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Ill Will defeats Aye Verb

Recap: From RBE, a 3-round battle that was a lot closer (well, except for round 2 which Will won handily) than either of its participants verbalized on stage, sees Ill Will come back from getting edged in round 1 to a more efficiently punch-lit Aye Verb and take both of latter rounds, what with a gang of boastful barbs, gritty punchlines, flashy gun bars and hard, aggressive set-up/personals, for the win.

Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Ill Will – “That’s why we laugh at you guys, something packed in the ride that’ll have you staring at the back of your eyes, this the last Enterprise, semi folding shit up like Optimus Prime trying to get back in disguise!”

Mickey Factz defeats Aye Verb

Recap: From RBE, against a mostly pedestrian Aye Verb, who outside of some unflattering shots at URL, seemed like he’d much rather be back at home on Twitter Spaces doing his usual raving and ranting at anyone willing to listen, Mickey Factz uses a steady stream of solid punchlines, hard-hitting personals and feelgood boasts/wordplay over the course of 3 rounds to earn a shutout.

Verdict: Mickey Factz (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Mickey Factz – “You retire every year from battle rap, you can’t even successfully quit!”

Aye Verb defeats A. Ward

Recap: From RBE, let’s start with that ‘turn the Glock 40 on your bitch ass’ bar from A. Ward here in round 1 having to be in the running for Bar of the Year. Moving on, after the more eclectic, rebuttal spitting and just as hard-hitting Ward edged round 1, the latter couple of rounds would prove that Aye Verb can still stand tall with the best of them when he when he wants it bad enough. The St. Louis vet (who judging from all the shit-talking he did prior to this battle up in Twitter Sapces, is clearly the No. 1 battle rap promoter in the game) continuing to snap in round 2 with a gang of stealth punches, righteous darts, rich similes and rapid haymakers to take the second, despite a pretty solid and scheme-lit turn from Ward. Tied going into the 3rd, the final round would be a nail-biter with a condensed Verb still punching mightily and dishing stinging boasts at will. However, even with a beatable round from his opponent, the usage of some questionable/old angles by Ward coupled with a few dry spots during an elongated turn that overall just wasn’t as efficient, ultimately hands Verb the win.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “The cheers you getting?, they mean nothing ‘cuz blacks embrace they clones, cheers from me are worth double ‘cuz nigga’s hate their own!”

Hollow Da Don defeats Aye Verb (Rematch)

Recap: A decade and some change after their memorable 2-round battle back in St. Louis, Aye Verb and Hollow Da Don meet up again for a 1-rounder at URL’s Summer Madness 12. And it’s a goodie with the two battle vets keeping things competitive with Verb using a bunch of righteous boats and solid 4-bar set-up/punches to stay in there while Hollow utilized a stream of fly performance bars, witty personals and gritty punchlines to show he still has it. A close one with a near equal amount of haymakers, it’s the more condensed and versatile Hollow who gets the edge here.

Verdict: Hollow Da Don (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Hollow Da Don – “Are we getting yoga Verb or Yoda Verb?, could any one of them go to Verb and tell ’em we tired of that spoken word!”

Pass defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Could’ve sworn that during their long battle rap careers Pass and Aye Verb had already crossed paths on the big stage. But surprisingly they hadn’t. So thanks to GTX the two vets finally meet up for a competitive matchup that featured a boatload of braggadocious darts, steely punches, solid wordplay and hitting personals/name flips. A close one that had them split (had Pass edging the opening round while Verb came back to edge the 2nd) the first couple of rounds, it’s a witty at times, more consistently-lit and personal-bent Pass who takes the deciding 3rd round for the win.

Verdict: Pass (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Pass – “This will be his obituary, big words in black print, this what it was vs. what it is, they said Verb in past [Pass] tense!”

Casey Jay defeats Aye Verb

Recap: From URL’s Kings vs. Queens 3 card, an easy win for an overall way more punch/personal-heavy Casey Jay (tho she still needs to work on structuring her rounds better and that so-so 2nd round was certainly beatable), but I’m still scratching my head on this one because from a strategy standpoint I don’t know what Aye Verb was thinking. I mean, we know that Verb can fight through the crowd boo’s ‘cuz he’s been dealing with that shit since his Charlie Clips battle. But this ‘Cocaine Yeezy’ shit comes off as Verb going through an identity crisis. And not performing his noted (and usually well-received) ‘Showtime’ bars? Plus, waiting till round 3 to stunt at his best by going Kevin Samuel on his opponent with fire riffs on Black queendom and self-responsibility, yet dumping the angle halfway to go back to a mostly subpar lyrical, schmiral style that clearly wasn’t landing throughout the battle? Yunno, come to think of it, maybe some of the boo’s were worth it.

Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Casey Jay – “Think we dumb?, Judge Mathis, I know a crackhead when I see one!”

Eazy The Block Captain defeats Aye Verb

Recap: After a debatable round 1 of this much anticipated URL Resolution 2 match between Ave Verb and Eazy The Block Captain, a couple of seismic, gritty, punch-heavy, personal-lit and witty rounds by Eazy in both of the latter rounds (including a round 2 classic) gives the Gun Titles general the win. Eazy, on go from jump, but still battling a habit of longwindedness (which hurt him a bit in round 1) with his rounds, really impressed with his versatility here. The Philly battler also displaying well-thought out themes, some fire schemes, getting righteous when needed and even buttoning up his usual need for trap talk a bit. And while Verb kept it competitive with a fiery and braggadocios opening round as well as a virtuous and hard-hitting at times 3rd, a mostly pedestrian middle round combined with Eazy raining down haymakers with fierce abandon, gave the St. Louis vet little chance at winning.

Verdict: Eazy The Block Captain (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Eazy The Block Captain – “You called me out nigga, I accepted, you made your muthafuckin’ bed, ‘cuz I will not lose to a nigga who take a rubberband out his braids and shakes his muthafuckin’ head!”

Aye Verb defeats Head I.C.E.

Recap: From Smack’s Volume 8 card, unleashing nothing but lyrical warfare for 3 consistent rounds, a straight-stunting Aye Verb mixes in some righteous talk, rapid braggadocios banter and witty barbs/personals to his repertoire and handily beats back the hardbody, but too anecdotal and often nonsensical stylings of Head I.C.E.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “You nigga’s used to spit knowledge, drill and shake something, I killed a gang of y’all but I still pay homage through seances!”

Ms. Hustle defeats Ave Verb

 

Recap: Although not as bad as the commenters in the App Gang (and elsewhere) would have you think, Ms. Hustle (who got better with each round) still puts a hurting on Aye Verb in this Kings vs. Queens matchup. The Harlem femcee delivering some solid wordplay, spitfire personals that ran the gamut from battle rap friendships to Verb’s upbringing to challenges on his manhood and aggressive punchlines to gain a 30 over an opponent who while dialed in at times with his usual barbs on women knowing their place and some witty barbs on Hustle’s looks, just could never keep up with a battler who not only seemed to want this one more, but performed like it.

Verdict: Ms. Hustle (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Ms. Hustle – “I’m like Surf in the faceoff, I take my .40 on a date!”

Tay Roc defeats Aye Verb


Recap: Another one of those ‘Damn, they ain’t battle already?!’ top tier vet moves as Tay Roc and Aye Verb finally link up for the first time on the URL stage. A solid battle that saw Verb provide a steady dose of boastful barbs as well as some biting personals, it’s still a more well-rounded Roc, unleashing a barrage of fiery gun bars, rugged name flips, righteous mayhem, spirited personals/wordplay on ‘Vegan Verb’ and piercing punchlines, who takes each round for the win.

Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You’ll get the .44 and .38 ‘cuz you extra Special, point black, 3 holes will make ya whole head a pretzel!”

Calicoe defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Midwest vets with plenty of memorable Summer Madness exploits, Calicoe and Aye Verb, go at it for 3 rounds at SM 2020 and it’s certainly a goodie with plenty of lyrical stunting, boastful barbs and piercing personals to keep it competitive what with Verb peeking through the 1st round before Cal edged the 2nd. The deciding 3rd? Another close one that saw both battlers cook with a wide load of rich similes, braggadocios heat and fiery 4-bar setups, but in the end a way more condensed Calicoe gets the round and the win.

Verdict: Calicoe (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Calicoe – “My stamina ain’t some shit that you wanna stand against, you rambling, my bars consist of with what I’m standing in, nigga, I was 12 when I found out sandwich bags was for sandwiches!”

Aye Verb defeats Geechi Gotti

Recap: Hard to recall anyone outside of Nu Jerzey Twork that’s gone up the ladder in the URL as quickly as Geechi Gotti. And while the Compton, Cali emcee has certainly earned all of the accomplishments and accolades he’s garnered in the past 3 years , you’d think more of the vets in the game (outside of NJ that is) would’ve studied enough of the game tapes to beat Gotti. Well, enter Aye Verb. The St. Louis battler getting on some ‘God-tier’ shit and rapping his ass off for 3 salacious rounds, using mocking personals, plenty of lyrical stunting, some solid wordplay, boastful barbs and gritty vet talk on gang life to edge the 1st and 3rd rounds over a Gotti who while serving up his usual palette of hardbody punches, a wicked series of personals that challenged his opponent’s manhood and other assorted real street drama, came a little predictable at times and altogether couldn’t keep up with Verb’s comeuppance when it counted most.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Aye, I’m confused a bit how you start yo’ rounds like, ‘You’se a bitch’, but you get flew out by dudes and shit, get a bag, go home and buy weave bundles…No, you’se a bitch!”

DNA defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Confident and aggressive the entire time during this Smack Volume 5 battle, DNA uses a barrage of stinging punchlines, wily personals, flexing schemes, opponent style breakdowns and pointed name flips/wordplay to beat back fellow battle vet Aye Verb in this 3-rounder from Smack. And while Verb put forth a pretty solid, visceral, personal, set-up/ punch-heavy at times and scheme-drenched effort throughout the match, in each round the St. Loui capo just couldn’t keep up with DNA’s consistency and potency.

Verdict: DNA (W) 3-0

Favorite line: DNA – “I’m on a tear and T know (Tarantino), I shoot till the clip outta order, doctors shaking tables, trying to make him stable, ‘cuz how he gonna ‘Showtime’ if he hooked up to basic cable?!”

Loaded Lux defeats Aye Verb

Recap: A battle long in the making, extremely long in length and loaded with plenty of filler from both participants, Loaded Lux versus Aye Verb is decided by a close 2nd round that saw the visceral, pointed, God-body and often wordplay-heavy Lux beat back a ‘Showtime!’-induced and punch-lit at times turn from his opponent. Verb, who came through with a dope 3rd round that easily out-punched an elongated and subpar turn from Lux, competed hard throughout this battle. But one too many attempts at copying Lux’s more steely pontifications/complex schemes as well as personals that often went south instead of hitting their target and punches that weren’t quite as flexing as his entourage would tell you, would also hurt Verb’s efforts in winning a battle he’s long requested.

Verdict: Loaded Lux (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Loaded Lux – “It’s ‘A whole new world’, nigga, this ain’t back when you was rapping with Hollow, you might be ‘Showtime’…just not at the Apollo, nigga!”

Gauge and Aye Verb [DEBATABLE]

Recap: While a pretty solid throughout Aye Verb brings some righteous vet talk and piercing punches to this Go-Rilla Warfare 1-rounder, his opponent Gauge, although rapping a little longer, still manages to use his cold flow to spout cocky stylings on street code ethics when he wasn’t dishing some witty (“The powder so white the brick stamp say ‘gluten free’!”) barbs, throwing shots at fellow Chi-Town rapper Big T or delivering enough worthwhile heat to earn a debatable.

Verdict: Debatable

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “You gotta win two rounds to be solidified, if I don’t lose two rounds I don’t get criticized!”

Pat Stay defeats Aye Verb

Recap: I’m guessing that there’s a pretty good reason, even tho this battle took place before his battle with Murda Mook, that RBE chose to drop this battle on YouTube afterwards: Pat Stay just kills Verb here. At his wittiest and punch-heavy best, the Canadian vet took the over the crowd with a swarm of too funny personals, mean (“Make him look like a little boy, like Jaz naked!”) barbs and spitfire punchlines throughout his 3 rounds, leaving Verb, while mostly solid but with too much of a bent towards lyrical showmanship (with little haymakers), preachy soundbites, 2 subpar ‘Showtime’ schemes and of course, when facing a white battler: race quotables that we’ve long heard before. But hey, with Mook up next, it’s hard to be too mad at Verb for not giving this battle his best effort.

Verdict: Pat Stay (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Pat Stay – “I ain’t got one person here with me, but look at me dog, seriously, If I kill you right now…when the cops come, they’ll just think I’m security!”

Aye Verb defeats Murda Mook

Recap: For his comeback Murda Mook should’ve took Tsu Surf. That’s really the consensus here after watching this hour-and-a-half long battle between Mook and Aye Verb that was not only way too long, but drenched with filler and littered all over the place with pedestrian bars from both participants. Then too, besides Mook making his much-heralded comeback and a couple of old battle vets finally facing off against each other, what was the point here? Especially what with Mook’s continual narrative over the years stating that he can hang with the new guys…again, he should’ve battled Surf.

As for the battle itself, competitive by default with an undoubtedly record-setting 3rd round from Mook and way too much extra shit what with all the touching and machismo going on throughout it. And tho frequent bouts of elongated schemes, mediocre bars and quite a few reaches would hurt the match, for the most part the crowd (esp. Jaz the Rapper) was into it. And both Mook and Verb would dazzle at times with fiery punchlines, wily personals, braggadocio shiners and many a provocative dart. Verb, at his best when he flexed with stinging personals and rich storyline bars, would easily surmount his opponent on haymakers to take round 1, before Mook, aggressive and never lacking (“Yeah, I’m feeling myself like I don’t know where my phone at!”) for confidence throughout despite 3 inconsistent rounds, would match Verb on overall potency to make the 2nd round debatable. And despite Mook delivering 10-15 rounds of bars in one overlong 3rd, after a bit of a slow start it’s Verb who gives Mook a searing talking to, via a gang of fierce set-ups, schemes and mocking (“I was reading your transcript and it said, you got a problem with Math, well it’s ok, just don’t let it beat you over ya head!”) personals, to handily take the round and win the battle.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “It’s time to eat, I’m a throw noodles like a college student!”

Aye Verb defeats Steve McSwain

Recap: IMBL 3-rounder finds local spitter Steve McSwain earnestly contributing with a boatload of gritty punches/gun bars, some hard street rhymes and brazen/witty barbs. Still, in spite of a solid effort from his opponent, a well-equipped Aye Verb earns his bag with a gang of spicy hustler-themed punches, mocking personals and belittling vet talk to take rounds 1 and 3 (call round 2 debatable) for the win.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “I ain’t say your name in two rounds yet…’cuz I forgot it!”

Nu Jerzey Twork defeats Aye Verb

Recap: The hoodie taken off (we see you Calicoe) completes the comeback in what was a haymaker-filled, performance-heavy and personal/punchline/wordplay (“I’m at your crib, he like ‘It ain’t gonan be that tho!’ [bwoh!] yes it is!”) stifling, classic 3rd round from Nu Jerzey Twork. Indeed, after a pedestrian, slip-up prone 1st that was cut short, much less had zero chance of beating a solid, (“Your flow low-key blah, blah, my emoji monster’s, I’m solo with it, I never need a staff, I ain’t Loki partna!”), posturing and punch-heavy ‘Vegan Verb’, Twork literally turned it up, stunting heavy with a consistently rapid, gun bar execution in the 2nd, before the aforementioned spitfire 3rd finished the mission.

Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “One hit from this MC Hammer [emcee hammer] like Have You Seen Her?, if I had to arm you in a casket hugging the body, the Macarena [mac will ring ya]!”

B. Dot defeats Aye Verb

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!”

Charron defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Charron likes to refer to himself as the ‘SMACK Killer”, but credit Aye Verb for having none of that, showing up for all three rounds with a pretty dope, bar-heavy (“When I do a donut and get the arms moving round and round, it ain’t the ‘Get Your Roll On’ video!”) performance that kept this battle competitive and was only broadsided by lazy race card bars against a white dude with no history of even being questionably racist. Nonetheless, besides a debatable 3rd round, in the first couple of rounds Charron just came one better, with a more consistent flow, permeating name flips, witty personals and a variety of (“Put the strap to his face, that’s deja vu, they’re like ‘Charron, that’s a gun bar, you can’t write it’, yeah but it’ll sound hard as fuck once Ave. bites it!”) punchlines that kept his opponent constantly on the ropes. All in all, more than enough for Charron to win and more than enough to continue being a problem for URL’s best.

Verdict: Charron (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Charron – “These days you ain’t up to par, you should be a PG [A]ye!”

Aye Verb defeats Mr. Mills

Recap: Heated punches from both sides allow (“It’s like I’m a youth minister how I reach the kid, transfer into an unfit parent and beat the kid!”) Mr. Mills and (“Mills, you can rap my nigga, but not quite a boss, you take shots but got no special powers…Natasha Romanoff!”) Aye Verb to split the first two rounds here in this 3-round battle from STL Street Report. But with Verb gamely schooling his opponent on his legacy in the game as well as saving his ‘Showtime’ signature raps for the final round, after a shortened (tho he had a nice rebuttal to start it off) and a little lackluster turn from Mills, Verb gets this one clearly

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Look at me King, tiem to reach inside yourself and find the higher you, you too old to be doing this Mills, but it’s my fault bro ‘cuz I inspire you!”

Aye Verb defeats A-kaza

Recap: In this one-rounder from Houston Bar Code, here we see the hometown crowd do what they’re supposed to do: cheer for the loud, aggressive and very…basic bars and storytelling lines of local battle rapper A-kaza. But an Aye Verb on his A-game is quick to hit the irony head on: “Nigga, you brought me to your city to battle you, that don’t mean you like that with bars, that mean you paid me to stand here while you get hyped by your boys!” Nuff said.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “How you gonna talk shit to me and have the nerve to talk to say this the biggest battle of your career? Well, for me it’s just another Saturday”

Jimz defeats Aye Verb

Recap: 3-round, winner-takes-all, money-on-the-line, judged RBE battle between Jimz and Aye Verb makes for an easy decision as Jimz spouts a trio of consistently dope, punch-heavy turns that easily gets him the latter rounds after a debatable round 1. Seasoned battle vet Verb, who along with his opponent did a great job on promoting this matchup, would use one of his noted ‘Showtime’ schemes in each round, but outside of he opening round, nothing the St. Louis battle did could keep up with his oft-witty opponent’s more stifling and versatile bar game.

Verdict: Jimz (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Jimz – “You can’t tell us about pain and struggle…we Knicks fans!”

Aye Verb defeats The Saurus

Recap: In this close 3-rounder from KOTD, while a slightly more versatile The Saurus had the jokes, fiery bars and solid personals (esp. during a dope 3rd), a more consistently hitting, turned up with the heat and punch-heavy Aye Verb does enough to edge both of the opening rounds for the win.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “If we had the same mother, you’d be my retarded brother that couldn’t drink from the same nipple!”

Aye Verb defeats Bonnie Godiva

Recap: Dildo’s, pussy checks, dope schemes, scathing personals, rich (Verb: “I’m doing this for every dope boy, that flew bags on hoes and when they jammed, none of them hoes showed up to his trial in court!”) storytelling bars and plenty of (Bonnie: “You just excited to see a bitch and ain’t gotta look in your reflection!”; “You see I’m colder with this, Ray Charles, I pick and roll from the wrist!”) haymakers from both sides equates to a highly entertaining battle between (“If you walk by the woods, niggas gonna mistake you and get they hunt on!”) Aye Verb and Bonnie Godiva on the RBE stage. However, overall a more consistent flow from Verb and too much filler/lame bars from Bonnie gives Verb rounds 1 and 3 and the win.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Yeah [points to Bonnie’s crew] they cheering for you, but if I let this cannon [Canon] flash, bet none of these hoes gonna pose with you!”

D.I. Da Hennyman defeats Aye Verb

Recap: No excuses here as (“Y’all go harder, but I troll smarter, in teh net I get nigga’s goin’ from a distance…remote starter”) Aye Verb, seemingly here just to collect a paycheck, stumbles through his short turn and delivers little on the performance tip against a way more versatile and (“I’m just trying to get it for all the nigga’s that know me best. took the whole weight of the world and did a shoulder press!”) fiery D.I. Da Hennyman in this one-rounder from Do or Die Battle League.

Verdict: D.I. Da Hennyman (W) 1-0

Favorite line: D.I. Da Hennyman – “And you still chasing Loaded, [but] he don’t like you neither, he battle niggas like Mook, you battle niggas like me bruh”

Real Deal defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Despite his choice to run with very condensed, but well-packaged (“Verb, I’m back out the slump like when scoliosis hit you!”; “Let’s set the mood people, what type of nigga go to school, get out of school, go back to school to be a school teacher?”) ) rounds (when directed at his opponent), Aye Verb could’ve easily had this one, as Real Deal in between dishing some nice (“You a Hitman?!, I guess not, that description fits Gerald, you just write about gangsta shit like F. Scott!”) wordplay and rich (“This coke head has more issues with drugs than High Times!”) personals, still didn’t impress as much as you would’ve thought he would against another battle rap vet. Yet, tied going into the 3rd, it’s quantity as much as quality and with Verb literally spitting for only two minutes (half of which was nothing but aggressive filler), it’s Real Deal who uses a plethora of fiery storytelling bars to avoid what would’ve been a somewhat embarrassing loss in front of a throng that most likely came to see him.

Verdict: Real Deal (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Real Deal –  “Smack, I swear to God sometimes y’all be picking favorites, ’cause y’all choose to book marks, long story short we must be on different pages!”

Aye Verb defeats Metta

Recap: Clearly motivated to bring his best against a fellow St. Louis spitter in Metta, Aye Verb straight spazzes in this 1-rounder from Street Status. Verb, with nary any filler and a flexing ‘Showtime’ scheme to put the cherry on top, scored left and right with a gang of consistently fiery punchlines, braggadocious rhymes and brazen personals to beat back the nifty wordplay and at times witty punches from an opponent who besides Verb was also hurt by one too many reaches.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “I’m the king and only one at a time is what this throne sit!”

Aye Verb defeats Grandaddy Purp

Recap: In this 1-rounder from Ball Hogg Ent., the often loud and raucous raps from Grandaddy Purp do enough to intimidate, but battle-wise aren’t enough to beat back a consistently gun bar-heavy plus punch and wordplay-lit Aye Verb.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “I’m in your city, acting reckless, with a weapon, all breathless, two open rams, which one of you nigga’s need affection?!”

Tsu Surf defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Before this battle dropped, word around town was that Aye Verb took this matchup against Tsu Surf easy. But watching it is a whole ‘nother matter. Simply put, even tho this battle didn’t come out as dope as it looked on paper, it’s Surf who ends up adding another win to his Midwest roster by out-barring his opponent with a bunch of potent (“You battled Griz Guru and said ‘you shot at a car when you was 22, that ain’t what a body about, by 22 I was a ho with regrets, ashamed of my body count”) personals, lofty gun bars and paunchy (“Tsu Surf got a ghostwriter, that’s what them niggas said right?, well if there is a ghost writing, I swear that nigga dead nice!”) wordplay that even had the Chicago crowd yelling for more. As for Verb, outside of his requisite ‘Showtime; routine, for all his confident (“Ride up, hollow his crib, that’s a renovation, put a couple of holes in his roof, extra ventilation!”) swag points, not only did the St. Louis vet often fail to deliver the shrewd wordplay we’re used to seeing, but too much filler as well as his use of standard ‘I’m more of a G than you’ angles would also hurt him. That said, Surf would take round 1 easy before clearly taking the 2nd via a better performance that was matched by just as dope (“I never had cable, couldn’t tell you about no Showtime!”) punches for the win before a harder hitting Verb (“You a handout-ass nigga, that’s why you can’t stand out, ass nigga!”) did enough to take round 3.

Verdict: Tsu Surf (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Tsu Surf – “My big homie said bring the wolves that fool might try you, my boy’s cold, I’m don’t want to send them on ya…cold, pneumonia, that flew [flu] right by ya!”

Aye Verb defeats Cortez

Recap: Snapping with a boatload of earnest punchlines, unloading some fierce/witty personals, smooth and boastful with the barbs, dishing some dope ‘Showtimes’, and kind enough to offer up some rigid battle rap tutorials, a performance-lit Aye Verb takes advantage of a mostly mediocre Cortez for 3 rounds to handily get the hometown win in this battle brought to you from King Juce Battle League.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Where you write from, it’s lemon scent, mine’s limitless!”

Aye Verb and Grizz Guru [DEBATABLE]

Recap: The ‘Showtime’ was a little ‘meh’, but some witty barbs (esp. the shot at the look-a-like Smack host) and head-ringing punches from Aye Verb allows him to thwart an upset from the righteous set-ups/schemes and rigid wordplay of Grizz Guru and force a debatable in this 1-rounder from Iron Mouth Battles.

Verdict: Debatable

Favorite line: Grizz Guru – “You shoulda chose a name like Malcolm X, I mean you both two nigga’s famous for dying on a Harlem stage!”

K-Shine defeats Aye Verb

Recap: In a battle that started off as a crescendo, but ended up on a light note when it came to performance and bars, after a debatable 1st round, a wordplay-heavy, simile-lit, storytelling/gun bar-bent and personal/punch-savvy K-Shine easily beats back Aye Verb with the St. Louis vet, who got off to a dope start with a witty and entertaining round 1 before succumbing to a bunch of redundant personals and punches that were mostly rarely stung.

Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1

Favorite line: K-Shine – “I got a Puerto Rican chopper, I gotta call Cortez just to work the button, the Desi’ African American, I can’t get it to work for nothin’, but the .40 Mexican, I can put it to work for nothin’!”

Aye Verb defeats Brizz Rawsteen

Recap: The Rookies vs. Vets card has certainly lived up to the hype what with 3 dope battles released so far including this one between Brizz Rawsteen and Aye Verb–a really good look considering that Verb can be so hit or miss. As expected Rawsteen delivered three rounds of consistent heat. Whether it was neck-snapping (“I thought he had the iron low like it’s anemic, nigga I feed the iron shells, it throw ’em back up, that bitch bulimic!”) personals or cinematic (“In this movie he get hooked from the [raises right fist and points at Verb] right hand, cuz I know what you did last summer”) wordplay, Brizz didn’t leave any doubt that he came to win. Yet, through the first couple of rounds Verb matched him, mocking Brizz’s uber-aggressive style, unloading sparkling reminders (“You gotta be special, you can’t be mediocre and come see the Yoda!”) on his vet status and styling on Brizz’s team with witty (“Look at your fucking squad, these heathens and thots, 2-4-6-8, the 3-5-7 even them odds!”) punchlines. The 3rd round is where Brizz stands out the most, staying hot with a deluge of dope performance bars, brash anecdotes and a consistent delivery. While Verb, despite a couple of (“You into martial arts? Me too, but it’s not the same, two arms up, mean kick, nigga this is not the crane!”) shiners and surprisingly saving his signature “Showtime” for the last round, takes too long with his angles and suffers from a little too much filler in a shortened round. A great effort by both parties, but in the end Brizz’s lack of originality with his personals versus Verb’s better display of variety in the first couple of rounds gets the vet from St. Louis the win.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Brizz Rawsteen – “Do you think you compare better? Or do you just think your hair’s better? I mean, see this is the difference between niggas with barbers and niggas with hairdressers”

Aye Verb defeats Danja Zone


Recap: Danja Zone rapped longer and came with some nice (“See these ratchets fucked, and flew out the window like Cleo in the whip”) bars, but too much filler and exaggerated schemes proved too little against Verb’s haymakers, witty personals and crowd-pleasing (“I be bringing out the live drums in Maryland, nigga that’s Go-Go music!”) punchlines in this one-rounder from Do or Die Battle League.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb -“I ride up, Jerri-curl, bumping that Soul-Glo music, shotty out the window, that bitch long, look like Rebecca Lobo shooting!”

Aye Verb defeats Daylyt

Recap: Daylyt’s extraordinary 3rd (”Soon as they gave Verb his price, for us to box in the spot, I spotted a box for you, the word is dice”) round will get most of the attention here. But Aye Verb still gets the dub, using steady (Send hot rounds to your door nigga, who ordered pizza?”) jokes, going the tutorial route with the personals, spitting hard-hitting (“He ain’t saying nothin’ throwing up signs, this ain’t Charades niggas”) bars, flipping Daylyt’s shit and executing a more consistent flow throughout to edge the first couple of rounds and score a slight upset.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Daylyt – “I had a crack rock soooo big, Yung Ill tried to drag it home!”

Bigg K defeats Aye Verb

Recap: While Bigg K may never get points or sportsmanship, as he shows once again here versus Aye Verb, no one can dispute his wicked bar/punchline game. So even while Verb uses the race card to offer some competition and a pretty (“Broads, I only fuck with one kind, I’m a racist!”) potent 1st round, from there it’s all K, dishing a fierce (“You just gonna say that I’m white, that is some racist and wack shit, I’ll smack your mother on the ass and call her a black bitch!”) rebuttal, feelgood bully bars, funny (“I heard you taking MMA classes, that’s some of the faggotest shit I heard in my life, you gonna wait till you 35 and try to learn how to fight!”) personals and a way more consistently dope bar game to easily take out a (“When you young and you riding on niggas, you just learning, you gotta make an older ride with you, it’s like a permit!”) hit-or-miss 2nd round and a wasted 3rd from Verb.

Verdict: Bigg K (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Bigg K – “I’ll leave you and your bitch stretched out, y’all Team Yoga!”

John John da Don defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Battle of the Two Most Hated Battle Rappers (with good reasons) goes down as expected with lots of lame lines, boo’s and plenty of WTF’s (Verb: “I am a rooster”). But somebody had to win and in this case it’s John John da Don who survives Aye Verb 80’s swagger-jacking (“What you know about being in a cell ith a nigga facing a murder, got you scared to go to sleep cuz’ our crimes don’t match?”) the first round to edge the 2nd with better (“Just cuz’ your mother got a metal dick, that don’t mean you here cocking steel”) bars, personals, PG schemes and more spirited punches, while easily taking round 3 with winning anecdotes on Verb’s recent battles, nicer angles and a harder perforamnce versus Verb basically taking the round off and stopping short early.

Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1

Favorite line: John John da Don – “You got them white boys really thinking they could own us, for letting them take your shine on stage, here go some slow bucks [Slowbucks]”

Aye Verb and Danny Myers [DEBATABLE]

Recap: A lazy 3rd round by Aye Verb allows Danny Myers to get a draw in this 3-rounder from KOTD. Indeed Myers, for all the energy and at times spitfire (“I’m appalled at the thought that this bitch would play me, ironic your name is Chaz ‘cuz you gonna hear that [Shhh] (Ch) in AZ!”) bars he could sap up from a raucous crowd that was really into the match, could never hit with any consistency on his punches to get ahead in this one. Yet Verb, after a dope, witty with the personals and hard-hitting 1st round and a pretty nice start to his 2nd (just ask Daylyt), just made for a lackluster effort during the rest of his turns, getting edged in the middle round and forcing a draw in the deciding final one with a shortened run.

Verdict: TIE

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Ride up, reverse it, shirts get rang out; that’s a purchase, do a nigga greasy for that chicken…that’s Churches!”

Illmaculate defeats Aye Verb

Synopsis: Illmaculate makes for a dope rebuttal in the middle of round 1, spazzing on Verb for complaining about the timekeeping and that’s pretty much the highlight of this match as Verb not only chokes, whines and recites a whole ot of filler, but clearly just showed up for the check.

Verdict: Illmaculate (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “….I see Mac and smash the gas till a 100 it hit then downshift and make it rain while I Tokyo Drift”

Goodz defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Aye Verb gets line of the night (see below), but that’s still not enough to beat back a (“Ask about my background, pistol dumpin’, believe me nigga you gon’ get what you don’t want if this cat fish [Catfish] for somethin’!”) punch-heavy, swaggalicious with the boasts and witty with the personals Goodz in this N.O.M.E. IV, 3-rounder from Smack. Goodz, amped from the jump on out-barring his opponent, faced some steady comp lyric-wise from the St. Louis-repping vet. But besides a debatable 2nd round, a couple of inconsistent turns by Verb in both the 1st and 3rd didn’t help matters, thus helping a righteously snapping throughout Goodz (who on Jadakiss reactions alone, won this battle) to the win.

Verdict: Goodz (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “I ride up on this nigga while he chillin’ on the weekend, creepin’, seat back, iron low like I’m anemic!”

Caustic defeats Aye Verb

Synonym: Sorry, but as long as Aye Verb’s been in the game he has no business complaining about time to prepare for a battle, much less choking. Not that any of that mattered anyway, as Caustic, with a busload of elite bars, jokes (that Shotgun Suge line was hilarious), personals and wicked freestyles, was well on his way to a victory anyway. Hopefully, Verb got a nice paycheck for just showing up….literally.

Verdict: Caustic (W) 3-0

Best line: Caustic – “I mean this dude’s trippin’ like I can’t bag his broad cuz’ I’m white, until I put a cracker in her mouth like I’m the body of Christ”

Aye Verb defeats Swave Sevah

Recap: Lame battle gets what it deserves with a wack crowd that seemingly couldn’t wait for it to be over with. Can’t blame them what with Aye Verb spending half his time telling sordid battle rap tales and Swave Sevah just coming off unmotivated while spitting generic bars he could write in his sleep. Give this one to Verb for putting on a better overall performance and for flexing that MC Hammer jacket.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Karate only works on niggas that do karate”

Aye Verb defeats Ah Di Boom

Synopsis: Again, I hate one-rounders. Nonetheless, this was a dope battle as both had bars for days, brought plenty of performance and threw some jokes (Ah Di Boom’s line about Verb patting his s-curls before a fight was hilarious) in there to keep the crowd entertained. However, overall I thought Verb edged it with better storytelling and while succinctly schooling Ah Di Boom on newbies vs. vets and how to become a better battle rapper. Then too, Ah Di Boom relied too much on rumors and hearsay and real rap always beats fabricated lines.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Best line: Aye Verb – “Your second mistake, image is everything, it’s way more than just some rap shit, don’t get it twisted you’re not dirty, you have fashion, just your whole act says…I can be catfished”

Dizaster defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Not too far off his disappointing URL appearance, a frenetic and out-of-control Dizaster takes his frustration out on Aye Verb (who pretty much gave Diz the 2nd round) with multisyllabic wordplay, speed raps, s-curl personals and a whole lot of performance bars to gain a dub here.

Verdict: Dizaster (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Dizaster – “My uncles are stock brokers, your uncles are broke stockers”

Arsonal and Aye Verb [DEBATABLE]

Recap: Elongated throughout the battle, but still stunting in his opponent’s hometown with enough gritty (“I’m Arsenal, I could teach you to be a winner, I’ll Coach Carter you, let a shotgun rearrange your eye, formation without an audible!”) punchlines, relentless mayhem/gun bars and fiery personals (towards Aye Verb and fellow St. Louis battler Hitman Holla), although amazingly lengthy throughout the battle, Arsonal survives some at-times scathing condemnations from a scheme/personal-heavy Verb to earn a draw (Ars took Rd. 1, 2nd round was a tie and Verb edged round 3) in this 3-rounder from Smack/URL.

Verdict: TIE

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “There’s a bigger G than being a gangsta, it’s called being a grown man!”

T-Rex defeats Aye Verb

 

Synopsis: Really, what’s not to like about T-Rex since he lost to Math Hoffa a couple of years ago? After all, an inspired Rex belongs in anyone’s Top 5, what with swag, attitude and “grown man” bars (“them shotgun shells is red and lime green, when I squeeze it look like a Gucci crime scene”) that only a true vet knows how to bring. Add everybody’s favorite Summer Madness punching bag, A-Verb (who wasn’t as bad here as he was the year before against Charlie Clips, if that’s saying much) to the mix and Diddy dropping $10K on that 2nd round, and all you’re left with is quality battle rap perfection (well, except for that ass-grabbing).

Verdict: T-Rex (W) 3-0

Best line: T-Rex – “I’ll ride through Verb hood and get his whole team wet, ayo Diddy, I’ma confess to the body 10 years later, I’m like G-Dep!”

Instant classic: Tec-9’s “Get that nigga Rex!!!”

X-Factor defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Mostly running with a storytelling theme of how bizarre it is for two prominent members of the so-called ‘Midwest Movement’ to be facing each other works well for X-Factor, who despite Aye Verb’s blindfold and fiery (“…I can’t go back, it’s like my transmission slipping!”) comeuppance in round 3, does enough with mild-mannered, but potent schemes, hard-hitting (“You was a ‘Hey Yo Big Gerald!,’ ‘Yes Sir!’ away from being 3-0’ed!”) personals and some jaunty wordplay to take the first couple of rounds and claim his due for the fictional Midwest crown.

Verdict: X-Factor (W) 2-1

Favorite line: X-Factor – “I’m hood here and this jealous would probably hate on your tires if they was having a Good Year!”

Aye Verb defeats Hitman Holla

Recap: Listen, you’d be a fool to not say that Aye Verb’s 3rd round was legendary, an epic tutorial, a classic round with the “Hey Big Gerald! ‘Yes Sir!’ Now that’s the way you’re supposed to speak to your son!” spiel undoubtedly going down in URL history as one of the greatest, showstopping moments in battle rap history. Ok, now that we got that out the way and we give Verb his much-deserved props, let’s remind ourselves that this was a 3-round battle, not just one. Thus, I got Hitman Holla edging the first round and come to think of it overall he may’ve been more consistent too. Holla had more hard-hitting personals, he schooled Verb too with the “It’s Rules You Learn As a Kid, Fuck Rap” lines, had better (“I walk in, all hugs from the bitches, the baddest, he walk in, tragic, no looks, Magic”) wordplay, the  ‘JR Smith’ remix was crazy and he had slightly less filler. None of that is to say that Verb didn’t show up during the first two rounds as his performance (esp. in round 2) was tight with a lot more variety, the “Holla, killing you gonna hurt me [shakes his head] way more than it’s gonna get to you” quip was hilarious (as was the Murphy Lee diss: “You just a little nigga’s, little nigga”). And tho I don’t think most people would have a problem with someone buying their first car at 24, Verb’s overall theme on how Holla isn’t as real as he portrays not only worked well, but would spark a host of copycats later on. A highly entertaining and closer battle then a lot of people give it credit for, what with Verb dropping more haymakers and this arguably being his best performance, Chaz took home the crown for St. Louis…for one day anyway.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: “I’m a one man slay special, get your whole gang wet up, I come to you first and then all they cribs, I’m like a chain letter”

Aye Verb defeats O-Red

Recap: Aye Verb struggles a bit with his delivery, but still has plenty of juice (“Mixing all types of shit up, lyrical gumbo!”) in his tank to cook O-Red, who along with spitting mostly light bars during his turn here, makes the brutal mistake of trying to get off a gimmick (i.e. ‘Translation’) in front of an away crowd (in this case, Detroit) who clearly had no idea what the hell he was doing. Then Red makes it even worse by begging for a 2nd round after Smack announced a strict one-round, time limit at the start of the battle…smh.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “You ain’t got the heart and you ain’t gonna shoot, you Rondo in LeBron mode!”

Charlie Clips defeats Aye Verb

Recap: Arguably URL’s most-hyped bodybag features Aye Verb against a Charlie Clips making his first appearance since his legendary battle versus Tay Rock. Honestly, I didn’t even think Clips was that great here (pretty good, but not at his best which says a lot about the standard Clips has set for himself) as much as Verb was just that bad and decidedly corny, clearly writing rhymes that’d get him through the night so he could pick up his paycheck, smirk at the “fools” who paid good money to watch this one-sided affair and quickly bounce back home to St. Louis. To think, for all the claims of a “biased crowd” Verb made after this battle, even Stevie Wonder could see that the crowd more than gave a Verb a chance to spit his bars without interruption. And did Verb really think he had any chance of winning with lame lines like “How the fuck you gonna have all that Harlem flash and you got just toilet swag?” or “All I ask for is that you pay respect and start every round like A…I O U, nigga make sure you go vowel on me”?!? I mean, even the people in Verb’s entourage were struggling to root him on, undoubtedly because even Robert DeNiro couldn’t pull off getting hype to Verb’s weak bars. As a matter of fact props to the guy hollering “Time!” halfway through Verb’s rounds, he seemed to be the only one in the crowd to notice that everyone around him was being robbed.

Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “So what I’m supposed to believe? You a gangsta? You bust and squeeze gats? or you fly chrome when it look like your iPhone got a ‘Just For Me’ app?

Aye Verb defeats Big Will

Recap: A motivated Aye Verb manages to get by the ever competitive Big Will (yeah that “Fuck non-violence we can fight, ‘cuz after I hit you with these prejudice lefts, you gonna be begging for some civil rights!” line was fire) with more versatility, better (“I got paid and you didn’t, so technically this a fundraiser that you threw”) creativity. jokes and punchlines.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Ave Verb – “I holla at his baby boo like…man he ain’t got no baby boo!”

Math Hoffa defeats Aye Verb

 

Synopsis: First, props to Aye Verb for standing his ground to the Battle Rap Bully in a room littered with Brooklyn fiends–Verb brought up the Dose battle and Math gay rumors while showing no fear or intimidation in front of a guy who loves to play off that shit. Second, that Math dickrider in the green shirt really gets on my nerves, laughing at just about everything Math says while side-eyeing Verb throughout his rounds, even the corny lines (any wonder Calicoe brought up the antics of Math’s cheerleaders in their battle). But lastly, line for line, this battle was really no contest with Math delivering gems like “nigga please, you see the type of reach I got?, you can’t read my speed, you gonna spit a couple of teeth and drop, your people’s they gonna leave the spot and in a couple of weeks this twat gonna wake up out his coma with the same beard jesus got” with typical bravado all the while storytelling with lively warnings and over-the-top hilarity that even had Verb losing it. Brooklyn wins.

Verdict: Math Hoffa (W) 2-1

Best Line: Math Hoffa – “Captain Marketable, I could sell you on all kinds of shit, for one you could be a face model for a hollow tip”

Aye Verb defeats Midwest Miles

Recap: Tek-9 called this a ‘Bodybag’ for Aye Verb, but it definitely wasn’t as Midwest Miles aggressive (‘Watch me make this average bitch look great on cam, I’m Photoshop”) bars and rugged punchlines certainly got him round 1. But from there Aye Verb got serious and basically took over the battle, using witty (“Don’t Miles look like the mechanic from the hood that say ‘pop your hood’ [puffs cigarette]…’nah, nah, nah it ain’t your starter, it’s your alternator'”) personals, rich performance bars and some nifty wordplay to take rounds 2 and 3 with the fierce tenacity, when motivated, he’s long been known for.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “I’m swine flu times two, with no pork in my chest”

Marv Won defeats Aye Verb

Synopsis: A longtime battle rapper incorporates storytelling, jokes, nice angles, subversive themes, personals and performance into his bars and not surprisingly, it works. If only the Marvwon we see today studied his first two rounds versus Aye Verb here on the seminal Grind Time, and showed us more often just how dope he can be.

Verdict: Marvwon (W) 2-1

Best line: “Marvwon – “When I make a St. Louis nigga’ body flip, it will not be Ozzie Smith”

Aye Verb and Hollow da Don [TIE]

Recap: Classic matchup between Aye Verb and Hollow da Don in St. Louis, sees a more direct Verb go at a somewhat coy and less versatile Hollow with aggressive punches and hardbody personals to take the 1st round, before Hollow returns the favor with a fire, condensed turn that featured a couple of nice rebuttals and (“You just about as real as them two glass rocks in your ear!”) freestyles along with adventurous set-ups and stinging punchlines that combined to beat back a less stirring turn by Verb. With only two rounds, call this one a tie.

Verdict: TIE

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “You wouldn’t Murder Inc. Hollow, you couldn’t kill an instrumental!”

Aye Verb defeats SB

Recap: Classic battle between Aye Verb (visiting NY to battle for the first time) and SB (a last-minute replacement for Head Ice) on a cold night on the streets of Harlem with Murda Mook hosting. While SB kicks a plethora of braggadocio rhymes, until his preeminent (“I’ll strap a bomb to your waist and make you in your crib and blow it up”) 3rd round, most of his bars are pretty standard stuff. On the other hand, with a host of animated gun bars, heated (“Catch this nigga at the check cashing, snatch his chain and give it back to him, tell him I just was practicing!”) personals and dope punchlines, a confident Verb not only does St. Louis proud, but kicks off what would be the beginning of the infamous Midwest movement into Smack/URL.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Shots point-blank range…BANG!!! he fucked….his soul flying, I’m still firing, even his guardian angels duck!”

Aye Verb defeats Yung Mase

Recap: Giving his opponent Yung Mase the option of either taking an L or going home, Aye Verb flexes his might (and sexual exploits) with a spazz session of boastful punchlines, persistent mayhem and righteous personals that in this one-sided 1-rounder from Street Status, probably had the subpar and overmatched Mase wishing he’d stayed in the crib.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “This nigga lie for nuthin’, got his block thinking he a thoro G, when he ain’t shit but a lil ass bitch…girl please!”