Recap: Via some nice gun bars and spicy braggadocio lines, Father Focus Confucius puts forth a hearty effort in this 3-rounder from No Coast Raps. But a focused and well-prepared B. Magic is simply put one of the best in the game as proven again here where we see the St. Louis vet dish a boatload of stifling name flips, witty barbs and spitfire punchlines to easily garner a 30.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 3-0
Favorite line: B. Magic – “Riding with mad cows, trying to check the beef, multiple head shots, look like he trying to catch a beat!”
Recap: With his at times witty and braggadocio barbs, credit Vodka for keeping the hometown Philly crowd entertained. But poetical stylings (and Tech-9isms) aside, with enough bullish raps, steely gun bars and stinging name flips/punches, Shotgun Suge does enough in this 1-rounder to make up for struggling with his flow towards the end of his turn and get the win.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “I’ll stretch him proper, you testing a monster, give him shots from a .50, effin’ Vodka!”
Recap: Super annoying co-host aside, veteran battle rapper Ness Lee and Rum Nitty (making a rare appearance outside of URL) put on a punch-heavy, wordplay banging, braggadocious and gun bar-lit show that much to the delight of the crowd at this Red Clay Entertainment & Rap Grid’s Atlanta vs Everybody battle, stayed close and competitive throughout. That said, it’s a more intricate-punching Rum who edges the 1st round, before a consistently nicer and gritty Lee takes the 2nd. However, in light of both battlers feasting on heavy punchlines in the deciding 3rd round, a it’s still more pointed and condensed Nitty who does just enough for the vic.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W)
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Gun line king, I passed Roc, that’s a kidney stone!”
Recap: Pretty solid 1-rounder from Don’t Flop between Cortez and Gemin1 with both battlers bringing plenty of spicy punchlines and other hitting darts. Undoubtedly a close one with an almost equal amount of haymakers, with slightly less dry spots Cortex gets the edge here.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “Brooklyn, all day, we spray there and you know what?, life’s bittersweet but I was taught that I could taste fear!”
Recap: Mr. Wavy’s been requesting a battle with Brizz Rawsteen for a little while now and he finally gets it as part of a Smack Volume 3 card. Two battlers mostly known for their performance, it’s Wavy who edges round 1 with more consistently potent bars that were topped by a flexing execution of dope (“15 on his head, let the ratchet screen, eye squinted like the Japanese, fuck it, I could do two-for-20, Wecole to Applebee’s!”) punchlines and some nice wordplay. An elongated Wavy would come back in the 2nd with a solid, but less stellar turn that just had too many dry spots, in turn allowing a (“It’s Raw in front of you, this dope, not sushi Wave, naw it’s the moving blade on the side of ya head, giving you that Boosie fade!”) name-flipping, more eccentric with the performance bars, steely with the personals and bar (“Beasley called, said you got 30 days prep, I said cool, tell that nigger he got 30 days left!”) heavy Brizz to tie things up going into the 3rd. The 3rd would’ve been a close one with Wavy mixing in some fire punches with steady aggression, moxie, storytelling bars, nice set-ups and witty (“Yunno, the type of nigger, ou try to show them something in your phone and he just start going through ya shit?…Brizz look like he would do that shit!”) personals…until he surprisingly choked near the end of his turn, giving a pretty solid, braggadocios and still super nice with the personals/name flips Brizz the edge and get the win.
Verdict: Brizz Rawsteen (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Brizz Rawsteen – “The difference between two high points is wavelength, bitch I’ll put you between two high points…Wave length!”
Recap: The Riot Rap Battles Initiation PG matchup between NXT and Ron Compton is a dope one with Compton’s well-finessed/gritty punches and slices of wit combining to score a shitload of haymakers (esp. during a spitfire round 3 that he edged) and keep things competitive throughout the bout. However, with his spicy ‘demon’ talk lighting up the room left and right, aggressive/fiery punchlines, piercing name flips, steely gun bars and blistering personals that not only rocked the crowd, but on stage clearly hit a nerve or two, it’s NXT who’s able to edge both of the opening rounds for the win.
Verdict: NXT (W) 2-1
Favorite line: NXT – “Oh, you wanna fight?, I gotta right that’ll split ya face in, you wanna be blood brothers?, my hands cut for it, let’s get to shaking!”
Recap: Gun bar drenched, name flip spazzing and punch-heavy battle between Holmzie Da God and Reepah sees the Loud Boyz capo use a more condensed turn to edge the first round before a turned up Reepah easily takes the 2nd. After two pretty exhilarating rounds, the deciding 3rd would be a bit of a let down from both battlers with some pontificating and filler meshed in their bars. Still, a more versatile and consistent Holmzie, who clearly seemed to want this battle more than his opponent, is able to dish enough heat for the win.
Verdict: Holmzie Da God (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Holmzie Da God – “I grip the can and be the bigger man and let it go, pistol with me till the gun crack, get beat in the head by the handle, yeah your nigger’s gonna die after you bro, but you gonna be the first to get led [lead] by example!”
Recap: Dope battle between Bangz and Bedaffi Green comes down to the 2nd round as an elongated, but consistently spitfire and punchline/wordplay crazy Bangz takes the 1st, while a versatile, witty and more punch-heavy Bedaffi easily took the 3rd. And while the always aggressive and vigorous Beddafi puts forth a solid turn, round 2 and the win belongs to a freestyle/rebuttal dishing, personal spitting, set-up savvy and jocular Bangz.
Verdict: Bangz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bangz – “I came here literally to 30 this nigga, but watch [points hand like gun at Bedaffi’s head] how many rounds I give him!”
Recap: Yeah, Bad Newz went overkill with the name flips, but most of them were so fire that that argument is a wash. Factor in too a boatload of fiery punchlines, at times witty barbs and plenty of raucous gun bars/mayhem from Newz and in this very competitive 3-rounder from Bullpen Battle League and you’re left with Newz handily taking rounds 1 and 3 (round 2 was a debatable thanks to a dope rebuttal from Moneii) for the win over a pretty solid, aggressive throughout but not quite as consistent overall C Moneii.
Verdict: Bad Newz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bad Newz – “I wasn’t gonna bring up ya wife, how she be smashing all your bros, In Texas they call her the Grim Reaper ‘cuz in the hood she be snatching nigga’s souls, shit even let me bust [bus] from the back, word to Rosa Parks!”
Recap: Well, that was short. And judging from Chris Petty’s mostly so-so bars, he may want to double down on his Anglo-Saxon ‘privileged’ lifestyle and stick to the stock notes and portfolios. In other words, all Shotgun Suge here, who with his newfound gift for dunking and aggressive gun/bully bars to go hand-in-hand with one of the best vocal projections in battle rap, made this an easy and quick vic.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “The arm is deadly, kidnap his bitch…she got a better chance surviving R. Kelly!”
Recap: Consistently dishing his punches to an ill effect and coming nice with a load of Left-coast jargon and fiery name flips, Bedaffi Green’s first appearance on the West coast is a fire one. And tho the always highly strung (and confident) Cali Smoov keeps it close for two rounds with his own spicy punchlines and at times, clever wordplay, one too many so-so bars, gaffes on the personals and spotty sermonizing in the latter two rounds, leaves a far more steady Green with the win.
Verdict: Bedaffi Green (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bedaffi Green – “I seen that shit versus Emerson, even your man’s was losing hope, I ain’t seen somebody choke on Kennedy that hard since Marilyn Monroe!”
Recap: Displaying an adept ability to switch up from hardbody vibes to witty personals to tactical name flips, after a debatable 1st round here against a solid Funeral F.A.M.E., Real Sikh’s (who also had a couple of nice freestyles during the battle) wide array of rhymes and flexing haymakers allows him to easily take the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Real Sikh (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Real Sikh – “Small muthafucka’s struggle the most, but that’s the experience that he’s after, where do you think he get his material as a rapper?, he had to climb to get the Fruit Loops off the fridge, that’s when he thought: ‘I got the serial on the ladder!'”
Recap: Cortez and Pass go back a long way’s so a little strange that it took them this long to battle. But with KOTD providing the platform, these two vets finally meet up on the stage and it’s a more consistent and versatile Cortez who takes this one in what was an entertaining and punch-heavy matchup with plenty of syrupy punchlines from both battlers, but also some quizzical moments like Pass wasting too many bars on not getting a chance at the KOTD chain and failing to be more crisp with his angles. The latter issue is something a confident Cort would take advantage of in the first couple of rounds with a deluge of fiery personals, flippant name flips, heated gun bars and other heated schemes/wordplay, all with an invigorating and tight flow that got him the aforementioned rounds, before an elongated turn in the 3rd (and Pass dishing his best round) cost him getting a shutout.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “Boy, fuck your open nights at the Pit, cocky is how you come off, you from the era of Scribble Jam, but get treated like a jump-off!”
Recap: Taking advantage of a couple of recent unfortunate/notorious events that happened outside the battle rap ring towards Jimz was probably the easy part. But a focused Qleen Paper not only getting busy with spicy performance bars, but dishing lyrical heaters left and right…well, that was a bit unexpected and frankly speaking, dope to watch. Especially in a much-anticipated grudge match like this one. And while an at times self-deprecating, witty and punch-heavy Jimz was solid overall, one too many reaches along with some perplexing name-dropping and very so-so punches definitely hurt him in rounds 1 and 3, which to Qleen’s benefit, outside of a debatable 2nd, gave ‘Kitchen Qleen’ the win.
Verdict: Qleen Paper (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Qleen Paper – “Jimz, you only tough on the ‘Net, I know your type!”
Recap: Although it nearly led to fisticuffs, credit LP Dame for introducing ‘drunk rap’ to Gates of the Garden. And tho his bars may’ve come a little sloshed, Dame’s ability to dish his mostly hardbody lines with nary a slip-up does hint that something could be there if he were to rhyme yunno….sober. Still, for all of Dame’s loaded raps, a wary Bill Collector (with more than an able assist from the always eccentric LB Da Boss) does just enough, with a couple of nice freestyles and aggressive heaters mixed in, to ward off what would’ve been a mild upset.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “My niggas lined up for the kick, you the Concords!”
Recap: Setting aside a solid 3rd round that saw an otherwise pedestrian Thierry finally put it all together to deliver a pretty solid, punch-heavy turn that easily beat back a wayward round from his opponent, this one was all Jerry Wess. The Brooklyn battler killing it in a consistently spitfire, punch-heavy, witty and wordplay friendly 1st round, before dishing more of the same heat in a pretty solid 2nd to take the win.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “You’ll see fresh prints [Fresh Prince] if I black on T…Aunt Vivian!”
Recap: When a couple of top tier battle rappers both bring their A-game, you have the potential for a epic matchup. And T Top versus Geechi Gotti meets almost all the criteria of being a memorable one: competitive throughout, haymakers raining down everywhere, heavy on the punches/name flips, a stickler for righteous personals and of course all the mayhem/gun talk/gang related spiels that one can stand for. A wittier, just-as-punch-heavy. schemes/storytelling-dishing and personal (“Speaking of last day, you said in January you was going to prison for a year, we was counting too, I guess he got a 5 minute sentence, then got out in 2!”) flexing Top edges a spitfire first round before Geechi unloads again with a just-as-fire-as-his-first, but slightly more versatile, personal (“Cuz the moment you joined NWX, Brizz joined Cave Gang and you was mad about that, so pretendin’ that you not is what we not gon’ do, you and cuz came in together, you was like damn Brizz, you was mad, why he could not go witchu, it instantly reminded you of the relationship witcha mother, ‘cuz now another person that you love chose Roc(k) over you!”) savvy and fire rebuttal spitting 2nd round that easily beats an overall solid and fiery, but not as potent turn by Top. The 3rd and deciding round is a close one with the once-again-rebuttal-kicking Gotti still slinging a diverse and (“I remember being outside shooting, goin’ in the house, my mama be like, ‘Son, be careful. Somebody was just shootin’ outside!'”) steely, but also at times funny barrage of wicked punchlines, while Top mostly went the sermonizing route with a gang of righteous (“If Crips wasn’t so fucking disloyal, Bloods wouldn’t even exist!”) pontifications and other braggadocios lines that brought down a whole lot of heat on his opponent’s well-documented gangster lifestyle. However, the feeling here is a more condensed and unwavering Gotti edging the round for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Only thing scarier than being chased by a shooter, is going to trial and the witness showing up!”
Recap: The guess here is that the ‘Sensei Saga’ version isn’t much for the Bible talk, as Th3 Saga uses mostly biting name flips, heated gun bars and stinging, non-religious punchlines/schemes to dish a palette of righteous haymakers and easily beat a seemingly wary RI 28 Grams in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “So go ahead with talking about my squad and how I left the X ‘cuz I’m a quitter, but the blessing under, was Precious mother, boy I had to drop the set for something bigger!”
Recap: Can it get any worse for Chess? Stumbling left and right and choking all three rounds during this Verbal War Zone battle over beats against Fire Da Misfit, who amazingly enough anticipated, over and over again, that his opponent would in fact choke. Still, for all of Chess’ miscues, FDM can still take pride in the fact that his dope cadence, fiery bully bars, stifling performance and rapid punchline pedigree were all so nice that no one could certainly blame him for ‘ruining’ any footage. But damn if Chess’ skill set hasn’t fallen so much that you start to wonder if he’ll ever get it back.
Verdict: Fire Da Misfit (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Fire Da Misfit – “That’s cool, let me show you how my hood do, the .50 give you the ‘L’ like Roman numerals!”
Recap: When he wasn’t often hilariously mocking his opponent’s catchphrase/moniker (“Bar God!”), for the first couple of rounds during this matchup versus set-up crazy, rapidly (“You usin’ an old system, them played out schemes, you gon’ be sorry nigga, now the fuck you birthed the S.O.N.S. [sons] and still end up on Maury nigga?!?”) punching and rebuttal-heavy Danny Myers, QP keeps up with his fellow West-coast vet’s fiery punches and gritty punchlines with his own series of crafty (“Thinking like a caveman, my first thought was fire!”) wordplay and distinctively witty barbs. But as is sometimes the case, QP’s penchant for a lack of effort during battles appears once again, even during a solid turn in the deciding 3rd round that while lit with some dope punches still seemed more performance bent than prepped to win. And with Myers work ethic never coming into question, a winning 3rd round drenched with a litany of hitting braggadocios lines, gripping name flips, stinging freestyles and gripping personals, handily gives Danny the 21.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I am human fentanyl, I obliterate rappers, scientists taught me that quantum physics manipulates matters!”
Recap: Not much comp here as Ace Amin’s gritty street chatter, charitable pontifications, stunted gun bars and frenzied name flips/punchlines combine to easily beat back a loud and boisterous, but mostly pedestrian turn from Villa in this 1-rounder from Capitol Battlegrounds.
Verdict: Ace Amin (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ace Amin – “This shit will peel your burns, twin Mac’s, 2 11’s, just for you…nigga the steel reserved!”
Recap: Even with a fire 3rd round himself, Lu Castro might’ve been a little lucky that Street Hymns couldn’t put it all together, that is as far as intricate haymers, till the end. That prognosis speaks to Hymns’ dubious struggles in the earlier rounds of this overall solid PG, whether it was low potency with the more abstract screeds, a little too much attention towards Nu Jerzey Twork, not enough faith-based lines or scoring a trifecta when it came to slip-ups in a haphazard 2nd round. Not to take too much away from Castro tho, whose consistent aggression was more often than not matched by gritty schemes, seismic gun play.bully bars and steely wordplay/punchlines that worked to carrol him the first two rounds and the win.
Verdict: Lu Castro (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Lu Castro – “I need that bread tho, I’m out here robbing God’s people in the name of the dollar…Creflo!”
Recap: Nice, flexing and punchline-spazzing 2nd round by Street Hymns makes for a debatable. But other than that one too many supbar name flips as well as a couple of inconsistent turns by Hymns in both the 1st and 3rd rounds in lieu of an opponent in Lotta Zay who came well-prepared with a boatload of steady heat, prideful boasts and wide-angled punches, gives the Team Homie member the win.
Verdict: Lotta Zay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Lotta Zay – “You think you the only one good with God?, fam I swear, it’s like Martin and Bruh Man, it’s like our relationship funny at times, but I’m cool with the man upstairs!”
Recap: Whew! Not sure if it can get any more disrespectful than this as Shooney Da Rapper and QB trade the most scathing personals on sick relatives, kids, hygiene, friendship drama and vulgar sexual dalliances that all gave new meaning to insolence in battle rap. And while QB may be used to getting it back from a style she helped birth, seeing a just-as-brazen Shooney go after her gf’s dead grandma like that was still a sight to behold. A close battle that also contained some fiery punchlines and dope name flips from each battler, the more cleaner flowing, witty at times and more haymaker-lit QB wins the battle by taking each of the opening rounds, before a more condensed and bar efficient Shooney took the 3rd.
Verdict: QB (W) 2-1
Favorite line: QB – “You need God, but you won’t repent, you a slob, turn into a ho for rent, you fucked Rex, Fetti, Twork, Factor, with them kind of names she could’ve fucked around and thrown her own event!”
Recap: Dope, 1-rounder from Black Ice Cartel sees Cleveland emcee Meatrice deliver a variety of piercing punchlines that ranged from funny to hardbody to personal. Yet while stretching the limits on name flip overload, but still taking advantage of her opponent’s moniker with spicy bar after bar to go with some witty personals and plenty of bruising punches, a more haymaker-lit Viixen The Assassin gets the win here.
Verdict: Viixen The Assassin (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Viixen The Assassin – “The gang said give her a chance Vix, she might be hot, boy Rice better come with everything, food at a Chinese spot!”
Recap: Don’t know what, if anything, happened between these two before the battle, but whatever the case the raspy, struggle life stylings of Boss Status sure did light a fire under Chef Trez, who delivers a 1-round ‘ass-whipping’ to his opponent with, to start things off, ‘3 of them thangs’ before proceeding to dish a shitload of spitfire names flips, red-dotted gun bars and a plethora of righteous punchlines.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Who the fuck told you could battle me?, dog just stop, I ain’t hearing nuthin’ Boss saying, I’m off the clock!”
Recap: With a boatload of fierce schemes/personals, hardbody punchlines and sterling name flips, Young Kannon makes quick and easy work of a confident and mayhem-dishing, but too par the course Polo.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Every time we see Polo choking, like the short too small!”
Recap: From Verbal War Zone, 3 rounds with Wutang’s “Triumph”, Braveheart’s “Oochie Wally” and Mobb Deep “Shook Ones 2” serving as beats, you can’t go wrong with the instrumentals. Too bad, outside of a dope 3rd round from both battlers (which the harder-hitting Big Hann edged), the punches in the earlier rounds were mostly so-so. Still, it’s the more consistently-lit bar-wise and slightly more flow-astute DNA who takes rounds 1 and 2 for the win.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Your legacy got a recipe with another style, don’t mention me, I’ll make pedigree out of Puppy Chow!”
Recap: As expected, when Daylyt comes to actually rap, his anecdotal, oft-abstract play with the words stylings can make things competitive in almost any battle. As is the case here in this heated 1-rounder versus T Top, where Daylyt’s punches are often (“They ain’t seasoned for this type of beef, let that marinate!”) effective and/or stinging. But at the end of the day, a few too many pedestrian bars from Day along with a versatile T Top scoring at will throughout his turn via a variety of seismic name flips, fierce schemes, ill trap talk, fire (“Scope on him, my career based on a long shot like the new Madden!”) gun lines and potent personals/punchlines would just prove to be too much to overcome.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “.30 clip, inf beam, they go with it, bald head, dum-dum, like a Tommy and Cole visit!
Recap: From WarTown Battles, up against a gritty, often punch/personal/name flip-heavy and hard-hitting Clone, after losing out on round one, Bill Collector pulls out all stops (including the Supa-Dupa-Scope all the way from Augusta) via a bunch of potent punchlines, jaunty name flips, witty barbs and stifling gun bars to edge both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “I love to bring the block down, I’m a Tetris fan!”
Recap: Spirited and competitive grudge match between two WGH vets, Brooklyn Carter and Dougy, fittingly comes down to the 3rd round after the pair split the first rounds with an almost equal barrage of fiery gun lines, a few spicy personals here and there and potent punchlines that had Dougy edging the 1st, before B.C came back barking a little harder to edge the 2nd. However, after a solid and fiery (but redundant with the ‘tongue ring’ personals) turn by Dougy and a bit of a slow start to his turn, a confident and raucous Carter comes back punching heavy from a variety of angles dipped with more than enough visceral haymakers to take the round and earn the win.
Verdict: Brooklyn Carter (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Brooklyn Carter – “Switch the tactic, I grip the ‘matic and get dramatic, Electric Slide, I do numbers on the floor with bodies, it’s systematic!”
Recap: Young Kannon may think differently, but there’s no doubt here that Moolah 3X is at least affiliated with K-Shine’s ‘Zip ‘Em Up’ crew, what with such a similar, demeanor and aggression plus K Shine-like hardbody (“Hawk in the air?!, Dominique with the J’s on!”) heaters and fierce bars. But while Shine has the ability to punch and perform heavier, stay condensed with his rounds and get more versatile with the bars, to Moolah’s detriment, way too many name flips and 3 elongated rounds hurts his chances here. Thus leading to YK, after dominating the 1st round with consistency nicer punches/personals, a better performance and fire (“The weapon wild, Cannon with a drum, that’s Devin Miles!”) gun bars to edge the latter two rounds with a steadier mix of artful/potent bangers.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “I’m gripping the nose, like Craig in the bathroom when his pop shittin’!”
Recap: When this battle was 1st announced, I thought Nu Jerzey Twork was getting a Top Tier vet like DNA too soon. But hey. Twork is not only hot, but along with Tay Roc, he’s like the face of URL right now, so in that vein it makes sense to match him up with almost anybody, regardless of tier. And then, to see Twork use a fire, rambunctious and (“Expose DNA with the black light…Room Raider!”) haymaker-drenched 1st round to edge things to start….well, feel free to slap me silly for doubting the timing of this matchup. But then, as the battle proceeded on, everything started falling apart. That is, a despite a couple elongated rounds from DNA that were both pretty solid with the usual assortment of stinging jabs, potent (“Saw the gun and made the nigger freeze on sight, that’s Smack with Pay-per-view!”) gun lines and saucy personals, Twork just lost it, literally struggling with his flow and having to pause a few times in a shortened 2nd round, before choking away the deciding 3rd round after like 2 minutes in front of a stunned crowd (including a pretty shocked Smack). Yeah, maybe they should’ve waited on putting these two together.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Both of my parents did drugs, seeing mommy shoot up made me burst in tears, see, that’s the difference a nigger who steals purses and a nigger who perseveres!”
Recap: Featuring some mean personals, Vic Wallace puts forth another solid turn on the Gates of the Garden stage here against Holmzie Da God. But an elongated round with one too many missteps on the set-ups along with fire execution from Holmzie with the punches, personals and performance bars, gives the more condensed Loud Boy the win.
Verdict: Holmzie da God (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Holmzie da God – “You’re not getting a URL shot after this, is you stupid? don’t be dumb dog, and if you was to, I’ll wait till the event over, as soon as I see you leaving the PGs [bwoh!] I’m letting One Off!”
Recap: When you’re equipped with the unique ability to freestyle and rebuttal like Prep can, you’re almost never out of a battle no matter how dope your opponent is or how unprepared you are with your written’s. Still, for all of Prep’s off-the-dome (the ‘Wayans’ rebut in particular was dope) aptness and at times potent wordplay/punches, if the other guy is dropping a wide mix of haymakers, from gritty name flips to searing personals to lofty punchlines and more, one can still risk the chance at losing. And with that, as much as Prep is able to compete despite some verbal misgivings, a slightly more consistently gritty with the punches, nice with the wordplay and confident Dre Fly gets the edge in what turned out to be a fiery 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Dre Fly (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Fly – “Fuck that, these the fags you came with?, none of them look dangerous, you been riding around with fruits…edible arrangements!”
Recap: Now we’re pulling out snakes for props?!? I don’t know. Might’ve worked better if Bedaffi Green had applied a couple of bars to it, instead of waiting till the end of his turn to pull it out. Still, that was one big-ass snake and while this sizzling 1-rounder had Snake Eyez rapping nearly twice as long as his equally aggressive and fiery opponent, a slightly more consistent Snake, with a plethora of hardbody punches, hitting personals, stinging set-ups, fire schemes and stifling gun bars, gets his hand raised for what was an elongated, but impressive 1st time appearance on We Go Hard.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “What you gonna talk about, how my eye wander nigger?, well that shit ain’t gonna save you from this loss, and at the same time it let’s you know I’m good in these streets, ‘cuz I could look both ways, so don’t cross!”
Recap: As hellbent as H.A. Double was here on blaming this loss on a couple of slip-ups in the 1st round, truth is that a gang of reaches in the first couple of rounds on H.A.’s part, along with a more consistent with his heat, scheme-savvy, name-flip spazzing and (“Somebody hit me like, ‘Every day someone attacking you Jones!’, but I knew being King would have nigga’s trying to Black on a throne!”) versatile/potent with the punchlines Chilla Jones is why the Kingpen took this one, before the ever-confident, underrated with the (“My pretense got the King looking like a peasant, you talk all that jazz, well now you gotta feel a real New Orleans essence!”) punches and philosophically-bent Double made his mark with a spitfire 3rd to avoid getting 30’d.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “Making so much money off of the books…I’m J.K. Rowling!”
Recap: Long-awaited battle of the ‘Don’s’ goes Hollow’s way as besides a few reaches here and there, the TX/NY rapper’s execution, whether via scintillating punchlines, pointed personals, racy schemes, witty bars (that were helped by some well-timed props), fiery wordplay and an adept usage of topography when it came to the battle’s London location, was almost flawless. And for John John, Hollow’s top-notch readiness would prove to be a steep hill to climb. Not that JJDD didn’t make for a solid effort as even with the veneer of ‘stealing’ bars over his head (then too, you just knew Hollow was going to exploit that angle), the Bullpen Battle League boss took the allegations head-on with spicy punches of his own, when he wasn’t dishing some flavorful name flips, rigid gun lines and spirited/aggressive personals. However, besides having to deal with his opponent’s strong performance, while the effort was there throughout (with enough potency to make for a debatable 3rd round), JJDD would hurt himself in the earlier rounds with a lack of consistency when it came to bar efficiency as well as utilizing bars that were way too dependent on the infamous fight the two had almost a decade ago. Therefore, score this one a clear win for a punch-heavier Hollow in the 1st, before a more versatile Hollow edges the 2nd round for the win.
Verdict: Hollow Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hollow Da Don – “He even let nigga’s call him the Dininon, oooow that shit is wrong, but you’re such a follower you moved to Atlanta when you was little John [Lil’ Jon]!”
Recap: Putting aside all the queasy (but expected with these two) shots at their respective kids, Pat Stay and Arsonal put on another highly entertaining and competitive show in this rematch from their somewhat controversial 1st bout several years back. After splitting the first two rounds with the most steady, well-rounded and witty Pat edging the first round before a slightly punch-heavier and wordplay-bent Arsonal took the 2nd, despite a strong and at times gut-checking turn by Ars, an even more sublime, uber-funny and punchline/personal-lit turn by Pat gives the Nova Scotia superstar another win over his New Jersey rival.
Verdict: Pat Stay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pat Stay – “Arsonal, Arsonal, see I know the real Arsonal, vulnerable, depressed cause ya baby mama won’t talk to you, I heard it in that song from you, wasn’t worth cheatin’, aye?, lost custody of his daughter cause too, now he’s a seedless Grape!”
Recap: As expected, a tough, competitive one between Ave and K-Shine with a shitload of fierce mayhem, lofty (K-Shine: “Nina, pushing everything back, I’m procrastinating, .40 blowing everything up, I’m exaggerating!”) gun bars, dope wordplay, a gang of fiery name flips, some personals sprinkled in, a little wit here and there and boastful punchlines that were often brought back, because yunno, battle rappers like to do that sort of thing. Still, a goodie and a near debatable with a tight 1st (edged by a more condensed Shine) and 3rd (edged by Ave) rounds, it’s the middle round that serves as the difference-maker as Ave just went ham with the punches…pointed, relentless and most importantly, lighting up the scoreboard with ferocious (“Shine ain’t real, this is costume jewelry!”) haymakers to edge what was a slow start, but lyrically ascending, versatile and altogether fire turn from Shine.
Verdict: Ave (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ave – “…or I’ll be at your New Crib with the semi, have plenty flying, I’ll turn that stick and get Shine threw a window like mini-blinds!”
Recap: After a rambunctious, scheme-savvy and punchline-spazzing Mr. Mills takes round 1 and a set-up crazy and an aggressive Craig Lamar easily takes round 3, this one comes down to the 2nd round. Which thanks to a surprising choke halfway in by Craig, gives what was a solid, but beatable and personal-drenched turn by Mills, the round and the win.
Verdict: Mr. Mills (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mr. Mills – “That bitch you be kissing, got the best mouth in America, when me and her role play, that’s the only time you’ll see me come out of character!”
Recap: Displaying a spitfire (“Well, let me get these bars off my chest, like a bench-presser, killing comes pretty natural for me, like a Winchester!”) punch game (esp. during a superb Round 2) to go along with feisty gun bars, some witty barbs and quality personals/wordplay, a never lacking for confidence Bad Newz takes the first two rounds here against a pretty solid and name flip-heavy, but not-quite-as-consistent Bonus for the win, before the Loud Boys vet salvages the 3rd round with a more (“Head shot, give him a face only a mother could love!”) potent and condensed turn than his opponent.
Verdict: Bad Newz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bad Newz – “I’m in ya crib, to make sure you dead while you sleep, old radiators, I’m beside his bed with the heat!”
Recap: Another dope BANNED battle sees a focused Shotgun Suge steady dismantle a hotter-as-the-battle-progressed X-Factor with a series of aggressive punchlines, some fire wordplay/gun bars and a boatload of fierce name flips/personals. X-Factor, who literally gave away the first round with a sermonizing half that went nowhere, went on to stand his ground and make things competitive with some set-ups/punchlines of his own. But with too many hit-n-miss stylings in round 2, the battle was already lost for the veteran Detroit rapper before a sterling, real talk friendly 3rd round allowed a non-Priorities spitting X to take the 3rd round and avoid getting 30’d.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “If I lap Miles I’ll put X on his back like off white!”
Recap: Rare 1-rounder for JC sees Big T put forth a nice, solid effort with some wily/witty punches and fiery heaters/name flips here and there that made their mark. But with a more consistent JC firing on all cylinders, whether they be piercing personals, sturdy gun bars, stinging braggadocio lines or rapidly spitfire punchlines/schemes, Big Terrence really had no chance.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “Do you believe in a higher power? [Bwoh!], ask him again after one enter T [entity]!”
Recap: Long-anticipated matchup between two of Michigan’s finest, Calicoe and Ill Will, finally goes down…in of all places, a parking lot in New York on RBE. But fortunately, the somewhat sordid setting didn’t get in the way of what was a dope and competitive battle with Calicoe’s aggressive bully bars, elaborate street ethos style of rap and flexing personals going head-to-head with Will’s more punch-heavy, gun-centric, witty and also aggressive flow. Plenty of disses towards each other’s hometown’s also added plenty of fuel to this tension filled battle. More condensed than his opponent throughout the battle, after losing the first round to a more (“Dumb Tech’s, this bitch come easy like drunk sex, .45 still stratching like Funk Flex!”) potent Will, Calicoe comes back with a more cerebral, consistent, (“This nigga ain’t even got no fans, it be my fans that fuck with you when I go missing!”) mocking and bullish round 2 to get the edge there, before also edging the deciding round 3 (after a slow start) with more righteous heat, that along with some surprising wit and an elongated/inconsistent Will, gave Cal the win.
Verdict: Calicoe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Calicoe – “Let me hear they trying to slide on me, before you know it, ladder dropping out of the chopper, this bitch heroic!”
Recap: A couple of WeGoHard grads, Jerry Wess and Mr. Wavy, go at it on the Smack/URL big stage and put on what turns to be a mostly solid, competitive, grandstanding and bar-heavy showing. However, it’s Wavy, with seemingly more to prove lyrically what with the ‘performance’ stamp at the top of his resume, who arguably dishes his best and most consistently spitfire round ever, a sizzling first that contained a boatload of hitting punchlines, fire (“Jerry Wess?!, I be on the West side of Jerry, that’s how I name flip [bang!]”!) name flips, performance-rich and dope schemes that end’s up beating back an overall solid, hard-hitting at times, name (“My nigger’s steal on Wave like they don’t give a fuck if the beach closed!”) flip-spazzing and condensed, but inconsistent turn by Wess. 2nd round, while elongated, saw a more versatile Wavy dish a load of heat with fiery punches, some standout wordplay, well-amped gun bars that all matched well with yet another tight performance, once again depicting an earnest attitude towards changing the mind’s of those who’ve underestimated the strength of his pen and easily winning what was another stirring at times, but sometimes lackluster turn by Wess. Besides both spitting some fire schemes and nasty punchlines throughout the round, the duo finally address their shared home league turf and other intermediate situations/shenanigans/allegations in the 3rd, which Wess edges with a more consistently potent flow and better (“Nigga, my bitch will stab and shoot you, looks deceiving, he won’t even think, “danger”, she nice with the dagger and fuck with the Tommy, she the Pink Ranger!”) performance bars. However, with Wavy already taking the first two rounds, his opponent’s final round comeuppance would come a little too late.
Verdict: Mr. Wavy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mr. Wavy – “See, wherever he go, don’t become a runner, I follow every move that you make, I got the tracking number!”
Recap: Dope altogether and super entertaining Verbal War Zone between Bill Collector and Dre Dennis really has no winner as after splitting the first two rounds, BC’s now classic, original, personal and wild (“Put the salads and the soups aside/Supersize on the Supersize!”) funny 3rd (‘We Loved You Better As A Fat Nigger’) round still doesn’t beat what was a pretty gritty, punch-heavy and hard turn from Dre Dennis. And while overall it’s BC who rode the beats better, bar-wise the edge goes to Dre Dennis, again making this battle only a close match with huge replay value, but a debatable one too.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “Aim at him while he with his homies laughing, D. Rose, straight-face, make a shot with no reaction!”
Recap: As much as his name was mentioned in this battle, I’m guessing that Loaded Lux would smile at this one. Then too, in front of a mostly subdued crowd, B. Dot versus JC was just a fire matchup, competitive throughout with a boatload of hardbody punchlines, steely personals, style breakdowns that Murder Mook would certainly wink at, flippant gun bars as well as a host of gritty wordplay and haymakers. In other words, you couldn’t ask for much more. Despite rapping longer than his opponent in pretty much every round, a swift-kicking B. Dot gets the edge in round one, fiendishly (“I can’t believe this clown and all the shit y’all let him get away with, we all know he don’t spray clips, that’s why he emphasizes every line, every line, and y’all pay him for the overcompensation!”) exposing JC’s rap pedigree with a series of dope schemes/personals, while also dishing some rich performance bars and stinging punches to beat back a pretty solid, but a bit filler-prone and mostly thematically atypical with the gun semantics/punches turn from JC. The 2nd round saw B. Dot continue to leave aside his usual m.o. of cerebral, militant, thought-provoking raps for rapidly hitting personals that with an aggressive performance and some fine (“I mean the dancer, the rapper, the clapper, I’m knowing they all mesh, look I get you, it fits you, these personalities you switch to, its residential, they all fit inside your Napoleon complex!”) wordplay, for the most landed. But JC wasn’t having it, coming back with his own set of well-crafted (“Bitch stop the switchin’, llama’s spitting at this walking contradiction, big guns, Super C on Nintendo, that’s actual Contra-diction!”) personals mixed in with wild (“I catch bodies, I’m from the Glove, the proof is in the fingerprints!”) braggadocio lines and potent punches that all led to a more condensed and versatile turn to edge the round and make it 1-1 going into the 3rd. The last round was spitfire on both sides with B. Dot getting busy (and back to basics) with sterling life/rap (“I mean Smack, you just another train that he can board, said he wasn’t believable, that’s when he found a new Vice and start banging to the core, well of course, I’m not surprised, here go another God named JC claiming that he Lord!”) tutorials on awareness mixed in with more breaking down of his opponent’s raps via fire angles and set-ups. But JC wasn’t having any of the frenetic class sessions, delivering a confident and pragmatic (“The problem is the fact that we need to unify comes after the red raggin’, not saying it’s not a place at all, but it’s contradictory, Ref, you gotta drop that flag before you make the call!”) turn on B. Dot’s alleged hypocrisy in his raps with a boatload of consistently steely personals and feelgood schemes. All enough to match B. Dot’s potency in the deciding round and make this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: JC – “This that same nigga who mirrored the image of Loaded Lux, then thought that it would help him skip the ropes, didn’t get that feature he wanted, realized Lux (luck’s) not on his side, then that mirror broke!”
Recap: Solid 1-round showing by both a performance-heavy E. Ness and a scheme-heavy Commando, gets edged by the veteran Ness’ more sporty/witty punchlines and braggadocio shiners.
Verdict: E. Ness (W) 1-0
Favorite line: E. Ness – “I’m punching on these dudes, whatever, race, color, Creed 2!”
Recap: Even with some reaches here and there, a pretty confident and aggressive Ian B matches his swag with enough fiery mayhem, solid punchlines and slicing gun bars to edge round 2 and make things interesting going into round 3 of this World War 478 matchup against Chef Trez. But after a subpar (for him anyway) middle round (that followed a stellar 1st), Trez turns it up in the deciding 3rd, using more revved up guns bars and a gang of steely punchlines to easily take the round and earn the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “You trying to bend a word, I bend the block, extended shots and put that good milli into ya stomach, it hot the spot!”
Recap: From The Battle Academy, a 1-round crazy punchfest that was highlighted by Bill Collector’s zany wit, Fis Da Beast’s relentless punch game and mocking personals on both sides was by edged Da Beast who even when it seemed like he was losing some steam towards the end of his round, turned it back up with enough gritty haymakers to earn the win.
Verdict: Fis Da Beast (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fis Da Beast – “I know you hearing me, straight up, I’ll rock him [Rakim] fuck wherever Eric be!”
Recap: From Don’t Flop, a witty at times freestyle battle between DNA and Mosprob in which both battlers acknowledged their screw-ups, it’s the more consistently on-point DNA who takes both of the opening rounds for the win before getting edged in the 3rd.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “So why you act like you tough and ypu can murder it dog, when those sneakers you got on make you look like Kermit the Frog!”
Recap: Pitted against a boatload of blistering gun bars over the course of 3 rounds from Duce, a personal-spazzing (esp. during angle-lit 3rd round where he put on a judge’s robe to get extra judicious with the pen), mayhem craven and punchline/wordplay-crazy Riggz spouts enough lyrical shiners to take the 1st and 3rd (call the 2nd a draw) rounds and earn the win in this dope battle from Bullpen Battle League.
Verdict: Riggz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Riggz – “I’m a goon for real nigga, I just so happen to rap, see this finger and a thumb?, I will actually snap!”
Recap: Sticking it to his punchline-bent opponent, Born, with earnest derision throughout the battle, Chilla Jones also flexes his versatile pen with a host of admirable name flips, pointed personals (that even included using a chart to highlight Born’s up-n-down battle career), ill braggadocios (“OK, let me stop there, this was suicide, he can’t hang unless I show him the ropes!”) darts and fiery schemes/punches to take the first two rounds for the win. Born, who was for the most part pretty (“I put in work to get to Chill…paid vacation!”) solid, but still struggled a bit with his flow in the earlier rounds, did manage to put his punch-heavy, verbal/wordplay semantics altogether in a fire 3rd round that saved him from getting 3-0’d.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “He get to work around 5, then I’m showing up at 4:30, so if he show up prematurely, then I’m getting Born…early!”
Recap: From Spittaz League, he didn’t receive the Jordan’s from his opponent for his baby that he’s been looking for, but a sublime, punch-heavy, super well-crafted and versatile 2nd round after a condensed, gritty, bar-efficient and personal/punchline-lit 1st by Hollaluyah Jones gets the Queens battler the win here in this 3-rounder over a brazen, performance-stunting and gift-giving, but elongated and topsy-turvy (till round 3, which he edged) run by Dizzy Spadez.
Verdict: Hollaluyah Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hollaluyah Jones – “I love the crack game so much [‘How much?’] I signed all my feens out of rehab!”
Recap: Bullpen Battle League 1-rounder between G Lowe and J Mase comes with some fiery darts from the Jersey-bred Mase. But an at times righteous G Lowe on top of his game with a gang of blistering personals, bruising punchlines and often witty bangers proves to be too much for his topsy-turvy opponent in the end.
Verdict: G Lowe (W) 1-0
Favorite line: G Lowe – “Homey your life is trash, you don’t even wear your glasses better than me!”
Recap: Often criticized for lack of bar potency, in this long-awaited 3-round match versus Tay Roc, Hitman Holla proves the naysayers wrong, utilizing a wide array of piercing punchlines along with flexing personals, scintillating name flips and some head-ringing gun lines to take the first two rounds and win this battle. Indeed, while his opponent suffered from way too many redundant gun lines, the usually performance-heavy Hitman seemed bent on taking out Roc with a consistently fiery punch-game. And he did so, which not only kept the crowd buzzing, but even included a fly 2nd round rebuttal. Ironically, it wouldn’t be till the 3rd round that Roc (who long requested this battle) would earn his keep, finally mixing it up more with the heat, but also scoring with some rugged punchlines/personals to edge a solid turn by Hitman and salvage the final round.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “I’ll knock Tay out, then pull a K out, and light the whole Cave up like I’m trying to find my way out!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden, a boisterous So Severe, using a load of stinging braggadocio lines, gritty struggle bars and some loud mayhem easily beats back a Bill Collector, who with a struggle to find his grind throughout, was clearly not on his A-game.
Verdict: So Severe (W) 1-0
Favorite line: So Severe – “But what’s up Billy pop, this bitch nasty on the mic, he Jilly Scott!”
Recap: A generational battle between two Harlem vets, a returning-to-the-stage Jae Millz and gritty stalwart K-Shine, the most noteworthy part of what was otherwise a pretty one-sided match, was Millz readily admitting in round 3 to coming back to battle rap for the check: “Who said that I don’t do this shit for the culture?, Little nigger, I was battling for free for the longest, so let’s be honest, why would I not come back and get the bag that I’m owed, y’all actually paying homage!” That said, other than a tight first round that saw Millz’ cocky and punch-heavy bars almost display enough bite to keep up with a more versatile, personal-savvy, scheme-heavy and consistently (“This is Harlem, you know what’s up, double them up, crab sticks?, wasn’t enough, butter them up!”) fire Shine, this wasn’t close. Especially in the 2nd round where Millz literally time-traveled back to the late 90’s/ early 2000’s and brought back a shitload of dated (yes, that was a wrestling NWO scheme) bars that many predicted beforehand would be his downfall. And while Millz was able to pick things back up with a more solid 3rd, his frequent use of very basic bars not only had the crowd bothered, but along with a motivated Shine, who while not quite on his A-game punch-wise, still served up enough exquisite personals, stinging name flips, witty barbs and fiery performance bars in the latter rounds to dominate the battle and receive Harlem bragging rights.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Lazy chef, I take out Millz when I don’t feel like cooking!”
