No Bias. No Narratives.
Recap: The mostly bullish, but at times witty puns from Scoop make for a pretty solid effort. But in this 3-rounder from Don’t Flop, DNA’s rich combo of flexing name flips, stinging punchlines/ 4-bar set-ups and hard-hitting gun bars/wordplay are enough to take both of the opening rounds for the win before a debatable 3rd prevents the shutout.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Big gun and that shit will split his ride like an Uber trip!”
Recap: On an impeccable run since his return to the battle rap scene versus Dre Dennis, Prez Mafia continues his successful run with another strong and winning performance here against wily vet Money Bagz. Round one was fiery on both sides, but Mafia’s more intricate (“Nigga you could tell I’m better, nigga we could fight, he won’t be able to read the right, he get Helen Keller-ed!”) punches and sizzling wordplay more than edged the round, despite an overall solid, but a (“If it’s war, he getting hit with a 2×4 like I brought Hacksaw Jim Duggan out!”) little-too-old-school turn by Bagz. Second wasn’t even close as Prez stepped it up a notch with some dizzying (“So if you ain’t passing up the shine, I’ll make your team give it up for’em, like when the crowd not reacting to the line!”; “Spine shot!, nigga your next disc [disk] gonna drop with some features on it!”) haymakers in between fiesty name flips and potent storytelling bars, while Bagz, failing to take advantage of his first appearance on the URL/Smack stage, barely made it out of the round what with mostly modest lines that seemed like they were lifted from his Grind Time days. Last round saw Prez, who obviously wrote his best material for the first two rounds, go the safe route with more name flips and name schemes/history lessons that were both hit and miss, giving Bagz an easy opportunity to avoid a 3-0, which he did with some hard-hitting (“A real emcee would freestyle and choke before he took another man’s raps!”) personals and stifling wordplay.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prez Mafia -“I look at God, like what more do you want?, fro me to die?, first nunn than Bagz, I look at Smack and he proved this is a sign…it’s nothing but communion and a rhyme, ‘cuz I’m back for the bread, but you give me two crackers instead and I didn’t even whine [wine]!”
Recap: Punch-heavy, name flip-scoring and lyrically-lit without too much of the usual raunch during the first couple of rounds, a more condensed and direct with the bars Yoshi G gets a well-earned (score round 3 a debatable) win over a solid and pen-sharp at times, but not as consistently spicy Ladii Tunez in this 3-rounder from Bar4Bar Rap Battle League.
Verdict: Yoshi G (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Yoshi G – “Put a shell in your back, I think Ladii [lady] bugged!”
Recap: When many in the battle rap game considered Charlie Clips to be the G.O.A.T., it was mostly due to his consistent ability to deliver the whole package: fire bars, witty personals, a nice rebuttal game, crazy name flips, elite gun lines, ill schemes and wicked freestyles. Well, after an almost 2-year slump of mostly underwhelming performances (that because he’s THAT talented, still got him plenty of wins), if this one-round, but ultimately complete (“My nina like a white bitch, that mean Get Out before you see the flash!”) version of Clips, here versus the unique rhyme stylings of Burnz Da Fyaman, is any precursor to Clips being back on his A-game, battle rap as a whole will be better off for it.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips: “You got a bunch of feens in your family, with these crack lines I could serve all of you, what I cook up bend spoons like Neo when he first met the Oracle!”
Recap: Nice, competitive QOTR punch-fest here between Don LadyII and Viixen The Assassin was close for all 3 rounds. But with Viixen registering more blistering gun bars, salacious personals/wordplay, dope 4-bar set-ups all the while edging it on haymakers in each round, it’s a well-earned 30 for the Assassin.
Verdict: Viixen The Assassin (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Viixen The Assassin – “Catch you with a group of friends, bitch you know I’ll still murk you, think That 70’s Show…’cuz Don will get smoked in a circle!”
Recap: A couple of school of thoughts here about this fire, one-round battle between Drugz and Truth Watson. Drugz getting emotional (again) and attempting to leave the stage after Truth goes there with a line about his opponent’s uncle recently killing himself. Did Truth go too far? Was Drugz being hypocritical in light of how often uses (this battle included) soul-gripping personals in his raps? Or is talking about those who have passed on (see: Suge, Shotgun) just a line that goes too far? Even in the world of ‘anything goes’ battle rap? I’m of the feeling that while the deceased and kids should be off-limits, battle rap being battle rap, the idea of any kind of censorship in battle rap, no matter how cutthroat, bothers me. And if you can’t handle it, go fly a kite or something. So while one can sympathize with Drugz (and give hin credit for leaving the stage instead of say, swinging on Truth), within the confines of the stage, a battle rapper should be able to say what he or she wants–that, after all, is the essence of battle rap. That being said, with Truth choosing to end the battle on his own, Drugz, with a slightly more versatile, cleaner, punch/personal-heavier and haymaker-raining turn, gets the win here.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “I’m supposed to believe that you airing a gun, when half the time your hair is in a bun?!”
Recap: In a close and fiery battle dipped with plenty of hot (TL: “I felt my cornea open, never, ever sleep, I forgot the rest…like Born when he choking!”) punchlines and sizzling (KB: “I guess I could talk about your high top since it’s my turn, nigga just because you high top, don’t mean that you can’t get the side burn!”) wordplay, Killa B does just enough to edge rounds rounds 1 and 3, thus taking the win over a pretty solid Ty Law.
Verdict: Killa B (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Killa B – “Geek squad, I unlock Mac’s and open Apple’s!”
Recap: I’m guessing that when The Best Battler In West Bumblefuck, USA, pays a top tier like Charlie Clips to fly in and battle, he or she could care less about winning or losing so much as putting together a solid enough performance to get himself noticed outside of said town while maybe, just maybe, said Top Tier will pass along a nice kite to a Beasley or Norbes to warrant maybe getting a PG some day. If that’s the case, I ain’t mad at that. And in-between way too much filler and outdated bars, Niagara’s S.D.K. was able to deliver some nice (“…Vado got signed, they left Clips played out like a 6-second vine!”) bars here and there. Enough to warrant a PG? I’m not sure and would have to see more of the kid’s resume. But for now, as a freestyle/name flip-heavy and (“Type to catch you in Barnes-n-Noble and take your books, like you reneging!”) versatile Clips noted, getting the most views in his life, as S.D.K. surely will with this battle, should keep him happy in the meantime.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “Bringing up my pops and my mom’s raised me, whoopie nigga, that makes you a rookie nigga, and if he a snitch, then that make you a cop because you the one that booked me nigga!”
Recap: Despite Ave amping up his (“I ain’t the one, if I catch you when you pushing your work, shoot in the trap then double back…that’s Suge with no shirt!”) wordplay/punch game to make a late and fiery comeback in the 3rd, by then it was too late. Shotgun Suge, aggressive throughout, more (“I’ll give this old man bucks, making him bleed, Jason Terry, give him 30 plus ‘cuz he the oldest PG in the league!”) lyrical than usual, personal-savvy, performance-heavy and spitfire altogether drops a classic 1st to take what was a fire opening round. Then using a searing combo of more rambunctious gun bars, fire name flips/personals and stinging bully bars, Suge edges the 2nd over an opponent who had his share of spurts, but too often ran into one too many dry spots to pull off the win.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “So you named yourself Ave like you hold weight like that, no, you just an average nigger from Norfolk, straight like that!”
Recap: Even if half his bars were based on themes battlers have long called to order regarding Daylyt (i.e. the antics, gimmicks, homosexual dalliances, etc.), those fiery lines along with some potent name flips and flaming gun bars guarantee rounds 1 and 3 (you can argue for a debateable 2nd) to Cortez along with a win on the KOTD stage.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “I ghostwrite, it’s common sense [cents], we coin phrases!”
Recap: Going after mixed messages within his opponent’s street ethos, while dishing some intense struggle bars and there, Linc keeps things interesting in this 3-rounder versus Geechi Gotti. Yet, with a boatload of pedestrian raps over the course of 3 rounds from Linc combined with Gotti’s sterling punchlines, stinging personals, tenacious metaphor game and righteous hood narratives, it’s an easy 30 for Geechi.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I’m itching to squirt, you worried about how many like’s you get on a pic?!?, nigga let’s see how many people like seeing your pic on a shirt!”
Recap: File this one under ‘Upset’ as an elongated, but spirited Ddub, readily known throughout his career for choking rounds, puts it all together here, with nary a slip-up, to beat a pretty solid (“Big arms like I just did 10 in the box, this pussy get the piece to the nose like he smelling the box!”) Fettuccine 20. Indeed, from jump, for every spitfire round Fetty kicked, his confident opponent had an answer, whether it was frenzied braggadocio bars, bullish (“…now you acting like you don’t know the fucking deal, I’m all-Madden, if editing a player is the only time you can touch the skills!”) set-ups, sanguine personals or righteous darts that had the crowd screaming. Ddub’s consistent heat here not only makes for a well-earned 30, but yet another reminder to never underestimate your opponent.
Verdict: Ddub (W) 3-0
Favorite line: DDub – “He don’t even get the full clip, see I would give 20 16, but that’s so last year!”
Recap: In this one-rounder from King of the Ring, Pep dishes a load of mean bully bars and wicked personals at Sco. However, Pep’s occasional struggle with his flow, an elongated turn and an unnecessary tag-in from one of his people’s allows a more condensed, versatile and punch-heavy Sco to take the win here.
Verdict: Sco (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Sco – “Your bar’s don’t motivate shit, boy, I ain’t come here for no Pep talk!”
Recap: No easy winner here as both the fiery (“If we fight, you’ll probably fuck me up bro, look like you got some heavy ass hands…nah, I was kidding Holmzes [homes] Neverland Ranch!”) , name flips and back-to-back-to-back punches of Joe and the slower build-ups, but just as nasty schemes as well as real street/gutta lines from Holmzie Da God keep things competitive throughout this PG matchup on the URL stage. Joe gets things off to a quick start right away with spicy (“You got a kid?, I’ll put a father in a box, that’s my confession!”) haymakers that not only had the crowd wilding, but a more consistently fierce go-around that was able to beat back a very (“Silencer on the gun and I put it right on the nose like the proper way to say it!”) solid turn by Holmzie. Round two was more of the same from both battlers, confidently dishing their lines with even aggression and potency. However, for all of Holmzie’s (“When I was 20, I was the youngest nigga in my cell, 3 Bloods tried to run my hut, my only defense, two fists, some soap and a sock!”) comeuppance in the middle round, a little too much filler along with Joe’s highly animated and crazy Get Out bars that stood out the most to edge the round. Last round was also close, however a slight slip-up from Joe put towards the beginning a dent in what was otherwise a pretty nice (“You gonna spit that black-vs.white shit right?, that’s funny because bar for bar [points at Holmzie] you pale in comparison!”) round altogether, but erstwhile giving a very (“I was told when it’s war, I was told lock on with precision, so y’all won’t know which craft [witchcraft] I’ll use!”) formidable Holmzie the edge.
Verdict: Joe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Joe – “Y’all seen the movie Get Out?, He thought it was godo to see a familar face…till I grip the pound!
Recap: Running throughout all 3 of his rounds with a super witty/mocking ‘He’s just a baby’ theme for his much smaller built opponent JC, Bigg K has what could arguably be his finest battle. Whether K was kicking a rare rebuttal on his opponent’s outerwear, dishing rapidly stinging (“Look, I rock for delph, big dog of the commonwealth, head first in that dirt, how an ostrich felt!”) punchlines throughout his turns, bringing the heat with some superb gun lines or making fun of battle rap semantics in general when he wasn’t going at JC with scintillating personals, a more-versatile-than-usual Bigg K does it all in taking out a pretty solid overall, gun (“But that scope got a lens wide enough to keep every nigga on yo’ field watching I send a paid shooter, he will pop and you gon’ only see him once like Will pops!”) savvy and haymaker-inducing-at-times, but a bit filler-prone JC, who at the end of the day just didn’t have enough to take out Bigg K’s comeuppance.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bigg K – “While you was playing Checkers, Connect 4, Life, Trouble, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, I had to check a connect for life, havin’ trouble getting that can to land, shooting Ladders!”
Recap: In this stirring one-rounder from WeGoHard, both (“Check the pamphlet, ever since this match was booked, I asked the army ‘Is bro sure [brochure]?'”) Pharoah and (“These clips back-to-back…this my slide show!”) Jai spit a load of hot, fiery bars that more than landed hard on their mark. But it’s Pharoah, who spat twice as long as his opponent (and only stopped due to the timekeeper) did, who ended up leaving himself a little more room for filler…and that, along with Jai being a little more empahtic with his punches, pretty much turns out to be the difference-maker.
Verdict: Jai (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jai – “Don’t get hooked up to IVs for nuthin’…Roman Numeral!”
Recap: A series of rambunctious wordplay, sizzling schemes and boisterous, yet confident braggadocio bars allows the always-competitive (“If you involved, your fam involved, I pull up on any kin of his, and give him a big drumroll, like I’m announcing who the winner is!”) Craig Lamar and forever-animated (“My nigga, I’ve been feening for the belt, yo my own mother watch me struggle, I ain’t receive no kind of help, young Ray Charles, I had to watch my brother buck it [bucket], you had to see it for yourself!”) Prez Mafia to split the first couple of rounds in this iBattle matchup down south. But going into the deciding 3rd, a more resilient Mr. Woosah continues to spazz with lofty (“Nigga, I’ll split him in half and make him choose sides!”) punchlines and caustic set-ups, altogether more consistently potent than hos opponent, to take the round and the win.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “Nigga, fuck a scale, I just eyeball white, that’s Emmett Till!”
Recap: Goodz picks apart a clearly-not-on-his-level-Billy Boondocks with a confident palette of swagger bars, righteous (“I could call you in L.A. and make you go to the store!”) aplomb and some exquisite wordplay in this one-round battle from HoneyCombHideOut.
Verdict: Goodz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Goodz – “You hot, where? Come see me, give him bars like I’m locked up, I’m on the top tier!”
Recap: After a debatable 1st and a lethargic 2nd that saw him fall behind the (“When the arm extends, y’all get touched is what I’m getting to, turn the Zoo Faculty into the Petting zoo!”), personal/punch-heavy Krome, despite a near choke towards the end, Anubis’ mostly hot 3rd is just enough to edge the final round and get a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Anubis – “You an electronic cigarette, you don’t want smoke for real!”
Recap: The O.G. Moon and the O.G. E Hart hook up for this intergender, one-round matchup on the Bring Ya Barz Battle League stage. Moon, after proclaiming at the start that he’d be challenging his opponent’s G-status, undoubtedly came fierce with a barrage of ill (“I put nigga’s in the ground, ask the last asshole, only thing is, you’d have to dig him up to ask the question, ‘cuz when the gun’s in my hand, it sings like a white boy band, but I pointed it at more then One Direction!”) street chatter that validated his resume. However, Moon’s propensity to go a little overkill on Hart’s looks would end up hurting him a bit as a slow-to-start-but-eventually-turned-up Hart steady dalliances of potent (“They ask if Hart can spit with these nigga’s, who’s a wrestling fan?, check my record, E C W’s, Yes I can!”) wordplay, lofty name flips and gritty street ethos not only got the crowd hype, but more importantly, edged Hart the win.
Verdict: E Hart (W) 1-0
Favorite line: E Hart – “Bitches knwo what really the deal, why he sleep?, you was thinking that E light, I’m Elite!”
Recap: A load of hot bars and schemes dished from both sides in this close, all the way competitive, We Go Hard matchup between two aggressive mainstays: (“Everything Golden? I’m coming for it all…everybody Paid In Full until he Mitch sliding down the wall!”) Presidential Dubz and (“Shit that I seen with my eyes, you’d think it’s make-believe, I’ll turn his world upside down, I seen Stranger Things!”) Ish Mula. With Dubz edging the first and Mula coming back to edge the 2nd, a very close 3rd gets dissected down to who had the stronger round overall and/or who had slightly less filler and the feeling here in both cases was Dubz.
Verdict: Presidential Dubz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Presidential Dubz – “Pulled up on him with something dirty like I’m rolling with Paper…with the cig behind the ear like the boggie for later!”
Recap: A competitive one-rounder with a lot of mayhem, rich metaphors, fierce gun lines and fierce punchlines dished from both battlers sees a more consistent ZigZag, especially when it came to the personals, edge this one out over JMorr.
Verdict: ZigZag (W) 1-0
Favorite line: ZigZag – “I’ll put one to they head [bwoh!] knock off dreds like they fucking fake…that just mean our extensions is different!”
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Ness Lee – “You old, whenever you hear a cop say ‘Chase that nigga!’, your black side run, your white side chase that nigga!”
Recap: With so much history and brotherhood between T-Rex and K-Shine, of course the two of them battling each other is an event you thought you’d never witness. But after over a year of drama, chirping back-n-forth and misgivings that reached its breaking point when Shine and DNA formed NWX and Murda Mook kicked Shine out of Dot Mobb, here the two battle rap vets are, on the Smack stage for a battle that while unable to quite live up to the hype beforehand, still was mostly solid throughout and not as one-sided as the crowd would make you think. After all, Rex’s 1st round was a fiery punchfest, scoring with its variety of wit, steely (“Shit ain’t about Dot Mobb, this shit was all about Shine, I told that nigga to hang on, but he ain’t wanna see Roc climb!”) personals and boastful punches/gun bars. Still, confident throughout with a wide array of jaunty personals, some fire wordplay, nice angles/set-ups, aggressive schemes and heated (“Nigger, he done, but stick the fork in his grill…Mazaradi!”) punchlines, after and even round 1, a way more consistent K-Shine would prove to be too much in the latter rounds, especially as Rex’s bars waned towards the end of his turns and got more pedestrian. Clearly more prepared for this battle and with a lot more to get off his chest, it was easy to see that throughout K-Shine wanted this grudge match more and the result proved it.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Nigga, part of being a man is how you handle shit, you don’t go straight to the ‘Gram if I’m supposed to be your man’s and shit!”
Recap: When two of the wittiest battle rappers in the biz show up for match, one would expect a laughfest. Too bad, in this 3-round battle from KOTD, only Jeffrey showed up. Scoring at will with rapid (“I scooped his honey up like Winnie the Pooh!”) personals, a plethora of dick jokes and race quips, the plainest named rapper in the game easily beats back a mostly unprepared bag of pedestrian freestyles and wearisome raps from Uno Lavoz.
Verdict: Jeffrey (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Jeffrey – “Now the caption gonna say 48 hours notice when I’m spitting this online, ‘cuz I just delivered a box in two days like Amazon Prime!”
Recap: One-rounder between Saynt and Yung Griz has them both snapping with rapid punches throughout their turns. But even with Griz rapping almost twice as long as his opponent, his more versatile lines stay consistently potent enough to gain a win.
Verdict: Yung Griz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Yung Griz – “I let a couple of point at kid’s top like Bart….that was dumb clever, ‘cuz no matter how many years go by, we gonna treat this yellow nigger Young Forever!”
Recap: In this punch-heavy and competitive 3-rounder from AHAT, Jey The Nitewing’s stay-on-point consistency, loaded with a gang of fire name flips along the way gives the raspy-voiced Federal Way, WA, battler enough darts to edge round 2 as well as the deciding 3rd round over an aggressive and pretty solid effort from Patron.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “I don’t really get why they had your back, I thought they would’ve had mine, c’mon Kelly…Patron was what got us in trouble the last time!”
Recap: Tight matchup between Qleen Paper and Da Example has them both dishing a variety of solid gun (QP: “With this strap I’ll throw ya brains back, it’s a difference between a reminisce!”) bars, fierce schemes, rich (DE: “I get all my money out the streets, I don’t fuck with Qleen [clean] Paper!”) metaphors and some nice personals. In the end tho, from seemingly wanting to impress against a big name like QP, Example’s elongated round turns out to be half-fierce and half-pretty average, leaving a more succinct QP with enough room to maneuver a win, even if he did ‘borrow’ that “The 9 kick back like you hit me first!” line from prez mafia.
Verdict: QP (Qleen Paper)
Favorite line: QP (Qleen Paper) – “Lawrence Fishburne, I jumped on my Deep Cover, with the strap, he turn Meance…’We supposed to be brothers!”
Recap: Even if it’s only a one-rounder, there’s nothing like having a win over the legendary T-Rex on your resume. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be the case for Ish Mula here, as even when faced against the already pressed mixtape verses from his opponent, a little too much filler throughout an otherwise (“Rex is so soft, let’s get the art of facts, bad kid at the museum, I’ll knock a bone off!”) solid turn, provides just enough leeway for the consistently (“Shrumda with the burner or the knife, speaking of Bobby he’ll go out like his daughter or his wife!”) thoro bars from Rex to edge the battle at the end.
Verdict: T-Rex (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Rex – “You can ask about Trex, they tell you I’m a hustler tho, in the middle of teh summer I be shoveling snow!”
Recap: Extra gritty, dope and competitive 3-rounder from We Go Hard sees a slightly more consistently spicy True Indeed, after barely getting edged by the punch-heavy/raucous street missives of B-Trillz in round 1, use a gang of hard-hitting punches, a boatload of righteous storytelling bars, daunting set-ups and some fiery gun bars/personals to edge the latter two rounds over his still fierce, but less potent opponent for the win.
Verdict: True Indeed (W) 2-1
Favorite line: True Indeed – “I can’t stomach nigga’s, his fam gotta come and get him and he get it too, fuck ya cousin like country nigga’s!”
Recap: In this one-rounder from Houston Bar Code, here we see the hometown crowd do what they’re supposed to do: cheer for the loud, aggressive and very…basic bars and storytelling lines of local battle rapper A-kaza. But an Aye Verb on his A-game is quick to hit the irony head on: “Nigga, you brought me to your city to battle you, that don’t mean you like that with bars, that mean you paid me to stand here while you get hyped by your boys!” Nuff said.
Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Aye Verb – “How you gonna talk shit to me and have the nerve to talk to say this the biggest battle of your career? Well, for me it’s just another Saturday”
Recap: In this one-rounder from WeGoHard, Fettucine20 is both (“When I drive through, it’s like fast night on a late night, he get the mill [meal] through the window, then I’m airing his bimbo. oh, that ain’t ya bitch?…well, fuck she ya bitch or not, she’ll get the steel in the friend zone!”) thoro with the (“I’mma just put the ‘mac on Mackk, because he’s trying to get a name that’s ringing, ‘cuz y’all keep talking about how Mackk’s wilds, shit all I know he was mic’d up on The Wire and came back singing!”) wordplay and solid throughout. However, his opponent Mackk Myron is just relentless, both with the fire (“The trey peel back for the kids, that’s a lunchable!”; “Shoot another Just in Case, like Jaheim!”) bars and his performance, all capped by a better flow, altogether more than enough to edge this one.
Verdict: Mackk Myron (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “I’ll slide through, talking tops off like Spring break, now watch me send a wave through Harlem, I’m Charly Wingate!”
Recap: A close, competitive and hardbody battle takes an emotional U-turn when before the deciding 3rd round, (“Nigga, my last enemy’s families had to do car washes and that still only bought them the Hertz!”) Dre Vishiss brings his mom’s on stage and uses his round to salute her recovery from cancer as well as dish on real life personals struggles. All well and good and then some. But with a win on the line, (“It’s tragic when half the cig hanging out his mouth like a hood mechanic!”) Geechi Gotti puts aside the sentiment and does what he came to do: continue kicking that real street shit mixed with fiery punchlines, rich metaphors and gritty wordplay. In other words, more than enough heat to take the round and get the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I might just pop this bitch, I keep a trey, .80 take her wig off like granny before she got to bed!”
Recap: You expected a spitfire punchfest, but instead JC versus Chef Trez is arguably a classic with each battler bringing their A-game and dropping haymakers and other noteworthy schemes with rapid abandon. Round one saw Trez immediately go for the jugular with an elongated turn that was littered with lyrical bombs, versatile heaters/personals and some fire (“We was raised different, the shit we go through day to day different, God told you get baptized, he told me to get a gun…we was saved different!”) wordplay. Chef’s fire palette was met, however, by a just-as-fire round by JC, who upon making his return to Smack, delivered what the fans were craving for: seismic (“Nigga, ask the docs about the patients I left ‘em, and I won’t quit yet, I got more clips left, and the cap will swallow his head like the old Dipset!”) gun bars and adept lyricism in a more condensed turn that earned him a draw for the round. The 2nd round is where Trez turned it up, showing off multifaceted hijinks with freestyles, rebuttals and a robust mix of fiery (“You dying sucker, see how my lines structured?, my mind gutter, .9’s touch ya’, since JC is God’s Son, his background get blew [blue] like Nas cover!”) punches, lofty name flips and witty shiners that easily beat back a pretty solid, but not nearly as nice turn from his fellow Writer’s Bloque opponent. With Trez up one round, the ATL spitter kept the pressure on, continuing to dish standout heat, gritty performance bars and potent schemes with self-assured poise. However, sticking in cool-headed vet mode, JC went back in his bag and came out with another condensed and flexing turn that was rich with stinging set-ups, fire braggadocio lines and jaunty (“Your bitch catch the heat from these straps…she not walking out of there with tan lines!”) punches to edge the round and make this superb battle a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “And what’s up with these niggas with struggle and gangsta bars? these dudes clueless, niggas got shotties in their pants legs, deuce deuce in their boots, but they move stupid, I had the pack in my briefs, AR in my jeans…and I walk regular ’cause I’m used to it!”
Recap: Seen Rambo before in a fire WeGoHard matchup versus Stumbles, so was already aware that the kid had potential. Here against the always gritty and gun-bar slinging GE, Rambo stays up to speed, delivering hardbody punchlines, fire wordplay and some mean personals to edge what was an overall solid, but a little repetitive and chronic dry-spot having turn from GE.
Verdict: Rambo (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Rambo – “Nigga, let’s cut the shit, ‘cuz this battle ain’t fucking fair, I asked for a nigga from the hood, C Hit went in the trunk and pulled out a fucking spare!”
Recap: Along with a deliberate, but strong punch game, GrindTime vet Troy Brown displays some excellent freestyle ability too in this 3-rounder against Jey The Nitewing from Smoked Out Battles. However, highlighted by a spitfire 2nd round that saw him put all his unorthodox, but potent punches together and a steady display of other brazen personals and righteous lyrical flexing throughout the battle, it’s Nitewing who earns the 30.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “That ain’t rapping, they gassing, your 3rd eye been rocking fake lashes!”
Recap: Going right at his opponent’s sometimes tired use of gun bars, but also scoring with a barrage of gritty punchlines, witty/bullish personals and piercing wordplay, an overall more versatile Fonz manages to deliver more heat in rounds 1 and 3 for the win here in this We Go Hard battle versus Dre Dennis (who had a gun-heavy and elongated, but superb 2nd round, if only he could scheme more with the artillery instead of relying so much on 4-bar set-ups).
Verdict: Fonz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Fonz – “You want it Dre?, we could do it however you want to play, the gun will spray or I’ll slump you right now, leave him sleeping in front of a fan like a summer day!”
Recap: A nice set-up on the legends scheme to start his round, an able freestyle and some sizzling bars gives Philly Haze the edge over the comedic, albeit a little laborious, stylings of Uno Lavoz here in this one-rounder from HoneyCombHideout.
Verdict: Philly Haze (W) -10
Favorite line: Philly Haze -“Me and your bitch is like Neosporin, when we lay in the cut, I grip her ass and make beats when I play with her butt!”
Recap: Both are longtime vets in the battle rap game. Both are renowned for the ability to go off-the-dome with their bars and drop dizzing freestyles and rebuttals. And of course, both had infamous altercations with Math Hoffa….yeah that’s right, Serius Jones and Dizaster on the KOTD stage to see who can rap better! And the result? Kind of mixed, as while neither really brought their A-game, this was still a pretty solid battle what with some hot punchlines, freestyles, witty barbs and personals galore. Getting right to it, despite a nice, but a little predictable go-round from Serius (that allowed him to give his own drawn-out version of what happened between him and Diz after the Math/Diz fight), Diz edged the first round with a hilarious and performance-heavy turn that ‘of course’ centered around Hoffa, but still hit with wild scenarios and a couple of fly (“I’ll hit you harder than he hit you before, smack him right in his hairline, United Airlines, drag a chin on the floor!”) haymakers. A battle that was filled with tension throughout as Diz seemingly got flustered and frustrated with Serius’ well-known ‘interruptions’ as well as an apparent lack of respect he had for his opponent’s skills, a witty and heavy-on-the-personal-side turn in round 2 by Diz was edged by a couple of fire rebuttals along with some solid wordplay and fiery (“I’m getting more Arab money than you, if you not a believer then let’s tally bans [Taliban’s]!”) punches/personals by a more condensed Mr. Jones. A more turned up than usual Diz speed raps his way through the 3rd, mixing in some nice schemes and punches, but once again getting edged by a more consistent, punch-heavy and mocking with the personals turn by Serius.
Verdict: Serius Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Serius Jones – “I told y’all nigga’s man, I just speak from life experience, you shouldn’t have been in here playing with your death, life is serious [Serius]!”
Recap: When it comes to wordplay, Street Hymns can often overplay his hand and that leads to a lot of reaches, especially in this Bullpen Battle League matchup versus Brixx Belvy. Of course, that’s not a knock to the 4 Horseman’s overall ability seeing as he can rap and despite some reaches here and there, he did score with enough prolific darts to take round 2 here. But frankly speaking, if not for Belvy’s own lack of consistency (esp. after a spitfire, punch-heavy round 1) with the amount of reaching Street was doing throughout this battle, a vet like Belvy barely edging the 3rd for the win is pretty self-evident.
Verdict: Brixx (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Brixx Belvy – “Scripture for scripture, hey that ain’t what you wanna do, as a virgin you couldn’t understan what this was coming [cumming] too!”
Recap: After Born edges a rather pedestrian 1st round with a slightly more consistent and condensed turn than his opponent, both he and (“But if you spot this all-black eagle on me, it’s not for play, so move out the way when I’m aiming this, basically, the point of everything I was syaing is, if you see a dark wing duck, let’s get dangerous!”) Eaze turn it up in a pretty even and exciting 2nd that contained some dope wordplay, potent set-ups and fiery bars on both sides. However, still ahead going into the 3rd, after a nice round from Eaze, Born’s punchline-themed round and chance at winning is blown by an ill-timed slip-up towards the end, thus giving the round to his opponent and making this one a draw at the end.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Born – “What you thought?, that you would be buzzing off a nigga?, the ratchet caught his face in a shot, like when ya side bitch got your ass ducking out the picture!”
Recap: Dre Dennis (“Like a little white lie, I been [bend] the truth”!) can rap often and forever, but elongated rounds can work against him as is the case where after splitting the first round with a just as solidly nice (“Flow illegal, plain [plane] outta here, Muslim people!”) Spee Dolla, Dennis easily takes the 2nd round with way more fiery (“It’s a wrap with a hand on my hip, like the old Tsu Surf!”) punchlines, hitting gun bars and a nice rebuttal at the intro. Going into the 3rd with the lead, it’s more of the same sizzling (“I’ll swing them arms back like George Jefferson walking!”) lines for Dre in the 3rd…except for him once again rapping too long and really lacking variety with the bars, which in turn waters down his consistency as his punches aren’t always hitting with the same impact. And that leaves Spee Dolla, while dishing fierce wordplay along with some nice (“Grab a street sweeper, barrel look like a Louisville, water Tommy gun, that clip could make a movie reel!”) performance bars in what was his best round despite a shorter turn than his opponent (with but with a higher bar quotient), with enough will and a little more variety to take the round and earn a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Spee Dolla – “Different picture, you chumps will be slumped if I looked to hit ya, shortie riding, she fixing to rock it [rocket], he Hidden Figures!”
Recap: Here’s a case where one-on-one tag-in’s get to be a little too much, as after getting hammered by a barrage of Stuey Newton’s scintillating punchlines and bully bars in this one-rounder from We Go Hard, a dogmatic, but inconsistent Gwitty tags in his boy Reepah Rell for what amounted to be a fiery minute of ‘old head’ bars that Gwitty can’t claim credit for. Thus, what turned to be a highly entertaining battle, is still, bar wise, an easy decision with Stuey the victor.
Verdict: Stuey Newton (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Stuey Newton -“When I spray necks, big enough to knock an organ back, but think safe sex….it got the rubber grip to absorb the clap!”
Recap: Against the underrated puncher Stricc, Young Kannon survives a spitfire 2nd round from his stoic, but still combative opponent with his own plethora of able-bodied punchlines, stinging personals, righteous mayhem and festive gun bars in both the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “We don’t care about your time in jail, ‘cuz all real nigga’s did time too for grinding sales, big ass bags…I could take T-Top’s mama from his clientele!”
Recap: Two crazy pen’s go at it on the WeGoHard stage and besides a disjointed 2nd round by Showff and too many slip-ups from Saint Mic in the deciding 3rd round, it still made for a close and fiery battle throughout. Round one is edged to Showoff, as despite his opponent having arguably the best line of the round (and perhaps battle), Show’s consistently potent (“Open my closet, a dead body is the only one a nigga found, but it’s a million dollars when I want a nigga now, ‘cuz I’ll leave a body with 6 0’s, I’ll be the 1, 2, calm a nigga down!”) bars, designed to boast his Brooklyn scorecard, set back a very hard and well-crafted turn from Mic who didn’t really heat up till the middle of his round. Second round saw Saint Mic come back to even things out with an intense and loaded (“Yeah, we rapping, Show, but I really came in the box on the low….I’m a date raper!”; “I cruised up, with them ‘matics, blued up, I’m Democratic!”) barfest that was littered with lofty wordplay and swanky gun bars. Going into the 3rd tied with each battler ready to take it, it was anyone’s guess who’d win. But it’s Showoff, after a bit of a slow start, who gets his hand raised in the end, overcoming a superb adn wide-ranged (“You cool on RBE, but to URL you still RPG!”) but gaffe-prone round by Mic to edge the final round with a better flow, steely, (“Midday, that .12 will lift him in the air…that’s how I knew him!”) animated gun lines and rapid heat laced with each dart.
Verdict: Showoff (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Saint Mic – “You gay, bring a whole new meaning to keeping hammer’s on ya hip, the irony, we all seen Belly and I’m the Obama nigga, yet you the one out here with all the banana on ya lip!”
Recap: A more versatile, (“You don’t buy no milk, put food in the house, true story, talking crazy, when I’m the reason your son got them new Jordan’s!) personal, condensed and punch-heavy Snake Eyez goes in on a (“It’s ironic how my reach got longer after I ate a thot, now I gotta play Snake games!”) solid, gun-bar heavy, but elongated Eazy the Block Captain, scoring a victory on yet another Philly battler with erstwhile sports bars, flexing wordplay and a steady stream of menacing bully bars.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “Run up on me while I’m leaving, I’m clapping, Larry Bird, ’88 3-point contest…I’m shooting with the jacket!”
Recap: Not the best you’ve seen from O’fficial. But while the gritty Tori Doe came with some hot lines/wordplay here and there, her lack of a consistent effort in addition to O’s ability to dish just enough heated wordplay and stinging (“I would give you some breasts, but you don’t want the brisket!”) punches gets the New Orleans vixen the deciding 3rd round and the win.
Verdict: O’fficial (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tori Doe – “Small at the bottom, wide at the top, how you shaped like the wifi?”
Recap: Dishing nicely with fiery intricate raps and feelgood wordplay that were at times laced with salacious biblical themes, Ha Double scores a one-round win over a Johnny Parelli, who hit hard with a couple of haymakers here and there, but at the end of the day spent too much time firing off pedestrian bars, when he wasn’t obsessing over Ha Double’s ‘greasy’ hair.
Verdict: Ha Double (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ha Double – “Ebony God is the way I’m gonna black on this bitch…it’s beautiful!”
Recap: Even with a dope performance from Mr. Wavy, this battle vs. Bill Collector is a laborious one. But I guess elongated rounds (esp. from Wavy) are to be expected when you’ve been on the shelf and sitting on bars for awhile. Either way, pitted against a boatload of random darts and sluggish bars from BC (who only things competitive in the 1st round), Wavy not only made it look easy but earned his paycheck with a barrage of fine-tuned gun lines, gritty punchlines, nice performance bars, ill dance moves and witty personals to score a 30.
Verdict: Mr. Wavy (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Mr. Wavy – “This strap curb nicely, that’s behind the back!”
Recap: In light of a fight almost breaking out here in this matchup between Big Kannon and Jay Rell, it makes sense that their apparent real-life dislike for each other would warrant them both writing so many personals prior to their battle. Still, while Rell’s requisite fat jokes were (“Why, every time you bake food, you caress the oven?”) pretty funny at times, Kannon with a wider realm of more creative personals along with potent schemes, a slightly more cohesive flow and nasty (“I sized you up, and you know what?, I understand why the fans do not respond, nigga, because it’s Harry Potter, you can’t say nothing magical without Duwang, nigga!”) punchlines, managed to edge the latter two rounds after a debatable 1st, to get the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “And your style…nothing’s changed, I mean I know exactly what you’ll say, ‘Kannon, you have a wide and disgusting frame’, I’m only mocking Jay before he gets into the Hunger Games!”
Recap: Adept at pointing out his opponent’s flaws within his own raps, YaBoyClip hilariously does it again here against the unorthodox (“You too light-skinned to say ‘Stop it Black!'”) stylings of L3. That, along with fierce wordplay and some nice punchlines adds up to a win for the WeGoHard vet.
Verdict: YaBoyClip (W) 1-0
Favorite line: YaBoyClip – “See, in this ring this nigga all ass, that Rakishi, but the ratchet trying to take the nigga outta the hood like Dashiki!”
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I’m live, bars connect in the air…Wi-Fi, you another burger that’s buns…Five Guys!”
Recap: Solid, rugged and (“You too old to be telling people it’s baby fat!”) jokefest turn by Beez is turned back by a more potent, freestyle-laden and (“This pistol is like flattery, nigga this shit gonna get me everywhere!”) steely round from Marv Won, in this one-rounder from Barbarian Battle Grounds.
Verdict: Marv Won (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Marv Won – “That’s gonna have me kicking doors where you at, nigga let’s see if your hinges work, and I ain’t even looking for no dope, I’m trying to see how much your friends is worth!”
Recap: Consistently slick with the wordplay, but also mixing in some fiery name flips, meaty personals and flexing punchlines throughout her turn, in this 1-rounder from I Grind Battle League, 40 B.A.R.R.S. is also able to take advantage of a couple of slip-ups from an otherwise gritty and punch-heavy Big T, to win this battle.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 1-0
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “Gun in his face got Terrence talking to himself right before he die, I will blow the ultra-ego out a nigger once a Tip hit T eye [T.I.]!
Recap: Aggressive with the braggadocio lines along with the trap talk and even mixing in a rare rebuttal in the middle of the round, overall Rosenberg Raw’s arsenal proves to be way too much for the very basic bars of Parlay.
Verdict: Rosenberg Raw (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rosenberg Raw – “At the bottom of the barrel is where I might leave ya, I’ll take a blade and turn your shirt into a wife-beater!”
Recap: Nary lacking for confidence, Swamp uses a gang of boastful stunting, scintillating gun bars, fiery personals and flippant name flips to beat back a solid and gritty, but nowhere-near-as-potent turn by Polo in this 1-rounder from Carolina Barrs Rap Battle league.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swamp – “Every time this bitch open his mouth, dog gonna lick a shot, that’s a Snapchat filter!”
Recap: It’s NWX all day as Th3 Saga punctuates his bars with winning name flips, righteous jokes, spitfire (“For the bread, a scuff will [scuffle] make me hit a lick like my white shoes dirty!”) wordplay and fierce, animated (“I’ll make the murder look so clean, first I’ll body his whole team, and point something weird on his head…Professor Rogaine!”) punchlines to score an easy 30 over mostly one-dimensional up-n-comer Sparks.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I don’t care if you came prepared, you’ll still [steel] die, I’m not Logan!”
Recap: From Ireland’s Rap is Full league, the witty barbs and brazen personals/punches from Dublin rapper Siyo score at times, but overall fail to pack enough consistent heat to beat back, in the opening rounds of this 3-rounder, a more consistently scheme-hitting, set-up-lit and versatile punching Real Deal.
Verdict: Real Deal (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Real Deal – “You thought this match would change your life, well its sad to say you’re fucked, game face, Trevor gotta crack the whip and son Simon like its Castlevania!”
Recap: One-rounders don’t get much more sizzling than this as both (“Nicki Minaj, just because you got your fake ass shot, doesn’t mean you can handle Twerk!”) Phenom and Dougy hit hard with a barrage of spine-tickling gun bars and fiery wordplay. Still it’s a more consistent Dougy, with a sterling performance that gamely backed his plethora of (“You came up pussy, not on some killer shit, he grew up to kidnap girls, you still [steal] a bitch!”; “Just know that if I ever said an average bar, I mean what I say!”) haymakes, who brings this one back home for Brooklyn.
Verdict: Dougy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dougy – “The only Phenom that could make it out of these bars is Lil Kodak, nigga!”
