Recap: Rapping, at times, with the speedy, mayhem-lit flow from his old Grind Time days, but in this case a bit more versatile (esp. with the personals), scheme-friendly and rigid with the wordplay, an overall more condensed Cortez does enough in the 1st and 3rd round to beat back the oft-biting, unorthodox, but not-always-stealth 2-step styling’s of Jakkboy Maine in this 2nd-round Ultimate Madness 3 tournament.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “Yellow tape the body he could model for oft-white!”
Recap: From the 2nd round of URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament, Rum Nitty uses a barrage of sizzling punchlines, rigid name flips and steely personals/wordplay to handily beat back a personal-loaded, but overall spotty Drugz (who ironically seemed to do better against Nitty in their 1st bout).
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “The first time I took Drugz, I ain’t play no games…I’m Len Bias!”
Recap: UM3 2nd-round matchup between Prep and Casey Jay comes down to the round 2 (too many slip-ups by Prep in round 1 cost him there, but he clearly out-punched CJ in round 3) which the mighty gun-bar waving and slightly more spicy with the punches/personals Casey Jay edges for the win.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “Your whole class passed you and lapped you Brandon, you don’t know if you want to be Urkel or Steffon, you’ve had a hard time branding!”
Recap: A couple of dudes who just teamed up for a 2-on-2 together, Swamp and Geechi Gotti, meet up in the 2nd round of URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament and it’s a more versatile and steadily hitting Gotti, dialing up everything from head-ringing street missives, bruising punchlines, piercing name flips, witty personals and even a fly 2nd round rebuttal who does more than enough to take all 3 rounds for win over his gritty, but topsy-turvy opponent.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Nigga this ain’t a game, you said you broke down mo’ dimes than Kevin Samuels, that’s how you livin’? That ain’t shit bro, I ain’t kiddin’, you need to know the dope game how I’m really livin’, cuz I love you, but I had more O’s [hoes] on my track than Lenny Williams!”
Recap: From Bloody Scene, a mid-round roasting session on her opponent amongst a gang of bruising punchlines just to add some levity to her turn and First Ladii Flamez proceeds to make easy work of a solid and gritty, but not nearly as potent Stace in this 1-rounder.
Verdict: First Ladii Flamez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: First Ladii Flamez – “You stupid fuck, why would you agree to be my speed bag?, been knew these punches mean, you just proved I got a clean jab!”
Recap: As intense and biting as Tu Sabe got his personals during this 1-rounder, you kind of got the feeling that even a vet like Real Deal could tolerate only but so much. And something must’ve happened to unnerve Sabe or RD during Deal’s turn as the battle suddenly got interrupted and cut off midway through RD’s round, leaving this Homegrown Battlegrown bout a no contest.
Recap: OK, I’ll just come right out and say it, I miss The Goonies…now back to our regularly scheduled recap. Besides the ever-excitable Drugz talking through his opponent’s round at times, ex-Goonies, Ryda vs. Drugz for 1 round on Battle Rap Trap, is a dope one. The Gun Show putting away the firepower for the most part and getting busy (and witty) with a fierce angle on his opponent’s alleged drinking issues, sex life and street cred. On the other hand, a more versatile Ryda was consistently on go what with a stellar round of shrewd name flips/metaphors, hard-hitting personals, righteous schemes and piercing punchlines/wordplay. A close one with enough intensity and skeletons coming out the closet to likely lessen any chance of the Goonies ever getting back together, the more haymaker-lit Ryda gets the edge here.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ryda – “You got into the NBA of this shit and couldn’t perform well in the street?!, You had a one-on-one, with Moon, one the block, hands up, you was never supposed to be leaving your feet!”
Recap: Dope showings with plenty of mayhem and boastful lines verbalized here by both Kang and Danny Myers in this 1-rounder from GOTG. And while the two also spouted some stinging personals and head-ringing punches along the way, Danny’s more witty barbs coupled with a couple of spicy rebuttals gets him the win.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “I got an experiment, I need y’all to do this with me, if there was an undercover agent disguised as battle rapper, who would it be?!”
Recap: Dope URL App exclusive battle here between Chess and Loso features a gang of blistering name flips from both battlers to go along with some righteous personals, wily angles, unfettered Christian-themed darts and piercing punchlines that altogether kept the battle ultra-close for 3 rounds. Each battler extolling on Chess’ memorable win over Loso’s 4 Horseman bro Th3 Saga some years back added some extra spice to the battle. And Loso’s passionate bars on his family’s struggles with certain vices and how they helped shape him as a man, were also gripping. That said, while Loso being a ‘fake Christian’ (as Chess alleged during one of his rounds) is hard to fathom, assisted a bit by Loso attempting to get virtuous with his opponent in an indignant manner that K-Shine pulled off better during his battle with Chess, the CakeLyfe capo’s ability to get extra busy with some sublime wordplay throughout the bout much less present a more cohesive package with his bars allows Chess to edge an exquisite and punch-heavy round 1, before a more set-up rich, spirited and supremely well-arched 2nd by the 22yo allows him to edge that round too for the win. A pontificating, but more consistently hitting Loso would edge the final 3rd round to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Chess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chess – “Ya man talkin’? I’ma hook his jaw, then I’m checking Lo’s [Lowes] like Home Depot ain’t have what I was lookin’ for!”
Recap: Bill Collector made it known online how disappointed he was in himself after his recent Big T battle and judging from this bout with a pretty solid, but at times lackadaisical Quban, he wasn’t kidding. ‘Ol Billiano getting busy, after a bit of a slow start, with a clean slate of punches/hot wordplay as well as a couple of hot rebuttals while spouting a bunch of gritty (and at times witty) back to back burners/name flips in the latter half of his turn during this Do Or Die Battle League 1-rounder, to gain the win.
Verdict: Bill Collector (W) 1-0
Favorite line; Bill Collector – “Thinking you a Don Qub?, till this A. [.8] Boogie you down, like the Bronx in the 80s!”
Recap: The ‘Craig/Friday’ name flips are at this point a no-brainer. But an otherwise gritty, wordplay/personal-spicy and back-to-back punch-lit performance by Steams gets him a 30 over a solid at times, but also flow-challenged to the point of choking away his 3rd round Craig Lamar in this App Exclusive battle from URL.
Verdict: Steams (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Steams – “You more metro than a San Francisco trolley!”
Recap: From TrapHouse NY, aggressive and gritty punch-fest between J Murda and True Maserati comes with an at times heated barrage of sizzling street missives, righteous showmanship, fierce name flips and hard-hitting personals (esp. in round 3). A fealty too for witty bars on each other’s crew and Spanish hijinks, after the two split the opening rounds, it’s only right that a blistering 3rd by both battlers makes this one a draw.
Recap: Still underrated to this day for his punch game, Ty Law uses a boatload of wily similes, some hitting name flips and piercing gun bars to beat back a brazen, but mostly pedestrian Kashmoney in this 3-rounder from Bar4Bar Rap Battle League.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “They say if this was the 80s you’d be dealing the work, nah if this was the 80s you’d be in LeVert!”
Recap: Helped by a wayward bar spitting (rd. 1), but also aggressive and punch-heavy (esp. during round 2 which he edged) at times Nunn Nunn piggybacking themes that have been used on him aplenty in the past (i.e. the Silk shirt, the notorious Mike P battle and Swave Sevah’s ‘You pussy’ diss), a versatile, righteous when need be, spicy name flip-tossing, gun bar/punch-lit and witty Ryda does enough to take both the opening and deciding 3rd round for the win in this close App exclusive bout from URL.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ryda – “Nigga’s always talking about Ryda be drinking and treat ’em like it’s a fucking joke, but now I ain’t coming back until I get Nitty or Ill…I need my Rum and Coke!”
Recap: One-rounder from GOTG sees the ever-unorthodox Jakkboy Maine comes through with a fly rebuttal, some solid name flips and whimsical wordplay during his turn. Yet, while he did rap nearly twice as long as his opponent, a consistently gritty, name flip/personal-savvy and steadier flowing Zay Smoove does manage to stoke enough heat to make this a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Zay Smoove – “We wanna know how God let you survive lupus just to cause the culture cancer!”
Recap: Fire 1-rounder on GOTG between a returning-to-the-battle-rap-scene Johnie Alcatraz and Kyd Slade sees the former deliver a gang of haymakers via a bunch of slick wordplay, stifling gun bars and rich punchlines/metaphors. On the other hand, Slade would be equal to the task, using gritty storytelling, some hard-hitting (“No cap, like if you fall off, you probably gonna get lost and need a road map, I’m a take it back to the box, stick and a string, yunno the old trap!”) trap talk, authentic street shit, witty personals and some well-laced heat of his own to force a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Johnie Alcatraz – “Mausberg, put the pressure on Kyd like ‘Who you wanna live with, me or mommy?!'”
Recap: This 1-rounder from Deathwish Battle League sees Klutz take down a pretty gritty and witty at times punchfest from opponent Palmer Boi with a boatload of aggressive boasts, festive gun bars, some crazy name flips and double entendre’s as well as a host of twisted wordplay and slick punches that more than made their mark to gain the win.
Verdict: Klutz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Klutz – “God pen, I never bit a flow, but I could probably walk on it!”
Recap: Sure, some of the punches can be a bit obscure, but think harder and don’t let that minor factor diminish M. Ciddy’s ability to land his bars effectively, Add to that some rigid personals and strong wordplay during the 1st two rounds here against Ooops and before the slightly more punch-heavy, righteous and condensed ‘Superman’ edged the 3rd, it’s a solid win for the Detroit vet.
Verdict: M. Ciddy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: M. Ciddy – “The whole truth is that you really out the whole loop, you style like Batman Beyond…it’s getting old Bruce!”
Recap: From a Bloody Scene card, both (“Real nigga’s don’t get Loud Dre, they get money!”) Shooney Da Rapper and Dre Dennis bring the mayhem, get extra spicy with the personals and fiery with punches in this 1-rounder. But some pedestrian bars from Dre and a lack of a clean round from Shooney makes this one a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “The blade left blood all over Shoo [shoe]…Lil Nas X!”
Recap: From GOTG, consistently hitting with a gritty mix of righteous darts, stifling punchlines/name flips and bruising 4-bar set-ups/similes, HNH Zeek handily gets the win in this 1-rounder over a topsy-turvy Bill Collector.
Verdict: HNH Zeek (W) 1-0
Favorite line: HNH Zeek – “Your man set you up, it’s like a deuce-deuce, it’s an inside job with no exit!”
Recap: A wily, but topsy-turvy effort from OG Grizzly ends up being no match for Bad Newz, who in this 3-rounder from Bullpen Battle League, uses a gang of hardbody punches, rigid gun bars, graphic mayhem and random old jokes to edge round 1 before handily taking both of the latter rounds for the shutout.
Verdict: Bad Newz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bad Newz – “Nigga, my trigger finger always itching when I’m gripping the .4, so I popped a perp…man that bitch started itching some more!”
Recap: From KOTD, liked Dot Everything’s meandering flow/wordplay and the fact that he’s a stickler for non-personals. But a 3rd round choke from Dot and a Snake Eyez on his A-game with an aggressive, consistent and gritty mix of fiery punchlines, dope name flips and bruising gun bars leaves Mr. One Eye Willy with the 30.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “Remember when ya mama told you mind ya business while she talking?, Everything ain’t meant to be heard!”
Recap: Newest NWX member Fonz gets off to a hot start with his new team, letting off a barrage of consistently bruising punchlines, piercing name flips, graphic mayhem and flexing wordplay/personals/gun bars to beat back a hardbody, but inconsistent potent Drop Da Rula in this 1-rounder from State 2 State Hip Hop.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “New Midwest and I’m the nigga that showed you the way…North Star!”
Recap: No cake walk here as Th3 Saga, who’s been killing these 1-rounders of late, gets some tough comp in the form of Sully Seventeen, a rigid punching Jersey battler who came through with a gang of piercing (esp. liked the ‘You know what’s the difference between a cop and bullet?, both of them kill but only one’s getting fired!’ line) punchlines and hitting/righteous punchlines to make things close. But a handful of pedestrian bars here and there and a couple of wayward/dated angles on his opponent by Mr. Seventeen combined with the 4 Horseman capo dialing up a steady stream of staunch name flips, sturdy heat, boastful barbs and nasty punchlines, let’s you know that the Saga continues.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Not just you, but I’ll bring your squad pain, because if Lebron only drops Seventeen at the Garden, it’s an off game!”
Recap: A bit lengthy, but still gritty 1-rounder here from Organyzed Cryme Battle League between an always game Cortez and a performance-stunting and witty at times Sunny Red features a plethora of graphic mayhem, boastful barbs and raucous punches from both battlers. However, even with an almost equal amount of haymakers on each end, it’s a more condensed Cortez, extra fly with the name flips, a little more consistently hard-hitting and able to score too with some deft use of local references, who ends up earning the win.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “Tell these nigga’s stop before I pop that clip, the blood stains on this Tee, you can’t block that shit, I’m talking street sweepers, a bloody mess, you can’t mop that shit, I just left with bloody shoes, but it’s not my drip!”
Recap: First time I’m seeing Hope Trilly and here in this Battlerap Society 3-rounder against Bonnie Godiva she impresses, using a gritty collage of piercing punchlines, flexing gun bars and righteous personals to keep things competitive. Yet, after a somewhat lengthy and a bit flow-challenged turn cost her round 1, with the help on an elite freestyle/rebuttal game, a slightly more condensed, spicy name flipping and heat-ringing Bonnie manages to edge the 2nd round before really getting back on her grind with some more off-the-dome stunting, hard-hitting punches/personals and stinging wordplay to also edge the deciding 3rd round and earn the win.
Verdict: Bonnie Godiva (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bonnie Godiva – “By nighttime, your lifeline better pick up the calls at the right time or end up on Fox 5, I spread Hope on the street, I fight crime!”
Recap: One too many ‘Paige’ name flips and a bit of a flow-challenged Jerry Wess, who was slightly better overall with the personals than the punches (where he was a little predictable in the opening rounds, before he came through with a dope 3rd), leaves Swamp, who steadily finessed throughout this Ultimate Madness 3 first-round battle with a bunch of ill street rhythms/set-ups, witty/shrewd personals and steely gun bars with the edge in rounds 1 and 2 for the win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “You always talking about your muthafuckin’ car, like that shit is cool…your car is a piece of shit, but my gun is a lemon too!”
Recap: From Body Bag Battle League, in this 1-rounder a more condensed and bar efficient Glueazy uses a gang of boastful barbs, stifling gun bars and gritty punchlines to beat back a gritty and hitting at times, but mostly pedestrian Fleezy Jones.
Verdict: Glueazy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Glueazy – “The can hit him and his man with him, face shot [BWOH!] now ya dog covered in fleas!”
Recap: From the 1st round of URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament. After a slightly more punch-lit and ill battle career breakdown/personal-savvy Prep edges round 1, opponent Swave Sevah uses a raucous, bullish and witty at times 2nd round to split things going into the 3rd. And that’s when Prep decided to leave earth what with a consistently blazing, personally hard-hitting and set-up/haymaker-rich final round that handily beat back a solid, but nowhere-near-as-fiery round from Swave.
Verdict: Prep (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prep – “You was here before the T-Rex’s…you Ice age!”
Recap: Battling at a rampant pace, but still able to stay on his A-game (much less participate in a tournament), Geechi Gotti uses a gang of mocking personals, gripping gang life banter, steely punchlines and flexing gun bars/wordplay to handily beat back a gun line-lit, but also topsy-turvy Riggz in both of the opening rounds before an elongated 3rd by Geechi (who was complaining about time limits in both of the previous rounds) coupled with a shorter, but gritty, pretty solid-punching and bar efficient turn by Riggz makes the final run of this UM3 opening round bout debatable.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I been hella gifted, this a level 1 verse Max security, the pen-level different!”
Recap: Can’t recall anyone being this upset at winning a battle as we witnessed Casey Jay here. The Texas battled clearly peeved after her win–in the 1st round of the URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament–which was helped in part by Nu Jerzey Twork choking away his 1st and 3rd round’s (Twork also slipped up a couple of times in round 2, but somehow made it through to complete his turn). But everyone’s seen this movie before with Twork and to judge Minnesota Luke’s point afterwards, he’ll still keep getting booked regardless. Still, while one can understand Casey wanting a better battle, moving on to the next round is all that matters
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “Your style ain’t even your style, I’m so annoyed, but he swear he did everything first like Soulja Boy!”
Recap: Dope Ultimate Madness 3 opening round matchup here between Jakkboy Maine and T Top has the more consistently hitting, wordplay/name flip-spicy and metaphor-rich Jakk taking the only clear win in round 2 to get the dub and move on to the round as while Top’s dizzying angles, rigid trap talk and piercing punches kept things close and competitive, some redundancy/laziness with the personals would cost The Bear in the end.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “;Cuz y’all lookin’ at a Bear in a hat, so what’s next is the forest fire, nigga no survivors, the steel’ll air, third eye, I’m still aware, I was out in Memphis, gettin’ arms with legs and muzzles so I could Build-A-Bear!”
Recap: Astonishly, a lot of the recaps on this Ultimate Madness 3, 1st round battle between O’fficial and Cortez seemed to center around people making the mistake of sleeping on Cortez (esp. when it came to those who wagered on the bout). And while that might be partly true, the fact of the matter is that if you’re going to put money on O’fficial winning vs. a top tier male battle rapper, you might want to go on YouTube, do a little research and see that O’fficial’s history against top tier’s hasn’t been good of late. And yeah, with all that shit-talking O’fficial did before this battle, seeing her slip-up so many times, choke in the 3rd round and bring so many subpar bars to a $100k tournament was certainly karma workimg its magic. But then too the reality we saw here is that the wicked gun bar-slinging, punchline/personal-stunting and wordplay-lit Cortez, especially with his experience in the game, should’ve been favored to win in the first place.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “I’m Puerto Rican…you already know, I hit bitches!”
Recap: From LetsTalkAboutIt Tv, gritty, gun bar-blazing and impressive showing here from Celly Cell (esp. that ‘Get 30 with a .40, that shot kill more nobodies than Dre Dennis’ line in a debatable round 1). But a condensed Chef Trez (without a single rebuttal btw) ever-steady with the gripping punchlines, dope set-ups, stinging name flips and rim-rocking heat throughout this battle, manages to edge both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “If I lift iron [BANG!] Grid Iron Gang, don’t let you being tough get you rocked in the field!”
Recap: Extra gritty PG here between Ace Amin and Burke Bucs stayed super competitive, spicy and intense all the way through what with the performance-lit Ace spouting a gang of fiery multi’s, sizzling name flips, righteous street shit and during round 2 a couple of dope mid-round freestyles/rebuttals. But the underrated Bucs also came through with plenty of verbal warfare, delivering a boatload of raucous punchlines, bruising gun bars, some witty barbs and a gang of flippant personals/mayhem. An almost hour-long battle that also featured a bit of tension between the respective rappers battle rap camps (Cave vs. Goonie), the slightly more haymaker-rich Ace Amin edges round 1 before a more condensed Bucs too the 2nd. 3rd round was yet another close one and a goodie, but once again it’s a slightly more consistently hitting and punch-heavy Ace who edges the final round for the win.
Recap: Not to take anything away from Geechi Gotti, who provided two killer opening rounds (and a pretty solid 3rd) littered with a shitload of scathing personals to earn the win here in this long-awaited matchup versus Math Hoffa. But Math’s ultimately perplexing decision to use a battle he’s long campaigned for versus an elite opponent like Gotti and waste so many bars going at his peers (mind you, for years we’ve seen Math ranting on blogs about wanting to battle a Goodz or a Tsu Surf or a Tay Roc, plus for over a year now he’s had his own hit show, My Expert Opinion, where he could easily go on anytime and rant there too) throughout this bout (esp. in round 1) just defies common sense, much less the idea that he might’ve won this battle without them. Indeed, outside of the aforementioned needless raps and a minor slip-up at the end of round 2, via some hard-hitting personals of his own, witty barbs, a bunch of fiery gun bars, some stinging wordplay and yes, even when he went the ‘M. Dot’ route and got on a righteous bender, Math was serving up more than enough consistent heat to warrant more plates on URL (honestly, I think Goodz should just say yes and let it happen already on a Summer Madness or N.O.M.E.). Nonetheless, with all the biting haymakers, verbal warfare, ability to gamely freestyle his way through some turbulence with his flow in round 2, rigid Dizaster fight angles and talk that real street shit throughout the battle (with some cutting jokes mixed in too), there’s still a better that Gotti wins this battle anyway even if Hoffa came more direct. Still would’ve been nice to find out.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Head shots, oh I’m talking too much, that goes to show I’m used to spilling beans!”
Recap: Nu Jerzey Twork can make it look so easy sometimes. And against a pretty dope and gritty showing from B Griff, the Jersey battler would need nothing short of a succinct performance to stand a chance, which he delivered via a gangly bunch of stinging punchlines, some high extra-grade wordplay, a little off-the-dome heat and stifling personals/gun bars during a condensed turn that gave him the win in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “This .80 lift, I lift the chrome up, one shot pray to God that he a goner, only time will tell, he if he alive and well…like Jonah!”
Recap: Sublime battle here between JC and First Lady Flamez who gives the Pontiac, MI, vet all he can handle with a gang of wicked punchlines, real street talk, some wily personals and stinging wordplay that stood out even more when you consider that Flamez stayed on her game and rarely, if ever, went for the sort of name flips and religious angles so many battlers often try to use against JC. Still, while Flamez was her usual brazen and gangsta self, an ever boastful JC sizzled throughout the but with a wide array of blistering personals, mayhem-rich punchlines, stifling gun bars and hitting name flips.
Recap: From URL’s Super Fight 3 card, JC uses a steady barrage of bruising name flips, wicked God-body bars/angles (esp. in round 1) and a bunch of stinging punchlines/personals to beat back a hard-hitting, personal-inclined and mayhem-lit, but overall not as strong or punch-heavy performance from Nunn Nunn.
Verdict: JC (W) 3-0
Favorite line: JC – “I’ll have you talking to a dot like ‘Alexa, play with somebody safe!'”
Recap: After a somewhat long hiatus from battle rap, good to see Big T back on the scene and more importantly looking much more healthier what with the huge weight loss. That aside tho, outside of a dope, more punch-heavy, wordplay-lit round 1 (that we’ll score debatable what with the dated personals by T on BC getting hit by Hitman Holla’s brother Showout), when it comes to who had the better, more shrewd and more consistently spicy material, that would be Bill Collector. Unfortunately for BC, a lack of preparation in both of the latter rounds which would each lead to chokes would hand Big T the win in this 3-rounder from URL’s Super Fight 3 card.
Verdict: Big T (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big T – “Fuck all that, y’all wanna see blood hop out the whip? well it’s 6 9’s in the bitch and we ready to give Billy all those!”
Recap: Pretty emotional and righteous at times, but still competitive Ultimate Madness 3 opening round battle between Yoshi G and Drugz sees the latter go beyond the usual gun bar semantics and wholly address the alleged sexual exploits of his opponent. Whether it was steely lines on protecting his daughter from a wayward lifestyle or ill breakdown’s on Yoshi’s proclivity for thot bars or hard-hitting punchlines dipped in spicy wordplay/real life shit, outside of a near choke in round 3, Drugz had it all here. All the while beating a Yoshi G who while stunted at times with her punches/wordplay and head-ringing/thought-provoking at times with her schemes, could never put it all together with enough consistent heat to avoid getting shutout.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “You ain’t even think you was gonna win, just wanted to be with 13 nigga’s in a small room!”
Recap: From the 1st round of URL’s Summer Madness 3 tournament, even with Serius Jones dialing up the best round the battle (a punch-heavy, versatile and sublime 2nd) and Rum Nitty not quite on his A-game throughout this contest, it’s the gun bar lit, name flip savvy, personal-witty/mocking and more punchline intricate Nitty who edges out the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Rifle, on a tripod, I use it to shoot straight, I put the stand up and got serious [Serius] like I’m losing in 2k
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Bar4Bar Rap Battle League, Fonz employs a blistering round of bruising punchlines, dizzying mayhem and sublime name flips to handily beat back a gritty and gun bar-lit, but mostly pedestrian TID Glo.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “And I could fight, damn right, I’ll ball this nigga up like action figure hands!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Organyzed Cryme Battle League, despite ahandful of run-it-back’s, Sick makes for a mostly solid effort via a gang of spicy gun bars and righteous punchlines. But as he’s consistently shown, no matter what platform he’s on, Ill Will would prove to be too much, beating back his opponent with uproarious mix of rowdy name flips, gritty punches/stroytelling, piercing gun lines and in a rare move for WIll…a couple of extra dope freestyles/rebuttals just in case the versatility escaped your mind.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’ll let this .16 beat you on your bitch tracks…and since your man wanna be in the background [BWOH!] he’ll get an ad-lib!”
Recap: Inter-crew match-ups usually make for dope battles and that’s certainly the case in this Riot Network 1-rounder between NXT and Dev The Demon. Indeed, Dev The Demon’s gritty trio of real street darts, righteous personals and stinging gun bars more than made their mark. But after starting out with a couple of hard-hitting rebuttals/freestyles while taking on the ‘Lil Bro’ role with his raps, NXT’s execution of bruising punchlines, fiery wordplay, mocking personals and performance-rich heat would earn the younger Demons squad member the win.
Recap: In this competitive 3-rounder from Bars Over Bricks, Jakkboy Maine survives a superbly punch-lit Kush in round 1 and comes back with a couple of gritty punching, personal-savvy, gun bar/name flip-bent and condensed turns in the latter rounds to edge an opponent who while still supplying two rounds of punch-heavy linguistics, became a little predictable (as well as elongated) and couldn’t quite match the consistent potency he delivered in the opener.
Recap: Not sure that Cassidy versus Hitman Holla the battle ever had a chance of living up to now infamous faceoff these two just had, but the long-awaited matchup was still a good one. With 3,000-plus battles on his resume and having made hits as recording artist, we all know that Cassidy can rap for days. And the Philly legend proved that once again here with 3 lengthy rounds featuring bar after bar after bar. However, since his return to battle rap the problem with Cassidy remains: he continues to live off of moments (“When you bought those fake teeth, you should’ve bought a smaller size!”), jokes and personals. And in an era where most top tier battle rappers can not only punch hard, but are also either lyrical, performance-heavy, name flip/gun bar-lit, intricate, metaphor/simile/wordplay-rich, angle-savvy, witty, can talk that real street shit, a combination of the few or can create their own, unique lane of battle rap aptitude, with only a couple of attributes to work with and with a knack for dropping way too many pedestrian bars, Cassidy still can’t cut it. And that’s why Cass gets shutout here as a more focused, versatile and condensed Hitman’s ability to excellently retort so many of his opponent’s more hard-hitting personals, win the crowd over at times with some pretty solid wordplay, name flips and punches, score with plenty of boastful barbs and of course, cut up the stage with some performance-friendly stunting gives Ballgame the 30.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “You better watch what you say in your raps, know what I mean Cass?, ‘cuz you could catch a bullet behind those lines like a screen pass!”
Recap: Readily known for his charisma and wit, but over time becoming a dope puncher as well, a versatile (the spicy name flips, salacious food references and graphic mayhem also stood out here), a more haymaker-lit Hollaluyah Jones takes both of the opening rounds of this 3-round We Go Hard battle to get the win, before opponent Bedaffi Green (who outside of being a bit flow-challenged, excelled in the 1st before coming through with a bit of a lackluster 2nd) saves his strongest and most punch-lit round for the 3rd to edge that turn over yet another pretty solid effort from Jones and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Hollaluyah Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hollaluyah Jones – “Random…why Haitain’s always got a first name for a last name?, it be some shit like Jean Michael Jean or some shit like St. Michael Paul, but I still fuck with y’all!”
Recap: Strong showing by a boisterous, mayhem-friendly and personal-lit Gamble here. But assisted by his opponent utilizing the standard, redundant personal’s we’ve heard on his opponent before, it’s a more-turned-up-than-usual, name flip savvy, freestyle-spicy and wordplay/punch-heavy Emerson Kennedy who ends up taking this Camp Grounds 1-rounder.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “This is Jordan’s Last Dance, I ain’t think Gamble was a problem!”
Recap: As if the piercing punchlines, steely personals and rigid wordplay weren’t hard enough, it’s the absolutely sublime name flips from Yung Griz that over the course of 3 rounds that leads to a 30 here over a boisterous and solid punching, but nowhere-near-as-potent run by Rubbatung in this 3-rounder from Free Game Battle League.
Verdict: Yung Griz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Yung Griz – “Big Griz, you a little Tung [tongue] like 1st base!”
Recap: Could’ve sworn that Reed Dollaz announced his retirement from battle rap late last year. But I guess he changed his mind as the Philly legend ‘returns’ to the scene for this 1-rounder on Organyzed Cryme Battle League versus Spaz Mayweather. A pretty solid effort on both sides in lieu of Spaz rapping twice as longer as Reed, but one too many reaches and a handful of mediocre bars by the otherwise gritty/punch/name flip-heavy Mayweather to go along with a more consistently hitting Dollaz really finessing with the name flips/mayhem and boastful punches, gives the self-styled Rambo a close win.
Verdict: Reed Dollaz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Reed Dollaz – “You said your man better than me?, you a damn liar, I’m the one they talked about around the campfire!”
Recap: From IBattleTV, a close 1-rounder here between a gritty and gun-bar-lit Ken Savvy and a personally righteous, intricate, scheme-friendly and surprisingly witty at times Xcel comes down to the Team Homi capo delivering a cleaner turn to go along with a slightly more multifaceted performance for the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Y’all say Ken is sick? well it’s looking like Ken a bitch, another weirdo on Shady shit, you Ken Kaniff!”
Recap: The ‘Who Am I?’ scheme in round 3 was pretty lame (and a clear knockoff the epic ‘Drugs’ scheme he used against Drugz sometime back, but other than that and a debatable 1st round, a more condensed and off-the-dome-lit Danny Myers uses a bunch of stirring punchlines, some heavy-handed name flips and piercing mayhem/personals top edge the latter two rounds and get the win over a competitive and performance-heavy, but also elongated and not as consistently-hitting Kid Chaos in this 3-rounder from URL.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Every time I battle these pinheads, it’s a chain reaction!”
Recap: Capped by a dope closer dedicated to LB Da Boss (RIP), Prez Mafia’s descriptive punchlines, measured mayhem and rigid wordplay/name flips/personals work together to form more than enough haymakers to beat back a pretty solid and gritty effort from Alec Flowin in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “I’m a loose cannon, a Loud boy, but hwne them birds rip out, the silencer Tyson, ‘cuz you hear the [le tchip] before the words come out!”
Recap: In this gritty 1-rounder from We Go Hard, the alternately righteous and socially-conscious lines from Zeus while strong and impactful, still can’t hold a light to a consistently varied, at times witty, set-up savvy and punch-lit performance from a fiery Fettuccine 20.
Verdict: Fettuccine 20 (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Fettuccine 20 – “He got chopped up from limb to limb, pieces of Zeus everywhere, he gonna have to change his name from Him to Them!”
Recap: B. Dot’s good, really good. And pretty smart. But if there’s any notion with Dot that the rapper with the best pen automatically wins battles, then he’s sadly mistaken. And flat-out wrong. Case in point here against Shotgun Suge, who while not noted for having one of the best pen’s, wouldn’t still be in the game after a decade if he wasn’t one of battle rap’s best performers or one of its most wittiest or when on point, one of the most aggressive, grittiest and punch-heavy spitter’s around (and that’s without mentioning the crowd-pleasing ‘Random’ and ‘What His Life Like?’ screeds). So while Dot spent a lot of time (with plenty of mediocre punches mixed in) delivering a talking too to his opponent in round 1, a more condensed, personal/punch-heavy and versatile Suge would edge the opener. Afterwards however, Dot would step it up consistently and get more flexing with the bars, whether it was knocking down Suge’s street cred, deftly spouting more righteous punchlines/schemes, supplying a gang of hitting consciously wrapped haymakers, getting spicier with his set-ups and unleashing more fire wordplay. All this while Suge would come through with a pair (moreso his 3rd) of pretty solid/brazen/personal-stunting turns that while keeping things competitive in a match some thought beforehand wouldn’t be, as it turned out both rounds weren’t enough to beat the more steady landing Dot.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Dot – “How a nigga claim a hood he gotta visit?, just ‘cuz a nigga can’t walk to his set don’t mean he on some Crip shit!”
Recap: Oh, what a better world we’d all live in if Bangz took battle rap seriously. Anyway, not gonna do the extra freestyle sessions that occurred here after what was 3 rounds of Big Kannon’s God pen going off the entire battle via a boatload of hard-hitting personals, some superb name flips/rebuttals and flippant punchlines versus an opponent who freestyled the whole battle to mixed results. In other words, a one-sided battle that could’ve been dope if Bangz had really tried.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “He spit from the top, but let me show how our name’s toally fits in the plot, because Bangz may make teh noise but it’s Kannon that’s giving the shot!”
Recap: Good to see an underrated puncher like Johnie Alcatraz back in the game after a long time away. And the Jersey rapper does well here in this CGBL 1-rounder against Steams, serving up a nice mix of piercing punchlines and rugged gun lines amongst other gritty styling’s. But a confident Steams, consistently hitting on all cylinders with a gritty series of stifling punches, quality wordplay and stirring 4-bar set-ups/boastful barbs ends up getting the win in the end.
Verdict: Steams (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Steams – “I’m not a nigger you could belittle with bars, you hear me? hear ye, lighten your tone ‘cuz you Envy Da God!”
Recap: After getting edged by a stronger-punching and gritty Squeako in round 1, D.O.T. takes advantage of a slip-up prone turn from his opponent in round 2 as well as a subpar run by Squeako in the next round via a couple of lyrically-sharp, gun bar-heavy, witty at times and wordplay-solid 2nd and 3rd’s to comeback and win this battle from URL’s Super Fight 3 card.
Verdict: D.O.T. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: D.O.T. – “Revolver, burning a hole in my pocket, I gotta spin it nigga!”
