Recap: Old school and the new generation intertwine for a fire battle between Chess and Tay Roc on the URL/Smack stage. And here we see the two battlers give the fan’s their money’s worth starting with an aggressive Chess spitting a lyrically mammoth 1st round (i.e. classic) that shined throughout with its consistent bent for over-the-top punch (“This nigga’s pussy and he’s a frail ho, talking like he’s gonna creep up with his heater, hell no, we ain’t seen Roc put an arm on Chess [chest] since the People’s Elbow!”) acumen, grittiness and stinging wordplay, before Roc (who himself had a pretty solid 1st round) would come right back, after losing the opening round, with a sometimes witty, but brazen with the personals, (“You can’t handle that old Roc that was a teenager, I’ll put ya face in front of a MAC, that’s a screensaver!”) punchline-savvy and gun bar heavy 2nd round to beat a solid but not as potent turn by Chess and make it a draw going into the 3rd. The last round would feature yet another hard-bodied, mayhem-drenched, street endorsed, sometimes personal, braggadocios and rigid turn by both battlers. But with an equal amount of haymakers on both sides along with Roc dishing a more condensed turn with less dry spots, the edge here goes to the B-more vet.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “My block? you would never dare pass, .38 and it hold dum dums, this a special ed class, aye they ain’t tell you my style type gutter?, give you a buck 50, now you and Steams can smile like brothers!”
