Recap: Ah Di Boom’s return to battle rap is a bizarre and inconsistent one as the South Jersey rapper first has to deal with a gang of allegations from opponent Bigg K of being a snitch (a serious claim, that included K handing out paperwork to the crowd, yet didn’t seem to bother Boom nearly as much as it did K), before spitting a spitfire, punch and performance-heavy 2nd round that reminded everyone of Boom’s hey days. And despite the usually punchline-crazy K not being on his A-game throughout this battle (perhaps because he was too hellbent on the personals), thanks to Boom spitting a gang of reaches, mediocre punches and righteous filler, a more consistent K is able to do just enough to edge both the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bigg K – “I been popped tags, how could you ever hate on me, first staff you ever grabbed came from ARP, y’all battle rappers never trapping like they say y’all be, so if you ever pumping gas you putting 8 on 3!”
Recap: Ah di Boom once again proves his mettle, dropping an array of dizzying (“My bars are something that the streets desire, Statue of Liberty, Clips every time I reach it’s fire!”) haymakers and potent performance (“And I’m roaring with a [grips hand like gun] pistol in my hand like ‘You trying to play me my nigga?’, 80’s prom picture, everybody going [shoots hand at Clips] out with a bang!”) bars to make this a close one-rounder against the favorite Charlie Clips. Still, it’s Clips who displays a better overall delivery and is more concise with his rhymes, while dishing consistently gregarious bars, exquisite (“You dated my ex-girl, now you broke, so where the cash at?”) personals, righteous (“I don’t want to hear how you left URL and talking this and that, your career dead baby, I know your ass is missing Smack!”) schemes and excellent wordplay throughout his half and in turn, winning this battle of two of battle rap’s elite big men.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “I got a right hook that’ll wake you up and make your neck crack, I’ll body you and then bury your body in the same place that Rex at, that ratchet shit, a ratchet a bitch, first the finger [waves finger] wave and then your neck snap!”
Recap: A couple of ‘big boned’ guys from Jersey with similar styles of rap…it was only a matter of time before Ah Di Boom and Dre Dennis met up. And result was pretty close what with Boom and Dennis dishing an almost equal amount of fiery gun lines, piercing performance bars, fierce personals and boastful punchlines. But after a more condensed Dre takes round 1 before Boom even things up with a crisper round 2, less filler from Boom coupled with some mediocre personals from Dre allows Ah Di to take the deciding final round for the win.
Verdict: Ah Di Boom (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ah Di Boom – “This a mean ratchet, it’s fairly odd ‘cuz it’s in [???] mode…[BOOM!!!], the nigger back got the Ricky hole!”
Recap: Another dope battle from RBE as Ah Di Boom and JC put on a gleaming showcase on bar efficiency and pen game acumen. From jump Ah Di strives to win, spitting rich (“I’m a one-man army, John Wick, and I get Dumber and Dumber when I’m driving my dog whip!”) bars along with (“I got size on me, he ain’t trying to the tussle, if this bitch fight it’s a wrap here, I prepared his funeral, he ain’t trying to the Hustle”) feelgood quips on JC’s notorious dance steps, all backed up by his usual spirited performance. Still, while JC spat a somewhat shorter round, his bars were just as intense, delivering on variety with spicy (“For some reason, niggas without bars done found a way to thrive, then say I only talk about killing, well it’s only been 40 battles, bitch it’s a thousand ways to die”) personals and amiable schemes, while scoring (“I’ll put a blunt out on his face, that’s a hash tag”) higher with their impact as well as a crisper flow. Although JC steps up his performance and stays consistent with the fiery (“You’re not vicious and Ah Di about as real the one McLovin carry”) punches, Ah Di gets tighter with the (“Army shots, he’ll be a corpse, now be all you can be, that mean Omarion about to have an Ice Box where his heart used to be”) wordplay and edges a close round 2 with slightly less filler. It’s the 3rd round that sees each opponent’s skillset fully on display yet separating themselves vigorously, as while Ah Di continues to drop some (“He mad, look like I just touched a female cord, Misfit”) gems, his well-noted foibles for decreased viability, reaching (“He could be Mus-a-lamb I’ll still go ham…”; “…this when I’m gonna try dent [Trident]” and getting distracted (Really, using a big match against JC to call out T-Rex?!? that’s what blogs are for) with random BS materializes–all the while becoming a perfect foil for JC’s nonstop stream of stinging set-ups, potent (“Y’all wave arms to perform, not in the streets”) personals, repeated (“You got a of niggas wanted with you, but in the Spur of the moment the whole team will pass before any one of them shoot”) haymakers and wicked punchlines. All told Yak Town wins again.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “It’s apparent tho, y’all putting marble against carpet, you can’t compare the flow”
Recap: Shakespeare once said “Brevity is the soul of wit”. If only someone had reminded Ah Di Boom of that before he finished up his somewhat abbreviated rounds 1 and 3 here against D.O.T. Indeed, using Boom’s sublime 2nd round as an example, where even D.O.T’s best rhyme (“I’m that cold, this balde on this knife rusty, that’s ‘cuz the blood on on it is that old”) provocateurs are topped by Ah Di’s witty (“I grab the mettle and pull the handle, that’s a fridge!”) mocking of his opponent’s most vexing foible, in addition to doubly proficient performance bars and some fiending (“Blind man at the restroom, cuz I read D.O.T. [dot] at the door!”) wordplay. Still, ignore the few weed carriers in the crowd who might’ve gassed some of his more pedestrian bars and credit D.O.T. for what’s arguably his most consistent overall performance, rich with festive (“I got a bullet that’ll knock your eye out your socket, maybe you should look out!”) punchlines, amiable bars and fiery (“I got a chopper with a kickstand, he like ‘What that mean?’, the leg’s long and the butt poke out, like Ms. Hustle”) anecdotes. D.O.T. resurrected indeed.
Verdict: D.O.T. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: D.O.T. – “If I catch you in Brooklyn, Carter will release 6 like Young Thug”.
Recap: Still rampant with the name flips, but in this case against fellow Jersey-ite Ah Di Boom, also stifling with the gritty punchlines and excelling at times with the wordplay and personals, Jai 400 Block takes the first two rounds for the win, before a solid-throughout-the-battle Boom gets extra nice in the 3rd with a punch-heavy and heat-blazing turn to salvage a round.
Verdict: Jai 400 Block (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jai 400 Block – “You don’t let tools off, you a fraud, I’ll let two off, remove his soul [sole] from him like tennis shoes when they too small!”
Recap: Fiery, rapid-fire punchlines, mocking personals, witty barbs, piercing gun bars and plenty of workmanlike wordplay along the way as Ave easily takes all 3 rounds of this 3-round Trap House battle against a confident, but mostly subpar Ah Di Boom.
Verdict: Ave (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ave – “Got the strap, but never use it…he like a lonely dyke!”
Recap: Entertaining battle between HA Double and Ah Di Boom makes for a dope show as well as a competitive matchup throughout. However, it’s HA’s wordplay, aggression, “reach” (“You fuck up more words than people with dyslexia”) angles and haymakers that edged him rounds 1 and 3 to get the win, despite Boom’s spirited (loved the ‘chainsaw’ screed in round 1) performance and at times, crazy bars–tho he did seem to falter towards the end.
Verdict: HA Double (W) 2-1
Favorite line: HA Double – “Your bars are like bitches who give hand jobs from the back, you just reach around”
Recap: Sometimes Goodz just makes it look too easy. Not to say Ah Di Boom wasn’t game here, what with his usual top-notch performance all the while spitting some extra cripsy (“You pull bitches, I pull triggers, there’s a difference in Mack’s”) heat that served as a reminder as to why Goodz gave this ‘PG’ a shot in the first place. But in a one-rounder against the likes of Mr. Half-a-Gallon, Ah Di’s few dry spots were enough for Goodz to take advantage. And that he did with a heavy barrage of rich bars, steady jokes, winning (“Now getting money I’m nice tho, your green too small to talk, this ain’t Geico”) metaphors and wicked (“In the lunchroom I had my own table, you ain’t ever laugh with the cool niggas”) stunting on the wordplay. Taking time out hid busy schedule to school another young’un, you’re only left to wonder what it’d be like if he battled more often.
Verdict: Goodz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Goodz – “How do steal a nigga’s body shape?”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from AHAT, another gritty, performance-heavy and gun-centric showing by Ah Di Boom gets upended by a punchline and wordplay spazzing Emerson Kennedy. A confident EK, who also came with his own gang of performance-enriched bars, especially shines with more intricate set-ups and fiercer name flips/gun lines, leading to a plethora of haymakers that allowed him to edge each round.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “And I heard you got bad fists, get knocked out don’t do jack shit, you’ve been dropped around the corner, more than being ashamed of your dad’s whip!”
Recap: T Top’s shrewd name flip’s, lofty mayhem and graphic street yarns/punchlines combine to beat back a hardbody and solid, but repetitive punching Ah di Boom in this griity 1-rounder from Angry Fan Radio.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I know Jersey hoods, they say you don’t play with them slugs, they ain’t hear Boom bang bang since he was playing the drums!”
Recap: Word to the wise: judging from all that creaking going on during this battle, next time so many bug dudes are all up on the same stage, you might wanna perform on a stronger platform. Moving on, nice one-rounder between Ah Di Boom and the underrated Cakes here as both came with some dope (Ah Di: “I’ll have my white boy [points gun at Cakes head] shooting at ya roof…to Higher Learning!”) bars, (Cakes: “In fact you was eating, I caught him doing his favorite thing in the fridge…reaching”) jokes, cool name flips and hitting wordplay. And although host Charlie Clips arguably had the best line of the night (“Real fat nigga shit, we feed each other!”), the feeling here is that Cakes edged this one if only for being more consistently nice with his raps, which stood out admirably when compared to Boom’s filler along with the fact that the first half of his round was much harder than the second.
Verdict: Chess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cakes – “Listen, I’m pimping, on the comeback, that means I’m bringing the mac round, Throwback Thursday you’ll get the black cartridge, that’s No Mercy before the Smackdown”
Recap: Jay Wirth has a nice flow. had some hard lines, but too many generic bars and filler couldn’t hold up against Ah Di Boom’s more direct bars, personals and ill schemes.
Verdict: Ah Di Boom (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jay Wirth – “The coke and molly got me tweeking, fuck with white girls too much, almost broke my sinuses”
Synopsis: A clearly more motivated Danny Myers spazzes on a underwhelming Ah Di Boom to get an easy victory in this BET/UFF tournament elimination battle.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “You a broke nigga with an explanation, that’s a poor excuse”
Synopsis: When Ah Di Boom’s bars matches his performance and delivery he’s good comp. for just about anyone, including Dose whose inconsistency and lack of creativity are still proving to be major flaws. Give Boom credit here too for mostly staying away from what would’ve been easy-to-run with Math bars and using his natural talent instead to get the win.
Verdict: Ah Di Boom (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ah Di Boom – “This combo will put you in the same coma Lil’ Wayne had, shots hit every inch of your body ‘cuz my aim drag”
Synopsis: Again, I hate one-rounders. Nonetheless, this was a dope battle as both had bars for days, brought plenty of performance and threw some jokes (Ah Di Boom’s line about Verb patting his s-curls before a fight was hilarious) in there to keep the crowd entertained. However, overall I thought Verb edged it with better storytelling and while succinctly schooling Ah Di Boom on newbies vs. vets and how to become a better battle rapper. Then too, Ah Di Boom relied too much on rumors and hearsay and real rap always beats fabricated lines.
Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 1-0
Best line: Aye Verb – “Your second mistake, image is everything, it’s way more than just some rap shit, don’t get it twisted you’re not dirty, you have fashion, just your whole act says…I can be catfished”
Synopsis: Dope battle, a definite barfest, both came and did their thing. However, as much as Steams’ 3rd round was over-the-top on bars (“You’ll hear a pow then Boom in a cloud like a Batman fight”), performance and delivery, the feeling here is that Boom flexed a little more (and upped his bars) in the starter (that scheme transition lines was mean!) rounds to get the victory by a nose.
Verdict: Ah Di Boom (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ah Di Boom – “I swear I’m like Majin Buu the way I’m ’bout to body Steams”
Recap: Besides a few reaches and some filler here and there, an altogether solid (“Man this is Norbez fault, why you tossed in this heat, well a shot will clear ya mind, while you walking the beat!”) turn by Ah di Boom. However, besides a debatable 1st round that was equal on the haymakers, this PG is all Mr. Wavy, consistently styling with a gang of animated bars, slick street talk, witty (“I’m something you nigga’s can’t see…tall Mexican!”) jokes and exquisite (“My lines popping, jaws been [Jordan’s] dropping…no, my lines crazy, like Jordan’s dropping!”) wordplay/punchlines, when this one hits the books it’ll show another win for BK.
Verdict: Mr. Wavy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mr. Wavy – “Bird nigga, I’ll spray y’all mouth, I zone a Cardinal…y’all probably like ‘Why he ain’t say Arizona Cardinal?’, you stupid nigga, ‘cuz I already took the A R out!”
Synopsis: Ah Di Boom steps it up amd straight spazzes in the 3rd round to take what was up to then a close battle against the fierce and up-n-coming Merrick City.
Verdict: Ah Di Boom (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ah Di Boom – “Battle rap I’m the muthafuckin’ boss in it, head shot, but the bullet got lost in it”
Synopsis: A motivated Sco (something happens to this guy whenever Nuborn is in the room) ups his bar game, gets creative (“Ah Di Boom sound like it can be street slang for anything…”) and spits enough real talk to edge Ah di Boom, who seems to have the consistent misfortune of getting in his own way (that Scotty Horror impression was just useless and he needs to work on his set-ups) sometimes.
Verdict: Sco (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Sco – “This is what I mean with you emcees who be talking about how you spray things, but if a nigga get you mad where you had to pop, you wouldn’t mood swing”
Synopsis: Decent battle and close throughout, but I got Hazey (more versatility, originality and ya’ love those “dumb it downs”) taking the 1st and 3rd rounds to edge it.
Verdict: Hazey (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hazey – “You caca half breed, fuck I gotta say that in Patwa, you ass B, y’all praise dog and I’m gonna put a bullet in Selassie”
Synopsis: Who knew 40oz. Jess had bars on deck? Still a loss nonetheless as Ah Di Boom’s personals, schemes, performance and aggressive wordplay clearly outnumbered Jess’ hilarious (“See, your flow’s aight but mine’s sicker, only time you need to {w]rap is when you taking it off the stickers”) jokes, but considering 40oz. having little to no experience at this battle rap thing, this wasn’t as bad a look as one might’ve expected.
Verdict: Ah Di Boom (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ah Di Boom – “Put all that noise in the air, that’s a soundcloud”
Synopsis: Crazy battle with Ah Di Boom and Show Off (“Well go ahead, lurk in them shadows, creep on me, I’ll pop and squeeze it, I’m Posterepedic, sleep on me!”) getting heated and delivering aggressive bars with dope flows and loaded schemes. However, Boom slips up in the 3rd, allowing Show Off to stay banging with the potent bars, come from behind and take the win. Indeed, Show Off’s comeback was so point that you can almost forgive him for pulling a Frank Ocean and singing to another man in round 1.
Verdict: Show Off (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ah Di Boom – “Walk on the scene, throw the shells in my jeans, that’s the definition of hot pockets”
Synopsis: One could see why Ah Di Boom would be a bit upset at this matchup, which takes place early in his career and is clearly a less polished (and even less animated) version of the Boom we see now. Whatever the case, you battle the guy in front of you, and in this case, Boom’s filler was no match for prez mafia’s swag, consistency, delivery and righteous bars.
Verdict: prez mafia (W) 1-0
Best line: prez mafia – “It’s time to get slim because I bet you you stink, I’ll give you a brick right here if you face your fears right now and down a whole vegetable drink”
Synopsis: Ah Di Boom edges Nova Greezy with better creativity (that 2-finger gun scheme was nice), performance and wordplay.
Verdict: Ah Di Boom (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ah Di Boom – “What you trying to rock?, I should show you guns and roses, you beefing with me, you better have lungs {breathes} like Moses”
