Recap: Taking on all matters at hand, which in this case included adeptly expounding on his long absence from the battle rap stage, serving up a barrage of sizzling name flips, flexing with a bunch of righteous braggadocious raps and of course, reminding everyone that he’s still one of the best punchers in the game, with the help of an always gritty Tru Foe struggling with his flow throughout the battle (to the point of arguing with a fan in round 2 and choking in the 3rd), Ave handily delivers a 30 in this ‘Outside’ bout from URL.
Verdict: Ave (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ave – “Boy you’ze a bitch, so miss me with this young nigga shit, I’m old school, I’ll sit and wait for who you wanna go get!”
Recap: A 5th go-around at this tournament thing and it’s embarrassing that URL still can’t get their shit together as far as organizing and getting their judging system right. First of all, pay the damn judges. Secondly, to kill any thoughts of bias, no more than 1 current battle rapper should be allowed to participate in judging. And hell no to ever having judges on stage again as there’s no way one can properly judge a battle they’ve only seen once, much less while on stage in the midst of crowd noise, rapid punches that can easily be missed upon a first listen, etc. Instead, the judges should be in the back on separate monitors with ear pieces and allowed to watch each battle again if need be. I mean, with a $100K on the line, you want to get this shit absolutely right and it doesn’t take a genius to do so. Then too, and no knock against Geechi Gotti, Rum Nitty, Fonz and Real Name Brandon (who’ve all won previous tournaments). But with as many battle rappers URL has on their roster, why not spread the wealth a little bit and give other battlers, males and females, a shot at winning the big prize? All that said, in a close battle filled of rugged street shit, braggadocious bars, some flexing wordplay and gritty gang talk from both sides, I had the slightly more hitting Gotti edging round 1, but Tru Foe out-punched Geechi in the 2nd to split things and a more punch-lit and flow steady Gotti took the final round for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Nigga, do you wanna know what would’ve happened if I shot you?, your momma would’ve seen you lying and said that’s not true [Tru]!”
Recap: Stepping up his wordplay throughout the battle, while dishing a gang of mayhem-lit bangers, hard-hitting personals and some spicy anime bars/name flips, outside of a slip-up prone 2nd round that the more meandering/unorthodox stylings of opponent Sheed Happens probably would’ve edged anyway, Tru Foe takes both the opening round and deciding 3rd for the win in this URL SM$ second-round matchup.
Verdict: Tru Foe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tru Foe – “They put a price on ya life and all it cost me was a fucking bullet!”
Recap: Not sure what Chilla Jones was thinking (the only judge to go the other way on the decision), but this URL SM4 1st round battle between J2 and Tru Foe was pretty clear-cut as Foe surprised many with a flexing, punch-heavy, personal-savvy and even witty at times performance in rounds 1 and 3 (a flawless turn btw) to beat back an overall strong lyrically (esp. in round 2 which he edged) and name flip/gun-happy J2 who just didn’t have enough heat to match his opponent’s comeuppance in the other rounds.
Verdict: Tru Foe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tru Foe – “Since we gotta clash, I ain’t showin’ remorse, though, bring a whole new meaning to “LGBT” if you don’t know, that’s when a bullet go through your Leg, Gut, Back and your Torso!”
Recap: In a bout loaded with hardbody street missives, some fierce name flips/personals, roundabout mayhem and aggressive punchlines, backed by his knack for rigid wordplay, it’s the more consistently hitting Big Hann who takes the first couple of rounds of this URL Close Quarters 3-rounder for the win over TruFoe before a slightly more bar efficient and condensed Foe edges the 3rd.
Verdict: Big Hann (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Hann – “You bang right?, well the minute you get to twisting shit up, you going paraplegic!”
Recap: Outside of a minor couple of slip-up’s in round 2, St. Louis vet Ooops really impresses in his URL debut. The 10-year rhyme-slinger and former politician pouring his soul out with a blistering barrage of righteous punchlines, hard-hitting personals, solid wordplay and other impactful conscious-lit/fealty raps to get past a steely, rigid gun bar-savvy and personal/gritty/name flip-friendly TruFoe in the 1st and 3rd (a superbly-executed and an indisputable classic from Ooops, who’s long-known for memorable closer’s) round’s and win what was overall a dope battle from two of the Midwest’s finest.
Verdict: Ooops (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ooops – “I never voted for Trump but I kept a .45 in office!”
Recap: Not saying its always been his fault, but Quban battles coinciding with shoving matches and or near-fights is not a good look for anyone. Still, and to be fair, is it time for Quban to get bigger plates? Most definitely, especially in light of dudes at or near Quban’s level (or from his class) already receiving their opportunity to shine on bigger cards. And even moreso when Quban delivers yet another quality effort here against a tough and gritty opponent in TruFoe on this Survivor Series card. The military vet from Maryland using a gang of performance-rich darts, sizzling name flips, plenty of flippant mayhem and extended dexterity with his punches to take both round 1 and 3 for a well-earned win.
Verdict: Quban (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Quban – “I told Jakk, soon as this movie get to talking, the toolie get to sparking, one rulie with a larkin, kick the door, turn 4-bedrooms into a studio apartment!”
Recap: League hopping seems to be suiting J Murda, who takes his aggressive and fiery show on the road again to battle TruFoe in Chicago. And what ensues here is a spitfire match with the Chi-Town spitter almost matching his opponent in intensity along with ready-to-fire gun bars. Still, while Murda always seems to be ready for action, it’s his ability to be consistent that usually makes the difference between winning and losing. And in this case the fortitude us there, especially during the first two rounds, which sees Murda spazzing with heated performance bars and dope (“It’s like break-ups on the phone, I’m dumping texts!”) punchlines/set-ups all laced with authentic street themes that more than backed his flossing. For TruFoe, while shining with potent punches and a couple of righteous personals (one of which Murda just couldn’t help but respond to with a burp), a few dry spots here and there cost him in the early rounds, credit his (“Fuck a Homi, I ain’t trying to knock y’all movement, but if it’s labeled a homicide, you probably got caught doing it!”) resiliency for edging the 3rd and avoiding getting 30’d.
Verdict: J Murda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: J Murda – “A headshot [BOOM!}, his knee [Neil] will land on the moon, I swear that this arm strong [Armstrong}!”
