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Recap: Seasoned rapper/artist versus Battle rap honcho? Well, if you’ve already seen the likes of Mr Fab vs. Arsonal or even worse, Canibus vs. Dizaster, you’d have a right to be skeptical about Hollow da Don taking on Eminem’s Total Slaughter stage regardless of all the hype that went into this battle going into it. But put aside all the mic issues, the horrible host that is Sway, a 10-minute plus intro, Hollow just looking weird in a wife-beater that was obviously worn to show off his flexing rams and Budden’s sporadic “reading from a book” flow and you’re left with a fairly decent battle that for first two rounds, was at least competitive with the two light-skin emcees splitting the first two rounds through the use of a nice range of fluid (Hollow: “He can’t escape, he a ho to me, he too/two bitch, Floetry, he get close to me…nah put up that Jagged Edge, I got 112 [1 .12] I want Joe to see [Jodeci]!” wordplay, witty (Joe: “Now why these labels never called you?, lack of hunger?, couldn’t find you?, ain’t have your number? defies all laws of gravity, it’s distorted, you the only thing that stay on Lean but ain’t support it [supported]!”) personals and nifty [Joe: “Said you had a clothing line, but that’s not clear, you putting an emoji on a shirt, nigga that’s not gear!”) punchlines. That said, call the 3rd round a huge let-down…at least for Budden anyway. Succumbing to a chorus of boos throughout what was bar-wise, a pretty lackluster turn to begin with, Joe literally gives up, dropping his mic to the ground before picking it back up after seemingly reminding himself that this much-hyped, flashy, over-produced event wouldn’t be a good look to his career if he cried foul and quit on stage. Still, for Hollow, who overcame an underwhelming 2nd round for a potent (“Third round! these bars gon’ stay with him, deadbeat dad, I ain’t got time to play with him!”) 3rd that was laced with scathing personals about Joe’s well-publicized history with women and showed guts for earlier going after show organizers for alleged money issues that occurred pre-battle, despite his opponent mailing it in at the end, a win of this magnitude certainly put him in another category when it comes to battle rap.
Verdict: Hollow da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hollow Da Don – “I’m shooting like Craig Hodges, that arm strong [Armstrong] I ain’t missing nuthin’, and you Dennis Rodman, ‘cuz you nice around that mic [Mike}, but sometimes you a bitch in public!”
