Recap: Hey, battle rap has come a long way and I have no problem with Eminem, a former battle rapper himself, giving back to the culture by putting on this Total Slaughter event. Still, why Ebro was there is beyond me, considering all the shitting on battle rap that he’s been renowned noted for. And while the production was slick and on point, mic issues seemed to be a problem throughout the night I hope that someone approached host Sway after the battle to tell him what the meaning of ‘rebuttal’ is.
As for this battle, a comfortable and clearly motivated Arsonal easily 3-0’ed a usually competitive Big T with a steady barrage of winning personals, feelgood (“What happened T, you used to be the man killing them, bars was heavy, but you got lighter over the years..Aunt Vivian!”) wordplay and rich set-ups and let to even (“I’m from where they say don’t pull your glock out if you don’t plan on it shooting, shhhhhhiiiiittttt I’m like Daylyt tattoo artist, I’m drawing on a nigga even if I don’t know what I’m doing!”) richer performance bars. And while Big T didn’t seemed to be intimated by the big stage, his lack of potent wordplay, persistent bouts of righteous (“Nigga I killed a lion, what y’all mad I ain’t spar hard with the kittens?”) filler and stumbles in the last round were a bit surprising to say the least. Too bad as Arsonal’s latter rounds weren’t nearly as crazy as his first, which lets you know that if Big T had brought his A-game, he would’ve had a chance good to win. But none of that was the Arsonal’s fault as Jersey gets another dub.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Arsonal – “Tahiry was like this with JR Smith [licks lips emulating sucking a –] it’s a boy!”
