No Bias. No Narratives.
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!”
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: A bit lengthy, but still gritty 1-rounder here from Organyzed Cryme Battle League between an always game Cortez and a performance-stunting and witty at times Sunny Red features a plethora of graphic mayhem, boastful barbs and raucous punches from both battlers. However, even with an almost equal amount of haymakers on each end, it’s a more condensed Cortez, extra fly with the name flips, a little more consistently hard-hitting and able to score too with some deft use of local references, who ends up earning the win.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “Tell these nigga’s stop before I pop that clip, the blood stains on this Tee, you can’t block that shit, I’m talking street sweepers, a bloody mess, you can’t mop that shit, I just left with bloody shoes, but it’s not my drip!”
Recap: First time I’m seeing Hope Trilly and here in this Battlerap Society 3-rounder against Bonnie Godiva she impresses, using a gritty collage of piercing punchlines, flexing gun bars and righteous personals to keep things competitive. Yet, after a somewhat lengthy and a bit flow-challenged turn cost her round 1, with the help on an elite freestyle/rebuttal game, a slightly more condensed, spicy name flipping and heat-ringing Bonnie manages to edge the 2nd round before really getting back on her grind with some more off-the-dome stunting, hard-hitting punches/personals and stinging wordplay to also edge the deciding 3rd round and earn the win.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “By nighttime, your lifeline better pick up the calls at the right time or end up on Fox 5, I spread Hope on the street, I fight crime!”
Recap: One too many ‘Paige’ name flips and a bit of a flow-challenged Jerry Wess, who was slightly better overall with the personals than the punches (where he was a little predictable in the opening rounds, before he came through with a dope 3rd), leaves Swamp, who steadily finessed throughout this Ultimate Madness 3 first-round battle with a bunch of ill street rhythms/set-ups, witty/shrewd personals and steely gun bars with the edge in rounds 1 and 2 for the win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “You always talking about your muthafuckin’ car, like that shit is cool…your car is a piece of shit, but my gun is a lemon too!”
Recap: From Body Bag Battle League, in this 1-rounder a more condensed and bar efficient Glueazy uses a gang of boastful barbs, stifling gun bars and gritty punchlines to beat back a gritty and hitting at times, but mostly pedestrian Fleezy Jones.
Verdict: Glueazy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Glueazy – “The can hit him and his man with him, face shot [BWOH!] now ya dog covered in fleas!”
Recap: From the 1st round of URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament. After a slightly more punch-lit and ill battle career breakdown/personal-savvy Prep edges round 1, opponent Swave Sevah uses a raucous, bullish and witty at times 2nd round to split things going into the 3rd. And that’s when Prep decided to leave earth what with a consistently blazing, personally hard-hitting and set-up/haymaker-rich final round that handily beat back a solid, but nowhere-near-as-fiery round from Swave.
Verdict: Prep (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prep – “You was here before the T-Rex’s…you Ice age!”
Recap: Battling at a rampant pace, but still able to stay on his A-game (much less participate in a tournament), Geechi Gotti uses a gang of mocking personals, gripping gang life banter, steely punchlines and flexing gun bars/wordplay to handily beat back a gun line-lit, but also topsy-turvy Riggz in both of the opening rounds before an elongated 3rd by Geechi (who was complaining about time limits in both of the previous rounds) coupled with a shorter, but gritty, pretty solid-punching and bar efficient turn by Riggz makes the final run of this UM3 opening round bout debatable.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I been hella gifted, this a level 1 verse Max security, the pen-level different!”
Recap: Can’t recall anyone being this upset at winning a battle as we witnessed Casey Jay here. The Texas battled clearly peeved after her win–in the 1st round of the URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament–which was helped in part by Nu Jerzey Twork choking away his 1st and 3rd round’s (Twork also slipped up a couple of times in round 2, but somehow made it through to complete his turn). But everyone’s seen this movie before with Twork and to judge Minnesota Luke’s point afterwards, he’ll still keep getting booked regardless. Still, while one can understand Casey wanting a better battle, moving on to the next round is all that matters
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “Your style ain’t even your style, I’m so annoyed, but he swear he did everything first like Soulja Boy!”
Recap: Dope Ultimate Madness 3 opening round matchup here between Jakkboy Maine and T Top has the more consistently hitting, wordplay/name flip-spicy and metaphor-rich Jakk taking the only clear win in round 2 to get the dub and move on to the round as while Top’s dizzying angles, rigid trap talk and piercing punches kept things close and competitive, some redundancy/laziness with the personals would cost The Bear in the end.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “;Cuz y’all lookin’ at a Bear in a hat, so what’s next is the forest fire, nigga no survivors, the steel’ll air, third eye, I’m still aware, I was out in Memphis, gettin’ arms with legs and muzzles so I could Build-A-Bear!”
Recap: Astonishly, a lot of the recaps on this Ultimate Madness 3, 1st round battle between O’fficial and Cortez seemed to center around people making the mistake of sleeping on Cortez (esp. when it came to those who wagered on the bout). And while that might be partly true, the fact of the matter is that if you’re going to put money on O’fficial winning vs. a top tier male battle rapper, you might want to go on YouTube, do a little research and see that O’fficial’s history against top tier’s hasn’t been good of late. And yeah, with all that shit-talking O’fficial did before this battle, seeing her slip-up so many times, choke in the 3rd round and bring so many subpar bars to a $100k tournament was certainly karma workimg its magic. But then too the reality we saw here is that the wicked gun bar-slinging, punchline/personal-stunting and wordplay-lit Cortez, especially with his experience in the game, should’ve been favored to win in the first place.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “I’m Puerto Rican…you already know, I hit bitches!”
Recap: From LetsTalkAboutIt Tv, gritty, gun bar-blazing and impressive showing here from Celly Cell (esp. that ‘Get 30 with a .40, that shot kill more nobodies than Dre Dennis’ line in a debatable round 1). But a condensed Chef Trez (without a single rebuttal btw) ever-steady with the gripping punchlines, dope set-ups, stinging name flips and rim-rocking heat throughout this battle, manages to edge both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “If I lift iron [BANG!] Grid Iron Gang, don’t let you being tough get you rocked in the field!”
Recap: Extra gritty PG here between Ace Amin and Burke Bucs stayed super competitive, spicy and intense all the way through what with the performance-lit Ace spouting a gang of fiery multi’s, sizzling name flips, righteous street shit and during round 2 a couple of dope mid-round freestyles/rebuttals. But the underrated Bucs also came through with plenty of verbal warfare, delivering a boatload of raucous punchlines, bruising gun bars, some witty barbs and a gang of flippant personals/mayhem. An almost hour-long battle that also featured a bit of tension between the respective rappers battle rap camps (Cave vs. Goonie), the slightly more haymaker-rich Ace Amin edges round 1 before a more condensed Bucs too the 2nd. 3rd round was yet another close one and a goodie, but once again it’s a slightly more consistently hitting and punch-heavy Ace who edges the final round for the win.
Verdict: Ace Amin (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ace Amin –
Recap: Not to take anything away from Geechi Gotti, who provided two killer opening rounds (and a pretty solid 3rd) littered with a shitload of scathing personals to earn the win here in this long-awaited matchup versus Math Hoffa. But Math’s ultimately perplexing decision to use a battle he’s long campaigned for versus an elite opponent like Gotti and waste so many bars going at his peers (mind you, for years we’ve seen Math ranting on blogs about wanting to battle a Goodz or a Tsu Surf or a Tay Roc, plus for over a year now he’s had his own hit show, My Expert Opinion, where he could easily go on anytime and rant there too) throughout this bout (esp. in round 1) just defies common sense, much less the idea that he might’ve won this battle without them. Indeed, outside of the aforementioned needless raps and a minor slip-up at the end of round 2, via some hard-hitting personals of his own, witty barbs, a bunch of fiery gun bars, some stinging wordplay and yes, even when he went the ‘M. Dot’ route and got on a righteous bender, Math was serving up more than enough consistent heat to warrant more plates on URL (honestly, I think Goodz should just say yes and let it happen already on a Summer Madness or N.O.M.E.). Nonetheless, with all the biting haymakers, verbal warfare, ability to gamely freestyle his way through some turbulence with his flow in round 2, rigid Dizaster fight angles and talk that real street shit throughout the battle (with some cutting jokes mixed in too), there’s still a better that Gotti wins this battle anyway even if Hoffa came more direct. Still would’ve been nice to find out.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Head shots, oh I’m talking too much, that goes to show I’m used to spilling beans!”
Recap: Nu Jerzey Twork can make it look so easy sometimes. And against a pretty dope and gritty showing from B Griff, the Jersey battler would need nothing short of a succinct performance to stand a chance, which he delivered via a gangly bunch of stinging punchlines, some high extra-grade wordplay, a little off-the-dome heat and stifling personals/gun bars during a condensed turn that gave him the win in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “This .80 lift, I lift the chrome up, one shot pray to God that he a goner, only time will tell, he if he alive and well…like Jonah!”
Recap: Sublime battle here between JC and First Lady Flamez who gives the Pontiac, MI, vet all he can handle with a gang of wicked punchlines, real street talk, some wily personals and stinging wordplay that stood out even more when you consider that Flamez stayed on her game and rarely, if ever, went for the sort of name flips and religious angles so many battlers often try to use against JC. Still, while Flamez was her usual brazen and gangsta self, an ever boastful JC sizzled throughout the but with a wide array of blistering personals, mayhem-rich punchlines, stifling gun bars and hitting name flips.
Recap: From URL’s Super Fight 3 card, JC uses a steady barrage of bruising name flips, wicked God-body bars/angles (esp. in round 1) and a bunch of stinging punchlines/personals to beat back a hard-hitting, personal-inclined and mayhem-lit, but overall not as strong or punch-heavy performance from Nunn Nunn.
Verdict: JC (W) 3-0
Favorite line: JC – “I’ll have you talking to a dot like ‘Alexa, play with somebody safe!'”
Recap: After a somewhat long hiatus from battle rap, good to see Big T back on the scene and more importantly looking much more healthier what with the huge weight loss. That aside tho, outside of a dope, more punch-heavy, wordplay-lit round 1 (that we’ll score debatable what with the dated personals by T on BC getting hit by Hitman Holla’s brother Showout), when it comes to who had the better, more shrewd and more consistently spicy material, that would be Bill Collector. Unfortunately for BC, a lack of preparation in both of the latter rounds which would each lead to chokes would hand Big T the win in this 3-rounder from URL’s Super Fight 3 card.
Verdict: Big T (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big T – “Fuck all that, y’all wanna see blood hop out the whip? well it’s 6 9’s in the bitch and we ready to give Billy all those!”
Recap: Pretty emotional and righteous at times, but still competitive Ultimate Madness 3 opening round battle between Yoshi G and Drugz sees the latter go beyond the usual gun bar semantics and wholly address the alleged sexual exploits of his opponent. Whether it was steely lines on protecting his daughter from a wayward lifestyle or ill breakdown’s on Yoshi’s proclivity for thot bars or hard-hitting punchlines dipped in spicy wordplay/real life shit, outside of a near choke in round 3, Drugz had it all here. All the while beating a Yoshi G who while stunted at times with her punches/wordplay and head-ringing/thought-provoking at times with her schemes, could never put it all together with enough consistent heat to avoid getting shutout.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “You ain’t even think you was gonna win, just wanted to be with 13 nigga’s in a small room!”
Recap: From the 1st round of URL’s Summer Madness 3 tournament, even with Serius Jones dialing up the best round the battle (a punch-heavy, versatile and sublime 2nd) and Rum Nitty not quite on his A-game throughout this contest, it’s the gun bar lit, name flip savvy, personal-witty/mocking and more punchline intricate Nitty who edges out the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Rifle, on a tripod, I use it to shoot straight, I put the stand up and got serious [Serius] like I’m losing in 2k
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Bar4Bar Rap Battle League, Fonz employs a blistering round of bruising punchlines, dizzying mayhem and sublime name flips to handily beat back a gritty and gun bar-lit, but mostly pedestrian TID Glo.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “And I could fight, damn right, I’ll ball this nigga up like action figure hands!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Organyzed Cryme Battle League, despite ahandful of run-it-back’s, Sick makes for a mostly solid effort via a gang of spicy gun bars and righteous punchlines. But as he’s consistently shown, no matter what platform he’s on, Ill Will would prove to be too much, beating back his opponent with uproarious mix of rowdy name flips, gritty punches/stroytelling, piercing gun lines and in a rare move for WIll…a couple of extra dope freestyles/rebuttals just in case the versatility escaped your mind.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’ll let this .16 beat you on your bitch tracks…and since your man wanna be in the background [BWOH!] he’ll get an ad-lib!”
Recap: Inter-crew match-ups usually make for dope battles and that’s certainly the case in this Riot Network 1-rounder between NXT and Dev The Demon. Indeed, Dev The Demon’s gritty trio of real street darts, righteous personals and stinging gun bars more than made their mark. But after starting out with a couple of hard-hitting rebuttals/freestyles while taking on the ‘Lil Bro’ role with his raps, NXT’s execution of bruising punchlines, fiery wordplay, mocking personals and performance-rich heat would earn the younger Demons squad member the win.
Verdict: NXT (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dev The Demon –
Recap: In this competitive 3-rounder from Bars Over Bricks, Jakkboy Maine survives a superbly punch-lit Kush in round 1 and comes back with a couple of gritty punching, personal-savvy, gun bar/name flip-bent and condensed turns in the latter rounds to edge an opponent who while still supplying two rounds of punch-heavy linguistics, became a little predictable (as well as elongated) and couldn’t quite match the consistent potency he delivered in the opener.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine –
Recap: Not sure that Cassidy versus Hitman Holla the battle ever had a chance of living up to now infamous faceoff these two just had, but the long-awaited matchup was still a good one. With 3,000-plus battles on his resume and having made hits as recording artist, we all know that Cassidy can rap for days. And the Philly legend proved that once again here with 3 lengthy rounds featuring bar after bar after bar. However, since his return to battle rap the problem with Cassidy remains: he continues to live off of moments (“When you bought those fake teeth, you should’ve bought a smaller size!”), jokes and personals. And in an era where most top tier battle rappers can not only punch hard, but are also either lyrical, performance-heavy, name flip/gun bar-lit, intricate, metaphor/simile/wordplay-rich, angle-savvy, witty, can talk that real street shit, a combination of the few or can create their own, unique lane of battle rap aptitude, with only a couple of attributes to work with and with a knack for dropping way too many pedestrian bars, Cassidy still can’t cut it. And that’s why Cass gets shutout here as a more focused, versatile and condensed Hitman’s ability to excellently retort so many of his opponent’s more hard-hitting personals, win the crowd over at times with some pretty solid wordplay, name flips and punches, score with plenty of boastful barbs and of course, cut up the stage with some performance-friendly stunting gives Ballgame the 30.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “You better watch what you say in your raps, know what I mean Cass?, ‘cuz you could catch a bullet behind those lines like a screen pass!”
Recap: Readily known for his charisma and wit, but over time becoming a dope puncher as well, a versatile (the spicy name flips, salacious food references and graphic mayhem also stood out here), a more haymaker-lit Hollaluyah Jones takes both of the opening rounds of this 3-round We Go Hard battle to get the win, before opponent Bedaffi Green (who outside of being a bit flow-challenged, excelled in the 1st before coming through with a bit of a lackluster 2nd) saves his strongest and most punch-lit round for the 3rd to edge that turn over yet another pretty solid effort from Jones and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Hollaluyah Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hollaluyah Jones – “Random…why Haitain’s always got a first name for a last name?, it be some shit like Jean Michael Jean or some shit like St. Michael Paul, but I still fuck with y’all!”
Recap: Strong showing by a boisterous, mayhem-friendly and personal-lit Gamble here. But assisted by his opponent utilizing the standard, redundant personal’s we’ve heard on his opponent before, it’s a more-turned-up-than-usual, name flip savvy, freestyle-spicy and wordplay/punch-heavy Emerson Kennedy who ends up taking this Camp Grounds 1-rounder.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “This is Jordan’s Last Dance, I ain’t think Gamble was a problem!”
Recap: As if the piercing punchlines, steely personals and rigid wordplay weren’t hard enough, it’s the absolutely sublime name flips from Yung Griz that over the course of 3 rounds that leads to a 30 here over a boisterous and solid punching, but nowhere-near-as-potent run by Rubbatung in this 3-rounder from Free Game Battle League.
Verdict: Yung Griz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Yung Griz – “Big Griz, you a little Tung [tongue] like 1st base!”
Recap: Could’ve sworn that Reed Dollaz announced his retirement from battle rap late last year. But I guess he changed his mind as the Philly legend ‘returns’ to the scene for this 1-rounder on Organyzed Cryme Battle League versus Spaz Mayweather. A pretty solid effort on both sides in lieu of Spaz rapping twice as longer as Reed, but one too many reaches and a handful of mediocre bars by the otherwise gritty/punch/name flip-heavy Mayweather to go along with a more consistently hitting Dollaz really finessing with the name flips/mayhem and boastful punches, gives the self-styled Rambo a close win.
Verdict: Reed Dollaz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Reed Dollaz – “You said your man better than me?, you a damn liar, I’m the one they talked about around the campfire!”
Recap: From IBattleTV, a close 1-rounder here between a gritty and gun-bar-lit Ken Savvy and a personally righteous, intricate, scheme-friendly and surprisingly witty at times Xcel comes down to the Team Homi capo delivering a cleaner turn to go along with a slightly more multifaceted performance for the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Y’all say Ken is sick? well it’s looking like Ken a bitch, another weirdo on Shady shit, you Ken Kaniff!”
Recap: The ‘Who Am I?’ scheme in round 3 was pretty lame (and a clear knockoff the epic ‘Drugs’ scheme he used against Drugz sometime back, but other than that and a debatable 1st round, a more condensed and off-the-dome-lit Danny Myers uses a bunch of stirring punchlines, some heavy-handed name flips and piercing mayhem/personals top edge the latter two rounds and get the win over a competitive and performance-heavy, but also elongated and not as consistently-hitting Kid Chaos in this 3-rounder from URL.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Every time I battle these pinheads, it’s a chain reaction!”
Recap: Capped by a dope closer dedicated to LB Da Boss (RIP), Prez Mafia’s descriptive punchlines, measured mayhem and rigid wordplay/name flips/personals work together to form more than enough haymakers to beat back a pretty solid and gritty effort from Alec Flowin in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “I’m a loose cannon, a Loud boy, but hwne them birds rip out, the silencer Tyson, ‘cuz you hear the [le tchip] before the words come out!”
Recap: In this gritty 1-rounder from We Go Hard, the alternately righteous and socially-conscious lines from Zeus while strong and impactful, still can’t hold a light to a consistently varied, at times witty, set-up savvy and punch-lit performance from a fiery Fettuccine 20.
Verdict: Fettuccine 20 (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fettuccine 20 – “He got chopped up from limb to limb, pieces of Zeus everywhere, he gonna have to change his name from Him to Them!”
Recap: B. Dot’s good, really good. And pretty smart. But if there’s any notion with Dot that the rapper with the best pen automatically wins battles, then he’s sadly mistaken. And flat-out wrong. Case in point here against Shotgun Suge, who while not noted for having one of the best pen’s, wouldn’t still be in the game after a decade if he wasn’t one of battle rap’s best performers or one of its most wittiest or when on point, one of the most aggressive, grittiest and punch-heavy spitter’s around (and that’s without mentioning the crowd-pleasing ‘Random’ and ‘What His Life Like?’ screeds). So while Dot spent a lot of time (with plenty of mediocre punches mixed in) delivering a talking too to his opponent in round 1, a more condensed, personal/punch-heavy and versatile Suge would edge the opener. Afterwards however, Dot would step it up consistently and get more flexing with the bars, whether it was knocking down Suge’s street cred, deftly spouting more righteous punchlines/schemes, supplying a gang of hitting consciously wrapped haymakers, getting spicier with his set-ups and unleashing more fire wordplay. All this while Suge would come through with a pair (moreso his 3rd) of pretty solid/brazen/personal-stunting turns that while keeping things competitive in a match some thought beforehand wouldn’t be, as it turned out both rounds weren’t enough to beat the more steady landing Dot.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Dot – “How a nigga claim a hood he gotta visit?, just ‘cuz a nigga can’t walk to his set don’t mean he on some Crip shit!”
Recap: Oh, what a better world we’d all live in if Bangz took battle rap seriously. Anyway, not gonna do the extra freestyle sessions that occurred here after what was 3 rounds of Big Kannon’s God pen going off the entire battle via a boatload of hard-hitting personals, some superb name flips/rebuttals and flippant punchlines versus an opponent who freestyled the whole battle to mixed results. In other words, a one-sided battle that could’ve been dope if Bangz had really tried.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “He spit from the top, but let me show how our name’s toally fits in the plot, because Bangz may make teh noise but it’s Kannon that’s giving the shot!”
Recap: Good to see an underrated puncher like Johnie Alcatraz back in the game after a long time away. And the Jersey rapper does well here in this CGBL 1-rounder against Steams, serving up a nice mix of piercing punchlines and rugged gun lines amongst other gritty styling’s. But a confident Steams, consistently hitting on all cylinders with a gritty series of stifling punches, quality wordplay and stirring 4-bar set-ups/boastful barbs ends up getting the win in the end.
Verdict: Steams (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Steams – “I’m not a nigger you could belittle with bars, you hear me? hear ye, lighten your tone ‘cuz you Envy Da God!”
Recap: After getting edged by a stronger-punching and gritty Squeako in round 1, D.O.T. takes advantage of a slip-up prone turn from his opponent in round 2 as well as a subpar run by Squeako in the next round via a couple of lyrically-sharp, gun bar-heavy, witty at times and wordplay-solid 2nd and 3rd’s to comeback and win this battle from URL’s Super Fight 3 card.
Verdict: D.O.T. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: D.O.T. – “Revolver, burning a hole in my pocket, I gotta spin it nigga!”
Recap: After getting edged to a more personally spicy and punch-heavier D Dub in round 1 of this competitive 3-rounder from We Go Hard, Ish Mulah adds an aggressive mix of shrewd wordplay, fire similes, some dry wit and top-notch punchlines to an already gritty palette of ill street missives and boastful barbs to lead the Brooklyn battler to wins in both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Ish Mulah (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ish Mulah – “You was out here making snow angels with your Broham?, in my hood Winter’s was cold, damn, it was shootout’s every night, you ever seen bullet holes in a snowman?!”
Recap: Perhaps Nu Jerzey Twork should have a chat with Goodz one day about taking these small league 1-rounders more seriously. No doubt, NJT was able to keep it clean and drop a couple of room shakers amidst of other fiery punches. But one too many predictable/modest bars from Nu Jerooz to go along with 1st-timer Coy Gutta rapping his heart out for 10 minutes with a consistent boatload of gritty punchlines, some slick wordplay, performance-rich stunting and deliciously rampant heaters, gives the newcomer a huge upset and win.
Verdict: Coy Gutta (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Coy Gutta – “Red bag oo Six Flags, I am not amused, but since he think he Piru, I bet this P90 knock Blood out of Damu!”
Recap: Main event Smoke Room Battle League bout between Bedaffi Green and Young Kannon comes with another hardbody/punch-heavy 3rd round by Mr. I Said That. But able to score at whim with a gang of rapid-fire punches that embodied a fierce mix of blazing name flips, pointed personals, persistent mayhem/gun bars and rousing punchlines, it’s the vet YK who takes the first two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “At your wig let the .44 clap, end a Gold member like Austin Powers…yeah, I got my mojo back!”
Recap: Leave it to Rum Nitty to hit on something I was already thinking going into the 3rd round here: how strange it was seeing Holmzie da God take on an angle of criticizing Nitty for being a gun bar/name flip rapper (not that Nitty isn’t also one of the best punchers in the game) when Rum has taken what’s works for him and turned it into becoming a Top tier battle rapper. Yeah, that just doesn’t make much sense. And neither did Holmzie getting way too diligent in round 3 and tracking down his opponent’s YouTube views to use as angle. Yeah, that was a little much. Other than that, a mostly one-sided here as outside of a punch-heavy at times, but elongated final round, overall Da God struggled to keep up with Rum’s versatile array of stinging punchlines, rugged name flips, fire set-ups, mocking personals and flashy gun bars/wordplay for all 3 rounds.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “But you done done, I brung out a .50, 16 in the clip, plus one…I’m taking somebody with me!”
Recap: In a gritty and pretty intense at times battle that took way too long to finish (thanks mostly to crowd noise), after a spitfire, punch-heavy 1st round from Fliiko L, a Riggz who was never quite on his A-game still manages to squeeze in just enough rigid punchlines, dizzying schemes and hitting personals in both of the latter rounds (while also being helped by an elongated 3rd from Fliiko) to take advantage of a less potent Fliiko and edge this win on Bullpen.
Verdict: Riggz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Riggz – “Nigga, I set the tone for having a pen inside the pen, I paved the way!”
Recap: A plethora of gritty punchlines in this spirited, West-coast Riot Network battle between J. Murda and (“The irony, I’m an activist and got murder on the Riot!”) Cali Smoov. But after a debatable round 1 in addition to the ever-passionate Smoov edging the 2nd round with a punch-heavier turn, a dope rebuttal in the 3rd and final round to go along with some fiery wordplay and more hard-hitting punches from Murda, allows the visiting Brooklyn emcee to edge the round and make this bout a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: J. Murda – “I’m not actually to be played with, like game ads on a porn site!”
Recap: From Bullpen Battle League, here we see Loso rocking it candid, punch/wordplay-savvy and when need be mocking with straight-ahead, measured rhymes and set-ups that with a consistently biting effect, over the course of 3 rounds, easily takes out the punch-lit at times, but overall much less nuanced and inconsistent stylings of Philly Haze.
Verdict: Loso (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Loso – “Every round that he peel the Glock, confirm that Philly stock as relevant as the Millie Rock!”
Recap: From Organyzed Cryme Battle League, that ‘Cocaine paid for college…I had white privilege’ line Raydale Shamaine was fire as was a bunch of other gritty street missives and name flips. But despite his opponent coming through with some dope shit in this 1-rounder and making it close, it’s JC, with a bit shortened, but still superbly effective fleet of righteous punchlines, stinging wordplay, God-body darts and sublime set-ups/similes who gets the win here.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “Saying you won the battle probably gonna decrease our YouTube views, the whole party was made up in your mind Ray…like the Boom Boom Room!”
Recap: From Underground Battle League LLC, Smoove Da Juugman’s boatload of bruising (esp. liked the Quavo line) punchlines do manage to wreck some serious havoc here and there. But a more set-up lit, consistently rigid with the punchlines, gritty with the boasts/mayhem and freestyle/rebuttal savvy Chef Trez does more to earn the win in this 1-rounder.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “It’s smooth sailing, who you scaring?, you’ll swing on who?, I double-dare him, for all those threats do I look like a white woman?, you think I’m Karen?!”
Recap: From Manslaughter Battle League, while the at times brazen and overall solid/witty wordplay of Sasse provided a handful of notables in this 1-roudner, it’s a more set-up rich, consistently hitting and punch/wordplay/personal-lit Emerson Kennedy who earns the win in the end.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “Zoolander…stop acting like this can’t go left!”
Recap: They’re one round for a reason and a vet like Shotgun Suge shouldn’t be struggling to remember bars when all he has to do is spit for 3 to 5 minutes. And while a punch-heavier Suge can get away with a slip-up or two and still win a 1-rounder against the gritty, but mostly pedestrian raps of a Black Aladdin. If I’m a hardcore Suge fan, not receiving some noted ‘What His Life Like?’ bars much less a ‘Random’ shout out or two would leave me a little disappointed.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “Dome shot, the shit I’m squeezing here, I’m just trying to pop Black head!”
Recap: Loso goes up against fellow missionary Cuevas Walker in a 1-rounder on Onsite Battle League and the result is a competitive matchup filled with plenty of righteous personals, religious-laced themes and boastful barbs. And while Walker did get off to a hot start to his turn, a more pedestrian latter half of his round combined with a more consistently hitting, name flip-savvy Loso, gives the 4 Horseman member the vic.
Verdict: Loso (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Loso – “This weird little image you got going on my brother?, it’s wack, one time you even had the audacity to get on stage rocking a perm…relax!”
Recap: If only Bad Newz could match his heat and aggression with more consistently hitting punches more often. Indeed, his battle rap career could be on a much different path. Because when Newz lands his haymakers, more often than not they shake the room due to the Bronx-to-ATL rapper’s sheer intensity and steely set-up ability. That being the case, taking advantage of a Snake Eyez who was a bit too bent on rundown Dot Mobb personals when he wasn’t spitting a gang of aggressive, but lukewarm darts in the opening rounds, a more momentous, brazen, at times wordplay/name flip-lit and personal/street-savvy Newz gets the win in this 3-round, crowd-audacious from Bullpen before Snake would get his comeuppance in a fire and steady-hitting 3rd to edge the final round and avoid the 30.
Verdict: Bad Newz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bad Newz – “You know you can’t believe nuthin’ that come outta Snake’s lips, them bitches tongues is split!”
Recap: So what if Kaboom and some in the crowd couldn’t always tell the difference between a freestyle and a rebuttal? Showing off some solid off-the-dome heat, taking full advantage of his elongated rounds, dropping some witty barbs, out-punching and displaying more versatility with his bars in the opening rounds, a smoking (literally and figuratively) and name flip/personal-savvy Kaboom edges round 1 and 2 of this Battle Academy 3-rounder for the win, before a condensed, gun bar waving, punch-heavier and more bar efficient Chef Trez (who also came through with some quality rebuttals/freestyles throughout the match) edged the 3rd to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Kaboom – (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Kaboom – “Shit real, he fake beefing…Impossible Whopper!”
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: Elongated with his rounds, but gritty/righteous with the punches throughout, Trebo makes for a noteworthy performance on the VLMG/Tha Kulture stage here against Chilla Jones. But condensed throughout the battle and scoring left and right with fiery gun bars, rigid name flips and a dope freestyle game that was especially made its mark in the final round, score another 30 for Mr. Jones.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “Now let’s address the elephant in the room…you dumb Bo [Dumbo]!”
Recap: Yes, A. Ward’s rebuttals are crazy (and his ability to freestyle is nothing to sneeze at either) and with some able wit mixed in, when added to a versatile punch-game, Ward has long shown that he can compete with anyone. That said, you have to really appreciate Da Kid Clutch here as the West-coast emcee uses a steady fleet of gritty punchlines/gun bars, fiery/witty personals more associated with his opponent individually than his Christian faith, fierce set-ups/name flips and racial angles that for the most part hit to beat back a pretty solid, punch-heavy at times and off-the-dome-savvy, but not quite as consistent effort from Ward in rounds 2 and 3 (call the 1st debatable) for the win.
Verdict: Da Kid Clutch (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Da Kid Clutch – “And your attire is part of the reason you will never last, ‘cuz he show up to battles looking that one track coach that was never fast!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from VLMG & The Kulture, Swamp gets extra crispy upfront with a fly rebuttal before continuing to lace the Texas crowd with a barrage of gritty punchlines, blistering personals and spicy gun bars to beat a solid, but not as hard-hitting showing from JDK.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “Nigga, I will dump a can if you speak or grab you by those little pointy=ass ears and spin your shit like it’s the jam of the week!”
Recap: Utilizing a bunch of fiery schemes, gritty punchlines, righteous Bible bars, well-crafted wordplay and some gripping personals, a more consistently spicy and versatile Pristavia gets the win in this 1-round from GOTG over a hardbody, but also topsy-turvy Iam Marz.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Pristavia – “You’re just a knockoff Ave, like where ya girl buy her Louis bag!”
Recap: Close and highly entertaining (don’t believe me then just ask Bill Collector, who at times looked like he might blow a gasket laughing so much throughout the bout) battle from URL’s Born Legacy 12 card between D.O.T. and Your Honor features a gang of dope name flips from each side to go along with plenty of loud gun bars, piercing punchlines, witty barbs and performance-rich antics that kept the crowd glued. A really strong 1st round by Your Honor gets edged by a slightly more punch-lit, eccentric and condensed D.O.T., before a more consistently spicy YH edges round 2 to split things going into the final round. And while a pretty solid YH would come through with another congenial turn of whimsical punches to highlight his 3rd, a more versatile D.O.T. would get both real and personal while addressing the small elephant in the room, that is D.O.T. being a former member of Dot Mobb while in turn YH recently joined the legendary collective. The change in subject matter would allow D.O.T. to get intuitive and take some time and share some intriguing war stories concerning the group before moving on and unleashing some more resident heat to win the round and the battle.
Verdict: D.O.T.
Favorite line: D.O.T. – “Let’s see if you can handle bars…that’s two grips!”
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: Against a righteous at times, but flow-struggling and filler-prone Panama Puma, Chef Trez has an easy time of it, using a shitload of gritty gun bars, rigid name flips/trap talk and bruising punchlines to take the win in this 1-rounder from The Kool Nerds Podcast.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Hold on, I’ll tie him up, he got 30 minutes to talk, that’s a big glock, either make time or go viral, your death sponsored by Tik Tok!”
