ups and searing punches to leave his opponent with little chance of overtaking him. Yet with Stack having proven himself to be highly formidable for two rounds, surely he had another round of spitfire bars in the holster ready to take Danny out and win this thing, right? Not so much. As after a solid start (with a couple of feelgood rebuts), Stack tags in one of his Zoo Faculty squad members to take over and for the most part finish his turn. And while the white boy was kinda nice with his punches, we ain’t about to give Stack credit for his man’s hard work, which in turn gives Danny the vic.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I saw 810 Trap, I said damn ain’t no rules here, y’all murder rate is high…made me wanna move here!”
Recap: Perception can be a little blinding. With Jakkboy Maine readily dominating both the 1st and 3rd rounds, one can easily come off thinking that (as he did in his recap, where he even talked about retiring) this battle versus Nunn Nunn was a lopsided affair. But it really wasn’t, especially seeing as a more consistent and punch-heavy Nunn surely took the 2nd and wasn’t too shabby with his bars and schemes in the other rounds. But putting aside a solid mid round, a performance rich Jakkboy Maine was just stellar here, dishing richly potent name flips with ease, shooting up his opponent with the stinging gun bars, serving up righteous heat with epic punchlines and for the coup-de-grace, a sizzling Little Richie ‘A-Wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop-bam-boo!’ punch that not only brought the house down in the 3rd, but solidified Jakk’s victory.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “See a white boy in 2018, now anything I pull look like a gun!”
Recap: Generous with the urban street flair, vociferous punchlines, heated personals, fiery name flips and even a nice rebuttal to start off his round, Geechi Gotti lays the hammer down on a swag-friendly, sermonizing and mostly solid overall, but way less potent with the K Philosophy in this 1-rounder from AHAT..
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Face shot, they like Gotti why you got the cannon [Canon] flashed on him?, [‘cuz] this nigga keep smiling!”
Recap: Each having taken a long break from battling on URL, both Bad Newz and Rolla make their Proving Grounds return and it’s a goodie. Newz dishing hardbody punches with a gritty and often cocky edge, while Rolla talked that O.G. shit with fire set-ups and personals. Close and competitive throughout with lofty gun bars, fiery name flips and some able wit mixed in, it’s a more condensed, pragmatic, versatile and less filler-prone Rolla who edges rounds 1 and 2 for the win.
Verdict: Rolla (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rolla – “I’m Cooter Brown, iron out, I’m done pressing him…hand grip, one finger move, it ain’t thumb wrestling!”
Recap: Slinging fire gun bars, festive name flips, wicked punchlines and a head-ringing rebuttal to start things off with vigorous abandon, in this 1-rounder from Capital Battlegrounds, Chef Trez beats back Friday fan King Esco, who while aggressive and solid with his punches throughout, just didn’t have enough potency to his raps to keep up with his opponent’s more spicy lay work.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “The shit you spit?, they hype it, but it is your hometown, well this chopper ain’t Shine, from this K you getting a whole round!”
Recap: Even when he’s punching at his best, Born can often be his own worst enemy. Indeed, as seen here in this URL/Banned Legacy battle vs. Joe, the Bronx vet displayed why when he’s on he can be one of the best punchlines feens in the game. But then, for every highlight there’s immediate reminders of why Born’s battle rap career has been so topsy-turvy. And no, in this case he didn’t choke, Instead, there’s questionable wordplay like comparing himself to a ‘rapist’ to deliver a punch in round 2 or spitfire stretches of haymaker after haymakers followed by bouts with pedestrian bars and reaches or racial angles towards Joe that he had to know have been used before (tho the 2nd round scheme comparing Joe’s looks to ‘every Offensive line football coach, etc.’ was pretty funny and entertaining). Of course, none of Born’s shortcomings would matter to Joe, who outside of one too many Mike P references as well as one too many ‘Born’ flips was able to deliver 3 dope rounds of scathing personals, steely gun bars, ridiculous set-ups, fiery schemes and piercing punchlines to edge rounds 1 and 2, before only losing the 3rd round thanks to a near flawless, punch-crazy turn by Born.
Verdict: Joe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Joe – “If I see your bitch, I might spark it, or a gun butt [smacks hands together], cracker [crack her] with a mean handle…White Chocolate!”
Recap: Anyone who’s ever peeped the punch-lit Brixx Belvy before would know that he’s more than capable of bringing that competitive fire to Chef Trez. And that’s the case here as in this 3-rounder from Rap Grid, the SONS vet delivers a fiery dish of standout (“Push a plate back on Chef, I ordered fries wit it!”) punches and nifty wordplay that more than met the crowd and his opponent’s approval. However, Trez being Trez, was just too much here what with the Cave Gang general dropping haymakers with ready abandon via a stinging mix of jaunty name flips/personals, heated (“If plotting what you trying to do, you’ll get one .40 put to ya brain, you got a genius I.Q.!”) gun bars, potent trap talk and of course, a couple of fire rebuttals and other lofty punchlines. Mark it down as a debatable 1st followed by the Chef earnestly taking the latter two rounds.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Fuck it, I’ll stick a knife in Brixx [bricks] like I’m testing the quality!”
Recap: Honestly expected more from two battle rap legends, Math Hoffa and TheSaurus, then this KOTD bout, which had its share of moments, hot punches/schemes (Math: ‘…they gone see Math vs Thesaurus and never click on this battle!”) and piercing personals, but overall didn’t measure up to what you’d expect from the name recognition. Still, after the two split the first couple of rounds, a fire rebuttal by Thesaurus along with a handful of haymakers in round 3 were enough to edge a righteous and on-its-way-to-being-epic, but also a bit flow-challenged and eventually shortened turn by Math.
Verdict: TheSaurus (W) 2-1
Favorite line: TheSaurus – “Every time he’s got a problem Math’s still counting on his hands!”
Recap: Dizaster doesn’t hold back on breaking down Cali Smoov’s entire background in and outside the ring via a boatload of extra hard personals and soul-reaching punchlines. That along with a couple of nice rebuttals by Diz combine to beat back a solid, but nothing over-the-top showing by Smoov in this 1-rounder from AHAT Cali.
Verdict: Dizaster (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dizaster – “Andre 3000, you the biggest outcast [Outkast] out of anybody out the group, he wanted to ball up with us like Sonic the Hedgehog, but he never got any ring because we kept you out the loop!”
Recap: Heard 40 B.A.R.R.S. say at least a couple of times now during battles that she just wrote her rhymes last night. And while every battler is different when it comes to preparation, with all the hiccups we see quite often see with 40, one can wonder if not giving herself enough time to practice her rounds contribute to 40’s slip-ups. Still, here in this Universal Bars Battle League 1-round bout with the ever-raucous styling’s of LL Coogi, despite a couple slip-ups, 40’s pen still makes its mark with a bunch of fire punches and name flips. Yet, while he did end up rapping twice as longer as his opponent, Coogi’s lengthy turn of spicy gun bars, vivid set-ups, dope personals and hardbody punches are stretched out and hitting enough to edge things here.
Verdict: LL Coogi (W) 1-0
Favorite line: LL Coogi – “Your career can’t afford this, this L about to be large and enormous, they gonna ask me how I got my groove back with 40…a stellar [Stella] performance!”
Recap: Boisterous, energetic and punch-heavy battle between Bankhead and Danny Myers stays close throughout with Bankhead’s twisted, set-up friendly and mayhem-laced (“Brought an old ratchet for Myers…Jamie Lee Curtis!”) punches going toe-to-toe with Danny’s more lyrical, visceral and braggadocio raps. But the ever-confident Bar God, despite one too many name flips and rebuttals, still takes the first two rounds here, edging his enigmatic, but elongated (and a bit reach-heavy) opponent with more consistent punches and a couple of more (“I don’t gotta prove I got a better pen or I cook like you, I’m doing this for every nigger that got his bitch snatched by a nigger that look like you!”) haymakers. Give the 3rd round to a still spazzing and more direct Bankhead, a fiery turn that easily beat back a solid overall, but a bit porous and less head-on round by Mr. Myers.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I’ll catch ya at your family dinner bra, in front of ya mama I’ll give you bucks, long hair don’t care, no hair don’t give a fuck!”
Recap: Peppering his opponent with waves of spicy punchlines mixed in with some stellar wordplay and fiery schemes, while for the first two rounds, staying away from the usual assortment of personals (he’d get to them in the 3rd round) we see against Danny Myers, DNA beats back a hit or miss opponent who too often went for lackluster personals and easy name flips then his winning forte of consistently substantive boasts/mayhem/punches, rich storytelling and otherworldly karma. A fly rebuttal game and some fierce punches in the 3rd round helped Danny ring up enough heat to equal the potency from DNA’s more personal-driven turn, land a draw and avoid getting 30’d.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “There’s no way you can split my movement, I let the .8 spray, if not, it’s the fifth I’m using, I’ll have Danny see the tre way [Treyway] more than 69 stupid!”
Recap: With little to no history behind them, Math versus Ave comes off as one of those random battles that got booked after their names got pulled out of bag. Nonetheless, outside of Math slipping up here and there as well as stopping his 3rd round short, the battle itself is still a goodie, packed with plenty of fiery punchlines, some nifty wordplay, bully bars, head-ringing guns bars and gritty personals that made things competitive throughout. That said, with a flow that was way more consistent and displaying authenticity with his rich performance, this one was all Ave, who simply out-punched his opponent in each round and took this hands down.
Verdict: Ave (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ave – “You ain’t nobody Smack gonna pay to see most, if this nigga can raise a penny at the door, he Patrick Swayze in Ghost!”
Recap: Not quite your best Chilla Jones and a bit elongated for one round, but a more versatile with the pen Mr. Jones still manages to dish enough fiery punches, potent schemes/name flips and lofty personals to beat back an aggressive, but too often pedestrian and one-dimensional Kapitol.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “I’m trying hard not to backslide, bringing Capitol Punishment, but I’m still Not a Player…Track 5!
Recap: His best effort coming in the 1st round via a mix of fierce (“Okay, you let your let machete spray, I get it, ‘cuz some rifles gotta blade on it, but when a fan recite it, they look stupid and get blamed for it!”) punchlines, even-handed sermonizing and some to-be-expected personals, overall, a confident Mickey Factz makes for a pretty solid effort here against DNA. And that’s a good thing for performance artists looking to get into battle rap. But this version of DNA, aggressive throughout, heated with the punches, flexing on the mayhem, potent with the name flips, rich with the (“It’s too late to revoke, I got nothin’ but hate for this vulture and the beam on the side of Mause [Mouse] gonna change the state of the culture!”) storytelling bars, consistently nice with the heat and blessed with a pen game that was clearly motivated by a long-held dislike for his opponent, would’ve beat just about anybody on their best day, recording artist or not. Add to mix Factz’s bent for pedestrian bars displaying itself more and more as the battle proceeded and this long-anticipated grudge match ends with a 30 for DNA.
Verdict: DNA (W) 3-0
Favorite line: DNA – “You like do to do metaphors and tell Black people about their credit scores, like ‘You’ll be left in a slum, If you don’t got 720 or better you’ll be dead in a month, well that’s a lie ‘cuz with a .357 I can get whatever I want!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Don’t Flop, DNA uses a barrage of fiery name flips, spirited jokes, fierce set-ups, and piercing punchlines to beat back a solid and sometimes witty effort from Mr. Tongue Twister.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “If you wanna die, I’ll find the exorcist [ex assist], see me team will get it done, or find out what Deacon possess with one head tap, now I’m speaking in tongue!”
Recap: A battle rap staple in St. Louis, RemyD returns to the stage for a rare appearance and uses his poetic, rapid-punching style to give Chilla Jones all he can handle in this 1-rounder from Street Status. But despite struggling a bit to keep his flow together mid-round, against an opponent who was mostly pedestrian with his bars, the Kingpen’s fiery schemes/personals, formidable name flips and spicy punches prove to be too much in the end.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “I’ll light him up, give him plenty from the Glock, have one sent [cent] to his head…that’s a penny for his thoughts!”
Recap: Wouldn’t count this one as Ace Amin’s best piece of work, but damn if Nu Jerzey Twork wasn’t impressed. Still, with Ace doing a worthy job expounding on street semantics all the while dishing gritty and aggressive punchlines, some fire set-ups and a handful of dandy name flips, in this 1-rounder from GOTG, beating the sometimes solid, but mostly blase punches coming at him from opponent TD Berry didn’t really require Ace’s A-game.
Verdict: Ace Amin (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ace Amin – “You see me and think it’s gonna be an easy plate, well think, so either we leaving with TD bank or TD gonna be needing T.D. Jakes!”
Recap: I’ve said it before, when the battle itself can reach its immense hype, you know that you got a potential classic on your hands. That’s certainly the case in Geechi Gotti versus K-Shine, two battlers who had a stupendous 2018 meeting on the Smack/URL stage for the ‘Champion’ of the year. Gotti, with a hardbody, (“I don’t even think Shine real, he need a diamond tester, arm stretch ya, y’all gonna find K laid out with his fore head open, coroner showed up, I’m like ‘What y’all waiting on, y’all already know K slogan!'”) wordplay-heavy, personal and aggressive round 1 didn’t lose the opening round as much as a witty, gun-savvy, more performance heavy, rapid-punchline (“Give him rounds from the .80, Party Arty back!”; “Pound on the side of coffee mug like ‘No. 1 Dad!'”) kicking Shine won it with a little variety to edge what was easily one of the hardest-hitting 1st rounds we’ve ever seen in battle rap. Round 2 was also fire with Gotti lifting up his performance game to dish fire personals, talk that hard (“I don’t wanna hear no Blood call, keep it neutral, I’m ain’t saying but [Bwoh!]…rather let the coroner ‘Suwoop’ you!”) gang shit and continue to flex with sizzling gun bars as well bodacious punchlines. On the other hand Shine came through with another fire, (“Compressor, I let it whisper in ya ear, ‘Gotti can ya keep a secret!'”) iron-friendly, punchline-crazy turn, that while consistently solid throughout, didn’t reach the overall potency and precision of his opponent. Anyone who’s paid attention to Gotti’s battle rap career would know that he’s the rare rapper who can often have his 3rd round be his best and that can be argued here as the Compton, CA, rapper once again shows off the ability to kick that real, street shit that one can only speak on if they lived it. Spouting on the everyday, hard knock lives of himself as well as his homies, Geechi is well-equipped with those real (“I’m one of the realest nigger’s in this shit, I demand that stripe, my partner got a ‘L’, then they charged him with another body, yeah I said that right, ‘cuz ain’t never coming home, But somehow he got a second chance at life!”) polemics on surviving the streets, much less the mental and physical effects it has on those trapped in the hood. And while Shine once again came through with another witty, punch and wordplay-heavy, (“I palm the biscuit, heat-seeking till I find the victim, then take the sensors off…this non-explicit!”) gun-blasting turn that left you wanting more, altogether it just wasn’t enough to beat a more intricate and condensed turn by Gotti.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “All that clique shit in battle rap, I ain’t feeling it ‘cuz, you nigger’s was fighting over Twork like it was only one bitch in the club!”
Recap: Tough to call and as he mentioned in the battle, JC will definitely differ with this being a ‘debatable’, but with all categories considered and we’re done picking apart a superb punch-fest here with Ave, the verdict here is a draw. Which makes sense when you take in the long noted similar styles between the battlers, an elongated Ave getting turned up with the punches, (“If dance is rather what you’d be on, than young fella keep doing it, or fuck with the music…70’s porn!”) crazy set-ups/wordplay, aggressive urban street talk and braggadocio lines, but not-always-quite-so with the personals. While a more condensed JC, not always able to keep up with his opponent’s more finessed (esp. versus Ave’s fire 2nd round) repartee, still dished enough stifling heat, witty personals, fire name flips and potent schemes/punchlines to drop enough haymakers and edge round 3 after losing the 2nd and a debatable first. Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: JC – “I grab this, they wont remember his name, he’ll be past tense, he will literally go from Ave to Memory Lane”
Recap: Quick and gritty 1-rounder between DNA and Reed Dollaz has the latter kicking his renowned O.G. raps with plenty of braggadocios lines laced with a boatload of street scientifics–the type of adage Reed is known for, but not near enough on the potency side to beat a gun bar spazzing, punch-crazy, name flip fiending and more consistently nice DNA.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “If I see Reed snitching, I’m smacking him with the ‘matic, I’m shooting the rat out of Dollaz, I feel like Johnny Tapia in teh attic!”
Recap: Versatile, funny, humble and (“He ain’t put in work, he just followed the steps…Chereographic [Corey a graphic]!”) punch-heavy showing by Jimz (who also gets points here for dumping the lame props) gets beat by a personal-spazzing, consistently punchline-lit, (“I asked ‘Ganic for big opponent’s, [but] they asked for bigger checks, so he got that cheap gym [Jimz] pass for someone he could fit for less!”) name flip crazy and scheme-heavy Charron in this solid 3-rounder from KOTD. And while Charron (who also let his alter-ego ‘Billy Pistols’ get some shine in the battle) gets the 30 here, Jimz’s more bar-centric and competitive showing here is definitely he can build on.
Verdict: Charron (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Charron – “You’re a…I can’t say that, I’m mainstream now, but you’re a part of LBGTQ, that makes me proud, I truly respect how much you’ve Dragged Queens down!”
Recap: Spitfire, aggressive, performance-lit and bar-heavy 1-round battle between Viixen The Assassin and Coffee Brown from Black Ice is drenched with plenty of mayhem, hot punches, sizzling wordplay and stifling gun bars from both ladies. A close one with both battlers on their crowd-pleasing A-game, it’s one too many dry spots and predictable name flips from Viixen as well as a more consistently spicy and set-up fly Coffee that allows the latter to edge this one.
Verdict: Coffee Brown (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Coffee Brown – “I came in a problem bitch, you gonna have the same shit trying to leave this place, I get to gun-butting a bitch till pieces of the stick poking out her head like white Jesus face!”
Recap: Super fiery and competitive 1-rounder between Ace Amin and Jon Doe gets edged by the latter, who with his slightly more versatile array of jaunty punches, heat, wordplay, wit and gripping set-ups/mayhem was able beat back a strong, gun-flashing, gritty and bullish, but also a bit redundant turn from his bearded opponent.
Verdict: Jon Doe (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jon Doe – “The snub shoot and turn him into soup, I’m thinking Wonton, or I could bang on him with the long arm…I’m thinking Bron-bron!”
Recap: Anyone who has ever followed Cityy Towers battle rap career would know what a strong puncher he is. But Towers’ penchant for a high punch-acumen can sometimes get watered down when he leans it too heavily or in this case against J. Murda, segues back to punching even upon dishing fiery displays of wit and/or hitting personals. It’s a slight weakness that Murda takes advantage of here what with a hilarious round 1 that made no apologies for being all personal, before mixing it up a little bit and splitting the latter rounds with a variety of hard street semantics, rich schemes and aggressive, hardbody punchlines/performance bars.
Verdict: J. Murda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: J. Murda – “You go hula-hooping in a bagel…what you mad now, you gonna shoot at my ankles!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder versus Bill Collector, a slow start out the gate along some early stumbles ends up costing Nu Jersey Twork a win. After all, when Twork did get in his bag and pulled out a shitload of syrupy mayhem (tho some may wish he saved that fire ‘Kaboom!…little brother will never hold him up again!’ line for Hitman Holla if they were to ever battle), simply put, it was not only stellar across the board, but certainly condensed enough to beat a BC, who while spouting an elongated turn that was a bit costly when it came to pretty basic punchlines, produced enough hilarity with his (“The gun so big, to shoot it, I aim past you!”) fiery performance bars, sizzling name flips and witty personals to earn a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “[Bwoh!} see straight through Bill…ghost that!”
Recap: Aggressive and fiery with the set-ups, deft with the angles, hardbody on the schemes/name flips and slick with the wordplay/gun bars, O-Red sticks it to Iron Solomon twice in the first couple of rounds, both edging an opponent who while spouting a boatload of cold punchlines and steely personals throughout, overall couldn’t match Red’s consistency or bent for originality. That’s before a 3rd round that saw a heated ‘Jean Jacket’ Solomon up his wordplay game, consistency with the heat and punchline acumen to salvage the final turn.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O-Red – “I done killed a lot of nigga’s, you bout to be dead with them, my flow is poison, create Carnage, Red Venom!”
Recap: Deftly taking on themes of a drug addict when he wasn’t scoring with a gang of blistering (“Growing up Luke Cage, every hoodie I had, had some holes in it!”) punchlines and witty barbs, in this dope 3-rounder from We Go Hard, Uncle Flip does enough overall to score a debatable (got Slade edging the opener, Flip round 2 and the 3rd debatable) with a righteous and even jocular at times, gun-bar blazing, plug-talking and punchline-lit Kyd Slade.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Kyd Slade – “You and that needle been separated for two days and now y’all back together, Curious George this Yellow nigga gonna have that monkey on his back forever!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from GOTG, both Erky Law and Lu Castro deliver a boatload of fiery mayhem and visceral street drama. But while Law flowed just as consistently, overall his more nifty raps weren’t able to match the potency, performance, punchline efficiency or sheer dalliance of Castro’s more rugged lines, thus giving Lu the win.
Verdict: Lu Castro (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Lu Castro – “If I walk in I’m shooting whoever Sun trust [SunTrust], you can bank on it!”
Recap: All the while proving himself to be unworthy of saving, Chef Trez cooks up a devilish plate of nasty punchlines/personals, salacious schemes and seedy gun lines to easily take the first two rounds and beat back a solid overall, but too hit-n-miss in the early rounds and none-too-Spiritually-connecting till the 3rd Loso in a long-awaited matchup between two ATL battlers with similar histories in the game.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Let’s talk, I battled DNA, Nitty, Chess, I faced real tiers, even Ryda, Mike P, Prep, some fire mid-tiers, so I’m not worried about facing you and your savior, I don’t feel fear, plus, I already stood in front of JC once…and I’m still here!”
