Recap: From The Smoke Room Battle League, a lot of pedestrain bars on both sides, but Big Kannon with a plethora of gay jokes, righteous boasts, some solid wordplay and gritty punchlines/off-the-dome heat and J2 with a gang of aggressive gun bars and feelgood personals/punches, split (J2 took round 1 before BK returned the favor in round 2) the first two rounds of this 3-rounder before a more efficiently punch-lit handily takes the deciding 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “It’s a violation, ‘cuz I was offended with how they predited this, it’s like leaving on good terms with a ex, ain’t this a bitch!”
Recap: A couple of bars or two maybe. But other than lazy penmanship, can’t imagine why a seasoned vet like Big Kannon would drench himself in so many old and tired E. Ness/Making da Band personals as he does here in this RBE Straight To It 3-rounder. And with Ness (not only one of the most consistent battlers in the game, but also an underrated puncher) doubling up on the piercing wordplay when he wasn’t already excelling via a steady, oft-entertaining and bruising punch game in the 1st and 3rd rounds (had BK edging the 2nd), it’s the more persistently hard-hitting Bad Boy alum who gets the win.
Verdict: E. Ness (W) 2-1
Favorite line: E. Ness – “QB on vacation, I can’t go without the strap, grumpy old man I can’t go without my nap!”
Recap: Bars littered with plenty of graphic mayhem everywhere you look, but also throwing off the competition with some hard-hitting personals and flexing punchlines, Tink Da Demon takes a solid at times, but overall inconsistent Big Kannon to task with a bunch of hardbody rhythms to take rounds 1 and 3 of this Close Quarters/URL matchup for the win.
Verdict: Tink Da Demon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tink Da Demon – “Fuck Jesus and a pendant, you gonna need him in attendance, shotty spitting, the ghost up but the body didn’t meet him at the entrance!”
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: Emerson Kennedy was on to something here. Because for all the blistering personals and (gotta admit) hilarious disses on EK’s commensurate ‘Hickory-Dickory-Dock’ flow patterns tossed at him by Big Kannon in this Born Legacy matchup from URL, BK’s subtle reaches and penchant for some pretty mediocre bars (which from his facial expressions, EK clearly noticed) would get lost in the midst of Kannon’s more high-ranking moments. Still a close one, what with EK’s solid 4-bar setups, fiery wordplay and versatility with his punches working well to offset his opponent’s more idiosyncratic attacks, especially in round 1 which a punch-heavier EK would edge for the win before the two split the latter rounds.
Verdict: Emerson Kennedy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Emerson Kennedy – “The first shall be the last like a snake draft!”
Recap: Bankhead with the sheer mayhem and fierce name flips makes for a bloody effort. But in this 1-round RBE Social Distance battle, Big Kannon’s short, but punch-heavy, witty, personal and slightly more versatile showing wins the day.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Tell this fraud step or get jaw-checked, y’all think it’s Bank shot?, this a Social Distance battle, that means that it’s all net!”
Recap: Game effort from Big Kannon, what with all the crowd interruptions, etc., to make it through his 3 rounds in this Anybody Can Die Battle League matchup versus Stack Almighty. The veteran BK keeping it competitive with a solid bunch of spicy freestyles and rebuttals when he wasn’t flexing throughout the battle with piercing punchlines and fiery wordplay. Still, outside of a debatable 1st round, the consistently righteous punches, fierce street ethos, stinging name flips and raw heat from Stack would be too much for even BK in the end, the Michigan battler edging both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Stack Almighty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Stack Almighty – “You getting all my best punches tonight, it’s like my greatest hits!”
Recap: Big Kannon and UK battler Matter get together for a pretty underwhelming 3 rounds that outside of your usual boastful battle bars and witty barbs, saw a whole lot of predictable fat jokes from Matter and a whole lot of whining from BK about lack of promotion for the bout amongst other things. That said, a nice 1st round rebuttal from a more versatile BK helps him edge the first before the Chicago rapper also takes the 2nd (and gets the win) thanks to a more condensed turn there. A mostly unprepared and argumentative turn from BK allows a far more steadier Matter to take the 3rd.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “…and I’ve had this discussion with chicks, you look like something that doesn’t exist!”
Recap: Well-earned, 1-round win for Big Kannon as opponent Lucky Desperado really came nice with a wide load of spicy punchlines and wordplay during his turn. But with BK spitting a gang of impressive rebuttals and freestyles to go along with a fire name flip and punchline/personal game, an upset win just wouldn’t be in the cards for Lucky on this day.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0′
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Every time I Googled you, You Tube’d you, yunno trying to find some prep for this nigga, it was same results…a wrestling nigga and a Mexican stripper!”
Recap: The beginning of Big Kannon’s 3rd round here still has me scratching my head. Indeed, an aggressive Kannon who was already tee’d up during this URL/Born Legacy 8 matchup against Chef Trez from some heckler in the crowd as well as Tay Roc, who he nearly got into an altercation with in round 1, just never seemed to get his focus together in this battle. The Chi-town vet, who was pretty solid in both of the opening rounds, overall dishing one too many punches at Trez and Roc’s Cave Gang crew when he wasn’t spouting the aforementioned drivel or brashly attempting to keep up with his opponent’s off-the-dome heat. And those bumbs in the road by BK would only benefit Trez, who with the addition of fiery personals, rigid freestyles, gritty punchlines/gun bars and some killer wordplay would edge round 1 before (call round 2 debatable) handily taking the 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “I was screaming Writer’s Bloque in every battle, for y’all I would’ve clapped tools, I was down for the Bloque like Embid, that mean I was even willing to shoot if I had to!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from Bar Fight Battle League, Big Kannon mostly comes unprepared, depending on quasi-pedestrian freestyles and a couple of nimble rebuttals to get by the first two rounds, thus leaving a way more composed with the punches, all the while dishing straight heat B. Magic with an easy vic before Kannon gets it together in a way more compact, pronounced and prepared 3rd to salvage a tie in the final round.
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Magic – “I’ll slide up in ya hood with the Lethal Weapon, you’ll get an arm raised up like an easy question!”
Recap: My guess is that Charron was just being kind, agreeing with those ‘1-1’ chants from the crowd after the 2nd round here versus Big Kannon. After all, with a dated and inconsistent BK clearly losing the first to a more versatile, preachy and potent-punching Charron, even with a racially-inclined Kannon stepping up his game and shining with more hitting ammo in the latter rounds, the amount of haymakers that came from Charron’s continuously rapid, personal, jokefest-dishing and punchline-spazzing arsenal would just be too much.
Verdict: Charron (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Charron – “You have the replay value of a used pamper!”
Recap: His Southern drawl enhancing a plethora of spicy Louisiana cooking via gritty punchlines/4-bar setups, rugged boasts and a wide load of well-finessed personals/gun bars gives the more bar efficient and flow steady Boogie a win over a versatile and fierce throughout, but less steady Big Kannon in this 1-rounder from Bayou Battle League.
Verdict: Boogie (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Boogie – “What you gonna say, the only reason I ain’t have competition ‘cuz I ain’t battle him yet?, nigga, I get money, how many of y’all heard of a bank that deposit reality checks?”
Recap: Solid, but elongated effort from Grind Time vet ZM features some nice punches and sermonizing here and there. But a more condensed, fiery and versatile Big Kannon uses a gang of fierce braggadocio raps, some sizzling wordplay/personals and righteous punches/schemes to take this 1-rounder.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “I don’t get you, this doesn’t fit you, but the issue is that it won’t help, be Johnny Cage, kick something that shows a shadow of your old self!”
Recap: A tight one as Drop 30 impressed throughout the battle with a gang of flexing punchlines that in addition to 3 fire rebuttals in a pretty solid 2nd round, allowed him to stay competitive. Still, for all his opponent’s flexing punch game, a more versatile Big Kannon showed why he’s been such a mainstay in the game, mixing his own barrage of fiery punchlines with some lofty schemes, rugged name flips, head-ringing mayhem and piercing personals/rebuttals to edge the deciding 2nd round as we can call both the 1st and 3rd rounds debatable.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon -“You are a Dominican battle rapper…who are you trying to be?, Punjabi Surf?!”
Recap: Had to go up against a shitload of brazen, highly personal at times and raucous raps from SammyWild 100’s as well as a pretty fire tag-in from Gauge, but a more condensed, righteous, witty at times, set-up lit and slightly punch/personal-heavier Big Kannon provides just enough heat to pull out the win in this intense 1-rounder from Go-rilla Warfare.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Hey nigger flatter me and just rap ‘cuz you wack and will never win, I got the better pen, double the delivery…that’s a set of twins!”
Recap: After taking on some hot punches and rugged schemes/personals from G-Souldier, a confident Big Kannon goes on a fierce spree of piercing punchlines/wordplay, sizzling name flips and witty barbs to beat back his opponent in this 1-rounder from Rotation Hip-Hop.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “He’s weak and I ain’t listenong to shit dude telling me, don’t matter if you spit and it’s relentless, you get the business, bitch you already know what’s up…like women’s intuition!”
Recap: With a well-fought win, Big Kannon’s return the the URL goes about as well as expected. But other than a clear second round takedown, BK’s too often pedestrian opponent, Holmzie Da God still put up a fight what with a load of stinging gun bars, real street talk and some righteous punchlines. Still, even if he wasn’t quite as nice with the rebuttals as we’re used to seeing and might have a spit one too many name flips, BK’s versatility and penchant for fiery wordplay, fierce/witty personals and turned-up schemes/punches gives him the first two rounds, before a debatable 3rd avoids the 3-0.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Before Smack, nigger you knew you or paid attention to you still, that’s why you on every card and begging hard, just to get up on the bill, but I see why you slaving Holmes, ‘cuz to the masses you one of the lightest niggers in the field!”
Recap: Big Kannon’s debut on the KOTD stage goes about as well as expected against an overmatched Dunn D, whose light schemes and mostly pedestrian bars are no match for Kannon’s way more exquisite punchlines and meatier wordplay.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “For me to compensate the room, I’ll just talk about how ya not a famous dude, because most your country populates their views from boxing kangaroo’s!”
Recap: When a couple of longstanding vets, in this case DNA and Big Kannon, get on the stage, you should expect a good fight and get one here. Freestyle’s, rebuttals, rebuttals on top of rebuttals and par the course: fire bars, they’re all on display. 1st round has a rapidly punching BK hitting hard with nice (“Dog, you just mimic K-Shine whole cadence and think that you’re so original, well, both of y’all bitches period, ‘cuz your flow is so predictable!”) but set-ups and spiffy personals that altogether made for a solid start. However a motivated DNA, apparently holding a grudge against his opponent for being jealous of his career, upped the ante with fierce personals, buzz-worthy (“It’ll be blood when I draw on Wilson, or the Tom will put that cast away!”) wordplay and dope punchlines to edge the round. Middle round saw BK turn it up with a nice rebuttal to start it off, before going off on DNA with spitfire personals and crazy name flips in a condensed round that just managed to edge a witty and haymaker-drenched, but elongated turn from DNA. The deciding 3rd round kept the competitive heat going, what with both battlers delivering fire bars and heavy-stacked punches. But with less dry spots, another dope rebuttal, a potent career vs. career scheme and one more haymaker than his opponent, it’s DNA who convincingly takes this battle of two top tier’s.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Nigga told me Kannon wanna scrap, I said ‘fight who?’, nigga’s diabetic, I’ll just give this prick the finger, I know he ain’t the Type 2 [too]!”
Recap: Big Kannon survives getting creamed with ‘3 of them things!’ by Danja Zone in round 2, after just edging Danja with a more rambunctious, direct and less reaching 1st. That adds up to a deciding 3rd round, which Kannon edges with filthier bars, nifty wordplay and less filler.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “You ain’t gotta warn me about Danja [danger], I’ve already read those signs from the gate!”
Recap: The always aggressive and gritty with the urban (“Nigga, I got two guns [puts out each hand on the sides of Kannon], if I shoot, it’ll death on both ya sides like gang violence!”) grumblings Big Hann manages to pull off a mild upset as the usually on-point Big Kannon waits till the middle of the second round to get his A-game going (that’s proven even moreso by a [“But respect is what I better see from dude, if not I’m a see his group, I’ll make them all leak blood on the ground, and the leader, I’ll leak a leader too, but people, just know that the eagle, I’m ready to let the eagle loose…but I’ll open up Hann [hand] right in front of ya eyes, nigga ‘PEEK_A_BOO!’“] superlative 3rd by Kannon). But by then the more overall consistent Big Hann had already edged the match with a thunderous opening round that easily beat a feeble 1st from his opponent, while edging the middle round with more fiery bars.
Verdict: Big Hann (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Hann – “I pack tools, the snub, you’ll get a wide nose in ya face like Papoose!”
Recap: In light of a fight almost breaking out here in this matchup between Big Kannon and Jay Rell, it makes sense that their apparent real-life dislike for each other would warrant them both writing so many personals prior to their battle. Still, while Rell’s requisite fat jokes were (“Why, every time you bake food, you caress the oven?”) pretty funny at times, Kannon with a wider realm of more creative personals along with potent schemes, a slightly more cohesive flow and nasty (“I sized you up, and you know what?, I understand why the fans do not respond, nigga, because it’s Harry Potter, you can’t say nothing magical without Duwang, nigga!”) punchlines, managed to edge the latter two rounds after a debatable 1st, to get the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “And your style…nothing’s changed, I mean I know exactly what you’ll say, ‘Kannon, you have a wide and disgusting frame’, I’m only mocking Jay before he gets into the Hunger Games!”
Recap: Over the long haul, punch for punch, Craig Lamar is able to hold his own against Big Kannon. But in what was a pretty competitive 3-rounder from RBE, it’s some exquisite personals from BK that are all the difference, allowing the Chicago rapper to edge the latter two rounds and win the battle after a debatable 1st.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “You’re not strapped, nor am I ‘cuz I ain’t think you were worth crazy drama, I could’ve dropped the kid with the ugliest ratchet, shit that sound like nigga’s first baby mama!”
Recap: A more consistent, comedic (“Look, bloated Lux!”) and versatile The Deadman takes the first two rounds easy from a nice (“Nigga, if I’m fat because God hates me, it’s only right that I baptize you in a pool of blood!”) at times, but sometimes lackadaisical Big Kannon and wins this 3-rounder from KOTD.
Verdict: The Deadman (W) 2-1
Favorite line: The Deadman – “We pop them things, for in Eur [foreigner] like we strangers, the second round?, pops in the face like a teenager, the 3rd round?…forget about it, Qleen Paper!”
Recap: Some borderline reaches here and there, but for the first couple of rounds Big Kannon’s more consistent punch-game along with a boatload of flexing schemes, piercing name flips and hardbody personals gets him the win, before Xcel finally ups the ante to deliver a more steady mix of fiery wordplay and raucous punchlines in the final round and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “It’s filters, Photoshop, you ain’t stop to fix his image yet?, I mean its no direction in your videos, not even a Little X!”
Recap: As a rule a dope freestyle will always beat dope writtens. That said, when matched against just alright writtens, a dope freestyle will stand out even more. Such is the case here as the 2nd round serves as the difference maker in this battle between Charlie Clips and Big Kannon. What with Clips taking the first with mean punchlines and a crazy (“Listen I need to murk you, I wrap your body you don’t need a girdle, big shells stuck in ya botch back, we call her Lisa Turtle!”) ‘Saved By The Bell’ scheme over-matching the overused ‘Clips dad is a snitch’ angle by Kannon, and Kannon able to provide new and (“…the nigga got up, ran fast ‘cuz he ain’t wanna get jabbed by dude again, he left the whole building, ‘cuz he ain’t want him to guess what room he in!”) comedic fodder to that Math/Dizaster scenario last year, Clips off-the dome (“Old guns, but got all types of kicks, I had to East Bay’em, dick all inside your bitch lips, I’m like ‘what she saying?’, my hand back and forth on her ass, look like I’m DJing!”) prowess gets him a dub in Chi-town.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “I’ve seen you die and they still say you alive…are you Tupac, nigga?!”
Recap: JC versus Big Kannon on RBE is no doubt entertaining throughout, but also a bit weird (Big Kannon free-styling an entire 2nd round after being so competitive with his written’s in the 1st) at times, over-friendly (two Writer’s Bloque dudes battling each other, we get the respect for each other’s lyrics, but still enough with the compliments) and over-the-top (yeah, that was BK mimicking JC’s infamous pop-lock video onstage in the 3rd). Thus, it’s probably a good thing that JC took this battle more seriously than his opponent, who essentially only (BK: “Now dude stop, give me one reason why you the king of this, you only kill when you battling bums, that’s when you seem to spit, so now he the Ice Cube of the group, and my meaning is ‘cuz you get no credit for writing all that easy [Eazy] shit!”) showed up for two rounds. That’s proven by a consistently superb pen game by the Michigan rapper that reached its peak in a spitfire 3rd round that exemplified JC’s stinging ability to (“Kannon, you know what’s up, get him stabbed while the camera rolling…bonus cuts!”) punch, name flip and dish potent heat on top of some incredible wordplay with the best of them.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “It’s all will, I’ll approach him, all steel, tell him wish his family well, then have him staring down that .357 like when he stands on a scale!”
Recap: 3-rounder from Go-Rilla Warfare has some editing problems in the video during round 1 (so we’ll call that a draw), but afterwards you can see Big Kannon responding in kind to all the smoke adn bully bars Heavy Half was dishing with a bunch of witty barbs, some spicy punchlines/rebuttals, hitting schemes and rugged name flips to take the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Understand why you even stand here today Heavy, you ain’t gotta look at me and Gracie’s body structures to know that we made Heavy!”
Recap: More often than not, European battle rappers (and their crowds) seem to value style over substance, that is delivery/entertainment value over bars. Raptor Warhurst, however, put s different spin on that theory, here in this 3-rounder versus Big Kannon, by actually dishing some pretty good and versatile punchlines throughout. Sure, the Englishmen’s more pedestrian bars were still met with many a cheer from the hometown crowd. But after an elongated 1st and a nice rebuttal from BK cost him the 1st, Raptor puts together enough witty punches and stealthy personals to make for a debatable 2nd, before he used some righteous sermonizing and more fierce punches to take the 3rd against a Kannon who while kicking some worthy (“I brought a whole Arsonal to Don’t Flop, that’s a few meals [mils] with the Shotty!”) heat for the first couple of rounds, never seemed stoke his A-game, making for a short and lazy 3rd round that made this match a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Raptor Warhurst – “You want to come to the UK and act like we ain’t no kind of a force, you flew straight from the Windy City and headed straight to the eye of the storm!”
Recap: Rarely seen judged battle on the RBE stage is a dope one between Big Kannon and Mr. Mills. 1st round was Kannon’s…clearly, a combo of nice punchlines, hard name flips and excellent (“But Gracie say ‘Don’t battle him bro’ yunno, trying to save the day, well pray before Mills [meals] get ate, you know what I’m saying, Grace”) wordplay that stayed a step ahead of Mills aggressive personals and rigid (“We been killing over Jordan’s and I send my prayers to heaven, ‘cuz if it was 12 new bucks pointing infrared shit, I probably bred 11!”) bars that got restrained a bit by elongated set-ups and some filler. With a tighter delivery, killer wordplay and a steady stream of (“Try to run up on me, you gonna fail B, before they see you beat my ass they gonna see hell freeze, a right-left combo will have your face looking worse than NuNu Nells knees!”) haymakers, Mills took the second despite a solid (“It’s like a halo, even my light rounds go over heads”) go from Kannon. Tied after two, the always confident Kannon went back to basics, earning the win with airtight (“This 3rd round sure to be crazy, if y’all don’t know what I have in for Mill, peep the formula baby!”) rhymes that had the crowd spazzed, a frenzied performance, more delicious name flips and wicked (“You know what? you rap and you fat, you got my life, he has no talent until he in another nigga’s shoes, that’s why I don’t Like Mike”) schemes that spoke to Kannon’s prestige. Mills’ made it close with dope screeds on Kannon’s authenticity and his own real-life (“See, I handle my business on the inside, that’s how I can get you clapped on the outside if shit get insane, even in New York I could have nigga’s on the inside place your body in the attic ‘cuz niggas in Attica love my [slashes neck] love my pen game!”) urban theatrics, but a little too much pontificating combined with Kannon’s overall potency and delivery, got him the loss.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “I’ll let that bitch peel, aim at his shit and he’ll get killed, blow the pump bullets are going dutch, they split bills!”
Recap: While there were plenty of nice bars in this battle, neither Big Kannon or Chedda Cheese registered much on the haymaker scale. That said, while Chedda came with a better performance and may’ve landed more punches (landing hard with a nice rebuttal in the middle of the 2nd round too), his bars were too-often cartoonish, he may’ve bit a bar from Rone and his lines were a bit dated. All the while Kannon’s wordplay (“If you say Cheese, usually a Kannon’s [Canon] seen flashing after that”), schemes and veracity stayed consistent throughout to edge him the first two rounds.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Your punches, are the gayest fool, why? cuz’ they dated dude”
Recap: Judging from his reactions during Dre Dennis’ raps, his freestyles and a couple of game rebuttals. it’s pretty clear that either Big Kannon didn’t take this battle seriously from jump or sipping on too much of that somethin’ somethin’ effected his game plan. And while for most vets in the game that’d be a bit a huge setback, credit Kannon’s experience, rebuttal game and verbal (“I will smoke the rest of the loud boys after I smoke the leader, but don’t trip, he’ll get the whole clip…but any extras get added to bonus features!”) potency for making the battle close, especially versus the steady stream of heavy (“…bnt on Smack they ain’t think your rhymes mattered, so you was great in school but was bad in the league, Dajuan Wagner!”) heat and performance bars Dennis was bringing–which in the end edged the rook a dub.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “They say come back from the block…Sanaa Lathan in Love and Basketball, I keep my arm up after the shot!”
Recap: It takes an all-out, impressive performance to 3-0 the likes of Big Kannon and Ill Kill pulls it off here. Consistently impressing throughout with a fresh plate of aggressive gun bars, pristine (“You beating me, you gotta be Smokin’, stay off the grass, this is Stanley talking”) anecdotes, filthy wordplay, wicked snaps, and dope (“But if I’m hungry and starving and this fella be eating, this .40 going ‘Right On My Brother’ like a 70s greeting”) punchlines, a motivated and confident Ill Will reminds everyone in the building of why he was a UFF champion. And while Kannon no doubt cooked (“I got fire rounds, punches that’s gonna burn Will, I do a have a couple to take you out, in the 3rd wheel”) throughout, a little too much filler/name flips, a couple of weak rebuttals and a steady dose of Ill Will’s righteous heat just gave him little chance at winning.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I know how to make you and Gracie enemies like that, put a banana between y’all that’s Gorilla warfare!”
Recap: Strictly freestyle battle between Bill Collector and Big Kannon definitely provides plenty of entertainment with BC making fun of Kannon’s eating habits and wardrobe, while the Chicago vet pounced on his opponent on a versatile mix of hitting personals, witty barbs, solid flips, boastful darts, piercing punchlines and crowd responses for the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “They hear my verse and say the nigga sound like a preacher, the shit’s so spiritual!”
Recap: Even tho he had to settle for a tie here, during his turn from this 1-round battle from HomegrownBGCT, conscious rapper Mass Messiah certainly got his point across impressing with a fleet of social commentary, revolutionary references, political messaging and some fiery (“You just knew I was Mass Messiah, probably thought of a lot of name flips, a white messiah been suppressing the races!”) wordplay/punchlines…all with nary a fat joke against an opponent, Big Kannon, who’s used to being on the other end of them. Still, Kannon didn’t come to play either. The Chicago spitter combating Messiah’s steady wisdom with a stable mix of fiery name flips/wordplay, stinging personals, righteous mayhem and a spicy rebuttal and freestyle to make this bout a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “I mean something’s up, you get Mass Messiah put your dome on straight, you body Mass it won’t matetr because it holds no weight!”
Recap: Body Bag Bud, a last-minute replacement for JC in this 1-rounder versus Big Kannon, does a solid job with a gang of raucous raps to keep the crowd entertained and paying attention. But a more versatile BK, dishing everything from fierce multi’s to fiery punchlines to captivating freestyles and boastful darts, takes this one easy in the end.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “The fact that we in a skating ring don’t mean that I’m a let shit skate!”
Recap: Dope battle featuring a gang of hot bars, rebuttals and quality performances by both Bigg K and Big Kannon. Had the 1st round debatable as BK (“You 6-2, football build awww I know how to tackle you, you can see hawks [Seahawks] or the Eagles, which team you trying to get drafted too?”) and Bigg K (“I’m going nuts on the drums like Step-Brothers”) both went full tilt. Second round goes to BK, better bars, more direct lines and the setup for that “You don’t wanna be fucked as a couple, don’t try swinging” line was super nice. Going into the 3rd round I don’t know why BK would say out loud that he lost round 1 (probably overconfident that he’d win the 3rd, but still), however, it wouldn’t matter too much as Kannon went for the jugular, spazzing on K’s wannabee nigga-itis while tossing out dope name flips and feelgood (“You’ll leave here, with nothing but da feet [defeat], that’s Danny Myers”) wordplay. Bigg K’s 3rd was nice, but short (as was his 2nd) and while the roasting session lines were funny, choosing to stick with one angle wasn’t enough to overcome his opponent’s versatilty.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bigg K – “I do it for the streets, you do it for the sweets, used to battle in the lunchroom and the loser had to eat”
Recap: Doing their own version Hitman Holla vs. Aye Verb, Chi-town’s finest, Big Kannon and Big T, get together for a matchup that probably happened too soon considering the amount of hype that could’ve been built up for this one if given more time and a more proper stage. Still too, as seen on Total Slaughter and a couple of other recent battles, Big T’s been going through a bit of a slump lately and from the stunning choke he pulls here in round 1, it wouldn’t be unbecoming to say that T may need to think about taking some time off to get his shit together. Not to take anything away from Big Kannon tho, who while not at his best either, still put on a good show here, spazzing on Big T’s relevance in the game, making fun of his more noted gun bars, rebutting the choke and breaking down T’s supposed lack of effort in trying to get other local rappers on. Towards the end Big T tried to make a comeback, but mostly generic bars along with a lack of energy just showed you that the focus just wasn’t there.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “…..you’ll see a magazine, but read an obituary, and you don’t think I’m digging your grave? Wait…let it simmer terry [cemetary]”)
Recap: On the spot freestyle battle between Dizaster and Big Kannon is edged by the mayhem-dishing and boastful Kannon, who while seemingly more enthused than his opponent to participate and accused by Diz of spitting some written’s, still registers enough feelgood raps to edge the latter 3 rounds after getting edged by a more personal and potent Diz in the 1st.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “I can kill him freestyle or Acapella and put that shit in his mouth…that’s Akinyele!”
Recap: I hate ties, but this one could definitely go either way. I mean, Big Kannon came with his usual m.o.: sizzling bars, jokes, schemes, personals all wrapped up in a dope performance. But the always underrated Money Bagz came with a total barfest that was so surprisingly (“My homie had to use the sweeper 3 times in one day, now that’s a neat freak!”) consistent, overall it matched BK’s palette. Regardless, no matter who you think won, if Money Bagz were to make a case for getting on the big stage with Smack, he’d be well within his rights to use battle to cement his argument.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “But why he been sleeping?, when the thing that I’m keeping is a nice banger, long beam, light from the sco look like a lightsaber, come out with your green or see that tommy, that’s the white ranger to put a hole in anything sweet, that’s a life saver”
Recap: Definitely not a body, but outside the fat jokes Syahboy wasn’t really hitting with any frequency while Big Kannon came with enough hot bars, schemes, jokes (“You been on 106? Well, so has Nuborn, bitch you have done nothing”) and wordplay to edge each round.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Syahboy – “Your bitch gave me long tongue, Chuck Taylors”
Synopsis: Cortez has always been known for kicking that real, aggressive shit. But rightly guessing that guns bars will only get you so far , he’s done a good lately of building his resume with clever wordplay, better performances and some creative jokes. It’s no wonder he’s been reppin’ well of late, no matter the battle league. However, as well as Cortez represented on the road here in Chi-town, Big Kannon just put on a better show, especially with the bars (that “closed caption”–clothes, cap, shin–line hit hard). Then too, the “Ernesto” jokes were hilarious and even Cortez would have to give it up to a guy who battled him without using any Mexican lines. A dope battle nonetheless between two able competitors that deserved to go 3 rounds.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Best line: Cortez – “Real nigga’s look at him and what they say? ‘he don’t bang chrome nigga’, but the bitches look at him and what they say?, ‘he a friend zone nigga’
Synopsis: How lucky was O-Red to pull this one out? I mean, not only did he almost lose his voice, but he had to put up with arguably one of the best 3rd rounds ever, from a spirited (“And he tried to break down the Chicago teams, and this is where I’m gonna light his ass up, because I am Rip Hamilton, you know I’m the shooter as soon as I mask up!”) Big Kannon flexing hard in front of his home crowd. Too bad for BK, Red had just enough haymakers (“The left will hit him twice and I punch smooth with the stiffest right, I’ll stomp him for 30 seconds to end the fight, so when you see BK on the side of my sneakers, they ain’t British Knights!”), punchlines, personals and traditionalist bars to edge rounds 1 and 2, thus taking the belt (and the cookie) back home to Jersey.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Best line: O-Red – “You make Chicago look bad, you a Yung Berg nigga!”
Recap: Credit to Lil Dave for putting on a good show, bringing his A game and staying competitive with a URL slinger in Big Kannon. Yet, for all of Dave efforts, from his hilarious jokes to to his keen wordplay (“You? you just extra fat, I help you lose some extra weight, put you in that circle on that scope, that’s how you get in shape”), it still wasn’t enough to beat BK’s stinging rebuttals (“And the fact his nigga mentioned my glasses prove he ain’t a top tier, cuz whats the difference with them on or off is now I see the bitch in you a lot clearer”) schemes and bars.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “You get no puss, just cut it out, that’s a Caesarean, this the first battle that you getting paid, that’s an embarrassment….”
Recap: Lame battle as Kannon barely came prepared and Lavos’ theatrics just make it hard to take him seriously. Give it to BK on the strength of the immigration and X-men schemes as well as having better overall punchlines.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “Since you an esai [essay] it’s like I’m typing a paper to the people that’s viewing ‘cuz I’m subject to get a body for this reach of conclusion”
Recap: Good battle, great energy on both sides throughout and Nov came especially hard in round 1, but Big Kannon’s ability to spit rebuttals, his creativity in battling the ‘fro and his more consistently hot bars in addition to a stellar performance gave him the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “….His uncle, dad, brother and nephew, gotdammit you got pussy all in your genes [jeans] your like a camel toe”
Synonym: Even if you’re a fan of one-rounders, I can’t see how this one wouldn’t have been better over the course of 3 instead of 1. I mean, anytime you have non-top tier dudes rapping over 6 minutes consecutively you’re bound for a snooze-fest. That said, M. Ciddy, forever cocky, but always prepared with dope bars and personals, put on perhaps one of his best performances. If only his round was more condensed and he didn’t see the need to talk at times while Kannon spit his bars. Big Kannon, somehow the crowd fave here (despite being from Chicago while Ciddy’s from Michigan, where this battle took place), went second and while having a hard act to follow, still came through in the end by dropping a more steady stream of haymakers (that “get it like Tupac in the intersection” line was mean), less filler and a slightly better performance along with personals.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 1-0
Best line: Big Kannon -“What if I wanted a tour through the D?….what would you do? Take out an iPhone, start scrolling through the apps, ‘[I’m like] what’chu gonna’ do with that?’ I’m taking you to Google Maps”
Recap: Swave Sevah puts down the hammer on a somewhat (at least in round 1 anyway) distracted Big Kannon with plenty of fat (“The only gram he ever touched was a cracker, and the last raid he was in involved a fridge”) jokes, name flips and flat-out haymakers to score an easy 3-0 in this Grind Time matchup.
Verdict: Swave Sevah (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Sevah Sevah – “This fuck face walked into a buffet with the tough face like…[growls}’Gimme a plate!”
Recap: If going into a battle you know that you’re pretty much going to work to death one angle, then make sure they’re at least 90% good as Tenchoo does here, spazzing on Big Kannon with repeated fat (“I heard this cunt did a jumping jack once and his lung collapsed”) jokes that pretty much killed throughout this battle. In a match that also saw some dope (BK: “See, that Nutty Professor shit proves that he ain’t slick as he pretend, ‘cuz Sherman Klump is a pimp, remember he got Jada Pinkett at the end”) rebuttals from both dudes, it’s Tenchoo’s jocular resiliency (along with his delivery) that got him the first couple of rounds and the win.
Verdict: Tenchoo (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tenchoo – “Every time this idiot cries, chicken grease drips from his eyes”
Synopsis: Of course, there’s plenty irony in Heartless using so many fat jokes on his opponent, but here against a simply loud Big Kannon, the wisecracks and punchlines clearly outweighed the routine bars. By the way this battle should also be noted for birthing the “Slow-It-Down”.
Verdict: Heartless (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Heartless – “…and his flow is killin’ me, yes nigga I’m talking to U…..P.S he has NO delivery!”
Recap: 3 rounds plus OT freestyle battle on KOTDC sees the brash and often witty snaps from Aak keep him in the game. But a smoother-flowing and more consistent Big Kannon, also nice with the flips and more versatile with the punchlines, gives BK the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “He won the coin toss and that’ll be the last time he getting head!”
Recap: Fiery schemes, righteous name flips, flexing punchlines and some conversational spiritual healing, for 3 rounds it’s all there for Big Kannon, making his debut on the URL stage versus a mostly pedestrian Moe Dirdee, a successful one.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “I say he wack and get me out the ring with this ho, I take a 100 proof straight…y’all bringing me Mo?!”
Recap: In this early matchup of Kannon vs. Kannon, it’s Young K who edges it with more consistency with his bars, staying animated throughout while spazzing on everything from what he’d do to his opponent’s kids to taking down Big Kannon’s street cred. While Big K started out hard during the first half of his round, he fell flat towards the end and could’ve did more with the “You my son” angle.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “I think nuts sometimes, I wanna treat him, evil as hell, when he come to my door, with his lawnmower, ringing my bell”
Recap: Hey, if you’re bars aren’t too hot and your opponent has say…a weight problem, why not go the comedian route and unload a gang of fat jokes to better your chances of winning? That about sums up a simple, yet effective strategy for Troy Brown as after getting out-punched in round 1 of this 3-round Grind Time Midwest battle, Brown enlists his Buddy Love alter ego to spout a bunch of hilarious personals in the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Troy Brown (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Troy Brown – “Don’t even pretend you got bulimia when you throw your food up just so you can eat it again!”
Recap: Entertaining Grind Time Midwest battle between Frankie Wapps and Big Kannon with plenty of witty punchlines, some nimble wordplay, stinging 4-bar setups/name flips and fierce personals/schemes from both sides. Still, after getting edged in round, a more consistently spicy Kannon takes each of the last two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “He’s a lame who lies about pushing them birdies, but where the drugs?, the only thing his ass is pushing is 30!”
Recap: Deftly tailoring his rhymes to his opponent’s home base, but also tossing in some witty barbs and piercing punchlines/personals along the way, after a debatable 1st round Big Kannon does enough damage to beat back a solid, fat jokes-bent showing from PT in this 3-rounder from Grind Time Midwest.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “But not knowing if the GOAT is real will get this ho from Minnesota killed, that Vikings shit died when you step into a Soldier’s Field!”
