No Bias. No Narratives.
Recap: A rematch that we had to wait 12 years for gets its grand comeuppance with $50K on the line in this KOTD Grand Prix tournament. Close, competitive and filled to the brim with hard-hitting (and sometimes witty) personals on both ends, a surprising 3rd and deciding round choke by The Saurus edges the win for Dizaster.
Verdict: Dizaster (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Dizaster – “Couldn’t keep up with the Jones’ so nowadays he’s more like a contact tracer ‘cuz all he does is watch his neighbors!”
Recap: After keeping her cool in lieu of a brazen, personally hard-hitting and mayhem-lit showing from Vic Wallace, in this dope 1-rounder from Rhode Island’s TakeOva Battle League, Couture lights up her opponent and her home crowd with a fire combo of slick wordplay, stinging punchlines, rigid schemes, boastful barbs and hardbody personals to earn the win.
Verdict: Couture (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Couture – “See, y’all think Bob the Builder, but I’m the landlord!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from GOTG, Street Hymns lets us in what’s in the backpack and besides some nifty, but hard-hitting personals, piercing Scripture-laced punches and rigid wordplay, it’s the shoes that catapults him to a win versus a solid at times, but mostly mediocre Automatic Ray.
Verdict: Street Hymns (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Street Hymns – “Y’all notice whenever we pay for big names we always gotta put em on the levels, but Ray’s fire, left hand of God, I put that on the devil!”
Recap: No voodoo hex to cause her opponent to choke this time around, but with her fiery gun bars and at times hard-hitting personals/punchlines, Casey Jay certainly made things closer in this URL UM3 3rd round battle then the consensus critic gave her credit for. Still, with a versatile and withering attack from Geechi Gotti that took on everything from Casey’s Bardashian clique to allegations on ghostwriting to certain personal priorities that along with some flexing name flips and boastful barbs amounted to plenty of points being put on the scoreboard, gave Gotti the 30.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I don’t give a fuck about them pretty blue eyes, I’m really Crippin’, the only eye I’m worrying ’bout tonight is the witness!”
Recap: From the 1st round of the KOTD #GP2020 tournament, Times pulls off an upset, using a gang of raucous punchlines, some righteous personals and head-ringing street missives to edge the 1st and 3rd rounds and get the win over a pretty solid punching, but over time, not as consistently hitting Real Deal.
Verdict: Times (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Times – “Get your ass beat for speaking the wrong Verb, oh it’s ShowTime!”
Recap: Long bouts of lethargic screeds aside (esp. with Jag, who needs to learn how to connect his bars and condense his rounds better), O-Red vs. Jag on RBE is a bout that while solid overall, certainly didn’t live up to the hype (which was pretty considerate). Jag, way nicer when he utilizes his humor and gets spicy with the personals, had some dope bars here and there, but for the most part was pretty mediocre with his punches. Then too the West-coast battler went overkill when it came to not only his use of name flips, but when talking that real talk shit too. On the other hand, after a fire, punch-heavy and gritty round 1 that easily got him the opener, a completely different, pedestrian and long-winded at times O-Red shows up to round 2 and loses what was a beatable turn by his opponent. No doubt feeling some momentum after edging the previous round, Jag gets a bit spicier with his punches/personals and combined with some hard-hitting street missives, unleashes a round 3 that if not for one too many redundant themes on who’s realer, might’ve won him a round that Red, after starting a bit slowly, gets the edge what with a gang of gritty wordplay and a more consistent punch game.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O-Red – “Yeah bitch, this that old-school Jersey…Mitchell and Ness”!
Recap: Not as nice with the metaphors, but with a rapid flow and cadence that reminds you of M. Ciddy, a straight punching Wrist God puts up a solid showing in this MLB 1-rounder. That said, when you’re an up-n-comer and the replacement for your opponent’s last-minute no-show is Chef Trez…well, it’s just not fair as the Chef Life boss uses a barrage of stifling name flips, stealth gun bars and piercing punchlines to handily gain the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Arm’s squeeze, I could beat you the fuck up or have the mag airing, but I don’t shoot I’ll grab Wrist and drag him like a mad parent!”
Recap: In this one-rounder from Hunger Gamez, some nifty punches/wordplay from X.O. are able to land. But a steadier and overall more potent showing from Young Kannon, littered with fiery street missives/trap talk, gritty punchlines/personals and some stellar name flips, gets YK the win.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “A bullet hit X.O. in the heart…that’s hugs and kisses!”
Recap: After getting edged by the slick-talking Gauge in round 1 of this KOTD, GP2020 tourney opener, Marvwon builds a comeback via an earnest barrage of bruising punchlines, some stifling heat and boastful barbs to take both of the latter rounds for the win over an opponent who didn’t help himself when he cut his final round short.
Verdict: Marvwon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Marvwon – “You rappers screaming ‘$50k can change my life!’ [makes hands like gun and points at Gauge] I’m telling you 1K can change it too!”
Recap: After getting edged by a more condensed and slightly punch-heavier Shotti P in round 1, Charron goes into beast mode, speeds up his flow and just starts spazzing with piercing punchline after punchline that led to him handily taking round 2 and 3…until what looked to be a spirited and fiery comeback by Shotti in the deciding 3rd would get upheld by Shotti again struggling with his flow before he called it quits, thus handing Charron the round and the win.
Verdict: Charron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charron – “Your crew’s called Zoo Faculty?, but you still ain’t got [taps himself on the chest] the G.O.A.T. locked down!”
Recap: In what was altogether a pretty competitive 3-rounder from URL, a confident and angle-lit Ace Amin puts away the shoulder bumps and instead gets busy with a boatload of spicy name flips/gun bars, slick-talking darts, some solid wordplay and a bunch of boastful/piercing street missives to beat back a witty at times, righteous (esp. during a dope, tho often indirect 3rd round) and personal-lit, but also not as consistent and a bit prone to unforced errors Jimz.
Verdict: Ace Amin (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ace Amin – “You gotta work out and keep a gun ‘cuz ain’t no protein shake good enough for a mill replacement!”
Recap: Entertaining and at times highly personal 1-rounder from We Go Hard sees True Indeed get busy with some spicy angles that when intertwined with a bunch of hard-hitting personals directed at opponent Hollaluyah Jones and rapper Staccs (looking on in the crowd), made for a pretty solid effort. But the ever zealous and performance-lit Jones, helped by a couple of fire rebuttals but also scoring with a gang of rambunctious punchlines/4-bar set-ups, some solid name flips, witty storytelling, fiery personals of his own and scrumptious wordplay, earns the win here.
Verdict: Hollaluyah Jones (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Hollaluyah Jones – “I’ll kill you Indeed, where’s the work?, I promise nigga, gun to ya face, not Truthfully speaking he an honest nigga!”
Recap: Still, a little dated with his punches but nonetheless intense, hard-hitting, consistent and ringing with the wordplay, before a 3rd-round debatable, a punch-savvy Ciddy takes both of the opening rounds to get the win in this KOTD 3-rounder over a solid with the mayhem/punches, but oft-lethargic with the schemes Joey Gambello.
Verdict: Ciddy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ciddy – “Gully said you only got a week, you agree or not?, for the star bucks, I’m about to have Joe steaming hot!”
Recap: No disrespect to Cortez who came through with a solid, if not gritty effort, but even without the slip-ups, he wasn’t beating Rum Nitty here in this 3rd round UM3 tourney rematch. And that’s just a testament to the level of verbal acumen Nitty was on here, the Phoenix, AZ, battler going ham with spicy after spicy name flip, sizzling gun bars, spitfire punchlines and incredibly rigid wordplay that coupled with some hitting personals all combined to handily move Rum to the finals.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “This shit is over, I’ma lift it on him, no mask, show up bare [bear] faced on Cort’ (court) like the Grizzly’s logo!”
Recap: Street-tinged yet patchy with the bars, boastful and aggressive, name flip solid and bullish/witty when need be, a consistent and hardbody flowing Head I.C.E. lets off enough grimy hood dialect to take the 1st and 3rd rounds of this KOTD Grand Prix tournament bout to beat back a personal-lit, but topsy-turvy with the punches Ty Law.
Verdict: Head I.C.E. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Head I.C.E. – “I’m 50% of half the battle rappers that keep it a 100!”
Recap: No Yankee fitted, but it’s still nice to see Rich Dolarz back in the ring again after a long time away. And here in this opening round KOTD Grand Prix tournament versus J. Murda (tho overall he did better with the personals, hence taking round 2) Rich showed that his aggressive bangers can still compete with the newer guys. But the ever gritty Murda, while often prone to one too many antics and pedestrian punches here and there, emotionally stays pretty straight-laced here (of course, having $50K on the line will do that to you) and after taking round 1 with a punch-heavier turn, uses the latter half of his 3rd to do a nice Daylyt impression with the ski mask and proceed to get extra busy with episodes of graphic mayhem, performance lit heat and fiery gun bars to take the win.
Verdict: J. Murda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: J. Murda – “We got two minutes to shoot it out, I light it up, over his eyes, it’s a unibrow!”
Recap: Close KOTD Grand Prix tourney battle here with Bonnie Godiva flexing throughout via stinging personals, rigid name flips and some piercing punchlines, while opponent Showoff stayed lit with the gritty wordplay, boastful barbs and caustic themes/personals. A battle with an air of congeniality seeing as the two seem to be friends outside the ring, after a punch-heavier and more consistently hitting Bonnie took the 1st round, a less convoluted Showoff would step it up with the well-aimed personal and knee-deep verbal hijinks to edge both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Showoff (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Showoff – “I be in knots when you talk about toolie gripping, but all jokes aside, yo Bon, you do be wigging!”
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: With the heartfelt past struggles he’s long shared from his personal life, a well-noted service to social activism and a plethora of righteous punchlines over the years, the idea that Ooops, win or lose, couldn’t make a bigger name for himself on URL was always nonsensical. And as Holmzie Da God (after out-punching a flow-challenged Ooops in round 1) finds out in this 3-rounder, the St. Louis Superman’s vivid storytelling, fierce wordplay and ability to parlay hard-hitting personals and scintillating schemes into a win, by edging rounds 2 and 3 here, shouldn’t be underestimated either.
Verdict: Ooops (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ooops – “Depression, suicide, anxiety, bipolar, that’s what they expected us to talk about, I hate that this had to be you, ‘cuz we one and the same, I fought through Ultimate Madness too!”
Recap: After just completing a battle the previous day, Geechi Gotti makes his first appearance on the Gates of the Garden stage and despite an aggressive, gritty and pretty solid from his opponent Wise, it’s a variety of sizzling name flips and piercing punchlines/personals that gets Gotti the win in this 1-rounder.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Hey, do you got kids, do they watch your battles?, nigga that’s beautiful, that’ll make it easier for them to deliver Wise words at a funeral!”
Recap: From KOTD’s Grand Prix tournament, plenty of good shit from Eddy I., who with a boatload of fierce gun bars and versatile punchlines, gave himself a nice shot at winning. One wrinkle tho: his opponent happened to be Xcel. And with the Team Homi mercenary getting extra spicy with the wordplay/name flips, spouting some off-the-dome shiners and flexing with a studious and rim-rocking punch game, it’s Jason who moves on to the next round with a well-earned 30.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “You is a young goat, it’s just not your time, you Lebron with the headband!”
Recap: Just because you know what’s coming doesn’t mean that you can always prepare yourself for it. As Quban finds out here, what with the DMV battler (who altogether gave a dope effort with some sizzling name flips, rigid wordplay and gritty punches/personals throughout) sighing out load upon hearing the first few words from opponent Ooops in round 3, knowing damn well what was coming and still, after the two split the first couple of rounds, falling victim to another gripping, poignant and socially-conscious final round from an activist/battle rapper who’s made his 3rd’s a must listen.
Verdict: Ooops (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ooops – “I get it, you did what you had to do and shit happens, Uncle Sam pointed and said he wanted you, but we know that was big cappin'”!
Verdict: Family Man Hays (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Family Man Hays – “I got two .50’s like I just joined a Forex group!”
Recap: Two vets in the game, Lotta Zay and Chef Trez, battle like you’re supposed to when there’s $50K on the line: sheer, aggressive intensity to go along with a gang of blistering punchlines. And while a boatload of spirited name flips, boastful barbs, steely wordplay and righteous heat also played a huge part in this KOTD Grand Prix tourney 1st round matchup, after the two split the first two rounds, it’s a slightly more haymaker-lit Trez who takes the deciding 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I get the mill and clean house like a single parent!”
Recap: Whether he was challenging his opponent’s heritage, mocking his battle rap career or taking on the usual personal directives we see towards Emerson Kennedy, newest Loud member Chuck Book certainly had his moments during this 1-rounder from GOTG. But it’s a way more condensed, name flip-lit, 4-bar set-up crazy and and wordplay spicy EK who gets the win here.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “I’m from the West so I already know that the Chuck’s run big!”
Recap: A gang of steely wordplay to go along with some disrespectful/righteous name flips/punchlines by Arsonal combined with a more versatile flexing with heavy schemes, ill set-ups/punchlines, NJ battle rapper darts and witty/’disrespectful’ (“I will convert all your music to cassette tapes and only put the songs on side B!”) barbs equates to a debatable in this dope 1-rounder from The Rap Committee.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Arsonal – “You Kansas City crackers, I don’t get tho, your whole congregation anti gang bang, but all invested in some Crypto [Crip tho]!”
Recap: Opportunities are opportunities, but I’m taking on a couple of dope pen’s like Ill Will and Xcel within a week’s time, might just be asking for too much. Not that A. Ward, with his ability to spout witty barbs, rigid punchlines and wily off-the-dome heat didn’t keep things competitive. But in this 3-rounder from IBattleTV, Xcel’s piercing wordplay, fierce set-ups, boastful punches, bruising personals and witty/righteous heaters wins him all 3 rounds here.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Now answer me quickly so the subject can change, I won’t speak ill on your God because we one and the same!”
Recap: Hard fought 3-rounder from We Go Hard stands out with it’s variety of gritty punchlines, but also due to the underlying theme of two WGH vets who’ve reached very different levels of success when it comes to their battle rap career. And while the at times righteous-spitting Carter served up yet another splendid outing here, once again warranting bigger plates, it’s the slightly punch-heavier, rugged Brooklyn touring, metaphor/performance/scheme-stunting and personal-lit Wess who takes both of the latter rounds for the win after a first round debatable.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “I get a nigger in Red Hook, stab him with something sharp bro, big knife, cut out a nice part in Brooklyn…Park Slope!”
Recap: Dressing like Yung Griz doesn’t equate to out-punching Yung Griz as Sozee learns in this VLMG & Tha Kulture 1-rounder with Griz utilizing a bunch of boastful barbs, mocking personals, some dope wordplay and a boatload of stinging punchlines to beat back a hard-hitting at times, but mostly subpar punching opponent.
Verdict: Yung Griz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Yung Griz – “I’ll send ya soul, when I hit the scene, split him in half, big blade, look like a guillotine, now he So-so, that was average…still was mean!”
Recap: For all the controversy this Frak vs. Dizaster battle from KOTD’s Grand Prix tournament created in the battle community, overall it really that good. The ever-loud and aggressive Diz coming off as lame with his constant disrespectful, touching, tough-guy act while the more carefree Frak’s attempts at humor and politically-righteous darts not only falling short half the time, but often coming off as obnoxious. That said, Frak playing Diz with the 2nd graph was dope and as far as the outcome goes it should’ve still had Frak winning as the Bay area emcee edged the 1st before getting the favor returned in the 2nd. Afterwards, a clearly punch-heavier Frak would take the deciding 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Frak (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Frak – “Bro, you know what rhymes with Dizaster vs. Soul Khan? [yawns], that shit was so long!”
Recap: Casey Jay’s glistening gun bars and piercing personals make for a solid effort, but in this 1-rounder from Bloody Scene, one too many mediocre punches from Casey combined with a Mackk Myron hellbent while delivering a wicked combo of scathing personals, salacious/bruising punchlines, potent wordplay and righteous 4-bar set-ups, just proves to be too much in the end.
Verdict: Mackk Myron (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “You little, pretty-eyed big head bitch, I kinda dig it, she swing, I gotta right [write] for this bitch…I’m Quantum Physics!’
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: Gritty and a little unorthodox with the ability to kick a lot of wily street missives, Goddie Lumenati can be problematic for almost anyone, especially if you’ve been battling so much as Swamp has of late. But helped in this Takeoff Battle League 1-rounder by Goddie’s frequent slip-ups towards the end of his turn, a pretty flagrant with the personals and slightly punch-heavier Swamp gets the win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “Facebook gangster, you better go to any nigga page but Shaun Paige!”
Recap: Competitively speaking, Ill Will and A. Ward bring the heat to this 3-round RBE battle that was highlighted by a handful of spicy freestyle’s/rebuttals on both sides. Yet, for all the racial shenanigans, personal shots at Loso, Christian-laced darts and righteous punches by Will to go along with the mocking imitations, hitting personals, fierce schemes and solid name flips/punchlines by Ward, with a surprising load of mediocre lines, a few reaches here and there and quite a few dry spots from both battlers, although this bout was both entertaining and close throughout, I wouldn’t say that either Will or Ward brought their A-game (which in Ward’s case could be due to him battling so much of late). That said, after A. Ward edged round 1 and Will returned the favor in the 2nd, a still spotty at times but also condensed and more consistently hitting Ill Will edges the final round for the win.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “These white boy’s get in the game and think they us, that’s what changed duke, why the fuck would I give a fuck about Regulators when we still seeing Strange Fruit?!”
Recap: Gotta come clean on these Verbal War Battles and despite having some harder bars overall, Chef Trez’s inability to ride the beats better than his gritty, name flip/mayhem-rich and uber-confident opponent C Double costs him the win in the latter two rounds after a debatable 1st.
Verdict: C Double (W) 2-1
Favorite line: C Double – “Look at the Chef, mill got him frightened, make the wrong move I’ll air him firing!”
Recap: Courtesy of Pyrexx Battle League, nice effort by G-Queen in this 1-rounder, the femcee using a boatload of gritty bangers along with some personally uplifting gems to make quite a statement. For Swamp tho, apparently a week away from his Geechi Gotti battle, an angle-lit and storytelling/witty combo of salacious personals, boastful barbs and home state stunting would earn the South Carolina battler a close win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “If I kick in your fucking door, the kids? I’m leaving them, I believe in them!”
Recap: Rapping, at times, with the speedy, mayhem-lit flow from his old Grind Time days, but in this case a bit more versatile (esp. with the personals), scheme-friendly and rigid with the wordplay, an overall more condensed Cortez does enough in the 1st and 3rd round to beat back the oft-biting, unorthodox, but not-always-stealth 2-step styling’s of Jakkboy Maine in this 2nd-round Ultimate Madness 3 tournament.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “Yellow tape the body he could model for oft-white!”
Recap: From the 2nd round of URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament, Rum Nitty uses a barrage of sizzling punchlines, rigid name flips and steely personals/wordplay to handily beat back a personal-loaded, but overall spotty Drugz (who ironically seemed to do better against Nitty in their 1st bout).
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “The first time I took Drugz, I ain’t play no games…I’m Len Bias!”
Recap: UM3 2nd-round matchup between Prep and Casey Jay comes down to the round 2 (too many slip-ups by Prep in round 1 cost him there, but he clearly out-punched CJ in round 3) which the mighty gun-bar waving and slightly more spicy with the punches/personals Casey Jay edges for the win.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “Your whole class passed you and lapped you Brandon, you don’t know if you want to be Urkel or Steffon, you’ve had a hard time branding!”
Recap: A couple of dudes who just teamed up for a 2-on-2 together, Swamp and Geechi Gotti, meet up in the 2nd round of URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament and it’s a more versatile and steadily hitting Gotti, dialing up everything from head-ringing street missives, bruising punchlines, piercing name flips, witty personals and even a fly 2nd round rebuttal who does more than enough to take all 3 rounds for win over his gritty, but topsy-turvy opponent.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Nigga this ain’t a game, you said you broke down mo’ dimes than Kevin Samuels, that’s how you livin’? That ain’t shit bro, I ain’t kiddin’, you need to know the dope game how I’m really livin’, cuz I love you, but I had more O’s [hoes] on my track than Lenny Williams!”
Recap: From Bloody Scene, a mid-round roasting session on her opponent amongst a gang of bruising punchlines just to add some levity to her turn and First Ladii Flamez proceeds to make easy work of a solid and gritty, but not nearly as potent Stace in this 1-rounder.
Verdict: First Ladii Flamez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: First Ladii Flamez – “You stupid fuck, why would you agree to be my speed bag?, been knew these punches mean, you just proved I got a clean jab!”
Recap: As intense and biting as Tu Sabe got his personals during this 1-rounder, you kind of got the feeling that even a vet like Real Deal could tolerate only but so much. And something must’ve happened to unnerve Sabe or RD during Deal’s turn as the battle suddenly got interrupted and cut off midway through RD’s round, leaving this Homegrown Battlegrown bout a no contest.
Verdict: No Contest
Recap: OK, I’ll just come right out and say it, I miss The Goonies…now back to our regularly scheduled recap. Besides the ever-excitable Drugz talking through his opponent’s round at times, ex-Goonies, Ryda vs. Drugz for 1 round on Battle Rap Trap, is a dope one. The Gun Show putting away the firepower for the most part and getting busy (and witty) with a fierce angle on his opponent’s alleged drinking issues, sex life and street cred. On the other hand, a more versatile Ryda was consistently on go what with a stellar round of shrewd name flips/metaphors, hard-hitting personals, righteous schemes and piercing punchlines/wordplay. A close one with enough intensity and skeletons coming out the closet to likely lessen any chance of the Goonies ever getting back together, the more haymaker-lit Ryda gets the edge here.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ryda – “You got into the NBA of this shit and couldn’t perform well in the street?!, You had a one-on-one, with Moon, one the block, hands up, you was never supposed to be leaving your feet!”
Recap: Dope showings with plenty of mayhem and boastful lines verbalized here by both Kang and Danny Myers in this 1-rounder from GOTG. And while the two also spouted some stinging personals and head-ringing punches along the way, Danny’s more witty barbs coupled with a couple of spicy rebuttals gets him the win.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I got an experiment, I need y’all to do this with me, if there was an undercover agent disguised as battle rapper, who would it be?!”
Recap: Dope URL App exclusive battle here between Chess and Loso features a gang of blistering name flips from both battlers to go along with some righteous personals, wily angles, unfettered Christian-themed darts and piercing punchlines that altogether kept the battle ultra-close for 3 rounds. Each battler extolling on Chess’ memorable win over Loso’s 4 Horseman bro Th3 Saga some years back added some extra spice to the battle. And Loso’s passionate bars on his family’s struggles with certain vices and how they helped shape him as a man, were also gripping. That said, while Loso being a ‘fake Christian’ (as Chess alleged during one of his rounds) is hard to fathom, assisted a bit by Loso attempting to get virtuous with his opponent in an indignant manner that K-Shine pulled off better during his battle with Chess, the CakeLyfe capo’s ability to get extra busy with some sublime wordplay throughout the bout much less present a more cohesive package with his bars allows Chess to edge an exquisite and punch-heavy round 1, before a more set-up rich, spirited and supremely well-arched 2nd by the 22yo allows him to edge that round too for the win. A pontificating, but more consistently hitting Loso would edge the final 3rd round to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Chess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chess – “Ya man talkin’? I’ma hook his jaw, then I’m checking Lo’s [Lowes] like Home Depot ain’t have what I was lookin’ for!”
Recap: Bill Collector made it known online how disappointed he was in himself after his recent Big T battle and judging from this bout with a pretty solid, but at times lackadaisical Quban, he wasn’t kidding. ‘Ol Billiano getting busy, after a bit of a slow start, with a clean slate of punches/hot wordplay as well as a couple of hot rebuttals while spouting a bunch of gritty (and at times witty) back to back burners/name flips in the latter half of his turn during this Do Or Die Battle League 1-rounder, to gain the win.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 1-0
Favorite line; Bill Collector – “Thinking you a Don Qub?, till this A. [.8] Boogie you down, like the Bronx in the 80s!”
Recap: The ‘Craig/Friday’ name flips are at this point a no-brainer. But an otherwise gritty, wordplay/personal-spicy and back-to-back punch-lit performance by Steams gets him a 30 over a solid at times, but also flow-challenged to the point of choking away his 3rd round Craig Lamar in this App Exclusive battle from URL.
Verdict: Steams (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Steams – “You more metro than a San Francisco trolley!”
Recap: From TrapHouse NY, aggressive and gritty punch-fest between J Murda and True Maserati comes with an at times heated barrage of sizzling street missives, righteous showmanship, fierce name flips and hard-hitting personals (esp. in round 3). A fealty too for witty bars on each other’s crew and Spanish hijinks, after the two split the opening rounds, it’s only right that a blistering 3rd by both battlers makes this one a draw.
Verdict: Deabtable
Favorite line: True Maserati
Recap: Still underrated to this day for his punch game, Ty Law uses a boatload of wily similes, some hitting name flips and piercing gun bars to beat back a brazen, but mostly pedestrian Kashmoney in this 3-rounder from Bar4Bar Rap Battle League.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “They say if this was the 80s you’d be dealing the work, nah if this was the 80s you’d be in LeVert!”
Recap: Helped by a wayward bar spitting (rd. 1), but also aggressive and punch-heavy (esp. during round 2 which he edged) at times Nunn Nunn piggybacking themes that have been used on him aplenty in the past (i.e. the Silk shirt, the notorious Mike P battle and Swave Sevah’s ‘You pussy’ diss), a versatile, righteous when need be, spicy name flip-tossing, gun bar/punch-lit and witty Ryda does enough to take both the opening and deciding 3rd round for the win in this close App exclusive bout from URL.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ryda – “Nigga’s always talking about Ryda be drinking and treat ’em like it’s a fucking joke, but now I ain’t coming back until I get Nitty or Ill…I need my Rum and Coke!”
Recap: One-rounder from GOTG sees the ever-unorthodox Jakkboy Maine comes through with a fly rebuttal, some solid name flips and whimsical wordplay during his turn. Yet, while he did rap nearly twice as long as his opponent, a consistently gritty, name flip/personal-savvy and steadier flowing Zay Smoove does manage to stoke enough heat to make this a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Zay Smoove – “We wanna know how God let you survive lupus just to cause the culture cancer!”
Recap: Fire 1-rounder on GOTG between a returning-to-the-battle-rap-scene Johnie Alcatraz and Kyd Slade sees the former deliver a gang of haymakers via a bunch of slick wordplay, stifling gun bars and rich punchlines/metaphors. On the other hand, Slade would be equal to the task, using gritty storytelling, some hard-hitting (“No cap, like if you fall off, you probably gonna get lost and need a road map, I’m a take it back to the box, stick and a string, yunno the old trap!”) trap talk, authentic street shit, witty personals and some well-laced heat of his own to force a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Johnie Alcatraz – “Mausberg, put the pressure on Kyd like ‘Who you wanna live with, me or mommy?!'”
Recap: This 1-rounder from Deathwish Battle League sees Klutz take down a pretty gritty and witty at times punchfest from opponent Palmer Boi with a boatload of aggressive boasts, festive gun bars, some crazy name flips and double entendre’s as well as a host of twisted wordplay and slick punches that more than made their mark to gain the win.
Verdict: Klutz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Klutz – “God pen, I never bit a flow, but I could probably walk on it!”
Recap: Sure, some of the punches can be a bit obscure, but think harder and don’t let that minor factor diminish M. Ciddy’s ability to land his bars effectively, Add to that some rigid personals and strong wordplay during the 1st two rounds here against Ooops and before the slightly more punch-heavy, righteous and condensed ‘Superman’ edged the 3rd, it’s a solid win for the Detroit vet.
Verdict: M. Ciddy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: M. Ciddy – “The whole truth is that you really out the whole loop, you style like Batman Beyond…it’s getting old Bruce!”
Recap: From a Bloody Scene card, both (“Real nigga’s don’t get Loud Dre, they get money!”) Shooney Da Rapper and Dre Dennis bring the mayhem, get extra spicy with the personals and fiery with punches in this 1-rounder. But some pedestrian bars from Dre and a lack of a clean round from Shooney makes this one a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “The blade left blood all over Shoo [shoe]…Lil Nas X!”
Recap: From GOTG, consistently hitting with a gritty mix of righteous darts, stifling punchlines/name flips and bruising 4-bar set-ups/similes, HNH Zeek handily gets the win in this 1-rounder over a topsy-turvy Bill Collector.
Verdict: HNH Zeek (W) 1-0
Favorite line: HNH Zeek – “Your man set you up, it’s like a deuce-deuce, it’s an inside job with no exit!”
Recap: A wily, but topsy-turvy effort from OG Grizzly ends up being no match for Bad Newz, who in this 3-rounder from Bullpen Battle League, uses a gang of hardbody punches, rigid gun bars, graphic mayhem and random old jokes to edge round 1 before handily taking both of the latter rounds for the shutout.
Verdict: Bad Newz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bad Newz – “Nigga, my trigger finger always itching when I’m gripping the .4, so I popped a perp…man that bitch started itching some more!”
Recap: From KOTD, liked Dot Everything’s meandering flow/wordplay and the fact that he’s a stickler for non-personals. But a 3rd round choke from Dot and a Snake Eyez on his A-game with an aggressive, consistent and gritty mix of fiery punchlines, dope name flips and bruising gun bars leaves Mr. One Eye Willy with the 30.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “Remember when ya mama told you mind ya business while she talking?, Everything ain’t meant to be heard!”
Recap: Newest NWX member Fonz gets off to a hot start with his new team, letting off a barrage of consistently bruising punchlines, piercing name flips, graphic mayhem and flexing wordplay/personals/gun bars to beat back a hardbody, but inconsistent potent Drop Da Rula in this 1-rounder from State 2 State Hip Hop.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “New Midwest and I’m the nigga that showed you the way…North Star!”
