No Bias. No Narratives.
Recap: Long armed with a sizzling performance game that’s now a staple of his resume to go along with a boatload of feisty punchlines, stunted wordplay and fierce name flips/personals, in this entertaining 1-rounder from Streatz Entertainment, a consistently scoring Big T handily beats back the gritty, but flow-challenged raps from Mr. Mills.
Verdict: Big T (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big T – “I’ll bring Mills to ya door super cheap…like Uber Eats!”
Recap: Spicy personals, hitting punchlines/gun bars, fire set-ups and gritty name flips/schemes, in this 1-rounder from League of Championship Kulture, it’s all there for Don Marino, indeed enough steady heat to beat back a solid overall, but not as versatile or potent Young Herb.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I raise the tool, it got a little kick to it like Cajun food!”
Recap: Good to know that there’s a Christian battle league out there, but damn if hour-long battles doesn’t make one wary. That said, for all the elongated turns, Th3 Saga vs Voice The Poet is still a goodie with an apparent (via the dicey personals unleashed aplenty from both sides here) and intriguing history between the two battlers that for example had Voice the Point challenging his opponent’s religious cred throughout the battle. Good thing outside of getting edged by a scintillating, boastful barb-throwing, punch-heavy and condensed 2nd round from Voice, Th3 Saga came more than prepared, using a plethora of sizzling name flips, ego-busting personals, righteous spiritual speak, fierce punchlines/schemes/wordplay and witty barbs to take rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “‘Cuz he ain’t grew up how I grew up, I’m talking metal grip, fake IDs and hood rental whips…me and my shooters in one Accord like Good fellowship!”
Recap: Race angles against white battle rappers are usually par the course. But add some wit and spicy punchlines to the mix along with enough piercing personals/name flips/blazing gun bars and even against a punch-heavy, but slightly less versatile Nunn Nunn, in a 1-rounder you can squeak out a win like Zig Zag does here.
Verdict: Zig Zag (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Zig Zag – “You think I’m here to question your gangster or if you racist?, I got a question that’s way more valid…like why the fuck do white people put raisins in they potato salad!”
Recap: Don’t Flop battle between Th3 Saga and Impact goes just about the way Saga predicted it, with his opponent using half of his bars on religious angles and Saga’s old porn addiction. Still, while Impact was able to use the previously mentioned themes to deliver on some witty punches and nifty personals in a more condensed 2nd round to edge that turn, his bent for filler and oft-pedestrian bars along with a more versatile Saga dishing a slew of mayhem-inducing lines, steely punchlines/name flips and some fiery schemes with mixed in with religious flair, proved to be enough to take the 1st and edge the 3rd for the vic.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W)
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “You packing the 5th or you in the car trying to stretch for the slammy, boy I’ll black with the fist or leave packed in the whip like a Mexican family!”
Recap: Nice effort here made by the always (“Against Teewhy, you showed an awful flaw, sugar or not, spit out tea in my house, you drink it off the floor!”) combative, name flip/scheme-heavy and gritty Ish Mulah. But at the end of the day Jerry Wess just proves to be way too much, firing on all cylinders with crazy (“I does this, you move fast, I’ll slow you down with a slug Ish [sluggish]!”) name flips, fiery punchlines, ill personals and fly gun bars that even with a venue change, continued to score at ease and earn a 30.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “To me, you know what’s more gangsta than killing a nigga? Making him work for you!”
Recap: Bill Collector finally gets a chance at revenge with this long coveted battle against Hitman Holla and receives an outcome many in the battle rap world probably didn’t expect: simply put, Holla out-barred him. Yeah, that’s right, the man who made ‘performance’ a category, chose to lean more heavily on his pen to win a battle, using a gang of fiery (“Man, if this nigger ain’t a bitch than please enlighten men, ‘cuz we had Bill running like Clinton in ’93!”) personals, some glistening wordplay, dope name flips, lucid gun bars and potent punchlines to take all 3 rounds and beat a witty (“You did what you did little kid, [points at forehead] but not today, [k]not joking, I am [k]not kidding, I am [k]not to play, [k]not never again, never [k]not, [k]not [k]not I say!” throughout, self-deprecating, sermonizing and performance-rich, but elongated, a bit filler prone and too often Show Out-addressing BC, in an altogether entertaining battle that brought ‘Closure’ to the two combatants longstanding feud.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “All that loudmouth shit, I’m Hitman, I don’t go for it, yeah you lost a fight, well swing now or get over it!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from League of Championship Kulture, Memphis rapper T.E.D. makes for a solid effort with some nice punchlines and flexing mayhem here and there. But with his name flips and attempt at free-styling not being his strong points, you’re left with a lopsided affair as a consistently dope Geechi Gotti’s rambunctious gunplay, mean punchlines, robust rebuttals/name flips and jaunty wordplay literally had you hooked on every bar.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Fuck the police, I don’t mess with oink’s, the .40 kicking like an extra point!”
Recap: As much as Young Ape impresses with an opportunistic load of gritty (“The rounds is lighting, shot up the car that I found him riding, did a number on the back of the whip…how’s my driving?!”) punchlines, a more versatile, potent with the gun (“Dome hit, left nothing but thoughts in the casket, now it’s a suggestion box!”) bars, fiery with the name flips/wordplay, angle-savvy and even a bit personal JC just came more equipped with the tools to take this dope 1-rounder.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “I won’t say that I saw you get killed on RBE, but you definitely choked and you didn’t win, it was pitiful, how you bottom shelf and still can’t reach your pinnacle?!”
Recap: Gates of the Garden 1-rounder between C3 and Dre Dennis sees the former spit a solid round littered with a few nice rebuttals, sanguine verbal gymnastics and gritty mayhem. But one too many pedestrian bars from C3 along with a more versatile and entertaining Dre Dennis, who seemed to score at every opportunity, especially when it came to fire/witty personals, heated punchlines, lofty gun lines and potent name flips/set-ups, puts another dub in the Loud Boys column.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “Ruger airing, shoot a parent, emergency pops last, put mama down firsr like Emergency contact!”
Recap: Outside of Hitman Holla, Ave, Glueazy, Charron and Pat Stay, I can’t think of anyone who consistently brings stellar 1st rounds like Snake Eyez does. And here against Jai 400 Block, the Dot Mobb soldier does it again with an uber-gritty, street-gripping and (“Beasley, last time my money transfer wasn’t convenient so tonight I’m a make Jai pay [Jpay]!”) punchline-ringing opening round that would’ve beaten almost anybody…if not for being elongated, containing one too many Shotgun Suge references and a just-as-spitfire, punch-lit, name flip/personal-spazzing, mayhem-slinging, witty and condensed turn by Jai which forced a tie. The latter two rounds, however, were both pretty cut and clear with a versatile Jai dropping rugged haymakers with reckless abandon to easily beat back a mostly pedestrian turn by Snake before a strong start by Jai in the 3rd round is ruined thanks in part to a midway slip-up which led to a subpar latter half of the round. On the other hand, Snake would get back on his grind in the final round with a barrage of more piercing personals, when he wasn’t delivering more of that epic street shit along with daunting punchlines that earned him the round and made the battle a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Jai 400 Block – “If I ride out and you try to hide out that’s just gonna get ya mother touched, bullets will tattoo ya face, a closed casket will be the cover up!”
Recap: In what was a pretty solid battle overall, Chef Trez’s spitfire guns bars and stinging punchlines/wordplay over the course of 3 rounds, coupled with some fly rebuttals and feisty schemes are enough to earn the Cave Gang member a clear win in the 1st and 3rd rounds here over a Danny Myers, who outside of a crazy and versatile 2nd round (which only did enough to force a debatable turn, in light of the sizzling round the Chef had too) and a boatload of personals, just couldn’t bring enough consistent heat to avoid the loss.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I keep one .9, one .40, this shit a safe code, then I’ll put a pound to one [2,1] this shit a gate code!”
Recap: Look-alike’s, Danny Myers and Young NASA, go at it for 3 rounds and despite sharing common skin tones as well as loud, aggressive heaters throughout their turns, it’s mostly a one-sided affair with the Bar-God’s vociferous raps, stinging name flips and bodacious punchlines/gun bars easily out-pointing his opponent in both intricacy and potency.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Bitch, you rap just like me, it ain’t a secret fucker, I’m in his face, what else is NASA keeping from us?”
Recap: As proven once again here, it takes more than just a solid effort to beat the likes of a top tier dude like Chef Trez. And certainly a confident YBS tried, delivering rapid punches throughout his elongated turn in this 1-rounder from Locked In LetsTalkAboutIt. But even with a few quality haymakers landed here and there, too many pedestrian bars and a lack of intricacy with many of his punches would hurt the We Go Hard stalwart, before a gritty Chef Trez, loaded with opening round rebuttals, spitfire name flips, toxic gun bars, fiery punchlines and even a few spicy personals, got the kill.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I said I’m loaded with a chopper bitch, rock ya shit, drop him quick, cock the grip..shoot BS down like I’m focused on the positive!”
Recap: Not that he seemed too heartbroken about it at the end there, but in this judged battle from Don’t Flop, DNA got robbed here as opponent Quill’s filler-prone, rambunctious, speed-rapping, oft-dated personals really don’t add up to much on the scoreboard, much less beat a freestyle/rebuttal-dishing, name flip shining, gun bar spazzing and punchline heavier DNA.
Verdict: DNA (W) 3-0
Favorite line: DNA – “I take a head shot and lift his thoughts, I’m innovating!”
Recap: Cortez’s underrated wordplay versus Saint Mic’s boatload of stinging punchlines makes for a solid matchup on RBE. Competitive throughout, but for a huge disarray of angles and less potent punches by Mic in the 1st round, it’s not only Cort’s ability to construct his bars better in the opening and middle rounds (before a debatable 3rd, that was due in part to an elongated turn by Cort as well as Saint Mic displaying some ardent wit) that gets him the win here, but also a versatile palette of fiery name flips, sizzling set-ups to his punches, jocular shiners, fervent pontifications and flexing gun bars.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “I’ll beat Saint Christ-like, I’m the face of sin, a Hellraiser, they all scared to face the pen!”
Recap: Ok, that one surprised me. Already flexing hard through the first couple of rounds of this GHOGH/JCBL 3-rounder against Rich Porter (who after a 1st round choke, got better with his gritty punches with each proceeding turn) with a boatload of bruising punchlines, rich set-ups/boasts and dope name flips, in the 3rd round Ish Mulah goes completely left and gets his B. Dot on to serve up a filler-proof, righteous, socially-conscious and impactful series of lines that added plenty of substance to an already sublime performance/victory.
Verdict: Ish Mulah (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ish Mulah – “Rich Porter?, you got killed by a rat, you bitch, let’s re-enact the shit, I woulda ran up like ‘That’s 14 keys?’ and snatched the shit!”
Recap: Steely name flips, flexing gun bars, fiery wordplay and potent performance lines, it’s all there as a way more condensed Jakkboy Maine easily does enough to beat back a witty at times, but elongated and too oft-pedestrian with the mayhem K. Walker.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “How he died?, well they’ll never get to ask K Y Jelly!”
Recap: Vicci may not be a household name in battle rap, but having gone way back to the days of Grind Time (and he had an early PG), the experience is certainly there. However, here in this 1-rounder against DNA, even a solid (although a bit inconsistent) effort by the Staten Island vet, doesn’t stand a chance when faced with a boatload of stinging name flips, fire schemes and well finessed punchlines by the infamous PG Killer.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “That fight, when you was ready with K-Holla, you had your nigga’s waiting, would you scrap with a nigga from Jersey, sure [Jersey Shore], till Vinnie’s in a Situation!”
Recap: Solid 1-rounder between Ty Law and Fis Da Beast features a load of spiffy punchlines and fiery name flips on both sides. But a slightly more versatile, scheme-friendly, more personal and condensed Law does just enough to edge this one.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Shot lift him, hey it’s a cig, pick up everything in the room like you got pussy on the way to the crib!”
Recap: With barely 3 or so minutes of material in a 1-round battle he seemed to give 2 shits about, the only hope for an ultra-condensed, but performance and bar-heavy Jakkboy Maine winning here seemed to be his opponent, AP, either choking or slipping-up numerous times while kicking a load of pedestrian bars and weak personals during an elongated turn that one couldn’t wait to end…well, at least AP didn’t choke.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “See, now he standing there with the face like what the fuck, but usually shit that’s under sea level don’t dawn on a duck!”
Recap: Dropping a versatile cluster of witty jokes, stirring storytelling bars, gritty schemes, fire name flips and fiery punchlines/gun bars, a well-prepared and confident Math Hoffa wildly impresses in the first two rounds to beat back RBE standout Heavy Half, who was hindered by a slow start in the 1st round, before his loud, aggressive and unorthodox stylings allowed things to get more competitive in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, the latter of which he edged via a more potent use of gritty punches/wordplay to make the final score respectable.
Verdict: Math Hoffa (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Math Hoffa – “Apologies to the fans for the lows I had, my life, like his career, you don’t know the Half!”
Recap: Punching back-to-back with reckless abandon for 3 whole rounds, Mackk Myron scores an impressive victory over self-claimed G.O.A.T. Danny Myers. To be sure, the Cali vet made things competitive throughout, what with a host of fire name flips, stifling punches/wordplay, some nice performance bars/rebuttals and stinging (“Blow his chest open, now I see what they see in you!”) gun lines. But besides bringing just enough heat to make for a debatable 2nd round, in the other rounds there was nothing even a turned-up and confident, but sometimes prone to filler Danny could do to beat back what was an epic display of sublime punches and haymakers in the other rounds, with the “I got the .9, I’m gonna shoot this bitch in the neck [Ill Will: ‘and I got the .12‘], put that away [‘Why?‘], he might give it to Rex!” line in the final round being the coup de grâce.
Verdict: Mackk Myron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “Listen Danny, I would hate to get the kids involved, I’m sick, but this Tech-9, it’s hitting kids and all!”
Recap: Holmzie Da God’s more potent personals, righteous gun bars, fiery schemes and stifling mayhem in enough to edge a Soldi overall, but not as consistent Zay Smoove in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Holmzie Da God (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Holmzie Da God – “This big bitch worthless with the Heat..he Greg Oden!”
Recap: Overall, not the best Arsonal you’ll see. But when your elongated opponent is spitting mostly basic bars and dated personals that you’ve heard hundreds of times before, even if you are on your B-game, hit UK rapper Soul with enough wit, disrespectful shiners, fiery braggadocio lines and quality schemes/personals and in this case it’s enough to take the first two rounds and get out of there with a win.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Arsonal – “Nigga you look like they ordered you off Amazon!”
Recap: Dope, competitive battle between 40 B.A.R.R.S. and Couture on the QOTR stage sees 40 gets busy throughout the match with a gang of shrewd lyrical stunting, rigid name flips and hard-hitting personals. While Couture flexed her versatility with a boatload of witty/scathing personals, clever schemes, piercing punchlines and a spitfire performance (esp. in round 3, which saw the Rhode Island emcee use both a human prop and a beverage prop to unleash a variety of impressions of your favorite male battlers with startling effect). In front of a crowd egged on by every hot bar, a slightly more clean with the flow, condensed and punch-heavier Couture takes round 1, before 40 gets downright mean with it (even going after her opponent’s kid) and with the help of a couple of more haymakers, takes the 2nd round to even things up. The ever calm, cool and collected Couture, however, would take the final round, what with the aforementioned electric performance to go with a continuously aggressive and stinging punch game that overall would beat back a pretty solid, but not as consistently spicy turn by 40.
Verdict: Couture (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Couture – “Oh I got you big mad Lisa, let me stop and show some true love, congratulations on the crib, bitch I can’t wait to drown you in your new tub, sometimes I’m too blunt and when I roll up it’s nothing less than two snubs, so who wants smoke with me, I’m about to split 40 into two dubs!”
Recap: In a battle that came together out of nowhere, Ill Will validates there being different levels to this shit with a consistently hardbody, verbal luminary, personal-savvy and performance-heavy showing versus Scotty. Somewhat competitive at times with the Houston battler showcasing the ability to display wit and even drop some shiny haymakers now and again, unfortunately for Scotty his pen game would be prove to be unreliable in light of so many subpar punches and very basic schemes. For Will, who added in a handful of nice rebuttals in the match and clearly did his research on his opponent, ruthlessly mocking Scotty’s rap persona as well as his Proving Grounds loss to Loso throughout the battle, this 30 was well-earned.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I did this for the money my nigga, I just saved the day, this ain’t even a real meal, this a little cookout, that’s why it’s just a paper plate!”
Recap: As seen here, Prep’s ability to aptly freestyle can keep him close in any battle. But in this solid 3-rounder from Jack City Battle League, after a punch-for-punch, debatable 1st round, Xcel’s more versatile punchlines, fiery wordplay, wily personals and in-depth schemes were a bit too much for a less consistent with the punches ‘Dirty Prep’ to keep up with in the latter two rounds.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Word-wise and bar-for-bar, I’m one of the best family, ‘cuz my whole appeal is kill son, understand that’s what the Plan B [plan b]!”
Recap: Brazen, 1-round punch-fest from We Go Hard here as both 40 B.A.R.R.S. and Tia.S bring an equal amount of gritty punchlines, earnest mayhem, dope name flips/gun bars and stifling wordplay. And while 40 added a dope TLC scheme to her arsenal, a slightly more cleaner and steadily hard-hitting Tia gets the edge here.
Verdict: Tia. S (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tia. S – “I let the heat bust, keep the cloth through the ratchet, like one of my bitches aint trying to fuck her weave up!”
Recap: Short notice, 1-round battle between the prolific Drugz and the ever-entertaining Uno Lavoz contains its share of fun, rich performance bars and antics, but a more condensed and consistently punch-heavy Drugz ends up pulling it out at the end.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Ain’t you a comedian?, I’ll knock this nigger out and tell him ‘Stand up!'”
Recap: After a debatable 1st round that saw them both toe the line on potency, E-Hart’s stinging wordplay, gritty name flips and searing punchlines (that even included a rare rebuttal) are more than enough to beat back the boisterous and oft-witty, but hit-n-miss and a bit flow-challenged stylings of Drugz in the latter rounds of this 3-rounder from Bring Ya Barz Battle League.
Verdict: E-Hart (W) 2-1
Favorite line: E-Hart – “Drugz, if I’m offended by anything you said today, weapons spray, your last good day will be yesterday!”
Recap: Solid 1-rounder from We Go Hard features some witty personals and other noteworthy schemes from Cashis Clay. But setting the stage from jump with some fiery name flips, Dre Dennis’ continuous barrage of rigged gun bars, potent personals and more verbal heat directed at his opponent’s moniker prove to be more than enough to get the win.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “This fanboy bitching, I’m a bash boy wigging, take the battery out you like my Android tripping!”
Recap: What virtually comes down to a sparring session between two West-coast elites, Rum Nitty and Geechi Gotti, still makes for a fire battle. Nitty, boasting a shitload of heavy gun bars, nifty wordplay and rapidly fierce (“Ya soul leavin’, we ain’t make London, but you’ll still be an RIP tat’ in Old English!”) punchlines, certainly came to compete. But if…every…fucking…bar is the standard here, then hands down the winner in this one is Gotti, who when not mocking his opponent’s street credentials, brought the house down with a gang of spitfire schemes, flexing performance bars, stifling (“You do the math, yo’ life ain’t scary as mine, the only thing I learned in school was how to carry a .9!”) punches and of course, that noted real-life street drama that only a few can actually live, survive and talk about. All said, Gotti, with lines more consistently potent handily takes rounds 1 and 2, before a more condensed Nitty delivers just enough heat to keep up with his fellow Crip’s sterling turn while earning a 3rd round tie.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “We can shoot it out or we can go wit’ the hands, y’all will see Rum get mixed up somethin’ sweet, now he a Pina Colada!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from Bar Fight Battle League, Big Kannon mostly comes unprepared, depending on quasi-pedestrian freestyles and a couple of nimble rebuttals to get by the first two rounds, thus leaving a way more composed with the punches, all the while dishing straight heat B. Magic with an easy vic before Kannon gets it together in a way more compact, pronounced and prepared 3rd to salvage a tie in the final round.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Magic – “I’ll slide up in ya hood with the Lethal Weapon, you’ll get an arm raised up like an easy question!”
Recap: With old personals rankling a few feathers here and there, GE versus QP (Quantum Physics) quickly turns from a battle of contrasting styles to a tension-filled bout that clearly got under QP’s skin after his opponent brought up some notorious sexual allegations during his 2nd round. Not that a QP tag-in and struggle with his bars the final round would matter anyway as a more consistently fire GE’s crime-riddled trap talk, witty barbs and expressive wordplay combined to beat back QP’s even more exotic punches/performance bars in the earlier rounds, before a non-competitive 3rd solidified the 30.
Verdict: GE (W) 3-0
Favorite line: GE – “Ain’t gonna say no names, when I come ain’t no games, see piping ahit, he turn Damon Wayans, start talking about his wife and kids, sitcom, they all on the couch, barely suffered major pain [Major Payne], if I don’t get every little ounce, they all dead, Get it?, That shit go together!, Damon Wayans, Major Payne…everybody on the couch got a bald head!?
Recap: Rare Government name (?) versus Government name (?) battle is still nonetheless a dope one as both Gary Alston and Craig Lamar get busy for one round with plenty of idealistic wordplay, piercing multi’s, variable flow patterns, fierce 4-bar set-ups and rapid mayhem. A lyrical pit fight with plenty of haymakers from both battlers, the slightly more versatile and witty Lamar gets ends up getting the edge here.
Verdict: Craig Lamar (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Craig Lamar – “The scope will find him and I’m good with the blade like ultraviolet!”
Recap: Salacious, hardbody guns bars rain down aplenty in this solid, 1-round battle between Chef Trez and Goddie Lumenati. But a more consistently potent Trez, mixing in some fiery schemes, stinging name flips and righteous braggadocio/struggle bars throughout his gun-centric turn, ends up taking this one.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Nigga said, don’t step in my lane, you’ll hear a loud blast, I’ll let a round skip through your lane…that’s a bounce pass!”
Recap: A damn near carbon copy of each other battle-wise with their sheer intensity on stage, braggadocios personas, aggressive raps and ability to light it up with wicked gun bars, it’s only right that this RBE battle between Bad Newz and J. Murda ends up tied. A competitive, touchy-feely and sometimes witty battle for the most part, an amped up, slick with the punches, (“So go ahead, joke, play, lie about how I got shot and that’s a foul, but that shoudl already tell y’all…I already looked Murder in the eyes!”) fiery and way more consistent Newz took the 1st round, before a more condensed Murda steps up his punch game and edges the 2nd. Both battlers got off to a slow start in the deciding 3rd round, but eventually each came through with enough mean punches, stinging name flips/gun speak and greasy mayhem to make this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: J. Murda – “Against Loso it was ‘Fuck God’, who the first one you was looking for when you was dying nigga!?!”
Recap: An animated, aggressive and boisterous style that’s just as suited for preaching at a Baptist church as it is battle rapping, Brizz Rawsteen puts it all in emotively to deliver stifling one-liners, witty barbs, obnoxious anti-religious heat as well as potent personals to beat back a minus-a-couple-of-slip-ups, pretty solid with the punches (tho not as nice with the personals) Loso in this exciting 1-rounder from Bullpen Battle League.
Verdict: Brizz Rawsteen (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Brizz Rawsteen – “The Bible’s a classic, but it’s no Illmatic!”
Recap: A solid effort with the punches from the loud, aggressive and sometimes witty Reesco Wells, but T Top’s gritty street talk, fiery gun bars, well-crafted angles and smoking wordplay/punchlines consistently outshine his opponent in this 1-rounder from Street Status.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I’ll knock you the fuck out, your man’s included, y’all all getting the same beats like Spanish music!”
Recap: My guess is that Charron was just being kind, agreeing with those ‘1-1’ chants from the crowd after the 2nd round here versus Big Kannon. After all, with a dated and inconsistent BK clearly losing the first to a more versatile, preachy and potent-punching Charron, even with a racially-inclined Kannon stepping up his game and shining with more hitting ammo in the latter rounds, the amount of haymakers that came from Charron’s continuously rapid, personal, jokefest-dishing and punchline-spazzing arsenal would just be too much.
Verdict: Charron (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Charron – “You have the replay value of a used pamper!”
Recap: With a boatload of vigor, fire name flips, sterling (IW: “They wondering how much that belt cost, I’m wondering of it’s bulletproof!”) punchlines, dope (Red: “I got options, I could turn this to an O.J. scene or just hang Will [wheel] from a tree, like a homemade swing!”) wordplay, stinging personals and visceral heaters, through 1-and-a-half rounds Ill Will versus O-Red displays the potential to be a classic. But then the inexplicable happens and Red literally loses his voice mid-battle and eventually has to forfeit the middle round (a round he probably would’ve lost anyway when considering Will’s haymaker-drenched turn) after multiple attempts to get his vocals back. That would cost Red the battle after one or two more haymakers by Will in the 1st gave the Michigan battle that round. And while to his credit Red would get enough of his voice box back to dish a versatile, sizzling (and winning) 3rd round (with verses from his 2nd), by then it was too late.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Give his head a shot, you ain’t gotta ask if he dead or not, mama viewing the body as if she colorblind, don’t know if it’s Red or not!”
Recap: Brought to you from the good folks at Street Status, Dex and B. Magic both hit with some solid punches throughout this fiery 1-rounder. But along with dishing some dope schemes, it’s a slightly more consistent, condensed and original with the pen overall B. Magic who edges this one.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 1-0
Favorite line: B. Magic – “Beef is nothing you wanna find, the scope like a fairy tale, I had it Once Upon A Time!”
Recap: The intricate, wordplay-feening Gutta, who goes back a ways with URL/Smack, makes a solid effort here in this 3-rounder versus Young Kannon. But mixing it up well with more fiery punchlines, some witty barbs/schemes, well-researched personals and raucous name flips/gun bars, YK, for the first two rounds anyway, does more than enough to earn the win before a slightly more potent and consistent Gutta salvages the 3rd.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “You the yellow Starburst, you the worst out the pack!”
Recap: Solid, 1-round matchup between Ty Law and Street Status battler B Mac sees the former deliver his standard panache of quirky punchlines, but with the burden of an elongated turn that wasn’t always consistent. On the other hand, B Mac, with a distinctive Midwestern flow that brought a spark to his delivery, just came with more heat, beating his DMV opponent with well-connected punches that were laced with feelgood wordplay, gritty set-ups and even some entertaining wit.
Verdict: B Mac (W) 1-0
Favorite line: B Mac – “She permanent here, [moves arm like gun] cock back and open a case on Law…that’s Internal Affairs!”
Recap: Steams versus Teewhy would’ve been a better battle if the former hadn’t struggled with his flow in the 1st round and literally given up on his 3rd barely a minute in. Competitive, mayhem-friendly, punch/wordplay-heavy and name flip sauteed when they both were on point with the bars, a clearly more crisp with his flow and passionate with the punches Teewhy also dishes more haymakers to edge round 1, before a debatable 2nd and partly due the aforementioned capitulation by his opponent, easily takes the closing round.
Verdict: Teewhy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Teewhy – “I’m a pop this thing, Glock’s will ring, thsi bicth fit for a body, I’m bringing bars back and leaving more Cakes stretched than squat machines!”
Recap: One-rounder that you wish could’ve been three as the fierce, aggressive and bullish bars of Lady J met up with the brainy, punching power of Yoshi G to make for one of the better female battles you’ll see all year. Yoshi, confident (“I smell like money, his dick get hard off my odor!”) as ever, excelled throughout her turn via spitfire wordplay, some of her usual sexcapades and fire set-ups when it came to her punches. While Houston’s Lady J kept the crowd in tuned with a gang of boisterous gun bars, fiery street shit and braggadocio darts to produce an almost equal amount of haymakers and make this one debatable.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Lady J – “My style been patent leather and that’s a retrospective!”
Recap: For the first two rounds here, when not doing on-point impressions of each other, Charron and A. Ward equally spout a boatload of stinging personals, fiery punchlines, righteous Godspeak, soldi rebuttals and ringing schemes to split things going into the 3rd round. Too bad neither battler’s pen could maintain the same consistency it showed earlier in the deciding round That’s moreso the case with A. Ward, who when he wasn’t too steeped in on personals, was just all over the place on bars that mostly leaned on basic then anything spitfire. And while Charron also lacked the same fire he’d shown in the previous rounds, the Wild-N-Out cast member’s penchant for witty punches along with a slew of mocking personals easily gets him the round the win.
Verdict: Charron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charron – “Fuck what you’ve done both years, I’ll make this cutthroat clear, this ain’t Noah’s ark there’s only one goat [G.O.A.T.] here!”
Recap: Yeah, he can often be indirect with the bars, but Eazy the Block Captain’s requisite gritty trap talk, real life street narratives and visceral punchlines still work to make their mark. And in this 1-rounder versus Reepah Rell, with the addition of some fiery personals, the Block Captain’s more rigid rhymes are more than enough to beat back his less potent opponent.
Verdict: Eazy the Block Captain (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Eazy the Block Captain – “It’s a lesson in every bar, I’m just trying to get y’all nigga’s reacquainted, I’m probably one of the few battle rappers who ever living every picture that I done painted, the worst part about jail is when you and your girl arguing and the system say you got one minute remaining!”
Recap: An extra dope Black sitcom scheme in round 3, a gang of fierce/righteous punchlines, fire set-ups, some excellent wordplay, spirited lines on real-life urban drama and a couple of major slip-ups from an otherwise punch-lit Craig Lamar, gives the Ooops a well-earned (1st round Craig, 2nd & 3rd Ooops) win in this competitive 3-rounder from RBE.
Verdict: Ooops (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Craig Lamar – “Take the cool route, ‘cuz if I tune out, nigga I’ll bang the .3 [trey] like I’m trying to get the last ice cube out!”
Recap: His Southern drawl enhancing a plethora of spicy Louisiana cooking via gritty punchlines/4-bar setups, rugged boasts and a wide load of well-finessed personals/gun bars gives the more bar efficient and flow steady Boogie a win over a versatile and fierce throughout, but less steady Big Kannon in this 1-rounder from Bayou Battle League.
Verdict: Boogie (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Boogie – “What you gonna say, the only reason I ain’t have competition ‘cuz I ain’t battle him yet?, nigga, I get money, how many of y’all heard of a bank that deposit reality checks?”
Recap: It’s been said that in order to beat the best, you have to be the best. But then not everything in the world is as black and white as we like to believe or sometimes take for granted. Or in the case of this spitfire, 3-round battle between Stuey Newton and E-Hart, Newton, already a fire puncher in his own right, taking advantage of going second in each round with a pretty solid rebuttal game that especially worked to his benefit in edging the deciding 3rd round after edging a close 1st with more (.38 to ya chest, now I’ll always have a special place in ya heart [Hart]!”) haymakers. Granted, throughout this battle Hart was on top of her shit, dishing out rampant (“Twin pistols under the hoodie, but it looks like it’s one, if I start lighting one, you better have an iron lung, I’ll get every nigger in your circle smoked like the cypher’s done!”) heat, nifty wordplay and flexing punches at will. But except for a superb 2nd round that saw Hart literally overwhelm her opponent with too many haymakers, Newton not only took advantage of some reaches/redundant themes by Hart but stayed toe-to-toe with his opponent via his own fly composition of wily personals, hard punchlines, gritty gun bars/name flips and conscious bar flexing. The latter making for a nice comeback to Hart’s fiery attempt at going at Newton for being married to a white woman in spite of his moniker.
Verdict: Stuey Newton (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Stuey Newton – “I told you, I’m letting the body drop…I ain’t gonna hodl you!”
Recap: Much anticipated West-coast, Smack/URL battle between Tech 9 and Geechi Gotti sees the Philly vet give a pretty solid performance what with a boatload of hometown swag that was often matched by some fiery punchlines, witty personals/barbs and even a bunch of real street shit in an earnest effort to show that his opponent isn’t the only one who can talk that life. Still, for all of Tech’s vigor and rap eloquence, one too many pedestrian bars along with way too nuch filler would hurt him in the long run. And for a Geechi Gotti, staying on point throughout his 3 rounds with his renowned gangster tales as well as displaying oft-times fiending gun line acumen and a sterling punchline game, a 30 is made even more explicit when the adversary has so many chinks in their armor.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I heard Tech a legend, I say legend for what?, ‘cuz he beat Miles? [laughs]…nigga, what that mean to a nigga that beat trials!”
Recap: Superb efforts by both Chess and Geechi Gotti in this URL Born Legacy 6 battle makes this one a must-see as well as one of the top battles to take place in 2019. Chess, back on his grind with nary a slip-up, gets back to his old self with a gritty fleet of fiery schemes (esp. during a standout round 2 which earned him a debatable there), flashy gun bars, plenty of boastful darts, steely mayhem and fierce punchlines. On the other hand, an ever-confident Gotti delivered a slew of witty and mocking personals on his opponent’s recent struggles with choking when he wasn’t dishing righteous sermons on street drama that could only come from an O.G., scintillating verbal heat, rich storytelling and pointed punches. Add some in-ya-face aggression, sizzling wordplay and a fired-up crowd that was into every bar and you’re left with a highly competitive battle that had a slightly more versatile and more haymaker-lit Gotti taking the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gottu (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Now listen, at 15 you was on SMACK doin’ big things, at 15 I was just tryin’ to make it to 16!”
Recap: A last-minute replacement for Ill Will, credit to Serius Jones for only filling in and showing up for this battle, but really showing up. That is, making it competitive for all 3 rounds with the kind of aggression, (“You see, I done ate salmon on a yacht and I done ate tuna in a can, but I ain’t a legend because of what I did, I’m a legend ‘cuz of who I am!”) boasts and seismic punchlines/gun bars that made Serius a household name in battle rap in the first place. Still, against the likes of Yak-town’s finest, an opponent usually needs more to stand a chance of winning. And tho he dropped his penchant for dated bars throughout the battle, when it came to elongated turns, reaches, pedestrian bars and out-of-nowhere lines on the infamous Math Hoffa punch (which ironically would serve as an ideal set-up to Will’s personal-heavy 3rd round) from years back, Serius’ would end up hurting himself. But ultimately, a spitfire throughout Ill Will, confident, vigorous, entertaining, fire the (“I got split personalities my nigga, you can meet one, like you got Will in your face, then your mama read one!”) punches and extra witty with the personals was just on another level here.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Bru, you still here?, well, be still here, we used to gun-butt niggers and let the steel go at the same time…can you still hear?!”
Recap: After getting beat by O-Red in a classic inter-gender match several years ago, the rarely seen Ms. Hustle faces off against Jersey’s finest, Nu Jersey Twork, in another 1-round, inter-gender bout here for Queen of the Ring. A solid and aggressive battle with plenty of in-ya-face heat from both sides, gets a bit controversial however, when Hustle apparently goes past her agreed upon time limit, which led to Twork demanding her round be cut short. Still, bar-wise, while Hustle delivered on the side of jaunty gun bars, mocking personals and a surprising tag-in with her old opp Phara Funeral, a little too much filler along a more condensed and spitfire with the gun talk, flexing with the wordplay/name flips/punchlines and very witty at times with the personals Twork ends up taking this one.
Verdict: Nu Jersey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jersey Twork – “I was gonna tear you up, ok you ain’t want me to talk about that fight you lost?, ok fair [Phara] enough!”
Recap: With the KOTD championship on the line, after a pretty subpar 1st round that he still won thanks to opponent Head I.C.E.’s elongated and mostly nonsensical turn, challenger Chilla Jones ups the ante on his bar efficiency, wordplay, personals and schemes in the latter rounds. Only getting edged by the champ in a competitive round 2 due to I.C.E’s funny bone going on nuclear, before Chilla easily takes the 3rd and deciding round with a punch-heavy and versatile turn that overcame yet another unorganized, mostly pedestrian and zany go-around from I.C.E.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “So yeah, you the King of the Dot, but you really think they impartial?, they just wanted a Black on the throne like Meghan Markle!”
Recap: First, it’s a little weird that this battle between Arsonal and T Top got no promo since they’re both top tier dudes and there’s a bit of history with them what with Top once battling on Ars’ UDubb league back in the day before he made a name for himself on URL/Smack. But then upon watching this 1-round battle and seeing Arsonal (who was just coming off battling Geechi Gotti) slip-up so much midway through what was a pretty solid turn, before giving up on his written’s and free-styling his way through the rest of his round, one could understand why this battle git no buzz. Then too, with Top making the battle a cinch with his usual assortment of fiery trap talk and sizzling gun bars to enhance Ars losing on his own platform, makes it clear why this battle got the hush treatment.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “He say he retiring, leaving the game of battle rap, then realize this the only stage that he matter at!”
Recap: The final score of this battle might tell a different story, but with Moon’s visceral street narratives, gritty O.G. talk and stunted boasts scoring left and right (outside of a flow-challenged 2nd round that he had to cut short) the Richmond, VA, vet made his opponent for it. And that Squeako did, using his distinct Northeastern drawl to dish a gang of fiery punchlines, hard/witty rebuts for Moon’s more rugged pontifications, gripping struggle bars and piercing personals to take each round and get the win in this URL Banned Legacy battle.
Verdict: Squeako (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Squeako – “Nigga I heard how old you was, laughed so hard, bitch I was about to cry, well you turned 44 last month…bitch you about to die!”
