Recap: Well, Ty Law definitely had to earn this one. Against a spitfire at times, immensely name flip-dropping and (“Nigger stop, ‘cuz this will be the first 48 if we take this further, my Criminal Intent put Law & Order when I wave this burner!”) scheme-heavy Steve Staples, who seemed to get better with each round, a more consistent with his flexing (“I was scoping you, you fought your boo mad drunk, y’all had a loud falling out like a loose ass blunt!”) punches, nifty over-the-head bars and spiffy wordplay Law, not only rises to the occasion, but manages to drop in a couple of nice freestyle/rebuttals to easily take round one before edging the second for the win.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Pull out a calicoe, he’ll probably choke, peep him coming, press him calmly then I’ll pop him close!”
Recap: Tough one-rounder between Chess and (“You let a breakdancer off you dog, it’s bad when a breaker break a nigger, it ain’t a walkie-talkie call!”) Ty Law sees both battlers come heavy with the punches throughout their rounds. Yet, despite a near choke towards the end of his turn, (“If I catch him in his whip, the weapon will clap 8, leave Law smoking in that van like the detectives in Half Baked!”) Chess survives with a more condensed and consistently nice turn that just edges his opponent’s less potent artillery.
Verdict: Chess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chess – “I don’t look like the blade type?, Y’all think I won’t cut a person?, until I grab the gem and I [Gemini] become a whole ‘nother person!”
Recap: It’s a tale of two Qleen’s as Mr. No Show takes us back to his early Smack days with a condensed, but spirited and (“If he was to light a fucking pay stub on fire, he still couldn’t match by check!”) spitfire round 1 that just edges a fiery, but not quite as hot turn from Rydadie Ty. However, the 2nd round round sees a game Rydadie up his performance, while matching them with stirring schemes/storytelling bars, witty (“He the type to yell ‘Domino muthafucka!’…and that’s at a cookout!”) punches and lucid punchlines, while easily beating back a topsy-turvy round by Qleen that saw him lose his flow and get it back before cutting his turn short. In other words, a lot like the Qleen we’re used to seeing of late. The deciding 3rd round saw Rydadie put forth a solid turn, nothing quiet as comparable to his first two rounds, but still with enough heat to beat a pretty ordinary turn from Qleen.
Verdict: Rydadie Ty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rydadie Ty – “I’m squeezing on a ratchet like a slow jam!”
Recap: Plenty of prophetic speak, rich set-ups and hot bars between Xcel and Ha Double in this 3-rounder from iBattle. However, with H.A. reaching quite a bit and Xcel righteously spitting a more spicy variety of stinging wordplay and God-mode darts with less dry spots, it’s the Team Homie member who takes the first couple of rounds for the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “I ain’t moved by names or views, they turned on me so I turned the tables too, I’m Paul Pierce, got stabbed in my back, but I remain the Truth!”
Recap: Big Kannon’s debut on the KOTD stage goes about as well as expected against an overmatched Dunn D, whose light schemes and mostly pedestrian bars are no match for Kannon’s way more exquisite punchlines and meatier wordplay.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “For me to compensate the room, I’ll just talk about how ya not a famous dude, because most your country populates their views from boxing kangaroo’s!”
Recap: Marvwon survives a bout with the slip-ups in rounds 1 and 3, going vet mode to save himself with a couple of ill freestyles, after getting edged in round 1 to West-coast rapper Heretic’s ability to spout a more clean flow, before dominating the 2nd round with highly potent bars and nice punchlines.
Verdict: Marvwon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Marvwon – “I’ll let the metal sing all through the house like ‘Teen Titans Go’!”
Recap: In a battle littered with a gang of vigorous boasts, some nice wordplay here and there and aggressive gun bars, after splitting the first two rounds, a more punch-heavy and condensed Brixx Belvedere does enough to outlast a solid throughout, but less steadily potent Bankhead.
Verdict: Brixx Belvedere (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Brixx Belvedere – “Your gangster image nigger?, the shit’s a facade, you gotta smoke some shit to get you a nod, he In Too Deep, J Reed should go cop to kick it with God!”
Recap: In this one-rounder from Beastmode, Franchise has the advantage of taking on an opponent, Grips Loc, who came to battle on only two days notice. That edge amounts to an easy lay-up for Franchise, who unapologetically serves up a barrage of righteous gun bars and spirited punchlines for the win over solid here and there, but clearly over-matched opponent.
Verdict: Franchise (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Franchise – “Silencer on it, fuck that, I grab the nina and dump it, head shot, chin down, look like he sleeping in public!”
Recap: Intense, spitfire and competitive battle between a more condensed, gun-bar (“Drums on gun, look like I’m holding Mickey Mouse upside down!”; “So play it cool, it’s fucking nice, ‘cuz if I send a nigger to shoot, it’s nuthin’ nice, all you hear is a voice say ‘Hey Zeus!’ [Bwoh!] now you in front of Christ!”) savvy and punchline-heavy Bedaffi Green and a thought-provoking, (“I don’t have to body you, you loser, I just show half the body like Hooters!”) gritty, poverty-talking and bodacious Zeus Da God is littered with haymakers throughout, from both sides, thus making it no surprise that it’d come down to the 3rd to see who wins. And while you get a pretty solid turn from both sides, a little too much filler from the more expatiated, storytelling and impassioned Zeus along with an aggressive, loaded wordplay/punch dishing, condensed and (“She looked me in my face and acknowledged that, no joking, no slogan, she knew it was real because my eyes said that, I said that!”) vigorous Bedaffi earns Green the win.
Verdict: Bedaffi Green (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Zeus Da God – “Grandma was ting to get me off the couch to go to work, but she ain’t know my work was under the couch!”
Recap: Gwitty’s rampant and elongated anecdotes versus Zeus da God’s hard and schizophrenic (“You get cracked baby, I been known to live the 80 life!”) rap stylings make for lots of noise and some witty bars, but not much in the way of steady, consistent heat from either battler. Thus, call it a 1-rounder that didn’t really prove who was better.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Gwitty – “I be rebelling, while smoking the weed I’m selling, I can take an ‘L’!”
Recap: Saving his best round for the 3rd with a well-themed turn that was wax full of egocentric bluster, Cortez survives a split of the two rounds as well as overall a nice, competitive turn from his witty/aggressive Aussie opponent Cortext, to take the deciding round and earn the win.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “Me?, I’m MSG on SportsCenter, Him?, high-school gym, y’all get it, which Cort’s [court’s] better?!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Bring Ya Barz Battle League, Your Honor and Paine The Poet exchange a gang of boastful barbs, heated personals and residual mayhem that all make for a competitive match. And while Paine The Poet, more condensed with his turn and slightly steadier with the punches/personals/name flips makes a solid case for the win, even with an elongated round that was littered with filler, some added wit, dope (“I ain’t from the DMV, I’m from the District, get it right, for y’all rooting for him and praying that he probably win this fight?, I ain’t scared of ya, Miss America, this gonna be the body of the night!”) set-ups and the ability to drop roundhouse punchlines throughout his round, allows for Your Honor to do just enough for this one to be called a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Paine The Poet – “Keep it handy, hit his crib, kids tied up in the pantry, mule kick your mom, snub pointed at granny then it’s Blue Ivy looking at daddy, you better pray this nose don’t run in the family!”
Recap: Despite almost rapping as twice as long as his opponent, a more versatile and habitually robust Young Kannon is able to beat a not-quite-as-focused Mr. Mills in this one-rounder from Gorilla Warfare.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Paralyze him for charity, that’s how you get the meals [Mills] on wheels!”
Recap: Split going into the 3rd round, in front of a hard to impress UDubb crowd, DNA uses some relentless punches, hard-hitting personals and a couple of spiffy rebuttals to edge a (“What his life like? While he was chasing battles, I was facing battles, sipping lean like don’t let that worry you, I’ll have your mother doing car washes and bake sales just to bury you!”) strapping 3rd round by Shotgun Suge and take one of those rare battle’s that seemingly got better and better as it ensued.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Since we talking about it, what his health like?, diabetes, high cholesterol, a couple of things, what his meals like?, chili dogs, french fries, onion rings!”
Recap: After struggling with his flow in a pretty pedestrian round 1 and withstanding Geechi Gotti’s steely (“9. to his face [pow!]……I had to bring the mill [meal] back like they ain’t get my order right!”) comeuppance, The Saurus gets his swag back to make for a more competitive 2nd round that’s still edged to an overall, more (“I’m a hitman, I get paid to pop like foster parents!”) flexing with the punches, Gotti. Still, even with the bout already decided The Saurus’ spitfire (“Throwback, brought a rusty Razor like the Wolfpack!”) wordplay and resiliency for stalwart (“Muthafucka, I stay with the shotgun, I’m a car pooler!”) punches, allows him to avoid the 3-0.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Friend or foe, I’m through with the damn fakes, you’ll get slapped with the pound like Mexican handshakes!”
Recap: Dope battle, until the 3rd round anyway, between Joey 357 and Xcel had them both spitting haymakers, intricate wordplay, steady punches and especially in the case of (“Get’cha top blew, I never knew he was that anxious to die!”) Joey, a versatile flow that spoke to a flexible cadence. Still, after coming back in the 2nd with a spitfire (“I take steel and stick figures, that’s an easy draw!”) turn that pushed back a solid, but elongated round from his opponent, an old case of the slip-ups returns for Xcel, causing him inexplicably choke and lose the deciding round, which ironically was Joey357’s worse.
Verdict: Joey357 (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Joey357 – “Joey357 versus Xcel this just goes to show, if I’m behind bars after this ‘cuz he was around 5-0 like OVO!”
Recap: Well prepared going back to his GrindTime days, John John da Don has always known how to keep his rounds short. And even after a year-plus hiatus from battling, JJDD’s ability to condense his bars continues to pay off. Indeed, JJDD after getting edged bar-for-bar in the 1st round against fellow PG vet (“No exaggeration, against wack emcees, I rap with ease, in big battles you would think I’m half-Asian…I’m Blackenese!”) Chilla Jones, the more condensed, Bullpen Battles league owner comes back with storm of banging {“You went from league owner to PG, that’s still pushing through, I went from PG to league owner and now I’m booking you!”) personals, witty barbs and fiery punchlines to take the latter two and gain the win.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “Prep, you beat Prep? Yeah, you beat him after I’d already crippled him, Gjonaj?, that was after Dizaster had already finished him, even Illmac loss to Rone, he couldn’t keep his belt and as far as Th3Saga go…well, we all know he beat himself!”
Recap: Solid punch-fest between Chilla Jones and Vega stays close for three rounds, but goes the Kingpen’s way as the visiting-Down-Under-Boston-spitter’s flexing schemes, rigid guns bars, dope set-ups and fierce personals/punchlines work together to outshine his boastful opponent in both the opening and final rounds (in-between a debatable 2nd) for the win.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “So you the one they call Maverick, well this German blixky got a big kick but it shoot like Dirk Nowitzki!”
Recap: When you’re able to battle 30 times in one year as Dre Dennis attests to here, you must be doing something right. Thus, even before Prep tagged himself in for some ill tag-team theatrics at the end, with pointed gun lines, stirring name flips and some hardbody workplay, Dennis puts in enough work to beat a nice, but none-too-spectacular Ish Mula.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “You don’t make homies, you put fake bodies under sheets like kids sneaking out!”
Recap: A cleaner 3rd round by Real Deal is the difference here as in this close and competitive battle that saw a gang of rigid struggle bars, lucid personals, fiery gun bars/wordplay, piercing/witty punchlines and livid mayhem, after Deal and Joey Gambello split the opening rounds, the Canadian rapper’s hiccups in the final round (which otherwise a pretty righteous Turn), would end up costing him this 3-rounder from Beastmode.
Verdict: Real Deal (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Real Deal – “I bet when you and girl lying in the bed at night, you hear the noise and she goes to investigate!”
Recap: Faced (no pun intended) with obstacles that included a slow start, early round slip-up and what we can guess was a surprising handicap match (opponent Face allowed one of his homies to kick off his turn with some earnest rhymes) to start things off, in this fiery 1-rounder from SouthPaw Battle Coalition, Madface still flexes with enough potent punches, witty shiners and provocative wordplay to edge a pretty solid and mayhem-drenched turn by his two rivals.
Verdict: Madface (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Madface – “I do what I want, that’s the reason this happened, like ain’t nobody wanna see mad face versus that Face that still need some reactions!”
Recap: The much-hyped, Bullpen Battle League matchup between Loso and B. Dot turns out to be a winner as both battlers not only reach deep down to challenge each other on who’s theology is actually making a difference on others. But the battle is also highlighted by a series of lyrically-bent schemes, ill personals and haymakers laced with each battlers own personal belief system. 1st round was a fitting set-up for the entire match with the ever-confident Loso going right at his opponent with an adept research game that made for plenty of dope punchlines, screeds on hypocrisy and frenzied (“Y’all could adore this Blood of you want, but I’m still not gonna let him Pass over [Passover]!”) wordplay. And while a spazzing B. Dot came through with a solid, personal-drenched 1st round that hit hard at times, overall his turn just wasn’t as heavy-hitting as Loso’s. In the 2nd round Loso again went straight as B. Dot with deft (“Any little bot could sleep with a hundred women, a real man gonna give one woman a hundred percent!”) personals and some nice punchlines that were only weakened by a round that went too long. On the other hand, after getting edged in the 1st round, B. Dot went ahead and got ‘surgical’ with his, spitting rapid fire creed’s with startling effect, all the while dishing a set of rich schemes and flexing personals surrounding (“I told him I was Heaven sent [scent] and ever since he been sniffing around trying to pick up my fragrance!”) allegations of an opponent stealing his style. Altogether, enough heat by B. Dot to take the round and split things going into the 3rd. The deciding final round saw Loso continue to mock B. Dot’s style and modus operandi, but with boastful darts that were both hit and miss. However, with plenty of momentum coming into the 3rd, B. Dot would get even more potent with his bars, hitting hard with more Christian rebukes, dispensing some stifling (“A nigga worship a God that saved Saga from masturbation and jerkin’ his chicken, but can’t save blacks from mass incarceration gettin’ jerked by the system?!”) punchlines and spouting his Kemetic science/Black Afrikan knowledge with splendid enough results to take the round and earn the win.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Dot – “And me, King? I got a deep lens, What good is a sacrifice if you get it back?, See how they pretend?, He died on Friday, came back Sunday…that nigga took off the weekend!”
Recap: A highly anticipated battle for any long time battle rap fan, for the most part Tay Roc versus Dizaster doesn’t disappoint. Round 1 sees the visiting Roc get busy with fire punchlines, crazy name flips and fiery (“I stretch a guy when I’m waving, scope zoom in and out, I exercise when I’m aiming!”) gun bars that proved that he wasn’t here on vacation. On the other hand, the always aggressive and enigmatic Dizaster showed off his mettle as well, using some nice freestyles, loud (“Talking all this bat Cave bullshit, tell me like I don’t know what his world like?!, bitch my last name Bin Laden, I’ve been with this cave business my whole life!”) braggadocio punches and stinging wordplay/name flips to keep up with his opponent’s fire half and split the round.
From there, however, things would change quite a bit as a turned up Roc would up his bar proficiency and versatility game, using a classic, haymaker-drenched 2nd round to take over the West-coast crowd and take the lead when put up against a solid, but too dogmatic at times turn by Diz, before taking the match with another punch-heavy, personal stifling, ably (“Are you a crackhead or a steroid-head?, it’s hella funny, you look like you in shape and out of shape, you a healthy junkie!”) witty and gun-savvy turn that easily beat a less potent, tho (“…you could say it, but I can’t say it?!, Shaniqua gonna get this work!”) clever at times, hit-n-miss round by Diz.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’ll take ya bitch from you, I’ll have fun with her then be done with her and I doubt that Slut Walk after .21 hit her!”
Recap: Both pronounced and stifling when it comes to bringing the heat, Coffee Brown and veteran emcee 8R-14 make for a competitive 3-rounder here The Riot Network. But with her play on words showing more pizzazz overall and flexing with the ability to score via a gang of lucid personals and fiery punchlines, this one is all Coffee.
Verdict: Coffee Brown (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Coffee Brown – “You better level the fuck up, ‘cuz I’m a ruler [Ruga] squeezer, I’ll give the bitch an inch, she take a foot now the mil will meet her [millimeter]!”
Recap: Not everyday that you see a league owner with little to no experience battling step in the ring to face off against a top tier opponent. But that’s the case here as ABR owner Chris Petty goes heads up against Goodz and honestly..he was alright. Tho his braggadocio lines on how wealthy he is does get a little repetitive at times, he scored with a few shiners here and there. And while the witty and swagger-aesthetically inclined would’ve had to have pretty much choked in order to lose this battle, at the very least, Mr. Petty didn’t embarrass himself and the battle itself clearly kept the crowd entertained.
Verdict: Goodz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Goodz -“They talking lyrics, dumb then down, I’m really trying to dumb him down, I done had a bunch of orgies, think chicks in circles, but I don’t fuck around!”
Recap: Scoring at will with more loaded (“Then I dump the body over the river, he was trying to figure out if water was wet!”) heaters and fiery name flips, Fettuccine20 looks to be on his way to hard-earned win in this one-rounder versus (“The head was amazing, but she couldn’t handle the nut, bitch just said ‘c’mon, whatever it’s Fetti’s’ and I’m like damn how she cleaning this up?….but you know how that ended, why would you think she bleached all your stuff?”) Swaggtanna. But then the inexplicable happens…Fetti can’t recall his bars and if not for a save from Shooney da Rapper, would’ve lost the battle to a pretty nice throughout opponent. And despite getting his moxie back, another near choke by Fetti, before Shooney steps in (again) with some able assistance from Fetti’s Golden Squad crew, ends up earning a more consistent with his flow Swaggtanna, a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Fettuccine 20 – “He always acting like he tough, nigga move something, the tool dumping, each one come with a pair, I put a metal on tray liek school lunches!”
Recap: A little underwhelming considering that we’ve seen better battles from both. But after splitting (I got Illmac taking the 1st and Iron taking the 2nd) the first couple of rounds, this KOTD battle between Iron Solomon and Illmaculate comes down to the 3rd, where a more succinct and less hurried Illmac takes it, beating back a hit-or-miss Iron in what seemed to be personally driven, grudge match that the scheme-heavy and consistently witty Mac was more prepared to win.
Verdict: Illmaculate (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Illmaculate – “You left, thinking you was Jordan with his tongue out, came back…looking like Jordan in the dugout!”
Recap: After Drugz puts together a phenomenal 1st round that pushes (“Do business with him on the street?, I couldn’t even fathom that, why you pack pitching and gat-toting anyway? don’t the captain of the block supposed to have nigga’s to handle that?!”) back on his opponent’s entire battle rap repertoire, Eazy the Block Captain displays plenty of mettle by refusing to wilt. Indeed, with the Philly rapper upping his gritty stylings with fiery set-ups, fierce (“Oh, you back with your team now huh?, oh that’s cool, you winning, but just like the Goonies, wasn’t fucking with they own brother in the beginning!”) personals, potent jailhouse raps and discernible ‘real rap’ bars, even with a couple of elongated rounds, thanks in part to a more pedestrian Drugz coming back to earth in the latter rounds, the Block Captain edges rounds 2 and 3 to earn the win.
Verdict: Eazy the Block Captain (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Eazy the Block Captain – “All that tough shit, nigga you can have that, but on this stage don’t let it go past that, or a real bar could go over your head…and y’all don’t gotta ask ‘Did he catch that?’!”
Recap: The ski mask’s end up deciding this one as after Daylyt surprisingly spits a fire, (“Think pilgrim beef, in the end [Indian], I do Ill wild and y’all was trying to tell me that Will da beast [Wildebeest]?!”; “99’s over all…he the hoodie Melo!”) punch-heavy 1st round that edges a dope and heated turn from Ill Will, Will returns the favor with a even more aggressive and (“Revolver?, half-loaded, I got it by the left leg, 3 of then thangs left your dome…I got it from Chef Trez!”) potent 2nd round that easily beats back a reaching with the words and pretty standard round from Daylyt. Final round is where we see the ski mask’s come out on both ends and while Daylyt spouts a solid, conscious-themed round that made it competitive, its Will’s mask that wins the day with a trio of standing haymakers and feelgood punches.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “The .9 milli, it’s easy to fit nigga, I like the Hollow’s, the bald heads ain’t cool on the low, like Beasley and [points at ARP] this nigga!”
Recap: Chilla Jones and Cephdeezy meet up for a lyrical showdown for 1 round on the Ball Hogg Ent stage and it’s a pretty solid effort from both battlers with plenty of boastful barbs, rigid personals, fiery schemes, some witty darts and piercing punchlines/gun bars to keep you paying attention throughout. However, it’s the visiting Chilla, with a more consistently punch-heavy and versatile turn, who comes away with a well-earned road win here.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “You need more than luck, that’s why you lack a cult following!”
Recap: I’m glad that Cortez mentioned staying in Australia for a couple of weeks, because Lord knows you shouldn’t travel 24 hours all the way to Australia from New York just for a battle and turn back right around. Instead, make it a vacation and roam around, check out the place, touch a kangaroo, etc. That being said, nice battle between (“Yall know me, Cortez, Brooklyn, I kill shit offhand, Mason Betha, he can preach and diss all he want, I’m sill gonna get the win on Cam!”) ‘Tez and veteran battler (“…turn ya cerebral cortex into a lobotomy!”) Dunn D with both having their moments throughout the match while keeping the crowd hyped. Still, after sort of an up-n-down 2nd round that saw him fumble a bit, thus splitting the battle going into the 3rd, Cort used an obligatory ‘Something We Gotta Talk About’ theme to get personal and score with hitting barbs on his opponent’s career or lack thereof and beat back a solid turn by Dunn D.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “Damn, I thought you was the man on this rap shit, but you ain’t looking how I thought you looked…I was catfished!”
Recap: I’m guessing that all those shouting “3-0!!!” in the crowd were either diehard JC stans or on crack or something, because this was nowhere near a shutout. To start, ummm yeah, that was Rum Nitty taking off with a fire first, delivering righteous (“I said you bitch made timid, I’ll walk up to ya whip then raise with it, then put .5 on the glass like an inmate visit!”) gun bars and steadily potent with the metaphorical (“You thought I left the .4 at home, I keep it Loaded in the gray hoodie, I never leave my nose alone!”) wordplay to edge a raucous (“Instead of taking a slit wrist, I took a big risk and made every step count…like a Fitbit!”), personal -savvy and thematic turn by JC that the latter might’ve won if not for taking a little too long to get in his bag. The 2nd round wasn’t quite a fire as the first, but was still a dope round nonetheless. Rum, fresh off a sizzling round 1, came down a bit here, but still remained competitive, dishing steely personals and aggressive (“You Vice Lord right?, well I’ll put you under the .5 and bang it to the left!”) heaters with ready, aim, fire semantics that would’ve beat most opponents. But after an up-n-down first, a confident JC stayed turned up, dispensing steadier heat with a fine mix of able-bodied (“Nigga you be with a different team every visit, so the next time you switch sides, I’m a be waiting for the shot…just cherry-picking!”) personals, witty shiners and jaunty (“The chopper put him in his place like real estate, and that’s not a punch…it’ll flip a house!”) gun lines that got him the round. Tied going into the final round in what altogether was a near classic, Nitty stayed on point, continuing to score with fiery punchlines and more (“Your soul lifting, one in the doem hit him, now Carter can’t feel his face…and got no ceiling!”) lead for that ass that while mostly hitting their mark, could be knocked a little bit if only for its repetition. That said, it’s where a slightly more versatile JC edged it, mocking (“You make those Gunz look worse than Love and Hip-Hop!”) Rum’s rap style, spouting plenty of dope 4-bar set-ups and staying on point with a load of spitfire (“I don’t even do subliminal’s, I let the sub tweet!”) wordplay.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “I’m not here to pass Roc, I’m ball-hogging…I want the last shot!”
Recap: Quick with the searing jabs and spouting a sizeable amount of informal wordplay/metaphors. E. Ness easily takes this 2-rounder from a far (“Nessaserian”?!?) reaching, dated and inconsistent Serius Jones.
Verdict: E. Ness (W) 2-0
Favorite line: E. Ness – “You got signed after me…and got dropped before me!”
Recap: Prep’s return to the We Go Hard stage is a pretty decent one as he uses a bunch of formidable (“12 drawn in his face, this a criminal sketch, then switch the B-side like I flipped the cassette!”) punches, spitfire gun bars and some potent wordplay to take the first two rounds and edge out a solid B-Trillz. Despite an at times funny and freestyle-buttressed 3rd from Prep, Trillz saves himself from getting 30’d with an earnest and personal (“You had that dumb ass outfit on, looking like somebody father died!”) punchfest that easily made for his best round.
Verdict: Prep (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prep – “Cops asking one question when mad toys is shooting, did he [Diddy] put 1 .12 [112] next to the locks [Lox], this a Bad Boy reunion!”
Recap: 1-rounder from Bar4Bar Rap Battle League features a shitload of gritty lines, ringing mayhem and piercing name flips from both Twizted Mindz and 40 B.A.R.R.S. A close one with an almost equal amount of haymakers, but the cleaner flowing (thanks to a major slip-up early on by 40) and slightly more versatile Mindz gets the edge here.
Verdict: Twizted Mindz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Twizted Mindz – “We’ll blast around, but it’s so hard to hit ya, you my mother’s fave which I should be, so honestly it’s kinda smart to ditch ya, fuck it ran up in her house and sparked the blicka, spilled 40 on the rug, but you should be used to that…carpet licker!”
Recap: Clearly confident in saying what (“I wild out the jar’s a low and I don’t send sparring shots, I’ll cut your kid in the face then through the waist so his leg’s won’t have far to drop!”) he wants, whenever he wants and however he wants, even when he gets downright disrespectful and starts throwing cig’s at his opponent, Pep upends Kid Deph’s often (“Wig shot, either y’all hide out or get your honey combed!”) filthy, but also too often generic wordplay with his own steeze of fiery punchlines, robust set-ups, mid-round freestyles and gritty colloquialism to edge rounds 1 plus 3 and provide yet another memorable Proving Ground battle.
Verdict: Pep (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pep – “Y’all karate class, get the shotty blast in the back of the head, catch the bullet now if he got the glow!”
Recap: Surprise battle on, of all places, the RBE stage between West-coast vet Illmaculate and JC lives up to the hype with plenty of dope (Illmac: “This is terminal cancer, he knew he was dead when I hit the terminal, panicked and tried to jet soon as he heard that I landed, I let him carry on, that’s personal baggage, then take flight, that’s plane to see…”) schemes, metaphorical wizardry, personals galore, a load of small guy shit-talk, hitting gun bars and a plethora of witty (“Jay [J-eh] ain’t what he sounds like…fuck it am I speaking Spanish?!”) anecdotes. The feeling here is a 1st round draw with both battlers dispensing equal heat along with equal (JC: “This is wht greatness is, you clown’s are just plagiarists, trying to sneak a scheme past Stephen King, oh wow…well I created It!”) haymakers with steady aggression, nice performance bars and staid crowd control. And while Illmac came hard with more fiery wordplay in a (“They got me preying on Baby Jesus…Talladega Nights!”) personals-driven 2nd round, the vet rapper hurt himself a bit with dated themes and an elongated, 7-minute 2nd round that allowed for equally adept (“We need you upright, because this one night, it ain’t about increasing the peace, shit, you’ll get beat with the piece like you Pun wife!”) JC to edge the round with less dry spots amongst more of those ill (“You about as notable as a wave….in Kevin Durant hair!”; “Shit, I’ll take any shot…I’m ambitious!”) punchlines/personals the Michigan rapper is noted for. But displaying veteran resiliency, Illmac bounced back in the 3rd, what with a more versatile and well-crafted round featuring a load of lofty (“Right hook, jaw gets damaged, mouth sticking out the side like when you talking with a Boston accent!”) punches and a handful of haymakers that beat back a solid, but not spectacular turn from JC. All in all, a terrific battle that deserves to be debated.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: JC – “If you looking for a nigga to embarrass you, you couldn’t have picked a better dude, colossal impact, even at eye-level, I leveled you!”
Recap: It’s a different type of stumble, but against Real Deal here on No Coast X, Tone Montana proves to be his own worse enemy again. This time wasting his 3rd round on a predictable and shortened race angle after going into the 3rd round, IMO, winning this battle upon splitting the 1st and edging the (“I ain’t saying fuck your race, all I’m saying is that I’ll go to the White House and burn a cross on Columbus Day!”) 2nd. Thus, Real Deal, who was pretty solid throughout, dishes a hot enough 3rd round to force a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Real Deal – “Let’s get violent Tony, I’d love it if we took it to fists, the end of Candyman the only time Trevor catching a hook from a bitch!”
Recap: Even a fire 3rd round from up-n-comer and prolific puncher Jey the Nitewing couldn’t save him from The Kingpen’s sheer propensity in dishing consistently hot wordplay, witty schemes and fierce personals/punchlines during the first couple of rounds, more than enough to take this Boston vs. Washington Skytier Northwest battle.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “Jey [Jay] don’t got the title [Tidal], so unless Hov drop and album, don’t subscribe to that shit!”
Recap: With a name like Tetsho Vintage you just knew that an experienced vet like DNA would have (“Tetsho, that sound like a game in Nintendo that the company let go!”) some fun with it. And he certainly did in this one-rounder from ABR that also saw a boatload of pedestrian bars from Mr. Vintage, a league owner (Chris Petty) really overreacting to Tetsho’s steady aggression and DNA showing off with some nice freestyles and rebuttals, that is when he wasn’t spitting fiery punchlines and buzzing gun bars.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “Get out of line, my team violent, [swish swish[, two buck 50’s, leave both of your cheeks smiling!”
Recap: Damn. A whole 3rd round directed your opponent’s (alleged) girlfriend? Who just happens to be a battle rapper herself and of course, was right there, in the crowd, to witness it all?!? That’s some (“You ain’t never been eye to eye with a real nigga that stare face, with a nigga like me, ready to bang your ass [points out] out on the staircase!”) different shit. And despite a pretty fire 3rd (that also featured a couple of nice rebuttals) from Truth Watson–who was nice throughout the whole battle, especially during a stupendous (“Nah, gun butt, the magazine to ya nose like cologne samples!”) 1st that he clearly edged–Pep’s way too (“Schoolyard felt like a zoo inside, I grew up playing suicide, with off-the-wall nigga’s that later committed suicide!”) prodigious (which included a fire mid-round freestyle) and scheme-heavy 2nd round along with the aforementioned, personal-drenched 3rd, gets the Golden Squad champ the comeback and the win here.
Verdict: Pep (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pep – “I’ll put the gun to his mother mouth like ‘Where he at? Only the Truth shall set you free!'”
Recap: In a KOTD battle drenched with personals, a much harder hitting Charlie Clips easily outperforms a pretty lackadaisical Pat Stay over the course of 3 rounds, breaking down his opponent’s recent battles and battle theatrics when he wasn’t scoring with some piercing punchlines, racial barbs and some hot gun bars/schemes. On the other hand, a mostly pedestrian and filler prone Pat Stay depending on requisite fat jokes and not much of anything else, allowed Clips to pitch a pretty easy shutout.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “A shot will lift you in the air, you and your organs is trying to stick together, put a dot in the middle of PS, it took like I’m trying to extend the letter!”
Recap: For all his confidence, name (“The second part of his name is the only time you see Kannon with a ‘k’!”) flips, elongated rounds, taking his jacket on and off and spazzing hard enough to garner a few moments here and there, Young Smurf’s overall repertoire fails to withstand a much nicer combo of eccentric gun bars, jaunty (“You weak nigger, I ain’t even gotta compete with’cha, I’ll just let the kick light up a dummy, that’s 3 Ninja’s!”) wordplay and ill personals from Young Kannon. Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Time for the whipping now, my click with the shit’s bring the pistol’s out, take a different route and the whole family’s on it like the Simpson’s couch!”
Recap: In what was a pretty solid PG battle from URL, a spitfire, witty and punch-heavy turn by DG Da Paronta in the 3rd round comes too late as Fonz’s rambunctious, 4-set-up-spazzing, wordplay/gun bar-heavy and punchline-crazy 1st and 2nd rounds already worked to outscore his less consistent opponent and give the Cleveland spitter the win.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Fonz – “I got some shit that’ll fuck up a nigger features, I’m talking shotties, choppers, Glock’s, 9MM’s different heaters, light up the porch like we handing out candy for the trick-or-treaters!”
Recap: After this battle I’m guessing that Court probably wished he’d brought his ‘hardest shit’, instead of mayhem-inducing, but mostly pedestrian bars that failed to match the impact of opponent Don Marino’s more potent name flips, righteous gun lines and versatile punches in this 1-rounder from AHAT ATL.
Verdict: Don Dollaz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Dollaz – “If its beef, I’ll put .5 on .5 on Court…now we got a game!”
Recap: Out-punched and struggling a bit with his flow in round 1, Machete Trevy withstands the heat and in the latter rounds–using a gang of witty/mocking personals with some piercing punchlines mixed in–comes back to beat a rebuttal-nice, but less potent with the punchlines Don Dollaz.
Verdict: Machete Trevy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Machete Trevy – “Why would you name yourself after money if you ain’t getting any, you’re not Don Dollaz…you’re Peasant Pennies!”
Recap: Qleen Paper, who’s earned quite the rep of late for not showing to battles, actually makes an appearance here against Dubb da Feenom. And for what it’s worth, while spitting (with the help of some of his boys) a clean round with some witty jokes without any hiccups, still didn’t distinguish himself enough to beat back the effortless and fiery punches/wordplay of Dubb da Feenom in this one-rounder from Step Your Ink Game Up battle league.
Verdict: Dubb da Feenom (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dubb da Feenom – “My bars about to get Qleen [clean] pissed, it’s like I’m on parole!”
Recap: A pocket-tap, a rare freestyle, fire name flips and of course, a shitload of stinging gun bars, it’s all there for the always aggressive Nu Jerzey Twork, who in this 1-rounder versus a hitting here and there, but elongated and mostly pedestrian Radio B, seemed to be having so much fun that he even included a crowd-pleasing ‘Strapped In!’ compilation for his otherwise, already beaten opponent.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Sniper with the gamma rays, this the last time you see Radio active!”
Recap: Solid, competitive PG battle between Whosane and Mackk Myron sees them both use some exquisite (Whosane: “Mac [Mackk] sound cool, but they jam up when they overheat!”) punches, lyrical (Mackk: “I [eye], shoot crazy, I’m Scott Summers without the shades!”) bravado and fine performance bars to split the first couple of rounds. Tied going into the 3rd, both battlers stayed fluorescent with the heat and punchlines, but Mackk’s slow start combined with a slightly more condensed turn by Whosane gives the latter the win.
Verdict: Whosane (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Whosane – “Nigga’s gonna respect my name or get they ass capped, or see they favorite artist on a bag like Rap snacks!”
Recap: Plenty of hardbody bars and fiery punches on both sides of this competitive 1-rounder from Iron Mouth Battles. But in the end a more consistently hitting and wordplay-lit Yoshi G gets the win over Diablo.
Verdict: Yoshi G (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Yoshi G – “Drop a plugged up toaster in the tub while you bathing, now that’s what I call Bath and Body works!”
Recap: ‘Mister Top Tier from the Proving Grounds,’ Chilla Jones, makes quick work of a versatile, but not spectacular Qpacalypsem who when he wasn’t making up for dry spots with nice anecdotes along with some spiffy wordplay, couldn’t withstand the steady heat, witty puns and polemic dispensary from Mr. Jones’ kitchen.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “This deuce, deuce, clear shit out, the same as prune juice!”
Recap: Good shit between Mr. Mills and Ill Will in this lively one-rounder from Midwest Alliance that featured plenty of heated gun bars from both battlers. But with the ability to display more personals, some funny jokes and a plethora of fiery punchlines, a more versatile Ill Will, who apparently ran into some drama with po-po on the way to this battle, at the very least leaves with a victory under his belt.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “…let him owe me, I’ll fire a shot in the middle of Mills [meals] like Frank Lucas at lunch!”
Recap: One wouldn’t be remissed for feeling that a clearly-on-his-way-to-winning Dougy choked in this one-rounder against GP. But the feeling here is that Dougy didn’t stop his round to find his lines, but rather free-styled a bit and then had the wherewithal to stop his round short knowing that he was ahead (GP scored with some witty lines here and there, but had too many dry spots and average bars), rather than almost assuredly losing the battle with a choke.
Verdict: Dougy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dougy – “Up the strap. matter-of-fact, I gotta stand back, for the powder open up on this male [mail]…that’s Anthrax!”
Recap: KOTD hosts s long anticipated battle between B. Dot and Aye Verb that after a somewhat dry 1st round, oddly got better as the match proceeded. And while Verb, for the most part, put on a solid show, it just seemed that his opponent had an answer for everything the St. Louis legend had for him. Styling on B. Dot’s propensity to pontificate? So what, if he’s dropping jewel after jewel and crowd eats every bit of it. Dishing on B. Dot biting his style from Lux? So what, if he not only owns it, but if he can throw it (“How you disrespect Smack, bite the hand that was feeding you, even disrespect Loaded, but you wouldn’t have been noticed if it wasn’t something he seen in you!”) back at you with dizzying personals and lofty schemes? Then you wanna (“Get this Doctor Phil ass flow the fuck outta here, all this sucker shit, before you write rhymes for Aye Verb, put on over mitts!”) talk about who keeps it real in their raps and who doesn’t? Well, be extra careful with that one, especially when the other guy has clearly (“You died that night verse K, now the guy’s never mention you, I mean you gave up you heart to son Shine like a Mayan ritual!”) done his research and can return your heat with straight-up fire, dizzying haymakers and an ill performance.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Dot – “Don’t even mention comparisons, I’m from where taking sharks, you got sugar in yours…two different aquariums!”
Recap: After a hot start by Ill Will in the 1st round that edged a (“If you heard I don’t play, you better believe that shit, my nigga will break ya neck for a dime like [turns head]…’Bra, did you see that bitch!'”) haymaker-drenched, but dry spot-littered turn by Nu Jerzey Twork, the latter gets in his bag of fiery unorthodox polemics rich with finite (“[throws punches in air at Will] You see these get Ill-lit-er-ate [bwoh!] couldn’t read or write!”) performance bars and jaunty wordplay to spark a ferocious comeback. Indeed, Twork’s comeuppance would equate to a salacious round two that was made even more dominant by a stunning 2nd-round choke by Will. Tied going into the 3rd, a slow start by the Yaktown rapper, despite a load of steely histrionics later on in his round, would allow for a more consistent and frenzied Twork to do just enough for the win in what some could call an upset.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Restless, I guess that gives your name less significance, well you can rap with God, I hear he got the best deliverance!”
Recap: Dishing a load of dope (“Your bill’s due nigga, looking like real food, health inspector, shut the Chef down when he see what the mill [meal] do!”) name flips and punchlines, Jo Cool proves that he can hang with Chef Trez…for a couple of rounds anyway. Still, not to be intimidated by a nice up-n-comer, a confident Trez stays on his grind, dispensing speakeasy (“Long rifle, I’ll put a sniper to Kool, I got him reminiscing!”) gun bars, steady punches that scored with ease, a nice rebuttal or two and a handful of righteous haymakers to edge the first two rounds before easily overmatching his opponent in the 3rd.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “You have no supporters or a brand, but think you the truth, but on the ceiling spinning, what I’m staying is my fanbase is through the roof!”
Recap: When a couple of longstanding vets, in this case DNA and Big Kannon, get on the stage, you should expect a good fight and get one here. Freestyle’s, rebuttals, rebuttals on top of rebuttals and par the course: fire bars, they’re all on display. 1st round has a rapidly punching BK hitting hard with nice (“Dog, you just mimic K-Shine whole cadence and think that you’re so original, well, both of y’all bitches period, ‘cuz your flow is so predictable!”) but set-ups and spiffy personals that altogether made for a solid start. However a motivated DNA, apparently holding a grudge against his opponent for being jealous of his career, upped the ante with fierce personals, buzz-worthy (“It’ll be blood when I draw on Wilson, or the Tom will put that cast away!”) wordplay and dope punchlines to edge the round. Middle round saw BK turn it up with a nice rebuttal to start it off, before going off on DNA with spitfire personals and crazy name flips in a condensed round that just managed to edge a witty and haymaker-drenched, but elongated turn from DNA. The deciding 3rd round kept the competitive heat going, what with both battlers delivering fire bars and heavy-stacked punches. But with less dry spots, another dope rebuttal, a potent career vs. career scheme and one more haymaker than his opponent, it’s DNA who convincingly takes this battle of two top tier’s.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Nigga told me Kannon wanna scrap, I said ‘fight who?’, nigga’s diabetic, I’ll just give this prick the finger, I know he ain’t the Type 2 [too]!”
Recap: Much credit to Punchline for living up to his moniker, what with a handful of fiery (“He say he want to quit tobacco, but the cig I got ain’t peer pressure!”; “This .45 I call special, by far, even tho it’s next to Nunn [none]!”) punches that made this one-rounder versus Nunn Nunn competitive. However, an elongated round filled with too many standard jabs by Punchline, along with a couple of crazy rebuttals by Nunn Nunn, who when he wasn’t spitting winsome (“Bitch, you winning?, disrespect, you just talking out of ass, like Eddie Murphy on Shrek!”) heat and witty personals, kept the crowd hyped with some potent (“I’m a ticket scalper with bad seats, I give out cheap nose-bleeds!”) wordplay, would give the URL vet an impressive win.
Verdict: Nunn Nunn (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nunn Nunn – “We smell the doep on your breathe, you’ll hit a quarter on the glass, you’re Manigault with the meth!”
Recap: ZigZag’s frenetic (“Give him that rip, and then snatch his drive, I’ll Repo Lexx!”) shots at mayhem wreck havoc at times, but in the long run can’t keep up with Lexx Luthor’s witty (“Listen, travel-size Jadakiss!”) personals, unique wordplay stylings and astute Pokeman shiners in this PG matchup from Smack..
Verdict: Lexx Luthor (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Lexx Luthor – “Y’all seen Small Soldiers?, I’m about action, figures I’d be punching out the box!”
