No Bias. No Narratives.
Mister Greco Recap: Flexing his comedic side and singing ability along with some witty character development, a still gritty Ill Will easily takes this 1-round iBattleTV (COVIDeo battle) matchup against a tried and true, but much less potent Sha G.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’m a savage ‘cuz I’ll take ya burner and slap ya man’s, you a savage ‘cuz you be doing that Meg The Stallion dance!”
Recap: Rare bodybag here as highlighted by a classic 3rd round that was superbly executed when it came to exquisite punchlines, wordplay, name flips, gun bars and personals, all via a pretty confident Casey Jay who put a severe 3-round hurting on Ms. Murk in this Royalty battle from QOTR and URL. Indeed, the bar-spazzing Casey Jay who had the crowd rocking from jump and was almost as equally superb in the early rounds, would unfortunately receive would little to no competition in return for her effort as Ms. Murk, after starting off nicely in round 1 with a series of fire punches, would choke halfway in that round before needing a water bottle, delivering one line and choking again in round 2 before not even attempting to spit in round 3. Whether or not the notoriously fallible Ms. Murk choked this battle away due to her own shortcomings or due to her opponent’s over-the-top and consistent heat is a conversation for another day.
Verdict: Casey Jay (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “You was supposed to put on for us bitch, you never did it, you started choking every battle, crowd was losing their interest and if you wrote that shit then how the fuck you forget it?!”
Recap: Pouncing on Nu Jerzey Twork with a gang of gritty punchlines and stealth wordplay/set-ups/personals, an also more condensed Emerson Kennedy gets in the vic in this 1-round URL/Quarantined bout over an opponent who while slinging the usual mayhem and personals on EK that we’ve seen before, never could bring the consistent heat needed to beat his more potent opp.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “Twork seize your opportunity, it’s West in this bitch, they thought they was gonna watch us play games…till he left with a Twitch!”
Recap: No slight to Rosenberg Raw, who’s super-witty (“When they knocked that fucking pupil out your head, you was traumatized!”) personals on Snake Eyez’s eyes stood out throughout this battle and kept things close. But if not for Snake Eyez kicking a gritty and hardbody, but elongated 1st round, this would’ve been a 3-0. And Snake almost getting a 30 just speaks to a highly versatile and potent punch game here as whether it was aggressive darts that more than hit their mark or a strong scheme presence, piercing gun bars, capable defenses of common Dot Mobb narratives, stinging name flips or random, but (“A bitch told me your belly stink!”) humorous anecdotes that had the crowd buzzing, Snake’s 1st appearance on the RBE stage was a stellar one. Rosenberg, on the other hand, when he efficiently showing off his funny bone, just didn’t have too much to offer outside of the usual Dot Mobb jokes, resident name flips and bully themes we’ve all heard before. So edge the 1st round to a way more condensed Raw before Snake, with an almost flawless 2nd round and a more potent 3rd took the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “Fat nigga, I’ll clap, leave Rose on his stomach!”
Recap: One-round, social distance video bout between Real Deal and E. Farell from iBattleTV sees the more punch-heavy, wordplay-lit and consistently spicy Farrell get the win over a solid, but none-too-over-the-top showing from Deal. Let it be noted tho that this wasn’t a total loss for Real Deal what with his son kicking a gritty series of bars at the end to prove once again that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.
Verdict: E. Farell (W) 1-0
Favorite line: E. Farell – “Talking how you rep your city, well I brought the pole in it, I gotta stick in the Pitt and it’s not deoderant!”
Recap: A consistently strong and righteous 3rd round from Cortez (who beforehand was too gun bar heavy) comes too late to knock off a punch-heavier, spirited, name flip-lit, set-up crazy and savvy with the personals Th3 Saga in the earlier rounds of this URL Sterilized battle that took place on Saga’s church rooftop.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “Leave all you frantic, I figured if take out people with Core’s [core] values then more will panic!”
Recap: A noisy crowd, another slip-up prone (and choking) performance from B. Magic and a flexing wordplay displaying, punchline-lit and scathing with the personals showing from Math Hoffa gives the veteran Brooklyn battle rapper/media personality a pretty easy 30 in this one-sided 3-rounder from Street Status.
Verdict: Math Hoffa (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Math Hoffa – “Y’all like them corny Math flips?, I ain’t feeling your logic, ‘cuz if he could really flip Math, he wouldn’t be stealing deposits!”
Recap: Apparently forgotten in ShowOff’s criticism here of Mackk Myron being strictly a dope puncher was just how witty and scathing with the personals Mackk can be. I mean, just ask Loso, who in Mackk’s recent battle against A. Ward, took a huge brunt of Mackk’s deceitful wit just for standing on the sideline to cheer his boy on. So while Showoff’s visceral gun bars and flexing wordplay made for a competitive battle here against Mackk (as well as a debatable 2nd round), Mackk’s underrated and versatile pen would eventually win him the day. The Pontiac, MI, rapper using a variety of stinging punchlines and raucous name flips to take round 1, before edging a pretty dope turn by his opponent with a rampant mix of performance-heavy bars, mocking personals and piercing punchlines in round 3 for the win.
Verdict: Mackk Myron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “This nigga be like [sings] ‘My name is Sh-oh-oh-off!’, and you know what’s funny?, they support dude…pussy if you sing in a battle you’ll sing in a courtroom!”
Recap: Against a B. Magic too often mired in pedestrian name flips and a sometimes bland punch game, T-Top uses a boatload of surefire trap talk, gritty punchlines, rigid gang-related darts and fiery personals to take both rounds and get the win in this URL Quarantine battle.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I was looking for magic 8-ball, shook him up and he told me everything I need to know!”
Recap: Gonna go out on a limb and guess that the only thing that stopped Danja Zone from rapping was a time limit. That said, even while Zone had a nice run near the end of his elongated turn, a lack of substance to most of his punches plus a more condensed, versatile, mayhem/disrespectful-rich and name flip/punch-lit easily gets the win in this 1-round Quarantined match from URL.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Arsonal – “I got a team full of Warriors, that’s a 30 and a Mac-11, Zone’s defense beter be able to stop more than one shooter!”
Recap: After PG Skillet kicked things off in this 3-rounder from Bullpen with a raucous, mayhem-drenched 1st round that edged a salient, witty and versatile, but flow-challenged turn by Your Honor, this battle would immediately turn its head as the always performance-heavy and conversational YH’s half-jocular/half-hardbody stylings would score him an easy vic over his more pedestrian opponent in round two. In spite of a fierce tag-in on YH’s side from the-one-and-only T-Rex, the deciding 3rd round would still go to Your Honor, who with some pretty rugged trap talk and pronounced punches, had just enough in the tank to beat back an uninterrupted, but less potent turn from Skillet.
Verdict: Your Honor (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Your Honor – “There was always that one feen that came super late, but it’s ok, microwave, 4th {???] bowl, water, good plates, 3 minutes got you creamy chicken…the hood way!”
Recap: A rematch from their battle about 7 years prior, URL puts Emerson Kennedy and Danny Myers on a roof for what turned out to be a solid bout of competitive boasts, punches and wordplay. And while EK openly felt that he took the first two rounds, the feeling here is that a slightly more consistently spicy Danny took them for the win before a punch-heavier EK salvaged the 3rd.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “You tryna bring Bar Code to the world?, I mean, I’m no conspiracy theorist, but wit’ all this Pizzagate, look around, the climate is hurtin’, it’s a New World Order – I say your timing is perfect!”
Recap: Spouting the kind of aggressive, hardbody, gripping punchlines and earnest gun bars that earned him a few URL appearances not too long back, but really stepping it up with an epic, personal-lit and heavy on the stunting round 3, in this 3-rounder from We Go Hard, Bedaffi Green also delivered a consistent amount of backbreaking heat to take round 1 as well. Thus taking the win over a pretty solid, gritty with the smoke and competitive…until he choked in the final round, True Indeed.
Verdict: Bedaffi Green (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bedaffi Green – “You ever let off 4 shots and picked up 3 shells, now you can’t sleep?!?”
Recap: A pair of raucous turns by Shotgun Suge and Reed Dollaz in this 1-round URL/Quarantined battle gets edged by the slightly more versatile and consistently lit Suge for the win.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “I’ll clip ya family Dollaz, ya mommy, your auntie, even your pop, that’s Dollaz’s [Dollar] General!”
Recap: URL Quarantined battle between Geechi Gotti and Th3 Saga sees Saga bring a nice assortment of righteous boasts and religiously-tinged, but still crispy punchlines to his turn. But a more versatile and condensed Gotti, whipping up a punishing array of flexing punches, disrespectful religious barbs, pointed lines on current events and witty/raucous personals along with incorporating some innovative musical bars into his rhymes, easily takes this one.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Fucking fool, based on Loso career I can tell that God fuck with him more than he fuck with you!
Recap: Being under quarantine hasn’t seemed to slow down Chef Trez, who’s still battling as often as a B. Magic punchline. And here against KP, even without the opportunity to spin a rebuttal, the Chef still manages to cook, using fierce name flips, head-ringing gun bars and spicy schemes/punches to easily beat back an elongated, old head-ish and mostly pedestrian turn by his opponent.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I give you props for trying to stand and face this, but there it’s a difference in levels, no question…fam you basic!”
Recap: Surviving a 2nd round choke and also helped by his opponent struggling with his flow at times, Jakkboy Maine uses some finite wordplay, stinging name flips and a versatile mix of ringing mayhem and rigid personals to beat back a confident and pretty-solid-when-on-point Hefe in this 3-rounder from GOTC TV.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “I’m a kill every female in ya family, resuscitate em and then give em a new death, then beat you black, blue…man I’m changing your hue Hef!”
Recap: Impressive throughout with a wide range of polluted gun bars, stifling punchlines, fiery street chatter and piercing personals, after a debatable 1st round Geech Gotti does more than enough to take the latter two rounds and beat back a punch-steady and solid, but nowhere-near-as-potent B. Magic’s in this Quarantined 3-rounder from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Pass the 5th, let the .4 blaze, the ratchet hitting everybody, it’s going through a hoe phase!”
Recap: In this fierce 3-rounder from Bullpen Battle League, a barrage of hard-hitting heat/wordplay and a wide array of piercing punchlines from Duce allows him to take the 1st round, before the name-flip spazzing and punch-heavy B. Magic’s more condensed turn edges him round 2. But Duce, consistent throughout with a versatile pen game that had the crowd jumping, is able to add a few flexing personals to an already hip, sometimes witty and punch-lit performance that ends up beating back an overall solid, but nowhere near as potent round by Magic in the deciding 3rd.
Verdict: Duce (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Duce – “Trey shot out the .8 blaze ya, then buck-fifty his face with a straight razor, closed casket at the funeral, family can’t face ya, they gonna have to cover a nigga up like…‘I said Nakers!’“
Recap: Taking advantage of an up-n-down, pedestrian bar-prone and sometimes predictable opponent in Danny Myers, but also equipped with his own rich palette of feelgood sermonizing, steely punchlines, feisty schemes, mocking personals and of course, some flexing rebuttals, A. Ward scores a well-earned 30 in this 3-rounder from RBE.
Verdict: A. Ward (W) 3-0
Favorite line: A. Ward – “Parallel bars are easy…Jesus was a carpenter that died by hammers and nails!”
Recap: Besides incorporating legendary freestyle rapper Supernatural into one of his punches, Danny Myers impresses in this 1-roundeer from The Connects with a gang of raucous punchlines, mocking personals, some fierce wordplay and boastful shiners. On the other hand opponent/Christian rapper Cobbins, dearth in personals we’ve long heard used on Danny and basic struggle bars, may want to work on adding some substance to his punches if he wants to join the likes of the 4 Horsemen.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Is this your breakout performance?, bitch nigga we flash cans, we documenting all of your Bull, this your Last Dance!”
Recap: 1-round URL Quarantined battle between Rum Nitty and Mike P features strong performances from both battlers as Mike’s aggressive, (“Rum got me fucked up, there’s something about me and dark liquor!”) punch/personal-lit and brazen oft-performance-rich bars stay toe-to-toe with Rum’s fire gun bars, fierce set-ups and stinging wordplay. A goodie with little breaks in the action, a tie here sets up what could be a dope 3-rounder down the line.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Do not try me, you a nobody…the head detective!”
Recap: There’s levels to this shit, man. Hence, Jey The Nitewing’s casual, yet elaborate wordplay and steely personals beating the breaks off of Dre Dennis usual assortment of fiery gun bars and formulaic punches in this Quarantine 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “Boy. show respect, Dre Dennis, stuck at the main entrance!”
Recap: As far as Quarantine rounds go, it doesn’t get much better than this one from Tay Roc. The Cave Gang capo going ham on an eccentric at times, but somewhat lackadaisical Big T with a sublime turn of fiery name flips, piercing gun bars, sizzling wordplay and gritty punchlines to take this battle easy.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Dump the shotty, up a body, like the selfie of a fat girl!”
Recap: Typical We Go Hard battle with its gritty, aggressive punches, brash deliveries, gripping street missives and hardbody personal inclines gets dressed up as a PG and features WGH vets Sonny and True Indeed going at it for 3 competitive rounds with the name flip spazzing and slightly more versatile overall True spouting more than enough heat to take all 3 rounds for the 30.
Verdict: True Indeed (W) 3-0
Favorite line: True Indeed – “I spend all day waiting, drop the addy, wherever Sonny [sunny] at…it’s a vacation!”
Recap: B. Dot’s socially-conscious polemics garner the most attention, but when it comes to his raps, we often forget what an efficient puncher he can be. And just in case you needed another reminder, from breaking down his opponent’s mostly two-dimensional rap style to dishing some dope wordplay/gun bars/schemes to using some exquisite personals on Rum Nitty’s life outside of battle rap, Dot’s punch game was pretty persistent here and helped by a Nitty who didn’t always give a full effort, gives Dot the 1st and 3rd round’s for the win.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Dot – “The shit that I’m on, I’ll turn your head to a convertible roof if I blast shots you had the bandana wrapped around your hat, well I took it as a sign…nigga rag tops!”
Recap: Chef Trez versus Charron for 3 rounds (not counting the added freestyle round at the end here) on the RBE stage, goes about as expected with 3 high quality rounds of spicy rebuttals/freestyles (hey, there’s an idea, with their noted acumen for dope freestyles and rebuttals, maybe Trez and Charron should form a tag-team?), piercing mayhem/punchlines and spitfire personals. Still, outside of a 1st round that Trez was able to equate in potency thanks in part to his ability to dish 3 of them thangs, an almost flawless, versatile, punch-crazy, racially transparent and off-the-dome superior 2nd round by Charron got him the lead in the battle, before a just-as-crazy 3rd round with near the amount of robust bars as the previous one won him the battle while at the same time beating back two pretty solid and rebuttal happy, but not quite as consistent turns by Trez.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Charron – “Have him see through when I’m rolling up, try to creep, slow as fuck, even when I’m sleeping I got a can on me…Homer’s gut!”
UPDATE: Changing the outcome of this battle to a ‘Debatable’ after Charron was caught stealing bars in the 2nd round by DNA Tooth, thus losing the 2nd round to Trez.
Recap: Even with Glueazy mixing in some shots at T-Top and his ex bro’s in The Gooonies, the North Carolina rapper’s more versatile punches, fiery personals and flexing heat is enough to edge a mayhem-drench and gun bar-heavy, but less multifaceted and a little pedestrian bar-prone round by Franchise in this 1-round Quarantined battle from URL.
Verdict: Glueazy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Glueazy – “Big Mac 11, but I ain’t gotta name this one, it’s a Smith and Wesson, ironic, y’all gave him 4 minutes to live and he died by a .357!”
Recap: Both battlers shilling for lyrical showmanship, Danja Zone and Chilla Jones go at it for 1 electric round in this Quarantine battle on Smack/URL. And while Danja’s rapid punches and eccentric wordplay made their mark for the most part, some reaches on the punches here and there in addition to his fellow Writer’s Bloque member Chilla’s more pointed darts, piercing name flips, heated gun bars and festive/intricate punchlines gives Jones the win.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “I zone in and I zone out, I took the Dr. Scholl’s route, I’m trying to knock his soul [sole] out, I’m leaving shells all over the floor…Texas Roadhouse!”
Recap: Larry Bull has an aggressive style, yellow skin tone and a wide array of blazing heat that reminds you of The Gun Show. But even versus a pretty solid showing from his opponent, Prez Mafia’s surprising display of stifling off-the-dome theatrics (including a flawless and impenetrable 1st round), wily personals and piercing/witty personals during 3 condensed turns gives Mr. Woosah a clear 20 before a debatable 3rd.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “Fuck the written’s, I swear to God this nigger trash, I’m a clap what’s basic, your name Larry?, the Bull?, I’m from the Bronx, meet Larry Davis!”
Recap: Dope 3-rounder from Bullpen between Clone and Snake Eyez stays close throughout with a fiery barrage of piercing punchlines, fiending name flips, rugged gun lines and witty barbs from each side. But after Snake takes the 1st round with an aggressive and more prolific on haymakers turn, a 2nd round that saw both battlers spout an equal amount of steady heat and punch-heavy theatrics is edged by a more condensed and personal-lit Snake Eyez. A more potent and consistent Clone avoids the shutout by taking the 3rd.
Verdict: Snake Eyez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Snake Eyez – “I don’t understand how you ever been booked but this how a veteran cook your bitch keep asking me how my scheduling look, when you get home, ask her do she miss me, John Wick 3, I’m a make arrangements for her neck to get booked!”
Recap: 1-round Quarantine battle from URL sees a floetic Emerson Kennedy score with some lyrical shiners that seasoned with some crispy wordplay/name flips, made for a pretty solid turn. But when he wasn’t making light of the idea of battling E.K. in person, the ever brazen Arsonal’s ability to get consistently nice with the wordplay, disrespectful personals, gritty punchlines and stinging gun bars, gets him the win.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Arsonal – “My business essential, but I still glorify gripping a pistol, I’m at WalMart with an AK when I’m getting my tissue!”
Recap: Flashy gun bars are usually nice, but when Cortez can equally address the mayhem, precision and scenery that come with the heat while mixing in some spicy punchlines/personals…well, that’s a whole different story as seen here in this 1-round Quarantine battle that Cortez handily wins over a gritty, but topsy-turvy Shotgun Suge.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cortez – “And I don’t care what his life like, this .45 will make his life flash before his eyes and now you finally get to see what your life’s like…before you die!”
Recap: Even with a witty, blistering and personal-heavy 3rd round, Madflex doesn’t have enough in his tank to survive a shortened and pedestrian 1st or being edged in the 2nd round punch-wise by a Danny Myers who came flexing with aggressive heaters, spirited schemes and some dope punchlines.name flips to take the opening rounds and gain the win.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Bitch, you called for this, some nigger’s be rushing to die [holds up arms like a gun] I sniped nigger’s while I was drunk, I trusted my eye, even when I’m buzzing I can adjust on the fly!”
Recap: Dope, 3-round punch-fest between Th3 Saga and Lotta Zay on the Bullpen stage sees Saga get busy with a boatload of piercing personals, fiery, Christian-laced schemes, nifty wordplay, intense struggle bars and head-ringing punchlines that came in from a variety of angles. Other the hand, a pretty confident Zay backed up his swag throughout the match with a gang of flexing punches/gun bars, boastful shiners, witty barbs/personals, some intricate anti-religion darts and a couple of nice rebuttals in each round. A close and highly competitive battle with very little filler on each side, it’s a more condensed and reach-less Saga who edges rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “I know I know, y’all hate to see a Christian take the violent route, a man of God with a Cannon…Kirk Franklin on Wild n Out!”
Recap: One of the nicest things about these Social Distancing battles is getting an opportunity to see some of your favorite battle rappers from the past come back and battle again. Such is the case with Syah, a battle vet who goes back to the days of Grind Time and now comes back here against Scotty for what turned out to be a pretty dope matchup. Scotty, fierce with the aggression, creative with the visuals and piercing with the punches/comedic bars, scores well here. But then so does Syah, who came equipped with a gang of flexing wordplay, righteous mayhem and fervent (“I heard Loso beat your ass so bad, he made you Christian!”) boasts that were consistent enough to earn a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Scotty – “Shoot the clip and die laughing…this a comedy skit!”
Recap: Steely with the real-life street narratives, banging with the gun bars, repping his Chi-Town hood with livid polemics and steady hitting with gritty punchlines/wordplay, Heavy Half scores with enough heat to edge a strong, but not quite as potent turn from the always reliable Chef Trez in this 1-round Social Distance match from RBE.
Verdict: Heavy Half (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Heavy Half – “If I’m black and always surrounded by the white, well does that make me a token?!”
Recap: Wooda Black and Yoshi G both offer up a couple of pretty solid rounds for this Quarantine battle brought to you from ABR. Wooda, blazing with the fiery (“Snipe you, before Cornona I was good with the distance!”) gun bars and slick set-ups, made for a competitive showing while Yoshi flexed throughout her run with a wide array of piercing punchlines and stinging wordplay to make this one a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Yoshi G – “I’m not a bitch, this for unity, but if I have to black on Black, I’m a fuck up the community!”
Recap: A mostly mediocre punch-fest throughout with only a few haymakers from each battler here and there, after a flow-challenged Saint Mic lost the 1st round, he manages to dish just enough solid wordplay mixed in with some nifty punchlines and piercing personals to edge the latter two rounds (even with a near choke in the 3rd) and gain a win over MT$.
Verdict: Saint Mic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Saint Mic – “Your name will not get any clout, I should knock this nigga out, ask me why [Why?] ‘cuz it’s obvious he ain’t good at making conscious decisions!”
Recap: Pretty lit (for his first two rounds anyway), gritty and punch-heavy showing by C Moneii gets beat back hard by 3 superb, versatile, punchline-spazzing, Cave Gang-repping and personal-heavy rounds from Young Kannon in this mostly competitive matchup from Bullpen Battle League.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “I call up the cuzzo’s, heaters get gripped, whatever car you came in, we Swiss-cheesing the shit, I’m Mexican right?, that mean the whole family squeeze in [squeezing] the whip!”
Recap: Put aside the requisite stinging rebuttals and glistening gun bars for a second and spotlight an exquisite punch game from Chef Trez here against a pretty solid and hard-fought effort from ShowStoppa in this 1-rounder from No Coast Raps. Indeed, with the ability to also mix in some fire name flips and head-ringing set-ups, for the Chef this versatile and flexing round would turn out to be just another day at the office.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I wanted smoke with Killer B, I feel it’s about time, and now it’s ShowStoppa I gotta out shine, but a known fact, when you beat up on the little bro it always makes the big brother come outside!”
Recap: Leaving your card in the ATM slot, failing to take any money out and leaving it in to let your man use it too? Hmmm, hope they remember to take out the camera’s before they bounce. That said, in this 1-round Social Distance battle from RBE, both Jai 400 Block and Bankhead bring the heat with Jai leaning on some stifling name flips and a host of gritty punches. And while Bankhead failed to deliver any Coronavirus-related lines, his frenzied (“I’ll give J the smith [Jada Smith] all it takes is some Will power!”) wordplay and steely narratives came with enough smoke to warrant a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Jai 400 Block – “Catch up [ketchup], you in hindsight [Heinz], I know you must heard [mustard] about me!”
Recap: Premiere Rap Battle League 1-rounder sees the cold, old-school and unintentionally witty at times flow of GS get back back by a not so clean, but still more potent, spirited, mayhem-drenched, scheme-friendly and name-flip spazzing Holmzie da God.
Verdict: Holmzie Da God (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Holmzie Da God – “Bitch I ain’t like your ass since preschool, I couldn’t recite my ABC’s without saying ‘F’ G!”
Recap: Raucous 1-rounder between Piranha and Reck goes the Detroit battler’s way as Piranha’s prolific punch game, littered with gritty name flips, stunted gun bars and some jaunty wordplay combines to beat back a solid, but not as formidable showing by Reck.
Verdict: Piranha (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Piranha – “You ain’t even the man in Toledo, but wanna talk like you God tier, bitch we don’t allow fear, nigger’s pay cash only at the barber shop so what make you think your credit gonna cut it around here?!”
Recap: If you’re going to resort to mayhem, you might as well as stick with it as after a lukewarm, but still pretty raucous 1st round, Jai 400 Block ups the ante on his bar efficiency in the latter two rounds, mixing in a boatload of more perfunctory heat along with wily personals and stinging punchlines/wordplay to edge a brazen Lu Castro who started off well, but in rounds 2 and 3 was a little all over the place when it came to angles, all the while resorting to hit-n-miss gun bars when he couldn’t keep his themes more in sync.
Verdict: Jai 400 Block (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jai 400 Block – “You from the Bronx, but who found you?, the Bronx is where Hip-Hop started from the ground too, you a clown Lu, but [???] nobody’s heard or foreseen you before, so I’m guessing you ain’t from Soundview!”
Recap: Pretty close Quarantine battle as Bill Collector’s punches were more spicy than not. However, some dated bars from Bill along with an always-on-go Rum Nitty squeezing out a consistent barrage of fiery gun bars. fierce name flips and gritty punchlines/wordplay, gave the Phoenix, AZ capo the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Chopper blaze, this shit take care of Bill as soon as it hit…I got Auto Pay!”
Recap: Highly competitive and fiery battle between Nu Jerzey Twork and Bad Newz contains a festive load of head-ringing gun bars, gripping street narratives, some wily personals and a boatload of stinging punchlines/name flips from both battlers. Tied going into the deciding 3rd round and even in light of yet another stifling turn by Newz, a more intricate with the punches and condensed Twork edges it in the end.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “I blow the weapon, you try to play me fool then a heckler pop, y’all know I recycle…so I’m a put Newz in a special box!”
Recap: A 1-round RBE Social Distance battle between J. Murda and Danny Myers sees both battlers wreck the shop with plenty of havoc and artful boasts. But Danny, a little more consistent with his bar potency as well as displaying better use at incorporating his opponent’s ism’s into his bars, edges this one.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “They never seen a nigga from the West spit so clever, listen J [Jay] I started my Dynasty with the greatest intro ever!”
Recap: Since he probably wouldn’t have to leave his crib to do one, I’m guessing that league owners may want to think about getting more ‘Quarantine’ battles out of Qleen ‘Mr. No Show’ Paper while they can. That said, dope 1-rounder here between Qleen and Swave Sevah, but a slightly more gritty, personal and Coronavirus-themed-with-the-punches Swave gets this one.
Verdict: Swave Sevah (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Swave Sevah – “We’ll do Qleen [clean] filthy, see my fam with the shit’s, we been masked and gloved up before this Pandemic hit!”
Recap: RBE 1-round Social Distance battle between Blve Cocaine and Yoshi G finds the versatile and performance-heavy Blve talking to Yoshi in a no-nonsense manner via a bunch of fiery punchlines, rich storytelling and salacious personals with creative visuals to match her swag/narrative. On the other hand, a Yoshi who while stunting with the personals and spitting a couple of hot lines, clearly wasn’t trying to get too much in her bag what with a lack of effort during a shortened and topsy-turvy turn.
Verdict: Blve Cocaine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Blve Cocaine – “We not the same, you been a lame, giving all that head and still don’t use your brain!”
Recap: From URL, against a Shotgun Suge who for the most part kept it pretty condensed and ordinary for all three rounds, Jerry Wess uses a barrage of performance-stunting mayhem, fiery punchlines/wordplay and heated gun lines to easily take rounds 1 and 3 (call the 2nd debatable) for the win.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “Yeah, go ahead and tap my pockets, you ain’t getting shit without the pin number!”
Recap: My guess is that Ill Will had someplace he needed to be in a hurry as he ends this HanknationTV 1-rounder against a gritty, but a bit flow-challenged and topsy-turvy King Chi early in his round, using some mind-numbling name flips and gun bars to deliver the kill before settling back with more fiery punchlines, witty screeds and scattered boasts on his way to an easy win.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Gimme my fee, it ain’t a nigger in battle rap realer than me, and I’m a jealous guy, I’m mad Corona out here acting like it’s iller than me!”
Recap: Dope, 1-round RBE Social Distance battle between Ooops and Rosenberg (“I’m a shooter, I stay with the Tek, put three O’s [holes] in ya body, P.S. I just put ya name in the flesh!”) Raw has them both kicking a load of hot punchlines with a nice mix of stirring wordplay, witty personals and hitting name flips. With about 2 minutes each and an equal amount of haymakers and very little filler, let’s not only call this one a draw, but hopefully when things start getting back to normal, bring ’em back for 3 rounds.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Ooops – “Just cause you look white and animated don’t make you King of the Hill!”
Recap: Real solid effort from Mark Anthony who came with a host of piercing punchlines and rich self-depreciating bars to stay competitive in the first two rounds before struggling with his flwo and having to shorten his 3rd. But Chef Trez being Chef Trez, with a host of sizzling gun bars, fire rebuttals and rapidly hitting punches still takes this one, pretty handily.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “But on the other hand, what I’m squeezing sick, it’s a big 9 like…what you been feeding it?!”
Recap: Forgive us for wishing the likes of Chef Trez versus 1st-timer-to-RBE Quantum Physics could happen on a big stage (and maybe one day it will) instead of a 1-round Social Distance battle. But in some abnormal times, you have to take whatever you can get. And both QP and the Chef still showed up with the latter dishing plenty of resident heat, some spitfire punches and fiery requisite name flips, while a wordplay-spazzing, pointed, punch-lit and performance-heavy QP made for a crazy dope debut. That said, with a little less filler in a battle that was pretty equal on haymakers, the edge here goes to QP.
Verdict: Quantum Physics (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Quantum Physics – “He got a extra round in the funeral home for trying to rebuttal in the casket!”
Recap: Houston Bar Code 1-rounder between Flatline vet Boogie and Big T sees the former spout a versatile array of solid punchlines, ringing mayhem and fiery 4-bar set-ups to easily beat back an opponent who seemed disinterested from the jump and eventually backed up his rather lethargic showing by cutting his round short.
Verdict: Boogie (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Boogie – “You bad as me? Quit acting T, Walmart wouldn’t make it this graphic T [tee]!”
Recap: Some fierce name flips, a gang of hard-hitting punchlines, spicy current event bars and a bunch of stinging set-ups/gun bars/braggadocios lines gives JC the win over a gritty, but overall less substantive Drugz in this Quarantined 1-rounder from URL.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “This ain’t comp, this a case, that’s gonna be easier to get out of than grade school!”
Recap: A credit to Street Hymns’ creativity and dual pen game here as the ‘fake’ Charron he’d incorporate into his raps had me fooled at first when he first showed up at the door. Then too, Street’s Bible-laced wordplay and nifty/mocking personals were also on point. And while Charron’s just-waking-up, from-the-basement-peeking visuals doesn’t come close to competing with his opponent’s more neighborhood-friendly optics, bar-wise ‘Billy Pistols’ was all-in, using some ridiculous name flips and an ever-strong (“After this quarantine you know that I’ll rap harder, ‘cuz the game needs me more than I need a black barber!”) punch game to earn a draw in what turned to be a pretty dope 1-rounder from RBE.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Street Hymns – “Man I got Quads, Quintuples, Sextuples, I done built a 4th wall more than Ted Pool!”
Recap: Sure, one could argue that Ah Di Boom got mentioned a little too much in this battle. But with both Bigg K and Floss da Boss uttering Boom’s name, in this 1-round Social Distance battle from RBE, sparing a mulligan for all the Boom talk doesn’t get in the way of Bigg K’s more consistently flexing punchlines, lofty name flips and witty jargon earning him the win.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bigg K – “How is a worker with no teeth named Floss da Boss…get lost!”
