No Bias. No Narratives.
Recap: Gotta get past a 3-minute intro, but still a riveting 1-rounder from Ruin Your Day sees the brazen punches, sizzling wordplay and mocking/witty personals from Bigg K edge the raucous, but abstract lines and sly humor from Reverse Live.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bigg K – “You fucking junkie, y’all ain’t what you make it out to be, the coolest thing you ever did was hang out with me!”
Recap: Energy-wise, Brizz Rawsteen is almost impossible to keep up with, so leave it up to a wily vet like Yung Ill to attempt to beat him bar for bar. And for while the St. Louis puncher’s strategy works, as after getting bedazzled by his opponent’s boisterous (“Smack, who is this nigger when I got more battles then…who is this nigger?!”) anecdotes, potent name flips and performance-heavy heat in the first round, a more lyrically adept, cocnsistent and (“You look like a baby male ostrich!”) witty Ill edges the 2nd round to even things up going into the 3rd. Yet despite Brizz calming down a bit and failing to match the steady ferocity of his stellar 1st round, he was still able to deliver solid turns in both the 2nd and 3rd, using the latter round to spout rich, braggadocios lines, hitting personals as well as a gang pf flinging mayhem to beat back a lyrically-bent, but mostly pedestrian turn from Ill and take the round along with the win.
Verdict: Brizz Rawsteen (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Brizz Rawsteen – “You didn’t know you could die or maybe you wanna get euthanized, well cool it’s fine, I’ll take a blade two inches wide, split you in half…Holla and Verb choosing sides!”
Recap: Versus the utter blood, guts and mayhem served up by a gun-blazing Amillion Kash, True Indeed was able to hold his own with a spicy variety of steely punchlines, fiery name flips name flips and fortified street missives…that is, until a surprising last minute choke from True gave the battle to his opponent in this 1-rounder from Kill Switch Battle League.
Verdict: Amillion Kash (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Amillion Kash – “You and your man?, the shit a banana clip, that’s a banana split, for the ice and cream, I caught him at his car door, I left his cherry on top of the whip!”
Recap: Not just relying on that real life street shit he’s known for, but also coming correct here with a boatload of mocking name flips, righteous trap talk and a gang of stinging punchlines, Eazy the Block Captain not only flexes his versatility in this 3-round, URL battle against a pretty solid and gritty Swaggtanna, but manages to dish more than enough heat (esp. during a classic 1st) to score a 30 too.
Verdict: Eazy the Block Captain (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Eazy the Block Captain – “I’ll do anything to protect my Monopoly so don’t Chance it…’cuz I’ll do another bid, the only part that I hate is intake…with the cold sandwich!”
Recap: Even if (thanks to a consistently fiery, [“I wouldn’t fuck you by mistake, you not my Type O!”] punch/gun bar-heavy and personal/name-flip-spazzing Shooney Da Rapper dishing 3 dope rounds) it wasn’t walk in the park like his last intergender match was against Ms. Hustle, O-Red’s nifty (“.38 with the rubber grip, serial on the front of it, scratch it off before I go out, it’s on my bucket list!”) wordplay, intricate schemes, fire set-ups/name flips, righteous translations and most of all, killer personals (at his opponent and equally her husband Fettuccine20, esp. during a spitfire 3rd round) are enough to edge the 2nd, before easily taking the 3rd for a hard-earned win.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O-Red – “We cool, you feel me?, but you the one I do target for shit that your boo talking, true marksman, I bust in your crib with a tool barking, Shoo [shoe] will be taken off at the door, I got new carpet!”
Recap: With a bout versus Hollow da Don on deck, this GOTC: Body Snatchaz matchup against battle vet Amzilla could have easily been a trap match for Danny Myers. And tho a vigorous, aggressive, performance-zinging and (“Silencer equipped, that’s for all the shooters, it be sliding on the pole like your daughter’s future!”) punch/mayhem-heavy Amzilla would give the BarGod all he could handle for 3 rounds, thanks in part to ‘Zilla’s elongated turns, along with Danny flexing with a strong metaphor and rebuttal game, more condensed rounds with an equal amount of (“I don’t give a fuck when I catch you, I caught wreck with a few cans, I’ll let it ring at 12am, I’m checking for food stamps!”) haymakers as his opponent and fiery gun bars/name flips/punchlines throughout the battle, after a debatable 1st round it’s the highly prolific, but still dangerous Danny who edges the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I’m at your trap, we gonna rush through it, don’t talk about how you gonna CHECK nigga’s…just do it!”
Recap: Along with using her star power without an ounce of humility, Ms. Hustle enlists a gang of braggadocios darts, some biting name flips, witty barbs and a bunch of bruising punchlines/personals to beat back a gritty and mostly solid, but a bit flow-challenged effort from Illa in this 1-rounder from Union Battle League.
Verdict: Ms. Hustle (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ms. Hustle – “Let me guess, you a thug and you gonna talk to ne like you G’d up, nigag please, you lite-skin, you text on your stomach with your feet up!”
Recap: Yet, another ‘almost’ vic versus a top tier for Craig Lamar as the mayhem-slinging and punch-heavy Florida spitter keeps his baritone flow intact enough to make things interesting and go 1-1 into the 3rd round versus a mostly potent with the bars, but too Friday-drenched with the name flips and a bit inconsistent Young Kannon. But a better prepared YK does a number on his opponent in the deciding 3rd, using fire set-ups, some intricate wordplay, witty personals and a steady stream of righteous punchlines/gun bars to beat a solid, but shortened turn from Lamar and take the win.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “I told these lame nigga;s stay the fuck from around me, I don’t rock with impostors, these battle rappers just fake beef like Impossible Whoppers!”
Recap: Both T Top and Rum Nitty have built up such stellar and consistent careers in battle rap that the two top tier vets finally meeting up could only be a goodie. And neither disappoints here, splitting the first two rounds (Top edging the 1st before Rum came back to take the 2nd round) rounds with blistering gun bars, a shitload of banging (T Top: “Nigga you punch, I vacuum seal, we rap [wrap] different, you throw up C’s, I put up G’s, we stack different, you wear brims, I know brims, the hat different, you owe Troy, I sold boy, we SMACK different!”) punchlines, finessed wordplay/name flips, spinning (Rum: “We cool, but I’ll split ya shit, serious YNW Melly…not the one to get too friendly with!”) metaphorical bangers and some mocking personals thrown in. And Rum, coming off a spitfire, haymaker-drenched middle round, had no reason to think that yet pretty solid, lyrically acute 3rd wouldn’t put him over for the win…that is until Top came through with one of the most innovative, hilarious and personal turns you’ll ever see in battle rap, building a superly-executed hybrid between his opponent’s alleged past employment at Walmart and today’s more notorious ‘Gun Line King’. And with a barrage of witty angles, stinging punches/personals, jaunty storytelling and a Walmart vest outfitted for good measure, an altogether potent, crowd-pleasing and classic turn by T Top in the deciding 3rd gets him the win.
Verdict: T Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T Top – “Say it wit’ me ‘Self check out!’, the cashier taking all day, ‘Self check out!’ like hotels after a long stay, ‘Self check out!’ like doctor visits on an off day, ‘Self check out!’ like Tech-9 before the court date!”
Recap: Upping the ante on an already nice punch game, but also flexing with some sublime name flips, a dope 2nd round rebuttal, witty barbs and a plethora of piercing gun bars, Nunn Nunn puts together 3 straight superb rounds of consistent heat to beat back a hitting at times, but mostly lackluster Skates in this Survivor Series 3-rounder from URL.
Verdict: Nunn Nunn (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Nunn Nunn – “You ain’t really G, I can’t salute you, you the Duck Hunt dog, I’m mad I can’t shoot you!”
Recap: A battle that’s actually a lot closer then what the consensus said it was before the video dropped, Dre Dennis, after getting edged in the 1st round despite a punch-heavy and real-life stirring turn that was also a bit flow-challenged, comes back with a consistently spitfire, versatile and haymaker-drenched 2nd to even things against the always loud, aggressive, scheme-heavy and (“Pal stop, you cheaper than an Outback steak, check the tracklist, white boys always out rap Dre!”) punchlines/wordplay/personally lit stylings of Mike P. A competitive battle throughout with plenty of racial banter mixed in liven things up, the deciding 3rd round would tell a different story as a solid and punch-worthy, but much less potent turn by Mike would easily be overwhelmed by another startling, hard-hitting, gun-spazzing, witty (“Dump the heat, hard to control like that piss in the morning!”) at times and ultimately fierce turn by Dre.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “Got my man’s with me, drama rapidly, we both ’bout to snap ‘cuz we don’t know how to act…LaLa Anthony!”
Recap: Even his opponent had to acknowledge (several times) this impressive performance by Chris Dubbs in this 1-rounder from GOTG, Dubbs, ably mixing up his punches with plenty of confidence and vigor, does enough to edge a pretty solid, but a little less consistent turn by Drugz.
Verdict: Chris Dubbs (W) 1-0
shit Favorite line: Chris Dubbs – “Nigga, check my history, shit I woulda done more than snapped, seen a mag first, my past worse than 3rd-stirng quarterbacks!
Recap: Dope PG between Piranha and Stretch Millz features a boatload of fiery bluster, stinging name flips, a hefty amount of mayhem, deft 4-bar set-ups and some wicked punchlines from each battler. And steady aggression on both sides as well as an almost equal balance of haymakers made this bout extra competitive. However, after a debatable 1st round, the edge here goes to Piranha in the latter two rounds as the Detroit spitter’s ample supply of wit added some more points to an already gritty and slightly more consistent punch-game and with more versatility overall put him over the top.
Verdict: Piranha (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Piranha – “My brand is stamped, built for the main stage, all my battles classics and bags…like plain Lays!”
Recap: Young Kannon’s 1st appearance on the KOTD stage is a successful one as the Southside Chicago rapper unloads on a solid at times and capable punching Patron with a wide and aggressive mix of righteous heat, sterling name flips, boastful barbs and fiery punchlines for all 3 rounds to earn the 30.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “I told my nigger’s to bring guns…just in case he knew Wing Chun!”
Recap: In this hilarious, but still competitive 3-rounder from iBattle, Mike P’s unorthodox rhyme stylings and proverbial gun symmetrics take on Dunsh’s witty barbs/personals and self-deprecating humor. A crowd-pleaser throughout, it’s ‘Mainstream Mike’ who edges the 1st round with more well-rounded haymakers before Dunsh drops a slew of mocking lines at his opponent’s rap patterns as well as fire punches to edge the 2nd. The deciding 3rd round, however, is a no-brainer as Mike delivers a gang of fiery and versatile punches to easily beat back a shortened, flow-challenged and much less potent turn by Dunsh.
Verdict: Mike P (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mike P – “You a lawyer, right Dunsh? [chuk chuk] [makes hand like gun] well, beat a shell case!”
Recap: A bit of a frustrating one, what with watching Jey The Nitewing come to this battle against Ace Amin with so much fire material, but getting in his own way with a trio of stoppage’s, one debatable choke and one surefire choke. Not that Ace needed much help, the performance/bump-heavy Gooonie squad member bringing his own gang of steely street missives, hardbody punches, stifling gun bars and gritty, real life struggle narratives that would’ve kept him in the battle even if his opponent wasn’t repeatedly tripping over himself. Altogether a bout that could’ve been dope, but give the guy who came more prepared, Ace Amin, rounds 2 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Ace Amin (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ace Amin – “I’m grabbing a thing, its sad what I seen, put the cannon in King…it’s a lunch special!”
Recap: The first battle between Tay Roc and K-Shine was close and as it should be, so is the rematch. Stellar efforts from both of these vets with a versatile, witty, (“Fuck the Cave, I got 200 in a milliliter like a half pint, strap jaw, I get my clap on [claps], that’s light!”) performance-stunting and punch-heavy Shine edging the 1st round over a ridiculously gun-heavy, but slightly less potent (and too DNA-centered) Roc. It was Roc’s turn to mix it up more in the 2nd round, a sublime and well-executed turn that saw the Cave Gang captain light up the stage with more armored mayhem, but also flex with a gang of spitfire wordplay, piercing name flips and astute punchlines to beat back a pretty solid, but not as haymaker-friendly round by Shine. And just in case you wondered what got Roc so tight when Shine accused him of once being a member of his “Zip ‘Em Up” clique (an allegation that would spark their infamous brawl during the 1st 2-on-2 between Shine and DNA vs. Roc and Tsu Surf), Tay would address the issue in the 3rd. The former Dot Mobb soldier delivering a plethora of scathing (“When I got wit’ the Dot’s you was wild hatin’, I took ya spot then put the Dots on my back…Dalmatian!”) personals to address past beefs to go along with some spicy name flips/punches that worked together to beat another aggressive, scheme-friendly and gritty, but at times redundant round from Shine and give Roc the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Who brave? You’ll get ya wig split like I do braids, I’ll dig you a new grave, he won’t know if me or Surf cooked him, ‘ause when he saw Tay [sauté)] he got souffléd!”
Recap: Even if the backdrop on this battle is Phara Funeral only getting a shot at Charlie Clips due to her popping name, the hype around these two going at it alone still makes for an entertaining battle. And that turns out to be the case as while at times struggling a bit with her flow, Phara’s overall pallette here of spiffy (“We pass words, you push my buttons, now ain’t nuthin’ safe!”) punchlines, sporty gun bars, lofty personals, witty barbs and even a nice rebuttal game prove to be competitive, appealing and a kind reminder that Ms. Funeral isn’t just eye candy. That said, this is still Charlie Clips we’re talking about and a Clips who takes a battle seriously is almost unbeatable. So yeah, thanks in part to a Hitman Holla tag-in as well as Phara’s comeuppance in the 2nd round that allowed her to edge that round, Clips being Clips what with well versed schemes, rich storytelling yarns that had (“Two dog hoes splitting Fettuccine like Lady and the Tramp!”) Phara’s bestie extra tight, fiery punchlines and a host of scintillating personals throughput his 1st and 3rdd rounds, gets Charlie the win.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “And your pussy is chemically unbalanced, there’s a funny smell every time Phara moan!”
Recap: Well…ummm….wow. Either Danny Myers was taking on too many battles or the parallel universe version of Danny showed up here against Stuey Newton and choked for 3 rounds. That’s the only way one can call it as Danny endures what had to be the worst showing of his battle rap career, stumbling, slipping up and eventually forgetting his bars in its entirety during each of his turns. A huge disappointment considering this was URL’s first show in Stuey’s home state of Washington and a big letdown that clearly bothered Newton as well as the crowd in attendance. Of course it should be said that with a sublime fleet of head-spinning gun bars, sturdy punchlines, braggadocios shiners and blood-dipped mayhem/schemes throughout his rounds, Stuey might’ve won this one anyway. But damn that he had to get the vic this way.
Verdict: Stuey Newton (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Stuey Newton – “I’ll do this pussy foul, like ho’s who gotta spray when they pee!”
Recap: Couple of near slip-ups here and there still doesn’t stop a gritty, punch/gun-heavy and shrewdly personal Tony Gwapo from beating back a solid and lit at times, but too shortened turn from Jakkboy Maine in this 1-rounder from Body Bag Battle League.
Verdict: Tony Gwapo (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tony Gwapo – “Fuck security, I’ll let the .80 show…Matlock!”
Recap: Proving himself able to handle the big stage, but not really really wilding out on the eccentric gun bars, punchlines and rebuttals like we’re used to seeing, a B+ overall Chef Trez still manages to out punch and edge a rambunctious throughout, but less potent for the first couple of rounds Shotgun Suge. And while the Jersey rapper, performance-heavy throughout with a nice dunk on the whole Cave Gang midway in the 2nd, was able to put forth enough consistent darts to make the 3rd round debatable, besides getting beat by his opponent’s more potent display of lyricism, Suge’s inability to take full advantage of his own angle’s and personals hurt him here as well.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “He think he could kill with the post moves?!, he’s wilding, pull a box out, I’m rebounding, machete, Hack a Shaq like I keep fouling!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from Verbal War Zone, Coffee Brown rides each of the 3 beats with ease all the while repping her hood with a boatload of wicked punchlines/personals and well-heaved boasts. On the other hand, while getting her comeback on with a spitfire, rapidly punch-heavy 3rd and a competitive (but a little erratic) 2nd, it’s a 1st round choke that ends up dooming any chance of Bonnie Godiva taking a win.
Verdict: Coffee Brown (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Coffee Brown – “Them stingy ass weaves the only time she wigging, your laces fried well done, your beautician tripping!”
Recap: Crazy dope battle between Swave Sevah and Nu Jerzey Twork is only marred by Twork recycling some bars in the 3rd round. Nonetheless, with the veteran Swave dishing witty barbs at Twork’s notorious hand/gun gestures, pointed bully bars, fire tutorials on life, fiery (“Nigga, you wear hoods, I am hood and I’m still in the mud like I’m trying to ambush the Predator!”) personals, guns (esp. during a classic 2nd round that had the crowd mesmerized) and his opponent’s penchant for under utilizing his talent via sizzling punchlines, with Twork also spazzing with the (“It’s known, everybody moving right past him, you stuck on this silly rapping shit, the oldest nigga in your fucking class, you Billy Madison!”) personals, fierce set-ups, stinging rebuttals and rich gun-speak throughout the 1st and 2nd rounds, you’re still left with a couple of debatable rounds going into the 3rd. But thanks in part to the aforementioned reused lines from Twork as well as his own fiery turn of roundhouse punches and virulent mayhem, the deciding 3rd and the battle would go to Swave.
Verdict: Swave Sevah (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swave Sevah – “Shootouts with shotguns, let’s have our stocks exchange!”
Recap: Each battler living up to their top tier status in the game, Chef Trez and Ill Will put on a spitfire display of bar efficiency in this 3-rounder from RBE. The Chef, after a pretty solid, gun-centric and punch-heavy showing in the first round that only gets beat by a turned, set-up lit, (“I’m the stupidest one, two arms to both sides of Chef, like he waiting for the food to get done!”) performance-stunting and name flip/heat-a-blazing turn by Will, edges the 2nd round with else?…a fiery, room-shaking toss of 3 of them thangs, plus more eccentric (“Let him play, fuck all the hype games, knife swing, dirty blade…something rusty around Will, old bike chain!”) punchlines and other sizzling polemics and personals that in lieu of yet another fire turn by Will, he’d need to tie things up going into the 3rd round. Both battlers would dish plenty of stinging mayhem, searing punchlines and well-loaded (Trez: “When I cook, I’m too seasoned, hope you wasn’t expecting a lazy Chef ‘cuz now you gotta face the Chef, I’ll blaze the Tek, bullets at this leg, got him taking baby steps!”) gun bars in the deciding final round, but with an equal amount of heat from both sides, this altogether fiery and competitive matchup would end up as a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Ill Will – “But the 5th will twirl, Nick ya son, hit ya girl, once I get in the range, miss the games, send the Chef to a different world!”
Recap: I know that he hasn’t always had the most amicable relationship with the URL, but count me amongst those surprised seeing Brixx Belvy doing a PG so late in his battle rap career. Nonetheless, against the Espanol-tinged stylings of Jay Lopez, the two put forth a goodie. A competitive match laced with plenty of spicy punchlines, nifty wordplay, boastful barbs and righteous zingers especially on the part of Lopez, who would combine all of them to take the battle in a slightly more consistently hitting 3rd round.
Verdict: Jay Lopez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jay Lopez – “Be alarmed, I’m focused, ready to smoek shit, no lacking in front of those jackboys…I’m reloaded!”
Recap: Real Deal travels all the way to Manchester, UK, and doesn’t hold back, spitting a gang of piercing punchlines to go along with some fly rebuttals and a bunch of racy personals on his solid, but none-too-crazy opponent J Short’s battles with sobriety to handily get the win in this 3-rounder from Premier Battles.
Verdict: Real Deal (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Real Deal – “I’m nice for no reason like Canadian citizens!”
Recap: Recall the slick way Snake Eyez called out Mike P during his Ryda battle, thus setting up a potential goodie that this One Off from URL certainly turned out to be. Aggressive on both ends and a close bout throughout, while Mike’s penchant for ill set-ups, speedy, but unorthodox punches and rich similes were on point as usual, some mediocre punchlines/name flips here and there would hurt him in the long run. Those misdeeds along with a consistently hard-hitting with the street missives, personal-lit, wordplay-spicy, set-up friendly and yes, surprisingly funny at times Snake Eyez managing to light the room up with a versatile effort that would lead to the Harlem capo edging rounds 1 and 2 for the vic, before a rousing 3rd round on both sides gets scored a debatable.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “I really had to dance with devil’s, you was in the crib playing Rock Band, I was outside holding heavy metal!”
Recap: Considering all the brouhaha that’s gone into one man, John John Da Don, building up a rivalry by himself against an entire battle rap collective (The Goonies), one can understand JJDD being a little sensitive and not allowing Nu Jerey Twork to tag in his bro Jakkboy Maine to kick some bars in that 3rd round. But as a battle rap vet and rapping in an age where tag-ins have become all too common, the feeling here is that John John should’ve just let it go. Either way (and near brawl aside), outside of a strong 2nd round from JJDD (who while versatile with the bars, was wildly inconsistent throughout the match) that made the round close (tho Twork with more haymakers still edged it here) this URL/Resolution battle was all Nu Jerooz as the Goonie capo’s gritty idioms, raucous/mocking personals (funny how Twork even predicted that John John would do strip bar scheme), ripping sound effects, stifling gun bars, a fire ‘multiple choice’ scheme of his own and bruising punchlines just never let up. Indeed, Twork, in one of his most consistent showings, just stayed on his opponent’s neck with such clear confidence throughout the battle that he was even dished a couple of rare, but solid rebuttals…all without his signature ‘Strapped In!’ move. That said, give that man the 30.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Llama blazin’, or pistol whip, get the MAC involved, y’all heard me say I was up early, right?…crack a Don [of dawn]!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from URL, Big T provides plenty of hilarious hijinks, including an over-the-top funny scheme on opponent Danny Myers kids in round 2. But a slightly more consistent with the punches Bar God, helped a bit by T cutting his round short in the deciding 3rd, but also lit during the same turn with spicy wordplay, punchlines and personals, edges this one in the end.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “You was on Twitter askin’ niggas for beats to get your music done, cool…I’ll show up to your studio, and produce a gun!”
Recap: Close one here between Gunpowder Patt and Burke Bucs. But after a very subpar showing in his last battle versus Your Honor, Patt gets back in his bag of witty punches/schemes, mocking personals, fiery schemes and bullish performance bars to edge the only round that was decisive: the 2nd (between a debatable 1st and 3rd) against a Bucs who was gritty, heat-ready and even displayed some wit throughout, but couldn’t quite match his opponent’s potency in the middle round.
Verdict: Gunpowder Patt (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Gunpowder Patt – “Dome shot him, I’ll cave in his whole noggin’, trigger-finger have Roc spinning like a Globetrotter!”
Recap: Dishing fiery struggle bars galore throughout this battle along with stifling gun drama, potent set-ups and wicked (“I said let’s keep it G, they gonna have to redirect me, the piece is deadly, hear a ring before the round…the pizza’s ready!”) punchlines/personals that had the crowd buzzing, under normal circumstances a Don Marino consistently on his A-game would get the win. But you don’t win Champion of the Year for having a mediocre pen, much less a spitfire rebuttal game that always comes in handy when you’re in the face of a barrage of constant heat. And that’s the case with Geechi Gotti, who somehow edged a superb, but one-themed 1st round from his opponent with a versatile array of stunted (“Nigga, I’m a Loc, yeah, twin cannon’s, twins blasting, the .40 with the .9, somebody call Chris Hanson!”) gun bars, urban street fair and scintillating braggadocio lines before using his stellar punch game, a boatload of stinging personals and his innate, off-the-dome skills to rebut Marino’s Mexican swag in the 2nd. And with Geechi pulling back with a solid, but condensed turn in the 3rd that easily got beat back by more of Don’s jaunty wordplay/name flips and real-life drama, Gotti getting the win here was well-earned.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “32 and down, basic cable, yeah nigga, good luck, but you getting everything 40 and up, the Mexican came and gave me the hook-up!”
Recap: Taking advantage of an elongated Quban in the latter rounds, after surviving a blistering and gun bar-heavy 1st round from his opponent, a more condensed and forever witty Squeako uses a fire Gooonies scheme, some piercing personals, righteous struggle bars and a bevy of spitfire punchlines to edge the 2nd and easily take the deciding 3rd round for the win in this URL Survivor Series 3-rounder.
Verdict: Squeako (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Squeako – “So when I went broke, I turned mean after that, I served the feens so much soap, I turned clean after that!”
Recap: An aggressive, focused and bullish Ell Oh Ess displays a nice freestyle game, but elongated rounds littered with tedious schemes/punches and a condensed Chef Trez, a little spent at times, but still on his game with staunch punchlines, flippant gun bars and piercing personals/name flips.similes adds up to a quality 30 in this 3-rounder from Bar4Bar Battle League.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Keep it rap because these [balls up fists] come two at a time, you could get beat, punched or hooked…we got studio vibes!”
Recap: Not sure how wise it was for Tay Roc to go out of his way and invite a Philly crowd to his nether regions after they cheered him for most of the battle and only did so after he took shots at one of their own (in this Cassidy), but Roc vs Geechi Gotti was still a dope battle all the way through. The 1st round was spitfire on both sides with an amped up Roc dropping a gang of versatile and elite bangers via syrupy gun bars, righteous boasts, fiery set-ups/sound effects and sizzling wordplay. On the other hand, while a slightly more condensed Gotti would devote most of his opening round to personals, he was still able to dish haymaker after haymaker centering around the brouhaha that occurred in the recent Summer Madness 10 matchup between Calicoe/Murda Mook vs. Brizz Rawsteen/T Top to edge what will surely go down as one of the best rounds in 2019. As for the rest of the battle? Pretty solid, but the advantage was clearly on Roc’s side as it became more apparent that Geechi didn’t have as much to work with outside of the previous themes on his opponent’s street credibility and his usual barrage of punch-heavy street semantics. And while Gottu was still competitive for the rest of the battle, Roc would take up Geechi’s lack of variety, spitting a fire rebuttal to start the 2nd round, going after Gotti with more salacious personals/wordplay/schemes, extending the clip with more heated gun bars, flexing with fierce 4-bar setups and spouting ever-increasing mayhem to make a comeback, edge the latter couple of rounds and take the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’m uncivilized, why you act like you gorilla size?, all it takes is the right [click] and you minimized!”
Recap: A battle long in the making, extremely long in length and loaded with plenty of filler from both participants, Loaded Lux versus Aye Verb is decided by a close 2nd round that saw the visceral, pointed, God-body and often wordplay-heavy Lux beat back a ‘Showtime!’-induced and punch-lit at times turn from his opponent. Verb, who came through with a dope 3rd round that easily out-punched an elongated and subpar turn from Lux, competed hard throughout this battle. But one too many attempts at copying Lux’s more steely pontifications/complex schemes as well as personals that often went south instead of hitting their target and punches that weren’t quite as flexing as his entourage would tell you, would also hurt Verb’s efforts in winning a battle he’s long requested.
Verdict: Loaded Lux (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Loaded Lux – “It’s ‘A whole new world’, nigga, this ain’t back when you was rapping with Hollow, you might be ‘Showtime’…just not at the Apollo, nigga!”
Recap: Buttah From Da Block does these Verbal War Zone battles all the time, so he certainly came into this battle versus Shotgun Suge with a bit of an advantage. But in this case Suge, who’s been known to display a lack effort from to time, pretty much hands his opponent this one with a bunch of raucous, but standard lines in the 1st and 2nd rounds, before completely giving up and cutting his 3rd round short. In the meantime, Buttah’s gritty raps, versatile cadence and piercing punchlines showed once again that he has his VWZ credentials on lock.
Verdict: Buttah From Da Block (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Buttah From Da Block – “I’m from the era of broke dreams and dope fiends, with no means, so when they get it, they OD!”
Recap: In this mayhem-drenched and personal 1-rounder from Body Bag Battle League, First Ladi Flamez’s scintillating wordplay, fierce braggadocio/pointed raps and heavier punchlines/schemes gets her past an effective and punch-heavy, but less potent effort from Rainee the Rebel.
Verdict: First Ladi Flamez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: First Ladi Flamez – “I’m cut different, type to get mad and start head-butting the tough bitches!”
Recap: Often lost in Ru Bando’s penchant for gun bars and name flips is just how witty and wordplay-heavy he can be with the punches. That and the fact that Bando can get personal when he wishes too, certainly doesn’t qualify him for the ‘one dimensional’ lane that some of his peers might be quick to ascribe him too. Then too, if 90 percent gun bars and name flips gets you on a Smack stage, you’d be an idiot to change what got you there. And that’s a lesson happily Bando showcases here versus Kid Chaos. Predictable? Sure. But if you’re going to rely on oft-elongated schemes and personal tutorials that might be above your pay grade to beat a Bando that for the most part is on his A-game, you’re going to get edged in the 1st and 3rd rounds as Chaos does here and Bando’s gonna move on, dap you and keep doing him….as he should.
Verdict: Ru Bando (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ru Bando – “This shot? disgusting, hideous, I’ll pop the spirit outta Kid…insidious!”
Recap: Since he has one of the most generic (and all too popular when it comes to subject matter) monikers in battle rap, the easiest route to go when facing Drugz is name flips. So if you’re gonna there and want to stand any chance at winning, ya better be unique with it as Yung Griz displays here. The West-coast battler shining throughout his one round with a gang of sublime flips on his opponent’s name when he wasn’t scoring with popping wordplay, some dope personals and daunting gun bars. And with nary any filler, Griz’s top-notch effort would still only edge a pretty solid and gun-centric showing from Drugz.
Verdict: Yung Griz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Yung Griz – “Your name Drugz and you look like you used to do drugs, I get the feel, like if we give you a plate to go and a plate of blow, you would skip the meal!”
Recap: The guy willing to sing usually wants it more anyway. Crooning at times when he wasn’t spitting hard punchlines as well as some fire personals and fiery gun bars, a more versatile Bandit Montana edges a solid, but a little too gun-crazy and Avatar-bar lit Holmzie Da God in this 1-rounder from the NY.
Verdict: Bandit Montana (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bandit Montana – “You know what got me fucked up, you go like public about your mental issues my nigga, I hope you find somebody in that field for help, you remind me of that nigga who used to just text his bitch, if you don’t come home now I’m a kill myself!”
Recap: Solid, 1 round, Go-Rilla Warfare battle between Chicago’s Sammy Wild 100’s and Marvwon has the Detroit vet taking it in lieu of a more condensed turn that was littered with a gang of gritty punchlines, hitting name flips/personals, potent set-ups and stinging gun bars. For Sammy Wild 100’s, a few haymakers here and there, but one too many obscure lines, mediocre schemes/punchlines, an elongated turn and of course, his opponent’s more potent raps, would do him in.
Verdict: Marvwon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Marvwon – “Nigga, y’all know, I don’t respect y’all crew, nigga, let Sammy Wild in here, nigga, you know we Draw too [two]!”
Recap: After a debatable 1st round, Jade keeps it popping while making sure her trip all the way to Canada wasn’t a waste. The Harlem battler using a fiery fleet of stinging gun bars, piercing name flips and witty/salacious personals to take the latter two rounds and beat a solid and punch-heavy at times effort from Yasmin on Beastmode.
Verdict: Jade (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jade – “My career like Facebook notifications, ‘cuz before I started ringing bells I was doing numbers all over the globe!”
Recap: From URL’s Lockdown card, in Philadelphia against the gritty stylings of hometown fave Reed Dollaz, a performance-lit K-Shine uses a barrage of rare off-the-dome heat, head-ringing gun bars, fiery name flips, stifling personals and raucous punchlines to handily beat back an oppoent who while solid throughout, was hurt a bit one too many subpar punches/similes, granting Shine (who really wasn’t on his A-game) the ability to still score a 30.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Kaboom, was a part of y’all crew, but why you think eh came to NWX?, the trust fund, it’s crazy, he had to put Dollaz aside to touch money!”
Recap: In this competitive battle from KOTD, a rarely-seen-solo Quest Mcody puts forth a solid effort with a wide load of brazen punches, witty barbs and even some off-the-dome freestyles. But over the course of 3 rounds, a more condensed Xcel proves to be too much for his opponent, using a wide array of righteous punchlines, potent wordplay and fierce name flips to score a debatable 2nd round when he wasn’t edging both the 1st and 3rd.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “A death match how?, this ain’t even a setback now, when X marks the spot, yo I got Quest mapped out!”
Recap: As usual, another solid effort from Gary Indiana’s Mr. Mills, whose rambunctious (“Y’all thought I was gonna lose, wait [weight], y’all just be saying shit for cheap thrills, till I wound him and ask him are you gonna die yet?, then give him another Sub for trying to cheat Mills [meals]!”) wordplay/schemes and raucous gun bars were enough, here against Dre Dennis, to even things up after a 2nd round he needed upon surviving a superbly spitfire turn from Dre in the 1st. But with Mills delivering a shortened, but still sound turn in the deciding 3rd, after a somewhat subdued (for him) 2nd, Dennis turns it up again with a nice combo of righteous (“Extended clip, I just need 30 for Mills, I’m on my lunch break!”) gun bars, steely name flips and a host of potent punches/personals to easily get the win.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “Spine shot, running in back of Mills [meals] like nutritional facts!”
Recap: Having the stamina to out-punch Ave is not a task we’d recommend to anybody, but credit Glueazy for making a valiant attempt here in this Banned Legacy bout from URL. Indeed, it’d take a consistently spitfire, more condensed and (“I’ll snipe a boy, ask your daughter if she like the boy, if not [Bow!], pops get a chopper through the window like Biker Boyz!”) herculean effort from the Goonie rapper just to edge the first round over Ave’s vociferous and steadily hitting punchlines. And afterwards, while Glu would deliver a couple of punch-heavy, gritty, name flip spazzing and performance-heavy rounds to stay competitive, one too many personals towards Tay Roc (instead of his opponent) and a slight bit less consistently to his raps would hurt him in the long run. Of course, the biggest key to Glu inevitably losing this match, was an Ave who stayed locked in the latter two rounds with a gang of boastful heaters, stifling gun bars, racial shiners, aggressive (“He’s worthless, shit make me wanna get the tools poppin’, .40 on Glu(e), that’s some expensive school shopping!”) punchlines, roundhouse mayhem and something he doesn’t get enough credit for: head-ringing personals.
Verdict: Ave. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ave. – “We was fed off the strip, all of my niggas split bread, Eazy (easy), like red sausages, no matter the cost, ya dig?, we figured we should be paid, whether pool flips or a smooth lick, the pussy shaved!”
Recap: With Prep recovering from a couple of near-chokes with a gang of potent freestyles, fiery rebuttals and a boatload of nifty punchlines, in this competitive 1-rounder from Colosseum Battle League, it takes a cleaner and more versatile effort from Mo Mula, filled to the rim with stinging personals, a fire scheme/4-bar set-up game, witty barbs and lucid performance bars, to edge this one.
Verdict: Mo Mula (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Mo Mula – “As far as becoming a vet, you failed son, freestyles?, you nailed some, but if you’re cooking and not really ready, why you expect to get a ‘Well done!’?”
Recap: Took him a round to get it together, but after a couple of hiccups in an opening round that also saw the challenger struggle with their flow, yet Chef Trez still edged thanks to scoring more haymakers, Trez proceeds to ride the remaining beats in the latter rounds of this Verbal War Zone battle versus Casino PA with a steady, uninterrupted flow, while dishing a sturdy amount of spicy 4-bar setups, rigid punchlines and fiery name flips to easily beat back his punching, but much less intricate opponent and score a 30.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Many opps, that’s why I’m quick to let a semi pop, machine putting rounds in a Casino, now he a penny slot!”
Recap: At times to his opponent’s clear annoyance, a pretty solid throughout Don Marino pulls out all his tricks in this Survivor Series versus Swamp: Mexican bars, fiery punchlines, NWX entries, struggle bars galore, jaunty name flips (tho he did go overboard when it came to using Swamp’s gov’t name)/personals and a host of pointed gun lines. More than enough altogether to take round 1 over a less direct Swamp and potent enough to him competitive in the latter rounds. In other words, Marino made Swamp earn this one. And the South Carolina spitter certainly did, getting more direct with the punches in rounds 2 and 3 while also adding a gang of filthy trap talk, mocking personals, hitting rebuts on his opponent’s struggle narratives, rich set-ups, blistering punchlines and piercing gun chatter to take both rounds and get the win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “Fix ya face little bitch, he stressing, depressing, get him a Volume please, leg shot, his legs looking like Megan the Stallion knees!”
Recap: Solid, bar-lit 3-rounder from KOTD sees battle vets Pass and E. Ness go at it for 3 competitive rounds with the only occupational hazard occurring during Pass’ 2nd round, a couple of slip-ups that along with a turned-up (“They say you’ze a douche-bag, he’s a real asshole, hit Pass with the combination, got the pass code!”) and witty Ness cost him the turn after the two battlers both had an equally seismic, punch-heavy 1st. But with the ever-confident Pass rarely losing his cool, the Bay-area maestro came back with a sizzling 3rd, fresh with feisty personals, some potent wordplay and dope punchlines to edge the round over a much less formidable showing from Ness and earn a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Pass – “Fred got you famous from a headlock, arms wrapped your throat, now Loaded Lux ain’t the only one with a classic choke!”
Recap: When he wasn’t speaking up for gay rights or spouting some witty (Mitch!) barbs on long-held allegations of Young Kannon messing with trannies, J. Murda’s rampant yarns of mayhem was just enough to edge a close 1st round. Besides that, this one was all YK, who after a pretty solid 1st that he barely lost out on, used a gang of spitfire gun bars, stellar punchlines, hitting hometown ATL bars and some potent personals/wordplay to overwhelm a couple of dope at times, but at times lackluster turns by Murda.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “…after all that, y’all battled and he smoked you, you was chasing clout for no reason, I mean yeah you pulled Red shirt and then he sat you down for the season!”
Recap: Guess you had to be there what with all the jokes taking place during the battle. Yet, all the crowd distractions doesn’t stop Jade from losing her mojo and delivering an aggressive round of stifling name flips and piercing punchlines to easily beat back a mostly mediocre Fuse Da General in this 1-rounder from Showtime Battle League.
Verdict: Jade (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jade – “This shit’s a scandal, my advice?, you better get a handle, ‘cuz I don’t give a fuck about Fuse TV…I’m on a different channel!”
Recap: Back from a short retirement, Nunn Nunn uses a more consistent pen, (“One shell, I’ll kill him, crazy as fuck, that’s one Buc [buck], like Smokey’s mom, I’m a make it enough!”) heavy-handed/versatile punchlines, steely mayhem and some tailor-made Cave Gang personals/name flips to beat back a cadence-lit and rapidly (“I said, you brought your bitch to jump Ave, my nigga that’s dead lame, lead bang, I’ll hit his shin like a bed frame!”) punch heavy (including a spitfire 2nd round), but slip-up prone Burke Bucs in what was otherwise a pretty solid battle from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Nunn Nunn (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nunn Nunn – “But I get it, I’m white, I’m from the South, I live in a trailer, I can’t front for y’all, I am a redneck, with this rifle I could put Bucs head on a fucking wall!”
Recap: More condensed overall, name flip efficient, intricate with his punches and also more versatile with the bars, despite struggling with his flow here and there, Steams does just enough to beat back a solid, rebuttal-flipping and punch-heavy, but mostly one-dimensional and less direct showing by LL Coogi in this 1-rounder from JCBL.
Verdict: Steams (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Steams – “Big [B.I.G] nigga and I’ll rock Coogi’s better than anybody!”
Recap: Armed with a fire rebuttal game to go along with his noted arsenal of gritty street tales, flexing (“You like to put your pen to the pad, they wanted to make the pen my pad, we got different rap sheets!”) personals/punchlines and a boatload of raw machismo bars, after getting edged in the first round by a (“Geechi got bundles and Geechi got shot, that’s what you telling me?, well damn, I ain’t know the hair business was this deadly, Sheesh!, you selling weed, I could help you triple your units, Geecho got bundles, I got a bald head, business is booming!”) spitfire, versatile, personal and slightly more consistent turn by John John da Don, Geechi Gotti formulates a comeback that despite a valiant and competitive effort from JJDD in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds, gets beat back by more haymakers, some nice freestyles and also a couple of multifaceted turns by Gotti.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Good shit John John [claps], but now I finna snap on him…y’all ain’t even catch that I told Johnny [Bravo!] then let it clap on him!”
Recap: There are tough crowds and there was this Philly crowd: intuitive, hanging on every bar, tough and downright mean with nary a thought of letting any wack shit, tag-ins (as T-Top found out in the 3rd round), repetition of bars or dry spots get pass ’em. Indeed, after a dope 1st round that saw Calicoe deliver his unique style of commentary linguistics/real rap shit with some fly personals mixed in towards the end of his turn to only get beat by a more condensed, raucous, gun-heavy, personal-savvy and consistency potent Nu Jerzey Twork, the crowd really these two have it. This despite valiant attempts by Cal and Twork to just rap and put on a show, suddenly they’re booing both battlers for the slightest hiccups, rehashing of lines or filler to the point that Cal would choke away what was looking to be a pretty dope 2nd round (which Twork–who got heckled too–just by getting through his round with a clean turn would edge as well) and in the face of more vexing boo’s freestyle and deliver mixtape bars to get through his 3rd (call this round for Cal as while Twork’s turn was leaning towards being epic, the attempt to tag-in T-Top midway spoiled the momentum and Twork deciding to end the round after seeing Top get clowned on stage hands his opponent the win).
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Y’all think he tough ‘cuz he said he’ll pull my hood off?, c’mon, that’s all?, I’ll be impressed if you live after it, let’s see if you can pull that off!”
Recap: Spouting an abundance of spicy punchlines/personals/mayhem/schemes with a more consistent handle then we’re used to seeing from him of late, Ty Law does enough in the first two rounds to get by a performance-heavy E. Ness, who while staying close with fierce anecdotal punches, witty barbs and name flips, suffered from one too many dry spells to stay in the bout early on before a spitfire 3rd round allowed him to avoid the 3-0.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “He say he the punch king, he don’t got ’em like that, who punch harder?, E, Con or Me [economy]?, they got you on the bottom like blacks!”
Recap: Fiirst Ladii Flamez and Coffee Brown both step up to the plate with their A-games, making for a spitfire match on this URL/QOTR Banned Legacy card. The ever-aggressive and earnest Coffee brought the heat throughout the battle, using a barrage of steely trap talk, piercing personals/gun bars, dope set-ups, boastful barbs, greasy punchlines and a couple of hitting rebuttals in round 3 to flex her versatility. On the other side of the stage, a more condensed Flamez kept the crown rocking with continually hitting wordplay, head-ringing punches, rich mayhem, salacious personals, rigid name flips and stifling (“You believe in God right? well hell let’s even shit up, test my gangsta and I test your faith and feed you the pump!”) heaters. A close bout throughout, after a debatable 1st round, a slightly more versatile and haymaker-lit Flamez took the 2nd round before Coffee, helped by those fire aforementioned rebuts, took the 3rd for a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Coffee Brown – “Your nigga say cook something, she was thinking Mexican, probably made him a burrito, my nigga said cook something I was thinking Mexico…came back with a Kilo!”
Recap: Don’t get to see Bill Collector on the big stage too often these days, but he turns in a nice showing here against DNA–the Norristown, PA, vet recalling his old days on URL and equalizing his usual performance-rich antics with a gang spicy/witty punches/personals in round 1 to force a draw. However, things would veer left and go back to what you probably expected in the latter rounds of this battle with DNA still dishing a plethora of fierce gun bars/4-bar setups/schemes, consistently hitting punchlines, fiery personals and solid name flips/wordplay while Bill, never able to quite reach the versatility and depth he showed in round 1, settled back into a bunch of questionable personals (too often at others that weren’t his opponent), some witty lines here and there and one too many pedestrian bars, thus giving DNA the win.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “I’m getting super-duper close, then I’m gonna aim, what good is a Super-duper scope [moves towards B.C.] when you close range?!”
