Recap: Th3 Saga’s return to the URL continues to be a worthy one as the Christian barrle rapper uses a steady diet of fiery schemes, sneaky but nasty wordplay, a bunch of killer set-up/punchlines and rigorous name flips to beat back a gritty, but not nearly as consistent, a bit predictable at times and flow-challenged effort from Swamp in this 1-rounder from URL’s ‘Outside’ card.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Blam the Wesson, this gonna go from Page to real life…I’m manifested!”
Recap: Judging from MyVerse and Th3 Saga surprisingly writing their 3rd round (thus, we’ll just call the finale a tie) together in this Barstool Compliment battle, I’m guessing that both of them could care less about getting the win. But it’s all about competition here and despite MyVerse doing a pretty solid job hyping up her opponent throughout rounds 1 and 2, it’s a little more original (esp. when it came to doing his research on his opp’s background), wordplay/name flip-lit, condensed, witty and punch-heavy Saga who edges both of the aforementioned rounds for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I would hate for this round to go flat and cause despair, but allow the leader of The Horsemen to uplift a queen like Charlotte Flair!”
Recap: Th3 Saga and Ill Will meet up on One Shot Battle League and as to be expected it’s a goodie with Saga spouting a gang of fire (“Coke so white, it started a mega-church!”) punches while also declaring that the days of opps dishing ‘masturbation bars’ should be over what with his recent marriage (yeah, good luck with that). Still while Saga rapped a little longer in this 1-rounder and via a choppy flow to start things off didn’t help his cause, the ever-brazen but uber-witty and personal when need be Will would also spit a bunch of fierce punches to score at whim and combined a more condensed turn, edge this one here.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I go way back with the malice, stay back with the challenge, I’ll start a fight in Indiana…who want they payback from the Palace!”
Recap: Considering the tremendous run he’s been on this year, don’t know what else Th3 Saga needs to do to get another URL plate. Either way, in yet another GOTG 1-rounder, while opponent GR80 delivers a mayhem-lit performance that contained a gang of fiery punchlines to make things competitive, the more versatile Saga, complete with fierce name flips, nifty wordplay, boastful barbs and aggressive/stinging punches, does more than enough to get the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “They sleep faster, I right above the post like a dream catcher…wait, hold that thought!”
Recap: Th3 Saga takes a break from belittling newcomers on Gates of the Garden for a much more competitive 1-rounder on Step Your Ink Game Up. And despite opponent Stampede going off with some rich combos of wit/mocking personals/hardbody punchlines, it’s the more flexing with the personals, gun bar-lit, 4-bar setup scoring and punchline-savvy Saga who dials up more haymakers to gain the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You probably got a cold round, but this cleaner like a Playstation…which literally goes to show this is game-changing!”
Recap: Gun bar enthusiast LL Coogi always gives a gritty, concerted effort and he certainly provided one here in this GOTG 1-rounder, to go along with a gang of alleged URL drama that’s been talked about on the battle blogs increasingly of late. Still, coupled with an electrifying wrestling bar that capped off a steady stream of consistently bruising punchlines, crazy set-ups, hard-hitting personals and boastful barbs, it’s Th3 Saga who handily gets the win here.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You could try to ignore the minister, but it’s Forrest Whitaker, when I [eye] drop there’s a level in views!”
Recap: From IBattleTV, G Lowe and Th3 Saga put on a slugfest for 3 rounds, one littered with a gang of gritty punchlines, rigid Christian-themes darts, some piercing personals, rich storytelling bars and hardbody heaters. After the two split the first two rounds, another close and exciting round, the 3rd, gets edged by a more consistently potent and slightly more haymaker-lit Saga (who also had a boatload of dope name flips throughout this battle) for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You’ll always be below 3 of them things and I follow under the Trinity!”
Recap: No cake walk here as Th3 Saga, who’s been killing these 1-rounders of late, gets some tough comp in the form of Sully Seventeen, a rigid punching Jersey battler who came through with a gang of piercing (esp. liked the ‘You know what’s the difference between a cop and bullet?, both of them kill but only one’s getting fired!’ line) punchlines and hitting/righteous punchlines to make things close. But a handful of pedestrian bars here and there and a couple of wayward/dated angles on his opponent by Mr. Seventeen combined with the 4 Horseman capo dialing up a steady stream of staunch name flips, sturdy heat, boastful barbs and nasty punchlines, let’s you know that the Saga continues.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Not just you, but I’ll bring your squad pain, because if Lebron only drops Seventeen at the Garden, it’s an off game!”
Recap: Ok, ummm…35 minutes is way too long for a 1-round battle. And while he did have some solid punches here and there, the amount of reaches and nonsensical raps Bliss Creed was dishing out, gave this battle even more reason to have been shorter in length. That said, Th3 Saga’s consistently hitting punchlines/set-ups, steely name flips, graphic mayhem, bruising screeds and other Christian-laced darts wins this one easy.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I could spazz on you right now you’ll forget that this exist, and you better off not know since ignorance is Bliss!”
Recap: Add another one to the list as Th3 Saga, who’s been killing it on these GOTG 1-rounders lately, uses a gang of fiery name flips, searing schemes and piercing wordplay/punchlines to handily beat back a gritty and sometimes wordplay-savvy, but not near as consistently-lit effort from HNH Zeek.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “My flow’s potent, bragging on his Lord’s ship like I’m showboating!”
Recap: Gates of the Garden 1-rounder, while pretty lengthy on both ends, was still a dope one, and that includes showcasing one of your better Chuck Book performances, the elder vet from PA spouting a boatload of piercing punchlines, gritty name flips, thought-provoking raps, witty barbs and even showing off some spiffy dance and singing moves to keep you entertained. That said, Chuck didn’t stand a chance here as Th3 Saga was just working on a different planet, the Christian battle rapper literally spazzing with back-to-back-back ringing punches, some spitfire name flips, fiery religious-laced darts and sizzling wordplay/personals to get the win without missing a beat along the way.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You don’t feel the stress?, like your bro’s ain’t warn you about this Revelation Book, going to war with a Pale horse bro can seal your death!”
Recap: Dipped in anti-Christian themes, boastful stunting and a bunch of unorthodox (“I’m on an island all by myself, I’m a castaway!”) punches that still for the most part landed, a more condensed Goddie Lumenati manages to force a draw with Th3 Saga who despite a punch-heavy, name flip-lit and versatile showing, hurt himself a bit with a couple of hiccups and an elongated/redundant turn in this 1-rounder from Takeoff Battle League.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You lame homie, and I could tell your persona seem fake, so act up and this could get out of hand Trey [.3] like a Halloween prank!”
Recap: After a debatable 1st round that saw both Th3 Saga and Kid Chaos get busy with a gang of flexing punchlines, piercing name flips, swinging flow patterns, stifling gun bars/mayhem, rich storytelling and dope wordplay, a battle that was on its way to being a possible classic, gets thrown completely off by Saga incredibly choking away the latter two rounds. And for a clearly disappointed at his opponent’s misadventures Chaos, a couple of personal-lit, biting but also witty turns going at everything from Saga’s religious faith to his battle rap record, wouldn’t necessarily turn out to be a waste as much as they were feenin’ for some of that same energy in return.
Verdict: Kid Chaos (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Kid Chaos – “Let’s keep this conversation a buck, the U.S. Treasury ain’t change the dollar bill in decades, so why should I?…I’m one of them ONE’s!”
Recap: Solid, gritty and mocking effort by Bandit Montana gets beat back by a more consistently spicy, name flip-lit, mayhem-dishing and wordplay/set-up heavy Th3 Saga in this competitive 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “So can I please get the respect I deserve?, after this round, or is there shade when I wig on Ban…I’m trying to skip town!”
Recap: Strong showings by both Mr. Biggz and a name flip-friendly and righteous Th3 Saga in this fierce 1-rounder from The Rap Committee. But with a slightly more consistently spicy punch/wordplay-game, some aggressive trap talk, a steadier flow, dismissive religious chatter and a gang of mayhem-rich 4-bar setups/gun bars, it’s Mr. Biggz who ends up edging this one in the end.
Verdict: Mr. Biggz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Mr. Biggz – “This ratchet I carry bring nigga’s a lot of pain, prom pic, I’ll put a couple in his frame!”
Recap: A couple of questionable moves in this battle between Jey The Nitewing and Th3 Saga. For instance, it seemed pretty lazy for Nitewing to run with a dated theme and dedicate an entire round (the 3rd) to his opponent’s past masturbation habits (then too, it’d be hard pressed for anyone to do anything better then what Chilla Jones did when it comes to that subject). And Saga, who seems to be having an identity crisis what with the ‘Sensai’-semantics and a severe lack of Christian-laced bars in this battle, while also choosing to forego displaying more of his witty side, despite it working well for him early in the 2nd round (which he edged). That said, outside of a dope 1st round by Nitewing, overall this battle was pretty monotonous and that says a lot considering what we know these two are capable of. Still, give the punch-heavier Nitewing the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “Backseat, you got the Trey [.3], if ain’t no getting out where I’m from!”
Recap: Saving his best round for the deciding 3rd against a confident, but sometimes pedestrian opponent who still brought him to the edge via a boatload of punch-heavy darts on a variety of themes, after getting edged in round 1 and then handily taking the 2nd, Th3 Saga uses a barrage of piercing name flips, dope wordplay and raucous punchlines to beat back a pretty solid effort from N8.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I love the strap, try me fam, an ugly smack, he wobbly damn, then double-tap…Zombieland!”
Recap: Took him getting off ‘Zen mode’, but versus the heat coming opponent Franchise’s prolific trap talk, gun bars and righteous personals, after edging the 1st round and then getting out-punched in the 2nd, Th3 Saga summons an aggressive and uplifting set of boastful shiners, hitting punchlines and piercing wordplay to take the deciding 3rd round for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Ninja blade, you throw a star at a Franchise, you get a Dynasty!”
Recap: Taking advantage of an underwhelming and flow-challenged Th3 Saga in the first couple of rounds, but also some using solid punches, piercing personals and spicy religious-sliced darts, Holmzie Da God does just enough to edge rounds 1 and 2 (a punch-heavier Th3 Saga easily took the 3rd) and advance to the next round of this Ultimate Madness 2 tourney from URL.
Verdict: Holmzie Da God (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Holmzie Da God – “Random, but your Jesus was the biggest deadbeat of all-time, he told his kids he’ll back…2,000 years later they ain’t seen the nigger yet!”
Recap: Well, it doesn’t any more convoluted than that as a confident Mike P not only out-punches Th3 Saga for the first 2 rounds here, but Th3 Saga, who’s been on a pretty good run of late….chokes, not once, but twice. And just when you think it just isn’t Saga’s day and Mike with the Bun from Yonkers is on his way to that rare bodybag, after yet another dope, loud, punch/scheme-heavy and raucous turn from Mike, Th3 Sgaa gets back on his grind, brings out a fake cop and in a startling turn of events proceeds to deliver a classic and scathing round on matters dealing with police brutality, current events and race. So yeah, with a little help from Saga’s surprising chokefest, Mike P gets the easy win. But outside of Mike’s fans, I’m guessing that more people will remember this battle for Saga’s epic 3rd.
Verdict: Mike P (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mike P – “I gotta be a higher power Saga, only God can judge you!”
Recap: Th3 Saga’s been on quite a nice run of late, and his growing ability to break down an opponent’s game plan adds a welcome kick to this latest installment of himself (aka ‘Sensei Saga’). While Th3 Saga does struggle with a few elongated set-ups, here in this 3-rounder from GOTG against Alias, his punchline game itself is still terrifically effective. Add to that some ridiculous name flips and sublime wordplay throughout the battle (in braggadocios mode he was pretty solid as well), and if you’re left with a 30 over a strong at times and versatile opponent, who overall just could never match Saga’s potency.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I’ll break ya chin, all that talking on Facebook had me more than pissed, your jaw get split, his head bop, with an unknown hook like ‘Who’s song is this?'”
Recap: Damn. Does it get any better than this version of Th3 Saga during this long-awaited URL Quarantined: Sterilized 2 battle against B. Dot? Really now. Delivering 3 epic rounds of righteous heat, an also performance-heavy Th3 Saga leaves nothing on the cutting room floor (esp. during a flawless 2nd round) via a flexing arsenal of spitfire punchlines, scorching personals, scathing breakdowns on Black-conscious rap posturing, hitting name flips, earnest BLM shouts, bodacious wordplay/4-bar setups, fiery sermons/schemes and for the people in the back, some solid/witty Loaded Lux impressions. As for Saga’s opponent? Well, B. Dot certainly showed up. The Cali-wordsmith spouting a series of dope personals (esp. when it came to Saga’s old crew, NWX), rigid punches, fierce set-ups/schemes and piercing street/Black power narratives to keep ya head up. Still, as prepared and electric as B. Dot was at times, Th3 Saga just took it to another level here, taking it back to sublime efforts we’ve seen in the past against the likes of Snake Eyez, Tink da Demon and Swaze Sevah, while more importantly winning both the 2nd and 3rd rounds after a debatable 1st.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “For a brave protagonist, my second time on the roof to reclaim the savageness, I became a strategist, ‘cuz first I hit Cor’ [corps], then hit [smack] B. too [B2]…we playin’ Battleship!”
Recap: A consistently strong and righteous 3rd round from Cortez (who beforehand was too gun bar heavy) comes too late to knock off a punch-heavier, spirited, name flip-lit, set-up crazy and savvy with the personals Th3 Saga in the earlier rounds of this URL Sterilized battle that took place on Saga’s church rooftop.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Leave all you frantic, I figured if take out people with Core’s [core] values then more will panic!”
Recap: URL Quarantined battle between Geechi Gotti and Th3 Saga sees Saga bring a nice assortment of righteous boasts and religiously-tinged, but still crispy punchlines to his turn. But a more versatile and condensed Gotti, whipping up a punishing array of flexing punches, disrespectful religious barbs, pointed lines on current events and witty/raucous personals along with incorporating some innovative musical bars into his rhymes, easily takes this one.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Fucking fool, based on Loso career I can tell that God fuck with him more than he fuck with you!
Recap: Dope, 3-round punch-fest between Th3 Saga and Lotta Zay on the Bullpen stage sees Saga get busy with a boatload of piercing personals, fiery, Christian-laced schemes, nifty wordplay, intense struggle bars and head-ringing punchlines that came in from a variety of angles. Other the hand, a pretty confident Zay backed up his swag throughout the match with a gang of flexing punches/gun bars, boastful shiners, witty barbs/personals, some intricate anti-religion darts and a couple of nice rebuttals in each round. A close and highly competitive battle with very little filler on each side, it’s a more condensed and reach-less Saga who edges rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I know I know, y’all hate to see a Christian take the violent route, a man of God with a Cannon…Kirk Franklin on Wild n Out!”
Recap: You’d expect a tight, competitive and fiery one between ex and current group members and that’s what you get here as newfound NWX head Don Marino faces off against former NWX rep Th3 Saga in this blistering 1-rounder from GOTG. A near debatable with both battlers spilling their guts worth of sizzling punchlines, fierce personals, ringing mayhem, potent name flips/gun bars, Spanglish and slick wordplay to make for an almost equal amount of haymakers, what with less filler and even lesser predictability to his bars, the edge here goes to Mr. Marino.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I’ll let it blam, the big fall, triggers on both sides…pinball!”
Recap: Minus a couple of 3rd round slip-ups, J. Murda gives it all his gritty, religion-bashing and mayhem-dishing best in this spicy and gregarious GOTC matchup versus Th3 Saga. But for the man also known as ‘Sensei Saga’, a more condensed and versatile 3 rounds of well-crafted name flips, hitting personals, a gang of fiery schemes and steadily fierce punchlines/wordplay add up to 10’s for each round and a 30 at the end.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “All that ‘F the world don’t get F’d by it’ is nothing more than when insecurity starts to creep on you…that’s like saying, ‘Y’all know my slogan, cheat on ya girl before she cheat on you!'”
Recap: From the URL Update 2.0 card (an app only event), a more versatile than usual Rum Nitty adds a gang of witty personals and provocative zingers to his customary palette of spitfire punchlines and steadily ringing gun bars to edge a close round 1 over a dope, but a little filler prone turn from Th3 Saga. That’s before Rum would easily take the 2nd round with a more condensed and consistently punch-heavy go-around that beat back an opponent who while solid throughout, was hurt by one too many thematic name flips and some mediocre punchlines. In the 3rd round, an introspective and more intricate with the punches Saga gets past a still-scoring-with-the-heat Rum via more overall potency within his raps to avoid getting shutout.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Heat shot, his legs kept moving tho…the nerve of ’em!”
Recap: Th3 Saga concludes his sterling 2019 with yet another dope performance, beating a pretty solid overall, but slightly inconsistent Reepah Rell with a boatload of potent death-themed rants, fire name flips, flexing religious-lit darts, fierce personals and plenty of jaunty punchlines to score a 30 in what was still a competitive 3-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League.
Recap: A battle that was a lot closer than the critics told you, thanks in part to a Ryda choke in the 1st round, Th3 Saga, with a gang of glistening punchlines, fierce name flips, frenzied schemes and religious barbs, still scores the 30. Ryda, who had a much more punch-worthy 1st round and would’ve taken the opening round if not for forgetting his bars at the end, still kept things close in the latter with some stellar punches, witty quotables, a dope church member impression in the 3rd and fiery gun bars/personals throughout. But in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds, a slightly more consistent Th3 Saga just happened to come one better to earn the shutout.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I don’t need a vet, Jesus wept, I’m God tear [tier]!”
Recap: Challenging the dichotomy of Christianity in relation to Eurocentric whitewashing during a sublime 3rd round, that while met with a righteous and punch-heavy turn by Th3 Saga (enough to force a debatable), still showed off the formidability of his pen, a consistently punchline-lit, witty, wordplay-spazzing and set-ups rich JC, edges both of the earlier rounds of this hour-plus long battle to score the win in this long but still competitive 3-round Born Legacy 8 bout from URL.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “Saga doing good in his battles lately, now that’s something different, you really have changed your life since becoming Christian, you really are unstoppable when you don;t beat ya self…pun intended!”
Recap: This 1-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League features another nice effort from Jersey vet Spee Dolla, who uses a gang of gritty punchlines/wordplay, some ill sacrilegious lines and a consistently spot-on flow to stay in the mix. But Th3 Saga, fresh off his battle on URL with Chef Trez, shows off his ability to bring his A-game regardless of what stage he’s on, combining a high energy performance with fire set-ups, some heated struggle bars/personals, devout religious speak, fiery punches/schemes and to his opponent’s chagrin, a boatload of potent name flips to get the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Get in my face and B. Dot me the death, gonna be a tragic fate, ‘cuz everybody claim to be woke till I’m at a wake!”
Recap: From URL’s Born Legacy 7 card, a super-competitive, hard fought and overall dope 3-rounder between Th3 Saga and Chef Trez. A consistently aggressive Trez edges round 1 over a brazen, religious-laced and set-up/punch-lit Saga with a slightly more versatile, punch/wordplay-crazy, gun line-bent, religiously-tinged and personal/scheme/freestyle spicy turn of his own before a surprisingly off-the-dome-lit, 4-bar set-up/punch-spazzing, personally/Cave Gang-angled and simile-lit Saga edged round 2. Helped by some rare displays of wit and a spicy rebuttal, a slightly more condensed Trez would take round 3, using a gang of graphic mayhem, ill set-ups and fiery punchlines to edge another dope, righteous/storytelling-rich at times and Christian-bent, but a little filler-prone Saga and gain the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I could body a Horseman like BoJack!”
Recap: Don’t really speak on these things too much, but it’s kind of bugged watching this battle and seeing Th3 Saga on stage being rooted on by his old NWX bro K-Shine, who just happens to be standing side-to-side in the crowd with his old Dot Mobb bro T-Rex…just saying. But back to the battle, a pretty fire 1-rounder between Saga and the always competitive Fettuccine 20 with the former dishing a dope load of storied schemes/personals and variety of spicy (“So just behave or this right will drop you before you lifting your cannon…then it’s over 20, like $19.99 plus shipping and handling!”) punchlines that were sometimes mixed with religious flair that were only hurt when he struggled a bit with his flow and got a little too mean with the personals. As for Fetty, a hard and gritty round that were finessed by heated punches, searing (“The llama spit, or he get pistol-whipped, the butt came out of nowhere like Rihanna’s did!”; “I’ll turn his lights out in a small room…now it’s a BANNED! battle!”) wit, ill personals and potent gun bars which combined made for a debatable battle when taking in the few shortcomings Saga had as well as an almost equal amount of haymakers between the battlers.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “If this will make your head tilt like you ain’t really convince me, then this right hook make her not certain like the feeling was empty, the left hook, Westbrook, when I’m hitting ’em swiftly, I caught 20 3 times like I did it for Nipsey!”
Recap: Good to know that there’s a Christian battle league out there, but damn if hour-long battles doesn’t make one wary. That said, for all the elongated turns, Th3 Saga vs Voice The Poet is still a goodie with an apparent (via the dicey personals unleashed aplenty from both sides here) and intriguing history between the two battlers that for example had Voice the Point challenging his opponent’s religious cred throughout the battle. Good thing outside of getting edged by a scintillating, boastful barb-throwing, punch-heavy and condensed 2nd round from Voice, Th3 Saga came more than prepared, using a plethora of sizzling name flips, ego-busting personals, righteous spiritual speak, fierce punchlines/schemes/wordplay and witty barbs to take rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “‘Cuz he ain’t grew up how I grew up, I’m talking metal grip, fake IDs and hood rental whips…me and my shooters in one Accord like Good fellowship!”
Recap: Don’t Flop battle between Th3 Saga and Impact goes just about the way Saga predicted it, with his opponent using half of his bars on religious angles and Saga’s old porn addiction. Still, while Impact was able to use the previously mentioned themes to deliver on some witty punches and nifty personals in a more condensed 2nd round to edge that turn, his bent for filler and oft-pedestrian bars along with a more versatile Saga dishing a slew of mayhem-inducing lines, steely punchlines/name flips and some fiery schemes with mixed in with religious flair, proved to be enough to take the 1st and edge the 3rd for the vic.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W)
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You packing the 5th or you in the car trying to stretch for the slammy, boy I’ll black with the fist or leave packed in the whip like a Mexican family!”
Recap: The guess here is that the ‘Sensei Saga’ version isn’t much for the Bible talk, as Th3 Saga uses mostly biting name flips, heated gun bars and stinging, non-religious punchlines/schemes to dish a palette of righteous haymakers and easily beat a seemingly wary RI 28 Grams in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “So go ahead with talking about my squad and how I left the X ‘cuz I’m a quitter, but the blessing under, was Precious mother, boy I had to drop the set for something bigger!”
Recap: If it wasn’t for that lame Hitman Holla impersonation in a very close Round 1, this one would’ve been a 30 as Emerson Kennedy proceeds to use a variety of slick punchlines, potent (“He don’t talk letting the lead spit, I respect a weapon that end’s shit, I’ll never trust 2nd Commandment over the 2nd Amendment!”) personals and nifty (“You just Iverson with the braids, stuck on the fucking shelf, spent too much time on the cross and didn’t practice nothing else!”) wordplay to overtake an overall solid-till-the-end-of-his-3rd, spiritual and punch-heavy, but too often sermonizing Th3 Saga in this mostly fire Initiation battle from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I’m set apart, the oddball in my clique that won’t spray Ruger’s, the only who one who acts like my father…I’m O’Shea Jr.!”
Recap: As proven again here, giving yourself a generic moniker in battle rap can often mean roadkill for intricate punchers like Th3 Saga, who in this 1-round battle from GOTG, amongst other things goes ham with the name flips thrown at his opponent Wordz. Indeed, Saga’s tenacious bars on Wordz’ handle along with other fiery punchlines/personals and stinging set-ups would easily outpoint the mostly pedestrian lines from his competitor.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “With [makes fists] these, I move faster than Michael Myers when the camera’s off him!”
Recap: After a brief hiatus from battle rap, Th3 Saga returns to the scene for this Gates of the Garden 1-rounder versus up-n-comer Rush TYG. A solid battle overall that sees Rush’s loud, boisterous punches periodically go over the fence, it’s still a more confident, versatile, witty, personal/punchline-spazzing and oft-reverent with the wordplay Saga who easily gets the win here.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You all a fraud, all this bravado will send your coffin off, the iron clicking, Brian Griffin…you just talking dog!”
Recap: The braggadocios zingers towards the end his round amounted to piling on as before that turn Th3 Saga had this 1-rounder versus Swift Millie in the bag, using a gang of piercing punchlines, sizzling name flips, fiery 4-bar setups and stinging wordplay/schemes to beat back a gritty opponent who seemed hell-bent on going personal what with the X-rated magazines and bottle of lotion tossed at Saga’s feet at the start of his round, but ended up delivering a solid turn with half punches/personals.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “It’s the last chance for you, leave now or die with the options I have planned for you, even my dog will let it fly with the mask…Crash Bandicoot!”
Recap: Yunno, this talking through someone’s round thing needs to be taken more seriously. Most professional battle rappers already have a hard enough time remembering their raps for the ring and add to that an often noisy crowd and/or entourages that could throw you off at any moment, the idea that Th3 Saga (even tho he was complimentary) would dismiss an important unspoken rule like that and talk throughout Snake Eyez’ raps, just did his opponent and the battle itself a disservice. That said, even without getting too spiritual or biblical in this battle, Saga’s consistently fire punchlines, fiery name flips, righteous gun (!?!) lines, God-body screeds and deft wordplay gets him rounds 1 and 3 here to get him a win over a solid Snake Eyez, who while gritty and flexing with his bars as is his m.o., just wasn’t able to bring the consistent heat and unforced wit that you normally see from the Harlem rapper.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Leg shot, made his ACL stop, Broadway Junction!”
Recap: In a battle that was 15 to 20 minutes longer than it should’ve been and was suddenly interrupted by Tink Da Demon literally throwing up backstage midway through his round 1, a mercurial Th3 Saga uses a boatload of God-fearing raps, stealth punchlines/wordplay and some shiny haymakers to beat back an opponent fanatically rich on diabolic behavior and witty barbs, but mostly underwhelming on angles that hit on Th3 Saga’s spirituality. For Th3 Saga, oft-elongated and unnecessarily combative at times with a crowd that went ham on his more eminent raps, coming off a raucous Chess battle that saw him stay competitive but humbly lose, a 3-0 here makes for the perfect bounce back.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I get the call in, bodies disappear, I’m trying to leave the Matrix!”
Recap: It’s NWX all day as Th3 Saga punctuates his bars with winning name flips, righteous jokes, spitfire (“For the bread, a scuff will [scuffle] make me hit a lick like my white shoes dirty!”) wordplay and fierce, animated (“I’ll make the murder look so clean, first I’ll body his whole team, and point something weird on his head…Professor Rogaine!”) punchlines to score an easy 30 over mostly one-dimensional up-n-comer Sparks.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I don’t care if you came prepared, you’ll still [steel] die, I’m not Logan!”
Recap: Chess versus Th3 Saga is like an hour long, but worth about every minute, especially if you appreciate not only a dope, competitive rap battle, but in this case the underlying themes of young, intellectual, urban street ethos vs. spiritual-laden Hip-Hop (sorta) elder statesman with a loaded dose of introspection to the bars. Then too, this battle stands out for presenting a rare case of having not just one, but two classic rounds in it. First, there’s Saga’s mega-lit 1st, an explosive turn that was littered with spicy faith-based punches and a load of head-ringing (“Steams, just make sure your man is good, boy my etiquette’s nice!”; “Pound Chess and throw him the deuce…Sammy Sosa!”) haymakers, making it not only a memorable turn, but unfortunately for Saga, a round so spitfire that he would have a hard time repeating as the battle proceeded.
And while, the ever-lyrical Chess came through with an opening round that contained enough (“A clip from these ratchets dumping will fuck you for life, like two girls with one cup!”) heaters to beat most opponent rounds, in this case there was just no way he’d have enough to overtake Saga’s unbridled heat. Round two saw Saga continue to bring it, tossing out real-life (“Talking about I don’t know the struggle when I was raised from it!”) shiners and fire schemes with focused abandon, but also an elongated turn that had a little more filler than his 1st. However, this wouldn’t matter in the long run as Chess would offer his own version of a classic round, actually getting better as the proceeded as proven here via a barrage of wicked (“Get dog-tagged, we’ll see who’s on top of the food chain when this man is neck-less [necklace]!”) wordplay, in-ya-face smack talk, witty barbs, steely (“Saga, why we gotta die to see heaven?”) rebuttals to his opponent’s spiritual-leaning adages and percipient dalliances on the (“Cutting squares out of the towel just to make extra washcloth’s!”) struggles within AnyHood, USA.
A highly competitive and spitfire battle going into the 3rd, while Saga again proved formidable in the final and deciding round with a solid showing of fiery (“Act up, and I’ll black and drag dog in a round like he stole from Martin!”) punchlines and potent darts, the Christian battle rapper would hurt himself a bit when he became too redundant with his themes ane too flagrant with his non sequitur’s (like comparing Chess’ rap style to Steams). On the other hand, Chess consistently stayed on point in round 3, mixing in some fire wit and personals themed around how much he didn’t want this battle, but more importantly, scoring endlessly with potent gun bars, gritty (“Fucking jerk-off, you really feeling yourself too much, you really willing to die for nothing!?!”) set-ups and more of that dope (“Nigga’s always swear they talk to me, but nobody see’s me, I’m an imaginary friend!”) wordplay to earn the win.
Verdict: Chess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chess – “Get all 3 of y’all, bury DNA then replace T with K, that’s what I do to a bird, man [Birdman] respek [respect] it!”
Recap: Take out the Th3 Saga slipping up twice in the 3rd round and what you have is a pretty dope and exhilarating matchup between him and Swave Sevah on the URL stage. Swave, confidently mixing it up with demonic (“You’ll help me bro?, yo that’s righteous…aight what if I say I confess, I’m possessed, but I like it!”; “Show up to your church sermon dressed as a voodoo witch doctor…and bless your collection plate with $6.66!”) punches that made you scowl, some (“You Christian right? yeah, you know who else claim to be Christian? Klan members….you know who they known for killing, right?…your ancestors”) food for thought, rich set-ups with even more profound angles and gritty street talk throughout his three rounds…had what most would say was more than enough to win. However, in rounds 1 and 2, Th3 Saga did just enough to do his opponent better. Delivering potent (“That’s straight work, you a Mase verse, I could see the fake past the rhyme!”) eulogies along with age (“Swave, you’re so old, I don’t even know if you’re African American!”; “Old rappers get rocked in the 90’s, I’ll FUBU fit you!”) jokes that hit, potent wordplay and jaunty (“Get tougher, you lost touch with the Faith…BIG’s mother!”; “You got back on Smack and died in front of his set…that’s Chris Tucker!”) punches from all sorts of directions, Th3 Saga edged (“You got cornrows and muscular dystrophy…”) the opening rounds, withstood a strong 3rd by Swave and hung on for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swave Sevah – “You don’t get it, I would trade you for Mo, Arch, PH and Sean Price any day, and that ain’t even disrespecting, you wanna be in heaven anyway!”
Recap: Don’t let the final score fool you as besides the 2nd round, this matchup between Chilla Jones and Th3 Saga was pretty close. Yet, with a confident Chilla going for a more straightforward approach to unleash a wide array of scintillating (“Deuce, deuce near me, say I won’t shoot, dare me and get a buck from under the pillow like the tooth fairy!”) punchlines, delicious (“You wanna scrap Now or Later?, you and your homies can come box, I be punching like Mike and Ike, these Jawbreakers hit your Chiclets and then your Gum drops!”) schemes, nice angles and finally, some well-equipped (“I want y’all to count how many times he look at that pussy!”) personals that more than delivered in the 3rd round, Saga’s nicest (“Well I’m Adam, EVEn if Sir Pen [serpent] nice, I’m still talking to a snake!”) punches and more fluorescent bars were either (“I’ll kill JC for the bread…do not Wonder!”; “Tell Danny what’s a Bar God to someone that literally writes God’s bars!”) indirect or too often surrounded by lackadaisical filler to keep up with Jones’ consistency and versatility overall.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “This was greatly ill-advised, you sent you on this stupid mission, y’all seen me son Day’s vest, now I tailored these bars to suit a Christian, you’ll die walking under this ladder, it ain’t a superstition, so many bodies on a mag, shit looking like a swimsuit edition!”
Recap: “Look at me when I’m saving you!” It’s one thing for Th3 Saga to run circles around an opponent with fiery Christian testimonials/polemics, But add to the mix some palpable wit, spitfire punchlines, ill personals and ample wordplay, even if his rounds are often too long, it’s a very hard combo to beat. Such is the case here, in this Rookies vs. Vets matchup against the always aggressive Shotgun Suge. After a more performance-heavy and (“This ain’t OZ, I’ll bury Reverend Cloutier in the kitchen behind the wall!”) just-as-bar-proficient Suge ably takes the first round, Th3 Saga turns it up and gets downright resourceful with his darts, to the point of making a notable point concerning Suge’s habit of pocket-tapping: “What’s the point of tapping someone’s pocket if you don’t go in ’em?” Solid throughout, but hurt a bit by too many pedestrian religious barbs, an overkill on guns bars, his usual assortment of utter mayhem becoming a little redundant at times and a less-than-stellar “What’s Your Life Like?” turn, Suge for the latter two rounds anyway, just couldn’t keep up with Saga’s sterling comeuppance and more versatile palette.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Everybody wanna talk about God…till they need him!”
Recap: Hell hath no fury like a Christian scorned. Accusations of hypocrisy, or the real life anguish that comes with walking a thin line while serving God? Th3 Saga addresses all issues with a righteous display of speakeasy bars, Smack battle rap proficiency, outrageous name flips, dope schemes and hard-hitting (“Speaking of grammar, your last PG almost got you shot in the face, run-on sentence you had a hard time putting D.O.T. in his place!”) personals. There’s even a moment of revealing self-examination: “Before I wrote this round, I had to reexamine my own life, see after that Blac Muqua and T-Top battle, Man, I was feeding into my own hype, yunno counting the new followers, and reading into what blogs say, focusing in on the views instead of listening to what God say…”. Indeed, one could argue that this battle was kind of therapeutic for the Christian battle rapper. By the way, Prep did really good here: crazy wordplay, rich (“I’m sure you stole from a collection plate once or twice, now let’s see if you can [points hands in air like a gun at Th3 Saga’s head] take a BUCK!”) gun bars and bullish rebuttals. But a too short 2nd round and Th3 Saga’s workmanship, variety, aggression and preparation was just too much to overcome.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Won’t be swindled by the limelight, covered in His blood, but came to kill every one in my class, I’m Carrie, on prom night”
Recap: T Top and Th3 Saga put on a nice battle for UFF/SMACK/ URL’S 8 man elimination MC Battle tournament. Both put in work, but Saga’s best moments were somewhat spoiled by a lack of performance and a need to update (using 80s and 90s wrestlers in a scheme just doesn’t go over well) his bars. Meanwhile T Top’s preparation here was especially on point using dope storytelling lines, that sizzling trap talk, a spirited performance and heated (“I don’t give a fuck what your image and status about, you can’t pray fast enough with a gat in ya mouth!”) bars that not only got him the win, but sure as hell made Satan proud.
Verdict: T Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T Top – “My moms was coke pitching, now she a stroke victim, that might be payback from the Lord but we coping with it”
Synopsis: Stop playing! A Christian battle rapper who doesn’t curse in his rhymes?! Nice work by Norbez on finding this guy who’s not only unorthodox, but still able to combine hard-hitting bars (“So even if your boys gas ya’ like Blaqu came with the hottest rounds, that ain’t a concerning me, I done came with he brew boy if he don’t call on God he getting burned in 3”) with fresh words of wisdom. It’s just too bad that TH3 Saga gets off to a slow start with each round as Blaqu Mugga’s consistent sports schemes, storytelling, jokes and disrespectful wordplay (“When God made hoes he threw the book at your daughter!”) was overall, just enough to win.
Verdict: Blaqu Mugga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Blaqu Mugga – “I’ll pop up, whistle and then the big shit come out like the Green Ranger”
Recap: In this one-rounder from Battle Rap Arena, Th3 Saga’s thematic Christian bars spreads its message in the way of soaring wordplay, lofty punches and spirited (“That Samuel from Pulp Fiction is what I will do…that only means you’ll get a verse from God before I kill you!”) bully bars to easily defeat a non-too-solid Notic da Boss.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Yo, I’m blacking, off top like a yamaka Boss, you’ll get flamed with 7 lines like it’s Hanukkah Boss!”
Recap: Barely new to the scene, all the while opening the door for Christian battle rappers to come after him, Th3 Saga uses a more condensed and punch-heavy 1st round as well as some mocking personals, righteous darts, a dope rebuttal and some piercing 4-bar setups in the latter rounds to handily beat back an Alonzo Green who started off well in the opening round, but decreased immensely when it came to bar efficiency in rounds 2 and 3.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I was told this was built as a ticket to the Proving Grounds, but if you lose to a Christian rapper then nigger what are you proving now?!”
Recap: Well, that was kind of weird. Devin Lake, equipped with plenty of sexual innuendo’s and gay jokes and a mostly tepid-punching Th3 Saga relying on mostly dicey/mocking personals in the earlier rounds before dishing some nice punches in the deciding 3rd round to win a battle that was so-so bar-wise from jump.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “The first two rounds, I was just getting my aim right, this 3rd will rock-a-bye baby like Blue Ivy!”
