Recap: Some early points on this battle: 1) This would’ve been a debatable classic if not for the Tsu Surf’s choke in round 3, 2) Surf has to do a better job at handling crowd reactions, it’s something every battle rapper has to deal with and ever since the 2-on-2 battle with Surf & Tay Roc vs. K-Shine & DNA, we’ve noticed that Surf has a hard time dealing with interruptions and 3) Yes, as Loaded Lux proved versus Calicoe, you can still win a battle even with a choke. That being said, this one clearly comes down to the first round as what was setting up to be a dope 3rd round (what with a great start by Surf) got deflated by two slip-ups by the Jersey vet before the aforementioned choke. So all Top had to do was deliver a solid, slip-up free turn, which he did with some hard personals and an ill (“Battle two times a month and you fucking up on your verses, Ha!”) Juvenile impression that showed off Top’s lowkey comical side. 2nd round easily belonged to Surf, despite a dope (tho elongated) turn from Top, it’s a confident Tsunami who dials up a blueprint on how to beat Top what with potent angles on Top’s trap house (“If we gonna rap, let’s rap, only what’s true nigga, like how your mother was on smack waaaayyy before you nigga!”; “She smoked your stash, that’s why you don’t fuck with ya mother!”) duplicity as well as righteous haymakers that more than hit their mark. Onto the first round where the only debate lies, what with both Surf and Top bringing their A-game and landing hard with winsome bars and steely street chatter. A close round with an equal amount of haymakers from each, it’s Surf who edges it with more creative angles, flawless flow, fire punches, a slightly better performance and more originality (in what added up to be a classic) in that Top may’ve bitten a couple of shiners from fellow adversaries Math Hoffa (the ‘Plies’ bar} and Tay Roc (the ‘Spic-n-span’ bar), the latter of whom, ironically, was on stage at the battle. So while the choke in all likelihood prevents this battle from being a contender for ‘Battle of the Year’, this spitfire matchup does nothing to take away from each battler’s top tier status.
Verdict: Tsu Surf (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tsu Surf – “Custodian after school, walking with a mop, Earl Manigualt, i could knock a quarter outta Top!”
