Recap: In this long-awaited, Smack Volume 6 battle between K-Shine and Pat Stay, the usually gritty Shine does a solid, 3rd-round impression of his opponent but wouldn’t need it (or the final round race angles) as beforehand a performance-heavy Shine, helped by a witty at times, but less prepared Pat, would use a boatload of fiery gun bars, well-executed punchlines (esp. in a sublime round 2) and righteous set-ups to handily take the opening rounds for the win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I knew you would come here talking about your size, that shit is gay, [switches voice to do Pat impression] ‘I’m 6-7, 200 and something pounds’…sounds like you looking for a date!”
Recap: That “Day one’s/February 29th nigga’s” line by Beretta Broke was fire. But with a huge slip-up near the end of his turn and nothing much to offer besides some witty barbs and a hitting punchline here and there, a consistently punch-heavy, scholastic with the bars and rebuttal-lit Real Deal is able to handily beat back Beretta to get the win in this 1-rounder from No Coast Raps.
Verdict: Real Deal (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Real Deal – “Everyone think they a beast…till they meet Booker T!”
Recap: Danja Zone’s rapid, ‘jewels within the jewels’ style of rap often works when he’s a little more direct with his punches and wordplay. And ironically, here in this URL 3-rounder against Kid Chaos, Zone’s best round would be his 3rd as he assuaged the crowd with boastful barbs, more direct punches and some sizzling play on words instead of the topsy-turvy hijinks he was spitting in the previous rounds. But speaking of Chaos, the South Carolina rapper just continues to shine, putting on another stellar show of festive verbal gymnastics, more direct/witty/hitting personals (esp. during round 3), piercing schemes and crowd-pleasing punchlines/gun bars to take both round 1 and 2 for the win.
Verdict: Kid Chaos (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Kid Chaos – “This shit a Bigg K, shit’ll go through Zone like a trick play!”
Recap: A returning-to-battle-rap Jimz and Your Honor face off in a set-up lit and highly-entertaining at first, but then more subdued 3-rounder for URL. And thanks in part to Your Honor being less steady with his punches and a bit flow-challenged in the latter (after an outstanding, but debatable 1st round) rounds, but also Jimz’s less predictable and hitting personals/wordplay, witty barbs and righteous screeds/punchlines, it’s a solid win for Mr. Stop Being Dirty.
Verdict: Jimz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jimz – “Who are you to talk about me getting sucker-punched?, that happened because I’m a one-on-one veteran, so they sneakin’ [sneak in] Jimz [gyms] like they can’t afford a membership!”
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: From Zoo Battle League, before giving way to some dope freestyles in round 3 just to show off the arsenal, Chef Trez uses a boatload of fiery gun bars and stinging set-ups/punchlines to easily beat back an earnest-punching, but mostly pedestrian Kidd Galxc.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “But at the same time I’m too humble, low key I’m ready to smoke this Kidd…I’m the cool uncle!”
Recap: Impressing again with fiery punchline after punchline, but also adding a fierce scheme game to his arsenal, for the first couple of rounds here against Danny Myers, Jerry Wess effectively drops a hammer on his opponent all the while withstanding a barrage of piercing heat and solid personals from the Bar God. The ever-prolific Myers, battling once again on the big stage despite the challenging year that’s been 2020, did offer up a sublime 3rd round to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “All that drive, thinking 40 the new 20…till you get a speeding ticket!”
Recap: B. Dot pitches a shutout, but Holmzie Da God certainly made him earn it. In what was still a close affair with a boatload of similar themes unloaded from each side, Dot just did his opponent one better each step of the way. Indeed, the West-coast activist/battler just seemed prepared for anything Holmzie could throw at him, responding to screeds on supposedly only battling black battle rappers with a dope, truth-telling rebuttal, offering up a gang of scathing personals on mental health/bi-polarism that had to touch at Da God’s nerves, dishing boastful barbs throughout the bout, unleashing fire set-ups and proving that he can indeed rap with fierce wordplay, 4-bar setups, punches, a versatile cadence and crazy schemes all through this battle. And while Holmzie rapped with plenty of conviction and was aggressive, hard-hitting and personal-lit through most of the match, he would also suffer from one too many dry spots and elongated turns, thus assisting with Dot being able to take each round for the win.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 3-0
Favorite line: B. Dot – “Have a seat, just not the throne, when the cig lit, I’m knocking off pigment, I’ll light you up…watch ya tone!”
Recap: From TakeOff Battle League, close 1-rounder with some dope name flips from an also gritty and aggressive Rain. But a slightly more versatile, gun bar/personal/punch-spicy, condensed and freestyle-spitting Piranha gets the edge here.
Verdict: Piranha (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Piranha – “Eagle if he try to bang with me, dump this bitch like Vivica, then drop his bitch like Olivia…with the same 50!”
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: From Bars Over Bricks Battle League, the bars were there, but for Murda so were the bricks (i.e. slip-ups) as in a 1-rounder littered with gritty punchlines, fierce name flips, piercing gun bars and rigid name flips/wordplay from both sides, the no missteps, cleaner-flowing Rich Fetti gets the win.
Verdict: Rich Fetti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Rich Fetti – “Homocide on my mind, I instill murder!”
Recap: Not quite sure what happened here, but in a judged battle where the always excitable Bankhead kicked a boatload of pedestrian bars, the Cartel League vet still manages to dish enough spicy punches/name flips and pull off a minor upset by edging the first two rounds against a lackadaisical and perhaps worn out from battling too much Chef Trez in this bout from RBE. Ironically, when the Trez we all know finally did show up in round 3, while he still wasn’t at his rebuttal and gun-lit best, he’d win the final round anyway thanks in part to another underwhelming turn by his opponent.
Verdict: Bankhead (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bankhead – “…what other fucking reason you think I’d be here talking to a Chef?…nigga I want you to know [click click] this mil [meal] nasty!”
Recap: More direct with his punches/wordplay overall and fire with his angles/personals (esp. in the deciding round 3), Loso beats back a confident, boastful and hitting at times, but not as consistently spicy (or cogent) Emerson Kennedy in this URL Anniversary Event battle.
Verdict: Loso (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Loso – “Bro, you are a stepping stone, for rappers whose stock is low, but competes wit’ pressure, Smack sees them trying and literally gives them E for effort!”
Recap: Room-shaking jokes, fly set-ups, dope name flips, spicy personals, stinging wordplay, ability to switch up flows, fiery punchlines and piercing gun bars, for Pristavia it’s all there as she conducts a clinic on a solid and witty at times, but ultimately overmatched Will Skillz in this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Pristavia – “Against D Money he said ‘I don’t join gangs, gangs join me’…that was a big pause!”
Recap: While Philadelphia’s Eazy the Block Captain, aka ‘The Voice of the Streets’, kicked plenty of that gritty street shit and spicy punches he’s become well-known for in this Rookies vs. Vets URL battle vs Danny Myers, it’s an often unseen barrage of stellar personals that puts him over here. Going directly at Myers with shots at his prolific battle rap career, noted family drama, rap style and even adeptly twisting his parallel universe semantics for his own advantage, an also witty at times the Block Captain not only flexed his versatility when it comes to bars, but more importantly impresses enough consistent heat to overcome the usual palette of mayhem, stinging schemes/wordplay and aggressive punches from his opponent to take all 3 rounds for a victory.
Verdict: Eazy the Block Captain (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Eazy the Block Captain – “A bald head nigger with no breaks [brakes]…you a crash dummy!”
Recap: Valiant effort from Lu Castro, who’s hardbody rhymes, ringing sound effects/gun bars and gritty personals/name flips certainly showed he was up to the task of facing off against a vet like DNA. But whether it was a sublime 3rd round (after taking the 1st and a debatable 2nd round) of scathing personals or a bunch of piercing name flips/underlying wordplay/schemes or self-deprecating lines to get a point or two across or fiery punchline after punchline that unlike his opponent came with nary a dry spot to edge the 1st and 2nd rounds///hell, maybe we don’t deserve DNA.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “So stop dissing Shine, ya shoulda hit ,my line, ‘cuz y’all think it’s all about peace and good written’s [good riddance], dissing the wave, well I see you on the flip side of this shit, a lie, that’s why I’m just try’na toodaloo [tutor Lu] on different ways of getting by!”
Recap: Both G Lowe and King Shadow get equally busy in this fiery 1-rounder from Pyrexx Battle League. Indeed, for all of Shadow’s fiery snapping, rich name flips and set-up/gun bar-savvy theatrics, a versatile punching. witty line (“Nigga, you rap like the straight version of J2!”) tossing, freestyle adept and piercing wordplay/name flip spouting G Lowe was able to keep up with his opponent’s run to make this bout a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: King Shadow – “Remember how you used to argue with a nigga in middle school?, I bet I pull more hoes than you!”
Recap: Against a gritty, punchline-lit and street-conscious opponent in J2, who got better with each round, a rarely-seen side of Danny Myers, his wit, ends up saving him here in this Bloody Scene 3-rounder what with a plethora of piercing and versatile gay jokes/schemes in the 1st and 2nd rounds giving ‘The Bar God’ the win.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Your momma carried you for 9 months, it was beautiful player, she went through all that fucking pain…and this is the FRUIT of her labor!”
Recap: In this punch-lit 3-rounder from IBattleTV, KOTD champ (belt not on the line here) Real Deal gives Xcel all he can handle with a wide array of piercing 4-bar set-ups, boastful barbs and blistering personals. But with a consistent run that featured some stinging wordplay, plenty of righteous darts that landed, some rarely seen wit and a gang of rigid mayhem, it’s Xcel who edges both of the opening rounds for the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “And I got the biscuit, I’ll lift your spirit up, I’m optimistic!”
Recap: Nothing to dislike about this extra dope URL 3-rounder between Prep and JC. ‘Dirty Prep’, already building his brand back up on the smaller leagues, starts things off with a superbly-executed and classic 1st round, delivering a gang of fiery personals with plenty of wit and bite to beat back a punch-heavy, name flip nice and extra crispy turn by JC. But the always confident JC wouldn’t allow his opponent’s fealty to deter him, immediately coming back with a personal-lit, witty, wordplay-savvy and righteous 4-bar set-ups to edge a fire, but elongated turn by Prep, before another haymaker-prolific turn in the 3rd by JC also edged another dope, but lengthy (and a little dated when it came to personals) run by the DMV star for the win in what was still an energetic and spitfire Born Legacy 9 battle..
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “And this not even a fighting game, I could still do damage when I’m holding back!”
Recap: Well, he’s clearly a member of E.F.B. for reason as Jerry Wess not only displays his wizardry for consistently fire punchlines, spicy name flips/personals and sublime 4-bar setups in this 1-rounder verses a mostly solid, but a bit flow-challenged Joe Waters, yet even with a slight hiccup midway through his round, makes up for it with a couple of dope freestyles.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “But you know it’s like trying to put a leash on my dog, I’m chasing a bitch, it’s exquisite when I’m raising a 5th, Waters running like I don’t want nobody to hear me taking a shit!”
Recap: Had to get past getting out-punched by Big T in the 1st round, but in this 3-rounder from RBE ‘The Dawg’ certainly struck again, utilizing a more consistent array of piercing punchlines/wordplay, fierce schemes and a series of hilarious personals/anecdotes to take rounds 2 and 3 from an opponent who had his moments in the latter rounds, but not enough steady heat to win.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bigg K – “‘Big titties!!!’…them bitches sitting like a bar stool!”
Recap: Rookies vs. Vets battle between Quban and a solid throughout, but nothing momentous Young Kannon, what with a debatable 2nd and 3rd round, comes down to the 1st which saw a boxer’s robe-clad Quban deftly apply a pugilist mentality to his lyrics, bobbing, weaving and scoring with a bunch of stinging 4-bar setups, some fire wordplay, fly name flips and hitting punchlines to take the round and the win.
Verdict: Quban (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Quban – “I’m weighing in at 175 pounds and reach doesn’t matter when I’m walking ’em down!”
Recap: O’fficial can rap her ass off and that’s cool. But sometimes one can’t help but wonder if she’d notch some more wins on her belt if she matched her proficiency for bars with sturdier angles and less redundancy. That said, it should also be noted that O’fficial always shows up and when one of the few knocks on you is lack of preparation as is the case with 40 B.A.R.R.S., that’s an advantage in which the Bardashian rapper–displaying a versatile mix of fiery punchlines, spirited personals and flexing mayhem–can fully cop to, especially after 40 (after using some dope wordplay to take round 1, before a punch-heavy and condensed O’fficial took round 2) choked away the deciding 3rd round.
Verdict: O’fficial (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O’fficial – “Shit wearing in your chest at times, you not ready, everybody want to be O’fficial, but not at the top heavy!”
Recap: URL/QOTR Watch the Throne battle between Casey Jay and Bonnie Godiva spouts a gang of spicy punchlines, some dope wordplay, a handful of Math Hoffa mentions, a boatload of lit personals (including a sublime rebuttal from Casey in round 2) and plenty of mayhem while staying competitive throughout. However, a spitfire and uber-personal 2nd round by Bonnie Godiva along with enough quality punches in the deciding 3rd round to out-ratio a pretty solid, but also elongated and angle-excessive turn by Casey Jay gives Bonnie the edge in the final round and the win.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “It’s a shame to see, the type of pussy no one claims in the league!”
Recap: Griping about your opponent coming with Remy Ma mention’s when you were one half of one the most infamous female rap battles in recorded history seems a little strange to me, but what can you do. Either way, Lady Luck vs. Ms. Hustle, while showcasing that the veteran Luck can still bring it lyrically, a way more consistently spicy (and professional, what with Luck often talking while Hustle rapped) Hustle took it to another level via 3 rounds of raucous darts, piercing name flips, head-twisting personals, razor-sharp punchlines and some excellent wordplay to score a 30.
Verdict: Ms. Hustle (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ms. Hustle – “I bet you walk around with your strap-on all day, I could bet my life you stand up and pee!”
Recap: Fire battle between the versatile/punch-heavy Viixen the Assassin and a gun/wordplay-lit First Ladii Flamez ends up–after the two split the first two rounds (Flamez taking the 1st round, while Viixen edged the 2nd)–with a turned up Flamez saving her best round of the night with a resounding 3rd, a turn that saw the Richmond, VA, spitter shine throughout with top-notch lyrical efficiency that spouted haymaker after haymaker via gritty stylings, an effective change in cadence and piercing personals/punchlines to beat back another dope and angle-lit round from the Assassin, however this time with no kiss on the cheek necessary.
Verdict: First Ladii Flamez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: First Ladii Flamez – “Kindergarten vibe…I don;t draw nuthin’ but large 9’s!”
Recap: Punching with superlative conviction for 3 straight rounds while flexing with a boatload of righteous single black mother semantics, piercing/scathing personals, stunted lyrical heaters/schemes, boastful barbs and well-executed wordplay, Yoshi G lessens the thot bar antics for pure emcee idolatry while beating back a snapping, punch-heavy and hitting at times, but a bit personal-redundant and lethargic Tori Doe in what was still a competitive 3-rounder from URL/QOTR’s Watch the Throne 4 card.
Verdict: Yoshi G (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Yoshi G – “Me swallowing babies, you killing babies, no way you’re matching me!”
Recap: From No Coast New England, a good 1-rounder between Chilla Jones and CGA sees the latter get aggressive and score with some bombastic punchlines and hard-hitting personals. But a more versatile and steady with the heat Mr. Jones, whether he was delivering some piercing gun bars, flexing metaphorical wordplay, mocking personals, fire schemes or scintillating punches/name flips, ends up earning the win here.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “Young Christmas, ‘cuz you so muthafuckin’ gifted?!, not at all, how about we change your name to Young New Years Eve?…you about to drop the ball!”
Recap: The nuanced wordplay and stifling rap flow of Dot Everything always keeps things buzzing. But in this rooftop 1-rounder from Shots Fired Battle League, an aggressive, name flip-spazzing, meatier with the punches and consistently spicy Emerson Kennedy gets the win.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “I catch a case then I break, bitch I’m leaving Cali smooth [Smoove]!”
Recap: Can’t front, I was looking forward to seeing a version of that ‘Squad’ scheme Your Honor has made famous. And while we missed out on that, The District’s favorite did give us a newfound (and hilarious) way of talking through your round when you’ve forgotten your bars, as he did here vs. Ill Will in the 3rd. Not that better preparation would’ve mattered much as outside of a dope opener to force a debatable 1st round, this one was all Ill Will as Yak-town’s finest pulled off yet another sublime display of stifling punchlines, raucous darts, sizzling name flips and festering personals that more than left their mark to handily take the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Already killed John John, now I’m putting Honor amongst thieves!”
Recap: A couple of spiffy freestyles for the Swamp tag-in-turned-cameo only displayed an ounce of the Bear’s versatility here, as T Top also drops a wide mix of fierce 4-bar set-ups, piercing punchlines, rigid name flips/gun bars and boastful shiners to beat back a solid, but mostly unvaried effort from Devy Ruffin in this 1-rounder brought to you by LetsTalkAboutIt TV.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I’ll let a razor come out, he leak, he leak, it’ll be like Spanish women kissing…cheek to cheek!”
Recap: While Eaze certainly made an emphatic case on being a good dad, threw some piercing shots at O’fficial’s girl group The Bardashians and provided some other noteworthy punches, in this 1-rounder from Zoo Battle League, a more direct and fully-clipped O’fficial, steadily armed while dishing plenty of righteous heat/punchlines, startling amounts of mayhem and aggressive name flips, earns the win.
Verdict: O’fficial (W) 1-0
Favorite line: O’fficial – “I clean house with the sweeper like I told ya to leave me!”
Recap: Granted, his 3rd round rebuttal was fire and a shitload of fiery punchlines and personals kept Nunn Nunn in the bout. But a couple of questionable tactical decisions by the North Carolina rapper: two elongated rounds (esp. in the 3rd, where after a blazing start, Nunn was clearly losing steam towards the end) and filler bars spent complaining about getting the likes of Shotgun Suge for your next battle after a tournament in which you did well, but didn’t win (or even make it to the final round) would hurt Nunn in the end, while giving a way more condensed Suge–dope (esp. in round 1) and witty throughout with the ‘white boy/junkie’ themes and also scoring with a gang of spirited name flips and piercing gun bars/punches–a close win.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “God asked me to have a heart…nah, I got one [Nunn] for you!”
Recap: Way too soon to state that Glueazy’s fallen off. But is the hunger for battle rap still there? Only he can answer that, although some recent showings by Glu of late have started to produce whispers. And even getting away and venturing to the West-coast doesn’t seem to help Glu as in this 3-rounder from The Riot Network versus LL The Mayor, while some of the flexing punches we’re used to seeing from him are there, a lack of preparation gets in the way what with the former Gooonie failing to overcome slip-ups in both of the latter rounds after a pretty gritty 1st. And those unforced errors by Glu combined with a consistently raucous, righteous-spitting and solid-punching Mayor scoring a 30.
Verdict: LI The Mayor (W) 3-0
Favorite line: LI The Mayor – “They don’t call me The Mayor because I’m a Republican or a Democrat, nigga they call me The Mayor ‘cuz when nigga’s send shots, I’m in my hood politicking how we gonna send them back!”
Recap: Fire battle between Mr. Wavy and Drugz features a shitload of eccentric gun bars, performance-heavy showmanship, fiery personals (esp. from Drugz during a superb 3rd round: ‘You tore the building down verse this nigger [points at K-Shine looking on in the crowd] like literally…but you never did it again!’), stunted lyrical shiners (esp. during round 1) and a host of formidable punchlines. And while Wavy may have went a little overkill with the name flips (as is expected against Drugz), most of them were pretty dope, while the always aggressive Drugz flexed a versatile game that often gets overlooked when it comes to The Gun Show. That said, an equal ratio of haymakers in the 1st round makes that one a tie, before Wavy clearly took the 2nd round with a standout and an almost flawless turn that gave the Brooklyn rhymer the edge going into a final round. And while Wavy was still cooking plenty of heat in the 3rd, an aforementioned sublime turn by Drugz would give him the round and force a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Mr. Wavy – “You barely made a name after the group…this nigger Kelly Rowland!”
Recap: A couple of dudes we haven’t seen on the battle rap stage in a while, Mack Mel and D.O.T., meet up for a Banned URL battle and it’s a goodie with Mack’s serving up a gang of gritty street boasts, loaded gun lines and steely punchlines/personals, while the returning ‘Reach Gawd’ came through with his notorious palette of young G-theatrics amongst moments of witty banter/name flips/punches, trap talk and protruding reaches. A competitive battle throughout, the main difference here was the consistently spicy Mack unloading with enough steady heat to take the first two rounds with nary a sign of ring rust. On the other hand, while overall D.O.T. (minus his usual hypeman Gwitty) impressed here and there (esp. in Rd. 3 to force a debatable), too many dry spots and pedestrian bars from the BK spitter would assist in him losing the battle.
Verdict: Mack Mel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mack Mel – “.22 3’s, blow through his stomach, leave his liver cracked, now D.O.T. [dot] body on the floor…it’s a Twister match!”
Recap: For as many resounding gun bars and pure, utter mayhem Dre Dennis can toss at you on any given night, the execution doesn’t matter much when you know how often you’re going to get lit up and tattered to shreds. Still, a pretty solid showing by Dennis gets edged by A. Ward, who’s combination of mocking personals, hitting punchlines, witty barbs, rich storytelling and Christian-tinged darts were not only well-executed, but showed off a slightly more versatile pen to gain the edge here in this highly competitive 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: A. Ward (W) 1-0
Favorite line: A. Ward – “If I smoke you it’s ‘My bad Ward, the editing is taking some time’, if you smoke me, A. Ward versus Dre Dennis dropping later tonight!”
Recap: Both battlers offering righteous rhythms, but also playing the part of charlatan in their bars all the while keeping it entertaining and competitive throughout the battle, in this 3-rounder from URL, Yoshi G and Bill Collector appealed to their fans when it came to providing a lively performance (tho I think Yoshi’s final round kneel-down could’ve played out better). Yet, outside of a versatile/lyrically stunting and sublime 2nd round takedown by Yoshi, it’s a performance/punch-heavier and wittier Bill Collector who takes round 1, before edging the deciding 3rd partly due to some spicy personals to earn the win.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bill Collector – “You be trying to fuck all these broke battle rap nigger’s when you shoulda just fucked Smack…bitch, we would’ve been the main event!”
Recap: Competitive 1-rounder from TakeOff Battle League finds Lord Rose delivering a lengthy, but pretty solid screed of raucous raps, boastful darts and tasty name flips. But a way more condensed Jet The Nitewing, scoring left and right with delicious wordplay, righteous set-ups and festive punchlines/personals/name flips and also helped too by quite a few dry spots from his opponent, gets the edge here.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “I’m from the West my nigga, but I could be so Tampa with it, crack his shit open, pick his brains, yunno, tamper with it!”
Recap: In his first return to battle rap after getting the Covid, Don Marino impresses all the way through his 3 rounds, spouting that Mexican pride but also dishing a boatload of spicy personals (at opponent Marvwon and the host Smack), intense struggle bars, some fiery wordplay and piercing punchlines/gun bars. For the veteran Marvwon, while rarely seen on the URL stage, the Detroit vet’s often-witty punch-game kept things competitive and was sublime at times, but an overall topsy-turvy showing along with Don’s comeuppance here would still give Marino the shutout.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I had small leagues bidding for me and Nitty, they was calling soon, I use that plate to cover this plate, like I’m leaving the BBQ”
Recap: At his best when he’s rapping with a purpose (instead of just trying to out-rap you), deftly breaking down his opponent, tossing in some dope sports flips/4-bar setups and dropping nimble gems within his rapid-fire punches, Murda Mook serves up a consistent, personal-lit and fiery mix of all three to beat back (we score it as a debatable 1st round, followed by Mook edging the 2nd and 3rd) a dope, gun-bar heavy and also personal-driven Tay Roc in this much-anticipated and competitive battle from URL.
Verdict: Murda Mook (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Murda Mook – “The hammer clap, ’til the handle burn like candle wax, Tre on your hat, you don’t even get a Chance to rap, dead rappin’ better promotion, see his fans react, I told Smack, ‘I need chicken’, he sent the Family pack!'”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from GOTG, Young Kannon’s versatile array of vivid gun bars, mocking personals and slightly more consistently hitting punchlines/similes beat back a pretty solid, mayhem-lit and witty at times effort from a rapid-flowing, but not-quite-as-steady Yung Deezy.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Stop wolfin’ cousin before I shoot the shit like a good discussion!”
Recap: Despite some so-so name flips, a pretty solid, punch-heavy at times showing from Brixx while making things competitive, still wasn’t enough to beat a more versatile, angle-savvy and consistently lit Bonus in this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Bonus (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bonus – “Tre-8, revolver spinning like the cake mixer!”
Recap: While a brazen, hardbody showing here by Ms. Miami (her 3rd round being her best) here should warrant her receiving more plates from battle leagues in the future, a battling-for-the-second-time-in-one-day Ill Will not only impresses with his rife for spitting bars, but also with a barrage of braggadocios sexual exploits, head-ringing punchlines, witty/boastful darts, piercing name flips and festive gun bars, giving Will, more importantly, enough distinguished and consistent heat to take the first 2 rounds for the win in this Born Legacy bout from URL.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Your name is Ms. Miami from Queens, what’s the reason?, Hi, my name is Mr. Oklahoma from Cleveland!”
Recap: One-rounder from Alpha League Rap Battles finds the bullish/raucous punches of Ace Boogie serving up a fiery plate that should get her a lot of fresh looks in the future. But even on a day where it looked like she might stumble at times, Casey Jay gets enough sips of that water to stay on her feet, spout a hot series of fierce name flips, illicit gun bars and piercing punchlines/personals to edge the win.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “I’ll cause a scene, [lifts arm like a gun to point at Ace Boogie] bald head, turn Ace Boogie into Ace Amin!”
Recap: Fonz’s boatload of boastful shiners, head-ringing bully talk and consistently spicy punchlines/name flips scores with enough haymakers to beat back a gritty and pretty solid effort from Drew B in this competitive 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “You a homi, I bang cans, hang man, Drew a body!”
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: 3rd round was iffy for both battlers (tho a choke by G Will helped B. Magic edge the turn), but in the opening rounds of this 3-rounder from West Coast Elites, B. Magic and G Will unleashed a gritty and mayhem-friendly punchfest that the slightly more personal, condensed and haymaker-lit Will took by taking both the 1st and 2nd rounds for the win.
Verdict: G Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: G Will – “But your career, you used to be crazy, you used to go hard, now your shit is like a dirty Uber driver, you ain’t got no stars!”
Recap: While the disrespect was certainly there (esp. in the latter rounds), for the most part Arsonal puts them aside and instead relies on a rugged combo of hardbody punchlines, stinging name flips, witty barbs, boastful darts and steely gun bars to beat back an overall solid, raucous and dicey with the personals at times, but intricacy-lacking and much less consistent O’fficial in this Kings vs Queens 3-rounder from URL.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Arsonal – “You the bitch nigga’s chill with when they ain’t got no money and no more weed to smoke!”
Recap: DNA returns to battle rap after a long hiatus and delivers what you’d expect from ‘The Champ’, a consistently spicy, thorough, name flip-savvy, political/racial-centric, punch-heavy, talking too to Viixen The Assassin, who while showing up with 3 aggressive, momentous at times, wordplay/personal-lit and boastful turns, wandered into a couple of dry spots and a slip-up or two here and there, especially during the 1st and 3rd (which we’ll call a debatable due to so many indirect bars from DNA, tho overall it was still stellar) rounds. For DNA, who may be a victim of some reverse sexism due to the polls on the app of this URL Kings vs. Queens battle, it’s an impressive win nonetheless.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “When we walk in the room, notice they get to staring, I told the culture they don’t deserve me, this the closest I’m a get to Karen!”
Recap: Very likely the most intriguing battle on the 2020 URL Kings vs. Queens card, seeing as they once were a real-life couple, Charlie Clips vs. Couture is not only a chance to see who can rap batter, but also witness the two air all their dirty laundry for all the world to see too. That said, outside of some slip-ups in each round by Clips (which were made up for with plenty of nimble freestyles and sound effects), the bout certainly lived up to the hype with both emcees going all the way in when it came to stinging personals that included (esp. Couture during what was a stellar 2nd round) graphic sexcapades, battle rap couple life, rich storytelling and responsible parenting. Add to that a plethora of heavy-handed punchlines, some fierce wordplay, witty barbs, fire name flips/schemes and boastful shiners and you’re left with an entertaining and competitive matchup with a punch-heavier Clips taking the 1st round, the extra spicy personals of Couture taking the 2nd round and despite Clips getting off to a bit of a sluggish start, with an equal amount of haymakers in a final round that featured a variety of sizzling themes overall, we can call this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Couture – “Sike, I lied nigger, every time we had sex, you almost died nigger!”
Recap: In this Kings vs. Queens battle from URL, C3 uses a gang of spicy personals, well-executed schemes and fierce punchlines to keep it close against Rum Nitty. But Nitty’s wide range of blistering gun bars, boastful shiners, meaty name flips and downright nasty personals are more than enough to take rounds 1 and 3 (call the 2nd a debatable) for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I can’t stunt, I’ve been itching to lace fronts, one of these bitches gonna get it in they head Smack, let’s rap!”
Recap: Huge get for Gates of the Garden, having the likes of a returning-to-battle-rap Young Gattas on their stage after a long hiatus from the scene. And in this 1-rounder versus a pretty solid and consistently gritty Lady Caution, Gattas handles her business without an ounce of rust, verbally assaulting her opponent with an exquisite barrage of spicy punchlines/gun bars, some sizzling wordplay, scorching personals and piercing 4-bar setups for the win.
Verdict: Young Gattas (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young Gattas – “I’m armed with two sticks like a fucking snowman!”
Recap: A battle that epitomizes why you shouldn’t run with narratives, how a battler’s popularity can effect views from both his peers and the so-called ‘exprets’ in the battle rap blogger field AND why almost every URL/App vote result can’t be taken seriously, a prolific-punching, personal-lit and wordplay heavy at times Casey Jay edges rounds 1 and 2 of this Kings vs. Queens battle against Swamp for the win. And while Casey still gets the win here, judging from the reaction from nearly the entire battle community, you would’ve thought that Swamp got bodied as the South Carolina battler’s overall pimp stunting, sexual innuendo’s, witty personals, entertaining storytelling and boastful darts (which clearly got him round 3) just seemed to have gotten overlooked in a bout that was close throughout.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “You know I got good delivery, I’ll bring the mill [meal] straight to you…I’m good at catering!”
Recap: A battle 3 years in the making, Snake Eyez versus Geechi Gotti, finally takes place on Gotti’s ‘The Riot’ league and while the final score might not be indicative, for the most part it’s a goodie. The ever-aggressive and raucous Snake, amped up from jump for a battle he’s long wanted, came through with a hardbody and personal/punch-heavy 1st round that seemed to provide proof that he’d be on his A-game throughout the battle. Yet, a more condensed, witty, brazen, metaphor-rich, personal-lit and spitfire turn by Gotti would not only edge Smake’s stellar opening round, but would lead to a battle that was on its way to being a classic, to becoming tense at times and bar-wise, pretty ordinary. Snake, seemingly bothered throughout the battle at the ‘gas’ his opponent was receiving, would let the crowd effect his game plan, often talking through Gotti’s raps, stunting unnecessarily and while his latter two rounds were cold at times, spoke up for Harlem and delivered a talking too when it came to the personals, overall nothing Snake could produce would equal what he dished in the 1st. Meanwhile, confident throughout the battle with an Afro-pick in hand to back his swag, Gotti just kept impressing, scoring with more ‘one eye’-jokes, systematic breakdowns on Snake’s inability to reach top tier status, that ever-ready gang talk, freestyles and piercing punchlines that more often hit than not for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “But don’t you still live with your pops?, you gonna fuck around and get your daddy clapped, weird ass think he an official Crip just because he handicapped!”
Recap: Hey, at least this time it appears that Tsu Surf tried to finish his 3rd round. Still, after getting eked out by a slightly punch-heavier Surf in round 1, 40 B.A.R.R.S.’ gritty wordplay, steely personals, hitting name flips, a fire 3rd round rebuttal and boastful shiners were enough to handily take the latter two rounds as well as the win over an opponent who was not only less potent as the battle proceeded, but with his inability of late to consistently give us 3 smooth rounds, may want to start thinking about taking a break from battle rap.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “You out here burning bitches, talking about you’ll give me that WD easy, when that dick is a clearly apparent how you do bitches greasy!”
Recap: A closer battle then what the reactions and recaps have showed, a performance-rich K-Shine’s raucous rhythms, nasty personals, witty anecdotes, flashy gun bars and piercing punchlines/schemes are enough to give a punch-heavy, but wordplay-moderate and a bit slip-up prone E-Hart, a rare loss (debatable 2nd, but Shine took the 1st and 3rd rounds) in this Kings vs. Queens 3-rounder from URL/Smack.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I changed the game, you ain’t got the same passion as me, Johnny Tapia, about to fill the whole casket with E!”
Recap: After getting beat back by a superbly-executed, gritty and punch-heavy turn from Big Hann in round 1, Swave Sevah takes advantage of a less potent opponent and also uses a variety of witty personals, hardbody bangers, Philly trap talk and requisite mayhem to edge the latter rounds for the win in this Rookies vs. Vets 2, 3-rounder from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Swave Sevah (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swave Sevah – You?, you like the avatar for average bars!”
