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Cortez

Arsonal defeats Cortez

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Recap: How far back do battle vets Arsonal and Cortez go? Think Grind Time and Lionz Den days. So it’s a wonder that it took ’em this long to meet up. And that’s a good thing as with Arsonal recently announcing that he’s retiring soon, for true battle rap heads it’s only right that these two go head-to-head before one of them leaves the scene for good. Got Arsonal taking the first round easy as while Cortez had a solid (“Everybody play vic [Vick], till you give ‘rm that dog treatment”) turn, da Rebel just turned in a richer performance mixed with (“…they could’ve at least hired you as a cook nigga, the food was Mexican!”) jokes/personals, imitations and fiery (“I’m from the bottom, I made miracles off crackers and tuna fish!”) bars that had you doubling over. Stressing more (“I’m Brooklyn, we wouldn’t want to be y’all, you faker than an ass out of D.R.!”; “I ain’t racist, but I’m putting every last nigga [nigger] in the ER!”) wordplay and heavy on the angles in round two, Cortez comes back nicely to even things up over what was another disrespectful (“I ain’t like the usual, little dirty nigger, kill you then show up to your funeral, just to tell your mother she look beautiful!”–RIP Tupac), but not quite as consistent round from Arsonal. Last round sees Cortez go for the kill, staying aggressive and delivering righteous (“I’m in Jersey with the .8 on court, like the old Kobe!”) punches and fierce (“….this is for real…I was on the couch with the ratchet like Netflix and chill!”) personals that landed hard. However, it’s Ars who comes right back and outpunches his opponent with a litany of braggadocio (“You just another square that put on the map…you remind me of Wyoming!”) bars and dope (“I get my coke from south of the border, I do pay you, so my specialty is crossing you over…I 2K you!”)  punchlines to take it in the end.

Verdict: Arsonal (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Arsonal -“Ain’t no such thing as loyalty nigga, even the Verizon nigga work for Sprint now!”

Cortez defeats Riggz

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Recap: The highly entertaining Riggz definitely gets downright (“Tell ya mother to chill, ‘cuz I’ll put a hot round in ya Earth Cor!”) ‘nasty’ at times, mixes in some real (“What you know about taking classes in Psychology, but the whole time you the one needing a psychologist?!”) rap talk and most likely becomes the first battle rapper fan give out a present to the fans in the middle of a bar. But a little too much filler along with schemes that didn’t quite hit as much as the crowd let on, plus a plethora of sanguine (“I’mma hit you with the long Tek’s [texts] like wifey when she mad!”) bars, rich storytelling lines, the usual confident (“You do everything I do, your whole style is through me fam, you steal my shit, I steal your shit, them toolies blam, look at him, the hugest fan, it’s proven damn, ain’t this the biggest clone in ATL since Gucci Mane!”) play with words and even a nice rebuttal at the start of the 3rd from Cortez, all combine to give the vet the win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “John John you better have this North Carolina, country fuck muthufucka off court ‘cuz I’m a Tar Heels fan, that means fuck Duke if he’s on court [Cort]!”

Cortez defeats Drugz

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Recap: Despite what seemed to be a lot of tension in the air at the start of the battle (liked the way Nunu stepped in and deaded that shit, quick), Cortez’s ready-made name flips, gritty (“By the way I’m in the mix with Arm and Hammers, is you cut like that?”) wordplay and potent struggle bars beats a (“Do you know where you at? that’s a no no, hood-hopping used to get nigga’s jumped in the Go-go!”) solid at times, but filler-prone Drugz in this one-rounder from Do Or Die Battle League.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “He talk about ‘ Yo I get bad bitches’, nigga who he fooling?, if a bitch swallow Drugz it only means she’s muling!”

Cortez defeats Jai 400 Block

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Recap: Even with a 1st round choke messing a bit with his popping-veteran-schooling-the-fledging-rapper angle throughout the battle, Cortez still manages to comeback, add some witty personals, righteous gun bars and scathing punchlines  to his plate in the latter rounds, while also taking advantage of a Jai 400 Block who didn’t have near the robustness to his raps in rounds 2 and 3 as he did prior, thus helping Cortez gain the win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “A brand new .40 will make this nigga die young if he don’t act his age!”

Cortez defeats Bigg K

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Recap: As the old sports adage goes: ‘This is why you play the game’. Surmising that very few (outside of his hardcore fans) had Cortez winning this match against an elite punchline feen like Bigg K (not to mention a shorter time limit that strategically speaking clearly works in K’s favor), Cortez steps back in vet mode, reminds everyone of his ‘Top Tier’ status in the game and pulls off the win. First round is close with K aggressively (“You more than fake, gassed at a quarter tank, got your wife’s hair [hare] in my lap like the tortoise race!”) punching and name flipping with persistent fire, but a confident looking Tez gives it right back with fiery (“Fuck you, s*ck my dick, yeah I said it G, honky, blow on a sack [sax], who said Kenny G?!”) wordplay and stifling (“Everybody want to be Blood, till there’s a trail of that!”) bars that continuously landed in what turned out to be a flawless turn. Despite Cortez going longer with another (“I taught you everything you know K, I gave you tips, you obey, they put Duke on court…makes sense, I used to coach K!”) hardbody round, a higher bar quotient along with more scintillating (“Bounce, I’m unruly, two hands on one uzi, this clip will bring the bitch out Cort [court]…Judge Judy!”) punches and potent personals gives the still-drenched-in-unsportsmanlike-conduct Bigg K the second round easy. Going into the last round tied, K pretty much gives up the round (and as it turned out, the battle) surprisingly stopping short (or choking) after like half a minute of spitting, leaving his only chance of winning coming via his opponent choking. But Tez (who outside of writing a little too much per the time limits, clearly prepared well for his battle), delivers a solid (“Yeah nigga, so what, you want it, yeah? high shots, five shots, why?, I ain’t choke but why not?, this is a body on cam, now y’all get it…white cop”) round with nary slip-up, to pull off the victory.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Bigg K – “Listen here Julio, I don’t care who you know, I hope Trump builds that wall and it can keep you out the studio!”

Cortez defeats Franchise

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Recap: Against the Grind Time Cortez, Franchise’s almost exclusive, one-themed braggadocio quips and guns (“Big scope, best view of court [Cort], that’s floor seats!”) bars (during the first couple of rounds at least) might’ve worked in the sense that that version of Cortez was pretty much made from the same cloth. But in 2016, a more diversified Cortez is much harder to beat, especially when he’s spitting repeated (“We could scrap, ‘cuz with these hands, I’ll lay ya, but if he lack, he’ll get the Mac’s, since you want to be the Franchise player!”) heat, delicious wordplay and name flips as he does here. Thankfully, for battle rap future anyway, Franchise displayed a better assortment of bars in the last round, but by then, what with Tez’s continuous brazenness, it was way too late.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “It’s crazy, this guppy, one hook will have him scaling back, spine shot Baah!, where he at?, nah he can’t walk, he paralyzed, aw fuck it, they got chairs for that!”

Cortez defeats QP

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Recap: Delivery and composition. That’s the main difference here as both Cortez (“Lyrically, I feel like I’m Drake when I’m inside booths, ‘cuz no matter what Quentin writes, I’m still gonna be cakin’ off my Views!”; “You told you the plug G, I said I wanted smoke, and this here is what you front me?!, a QP from Cali that’s homegrown and it comes cheap!”) and QP (“Cross me and get beat [bead] up on some rosary shit!”) brought some hot bars and excellent wordplay to this one-round battle from HomegrownBGCT. However, it’s QP’s lack of preparation–at least 3 slip-ups, substandard interchanges from Qleen Paper and some other dude and a hit-or-miss freestyle game–and Tez’s steady flow structure that hands the kid from Brooklyn an easy win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0

Favorite line: QP – “I said how you say Cortez in Spanish, nigga?…Uno Lavos!”

Cortez defeats E-Ness

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Recap: Wordplay beats comedy in this one as while E Ness kept the Philly crowd hype with animated (“You don’t live the savage life, I’m working up an appetite, gun so big I gotta shoot it via satellite!”) bars and amusing (“See, I’m from Philly, my whole life is like a coin toss, I done seen blood splatter like soy sauce!”) anecdotes throughout, when attempting to go blow-for-blow with Cortez’s repeated (“I’m direct, you get the message with the Tek’s [texts], I let that Auto correct!”) heat, an inconsistent (“This a mismatch, a Butterfinger to a KitKat”) bar quotient and very little variety to his lines eventually did him in. Consider too that ‘Tez certainly did do his research with ill Philly (“Your career, you been here, and you still lonely son? he get love…in Yagon and lower Marion, like where Kobe’s from!”) hometown bars and stayed completely away from the standard E-Ness Making the Band jokes, and it’s easy to call this one 2-1 for the kid from Brooklyn.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez –  “You and your mans, they can die for less…so worthless, both of y’all sharing cig…like co-workers!”

Cortez defeats Charron

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Recap: Another dope 3-rounder from KOTD sees an uber-lyrical Cortez combine streams of sizzling wordplay, some witty, but also flexing-at-times personals and a gang of steely punchlines to edge the 1st and deciding 3rd rounds over a pretty solid throughout, humorous and hard-hitting at times, but one too many dry spots-having Charron.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “I’m a beast, woken out of his deep sleep fire in his eyes, I’m alive, and you gon’ greet me Sire, or you’ll meet Messiah, these 16’s get put to rest for trying to sleep with Tyga’s!”

Cortez defeats Chilla Jones

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Recap: Close battle between Chilla Jones and Cortez pretty much down to hit harder and had a higher bar quotient in the 3rd. Nothing against Chilla’s 1st besides some filler and elongated set-ups in what was otherwise a pretty (“I’m like a frequent flyer, I stay tripping”) solid round, but Cortez, with a fiending flow coupled with a wicked mix of jokes, potent personals and stellar (“I’ll do you greasy, you asked for this so I’m blasting clips, ask Weezy, the K will put holes in your clothes, these fashion tips!”), wordplay took the 1st round with relative ease. Not quite as electric as his first, but still another solid round by Tez in the 2nd is edged by Chilla’s persistent (“You stayed with Clips for a month, but backed Hollow when they battled?, well that’s a bit strange, the shit’s lame, you disrespected Charlie’s couch worse than Rick James!”) schemes that landed and (“You had a debatable with Jimz?…you still looked like a clown, ‘cuz you was barring him [Barnum] and barely [Bailey] winning!”) angles that hit. Cortez goes the pontificating route in the last round, but for the most part it (“Shit I even got a punch for every time ‘Punch’ was on Smack DVD!”) works as he once again flexes his resume in a game that still too often doesn’t give him his just due.Chilla pontificates too and while the Nuborn line and a couple of others landed, Cort’s round lent more to being factual and had slightly less filler than Chilla’s–and that’s why Brooklyn gets the edge here.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “See, when you getting paid to take on a rookie, they go harder…but I would’ve had Jimz [gyms] on lock like Coach Carter!”

Cortez defeats Ark

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Recap: Making up for a minor slip-up near the end of his turn with a couple of solid freestyles and then getting right back on his grind of piercing punchlines, witty barbs and fiery heat/wordplay allows Cortez to edge this Don’t Flop 1-rounder over a hitting at times, but mostly middle-of-the-road Ark.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “National anthem, I let it sing and then it’s caps off!”

Cortez defeats Cee Major

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Recap: Don’t Flop 1-rounder between Cortez and Cee Major, with very little prep time for both battlers, gets edged by Cort, who’s gritty punchlines, boastful barbs and dope wordplay/name flips are just enough to get past an aggressive punching, witty at times and solid lyrically Cee Major.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “I could end thee so simply, don’t get me started, I pull strings to orchestrate on  how to hit each organ!”

Cortez and Jimz (DEBATABLE)

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Recap: Long-awaited, pretty good and at times comedic battle between Jimz and Cortez on the RBE stage. Cortez wins round one easy, as better overall bars, fresh schemes and sizzling (“I’ve been feening the crackheads, when I smoke this pipe for that static on screen, now that’s Poltergeist!”) wordplay more than outshines Jimz assortment of mostly basic raps. However, just when you might’ve thought that you were in for a let down considering all the effort Jimz put into wanting this match, the kid from Queens steps it up and comes back with a much more prolific round two. More aggressive, affable with the set-ups and ramping up the (“Sidebar, what the fuck is up under that hat?!….I bet a stack you look like Krillin from Dragon Ball Z”) personals, Jimz not only outshines a shortened round by Cortez, but hilariously saves him with a nicely timed ‘Pause!’ near the beginning of his round. Tied going into the second, neither battler really stood out in round three. With an aggressive Cortez mostly (“I’m cemented in the streets and I gave you the green light, bitch, I paved your way!”) pontificating on how much he’s done for Latino battle rappers and Jimz unforgivably admitting to watching “Friends” while spouting an elongated round of hits and misses, it’s safe to call this one down the middle.

Verdict: TIE

Favorite line: Jimz – “I remember in Lionz Den, you got robbed for that battle with Ice, but then you got robbed for your ice in a battle with life”

Cortez defeats Cyssero

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Recap: For 3 consistent rounds Cortez reps hard for his hood with a wide load of BK bangers, dishes out some nice storytelling bars, styles with the (“Fingerprints? Not a trace, cuz’ if I fuck with the gloves, I’m in Philly, two twins giving Brotherly Love!”) wordplay and kills with the personals against Cyssero, a signed North Philly rapper and battle rap vet, who despite some nice punches here and there, chokes twice and learns the hard way that if you’re an artist returning to battle rap, you may want to ease your way back in slowly against some lower tiers dudes rather than hop on the big stage right away and face a top tier like Cortez.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “So stop acting like you some real big G, please ock, you get sent to the store for dutches, you come back…and then get sent to the weed spot!”

Cortez defeats Brixx Belvedere

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Recap: When a couple of wily vets get in the ring like Brixx Belvedere and Cortez one can usually expect to get to good match and this one certainly lived up to the draw. First, Cortez takes advantage of a somewhat stunted round by Brixx, using some exquisite (“You don’t want that smoke, you on papers, learn your lesson, or that .9 gonna draw like 4th graders!”) wordplay and congenial name flips get off to a fast start and take the opening round. Brixx came back hard in round two tho with some ill (“It’s like you versus T-Rex, only Smack give you time for them dinosaur bars!” personals and dope set-ups. But Cortez more than held his (“Dig this, I split bricks, this is Dojo class”) own in round two as well, going heavy on the punchlines and performance bars to edge it. Last round was Brixx’s best, a fiery (“They mentioned DOT ‘cuz he reach, we reqach, they done stuck you with the monster like Eazy-E!”) barfest that literally had the crowd going ham. And while Cortez came nice with his–an able mix of pointed (“Surf washed away bricks [Brixx] worse than Hurricane Sandy!”) personals and storytelling bars throughout, it wasn’t enough to get the 3-0. But overall, still a win for the kid from Brooklyn nonetheless.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line:  Cortez – “I got the .44, it’s four 4’s, I photo flash then keep dumping the can like the photo’s trash!”

Aye Verb defeats Cortez

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Recap: Snapping with a boatload of earnest punchlines, unloading some fierce/witty personals, smooth and boastful with the barbs, dishing some dope ‘Showtimes’, and kind enough to offer up some rigid battle rap tutorials, a performance-lit Aye Verb takes advantage of a mostly mediocre Cortez for 3 rounds to handily get the hometown win in this battle brought to you from King Juce Battle League.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “Where you write from, it’s lemon scent, mine’s limitless!”

Cortez defeats J. Murda

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Recap: In a long-awaited matchup, Cortez deftly uses his ring experience, rich performance bars and sizzling (“The Blueprint, yeah I’m a Renegade, I’mma end {Em] J [Jay]”) wordplay to easily take out an overmatched and seemingly (till his 3rd round anyway) uninspired J. Murda.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “I’m respected in every hood and project on Murder Ave, and I be supplying who be supplying Murda’s Ave”

Cortez defeats Brayzack

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Recap: A veteran emcee spreading the love, Cortez uses his newly formed Tiers Over Tears league to give undiscovered talent a chance to shine. Then he proceeds to use some sharp wordplay and aggressive (“This silencer will leave him on mute, now y’all can read his mind”) bars in rounds one and two to easily take out an overmatched Brayzack.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “Another rapper, exposed, in broad daylight [Daylyt] you gotta face that…wordplay, face tat, Daylyt, I spawn out of nowhere”

Cortez defeats Chubby Jag

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Recap: Fiery 1-rounder from AngryFan Radio sees Chubby Jag start off his turn with some dope punches/personals, stay gritty with his material and flow throughout the battle, but fail to put much points on the scoreboard due to a lack of intricacy to his bars. On the other hand, a pretty confident Cortez was able to back up his moxie with a steady stream of fierce name flips, stinging 4-bar set-ups, rigid personals and piercing punchlines/trap talk for the win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “You ain’t never sold no drugs, son feeble, it’s Jag, we all know Jag’s don’t pump diesel!”

Cortez defeats Arcane

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Recap: Even tho he clearly overhyped some of his “Bars!” throughout, against the mostly basic lines and head-scratching spiels from Arcane, it’s Cortez, who after overwhelming his opponent in round one, has just enough jokes and personals to edge the second and hang in there for a dub, in what was otherwise a pretty lackluster battle.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “He’s alright, he can craft lyrics and punchlines, he’s so nice, I asked him who’s favorite rapper? he don’t bite, Jay-Z, what a coincidence, he don’t write”

Danja Zone defeats Cortez

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Recap: Mostly a snoozefest between Cortez and Danja Zone as Tez for the most part seemed uninspired and his signature wordplay more often than not fell flat. Still, after a lackluster first round, Danja Zone stepped his game up and scored heavy in both the latter rounds with some nice performance bars and brash schemes to take it at the end.

Verdict: Danja Zone (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Danja Zone – “You telegraphing your punches, my jab’s fast as a Mach Five, you swing and I’ll weave and land that before you draw your hands back, I’m counterclockwise”

Cortez defeats Danny Myers

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Recap: 3-rounder from Rap Grid sees Cortez use a gang of mocking, but adept punchlines, some witty barbs, nifty wordplay and piercing personals/schemes to beat back a convoluted with the angles, redundant with the mayhem and mostly subpar with the punches Danny Myers.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “I dare him to creep closer, I’m strapped with each holster, I bring a coffin to Dallas ‘cuz I’m sicker than Ebola!”

Cortez defeats Young Kannon

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Recap: It’s battles this like where just when you think he’s falling off Cortez reminds you of why he belongs in the top tier. Consistent with the aggression, spitting humbling (“Honestly you like the can, you’d suck a mean cock for a loosie and a Sprite but damn, he play for the D, ain’t that a coincidence he likes to Ram?, that’s why faggots get cut quicker than Michael Sam”) jokes, punchlines, gritty gun bars and confident with his (“I’m quick to get it shaking outside the ring, Freddie Roach”) metaphors and heavy wordplay, Cortez takes out Young Kannon, who brought plenty of (“Hell you beat Tek and Ill on Smack, but then the Vault 3-0’d you!”) heat, nicely rebutted Tez’s lines about that spelling error (“I left the ‘L’ off the shirt so I could give to you”) in his blog and spit some dope schemes with his usual moxie, but overall overplayed some angles/themes and failed to match his opponent’s efficiency and sharp assortment of bars.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “You, you just need to grind, your career?, it stays here, there’s no peak [just] decline, what the fuck I gotta spell it out?, oh he don’t see the signs?, well, it’s obvious, even Floyd could read between the lines”

Cortez defeats Spoke In Wordz

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Recap: “Now you battling no-names cuz you need more bread?” was easily the best and realest bar that Spoke In Wordz spit in this rout of a match against Cortez. In other words, think about the difference between the NBA and the D-League to get an idea of the difference in talent here: (Cortez: “Words will get exposed, hidden texts”; Spoke In Wordz: “I’m Magic, pulling B-Magic out the hat, presto!”). Yeah, there’s different levels to this shit indeed.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “Dyslexic, I’m right with the words, but words can’t write”

40 B.A.R.R.S. defeats Cortez

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Recap: From Black Ice Cartel, a battle that was a lot closer than the 40 stans in the comments section would like you to believe. A surprising choke from an up-to-then hard-punching, disrespectful and personal-heavy Cortez in round 2 eventually leads to opponent 40 B.A.R.R.S. upping her moxie and using a gang of stinging name flips, hard-hitting Spanglish heaters and some potent punchlines/schemes to come from behind and take the middle round as well as edge the deciding 3rd for the win.

Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 2-1

Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. –  “A Mexican with no money?!, I’m a pull that green card!”

T-Rex defeats Cortez

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Synopsis: Who knew time limits could be the highlight of a rap battle? Of course, anyone paying attention knows how long Cortez’s been feenin’ for a match with T-Rex, with Rex rejecting the offer time and time again in return. Then Total Slaughter pops up and out of nowhere Cortez gets his long-awaited shine…literally on the spot with no time to prepare. Rex beats him easily, Cortez has to sleep on the sofa and now this? Two minute rounds on the main stage?! My guess is Cortez wanted a rematch so bad after getting slighted on TS that he would’ve signed anything to get it. While Rex’s forever-scheming ass, having done the proper research, just knew the short 2-minute rounds would work in his favor….and thanks to Rex’s gritty, but condensed bars topping Tez’s elongated lines. they did exactly that (although, to be fair, considering Cortez is a Grind Time vet, writing for 2-minute rounds shouldn’t have been that much of a problem).

Verdict: T-Rex (W) 2-1

Favorite line: T-Rex -“Kill him in a charity match like Drago, I wanna see him die, we be shooting with his eyes closed”

T-Rex defeats Cortez

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Recap: Mayhem-lit, gritty and hard-hitting with the punchlines, in this 1-round Wild card battle from the Road to Total Slaughter tourney, T-Rex makes easy work of a mostly pedestrian and flow-challenged Cortez.

Verdict: T-Rex (W) 1-0

Favorite line: T-Rex – “‘Cuz you work at the airport don’t mean you let nothing fly!”

Cortez defeats Jonny Storm

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Recap: Against an always punch-heavy Jonny Storm in this 3-rounder from HomegrownBGCT, an uber-confident Cortez spazzes while getting lit for the entire battle with a gang of nasty personals, artful boasts/name flips, flexing wordplay/heat and righteous 4-bar setups/punchlines. And after the two would split the first two rounds, Tez saving his best, haymaker-drenched round for the 3rd would allow him to overcome another solid showing from Storm and earn the win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “What you fuck say in the 1st round, that we been tracking dude, nigga, no one asked for you, how the fuck you gave me the rou-a-round when my career is overlapping you?!”

Cortez defeats John John da Don

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Recap: Cortez is at his best when he’s totally focused and thus able to combine clever wordplay with nice comedic timing and aggressive bars/delivery. JJDD is at his best when he’s rapid punching along with delivering dope schemes/personals and of course, not stealing bars. So if these two stick to their formulas, what could possibly go wrong? Nothing here as these battle vets put on a quality show with no interruptions, instead frequented by exquisite bars, creative lines and feelgood machismo. However, it’s Cortez who gets the dub here with better angles, performance and consistency all around, esp. in round 1 and 2.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “John John I ain’t playing tonight, your girl on my john-john but am I saying it right?””

Cortez defeats K-Shine

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Recap: Mostly lackluster battle between K-Shine and Cortez. Round one sees the Murda Ave kingpin throw an ample lot of punches, but fail to land much–as opposed to K-Shine whose wanton brevity still managed to fashion some fiery (“Walking through Myrtle Ave with that weapon out like I licensed it!”) bars. Next couple of rounds saw Cortez get tighter and more efficient with his wordplay as well as up his performance to what was at times comical (“The nigga Rex is mad cuz his girl is bald like me, he ain’t think I’d peep that”) effect. While K-Shine, who outside of round one, seemingly didn’t take this match that seriously, in the latter rounds struggled with his delivery and bar potency–those factors combined with Cortez’s overall comeuppance gave the kid from Brooklyn a come-from-behind win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez –  “You see we surround towns, I bring the noise to every corner, surround sound!”

Cortez defeats Automatic Ray

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Synopsis: Another easy win for Cortez as other then the 2nd round, Automatic Ray didn’t really put up much of a fight. Inconsistent bars and way too much filler did Ray in, which sucks because this wasn’t your best Cortez (once again too many gun bars) and against a vet you’d think PG’s, rookies or whatever you want to call them, would want to step it up to add an impressive ‘W’ to their resume. Not in this case.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Best line: Cortez – “The nigga Lux said in Harlem the loser had to jump, well we in Brooklyn, they brought guns and this loser has to run!”

Caustic defeats Cortez

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Recap: Never lacking for confidence all the while overwhelming his opponent with a boatload of mocking personals, gritty punchlines, witty barbs and potent schemes, in this 3-rounder from KOTD, Caustic makes going past the time limit a non-factor, easily beating back a mostly pedestrian Cortez in each round to score a 3-0.

Verdict: Caustic (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Caustic – “What does it say about you as a man when a bitch named Medusa can’t get your dick hard?!”

Dialect defeats Cortez

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Synopsis: In front of a gassed, but supportive crowd UK’s Dialect drops some memorable bars, punches (“You are not a nigga’!”), jokes, crowd pleasers and a Biggie/Pac scheme that was clearly winning. But as you’d expect, Cortez’s name flips, personals, “plane” scheme and wordplay made it a close battle. Give it to Dialect if only for displaying better consistency as Cortez’s two slip ups and failed rebuttal ended up doing him in.

Verdict: Dialect (W) 2-1

Best line: Cortez – “”I can body son with this Tommy gun so I keep it calm, [but] if that barrel poking out the window it’s a peeping Tom”

Big Kannon defeats Cortez

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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’

Cortez defeats Tycoon Tax

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Recap: Definitely not Cortez at his best, but enough adequate wordplay and hitting name flips versus way too many basic bars, a weak/nonsensical (“Que” = ‘K’?!?) Spanish scheme and bad sportsmanship from Tycoon Tax handed this one to Tez easy.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “You’ve been privileged…all your life, that’s a Luxury Tax”

Cortez defeats K-Kendle

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Synopsis: K-Kendle had some bars and only stumbled briefly so give him props for showing up. But against a confident vet like Cortez, you need more than the occasional bar to even stand a chance. In other words, what with bars for days, schemes, crowd pleasers, personals and a top tier performance that matches his experience, this was an easy one for the kid from Brooklyn.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Best line: Cortez – “I’ma ask y’all what blocks is he running?, which street set you step with?, you don’t never get around your block, you a set pick”

Cortez defeats Dizaster

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Synopsis: Some ill freestyles and rebuttals by Dizaster throughout, but Cortez put it all together: schemes, wordplay, personals and straight up bars to easily get the win…on the road no less. I gave Diz the 3rd for that mean Princess Diana line alone.

Verdict: Cortex (W) 2-1

Best line: Cortez – “Nigga you brag every fucking battle and boost yourself up like you’re the guy, the shit, you’s probably remove your own rib just to suck your own dick”

Cortez defeats Jus Daze

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Recap: Easy vic for Cortez, whose flexing/witty personals, solid wordplay, righteous boasts and piercing punchlines handily beat back the very nimble rhymes of an overmatched Jus Daze in this 1-rounder from Mighty Fuzz Young.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “But which one y’all wanna see?, I nigger like me who fucks bad bitches and spits fire ‘cuz he made like that vs. a nigger who looks like Allen Iverson crossed him and he stayed like that!”

Cortez defeats Tay Roc

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Recap: While this battle will mostly be remembered for all the Spanish/Mexican jokes Tay Roc spit at Cortez (which is out of ordinary for a gun bar fiend like Roc), it’s definitely one of those battles can upon a first look could be seen as highly debatable–yet it’s not just what shows up on the stat sheet that decides who won and who loss and this one of those examples. I got Roc taking the 1st round as while Cortez stayed aggressive and dropped a few (“I’m cooking rock [Roc], but ain’t nothing crack about you”) shiners, for the most part his bars contained too much filler and were just average in potency. On the other Roc had perhaps his best round with nice wordplay, aggressive gun bars and better (“These bullets play Temple Run, why get the phone app?”) punches throughout. Cortez stepped it up in the second round coming harder with the performance, feelgood Dot Mobb personals (“You ain’t a hustler, how’d you hustle and move keys?, you’ze a worker, you got 5 hundred for QP’s”) and this time hitting with more force on the wordplay and friendly (“You in the building but Randy’s taking your house payments”) tutorials. For Roc’s part, while his battle rapper name schemes in round two worked, they could’ve used against anybody. Better instead was Roc’s ethnic lines (“I’ll do a Mexican dirty, I’m desperado with that guitar case”) even if he had the wrong race (which Tez effectively rebutted in round 3). Round 3 saw Cortez set the tone challenging Roc to go ‘bar for bar’ and winning with gems like “Look me in the eyes I’m like God, I’m taking caps off, they type small” and witty (“Let’s talk about his clique, a bunch of ass-grabbers, none of them ashamed, it makes sense because all cavemen cuddle by a flame”) personals that even had Roc smirking. Roc’s 3rd was nice and had some hard-hitting bars, but some of his lines were a little too predictable (esp. with the continued Mexican jokes) and featured schemes (esp. the “Cortezmanian devil”) that didn’t hit at all. Close throughout, but Cortez edges it.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Rex and K-Shine, I spar with them, it’s no comp with him, I’ll target him, I go harder than 8,000 army men, a tank and a ship, airplane, I’ll Pearl Harbor him”

Metta defeats Cortez

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Recap: In this 3-rounder from King Juce Battle League, a boatload of nifty wordplay, witty personals and spicy punchlines/4-bar setups from Metta gets him both of the opening rounds over the hardbody, but not as consistently-lit or nuanced rhymes of Cortez to give the St. Louis battler the win before Cortez, ever a stickler for mayhem and rudimentary personals, edged the 3rd to avoid the shutout.

Verdict: Metta (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Metta – “You an illegal immigrant, I bet your favorite bookstore is Borders!”

Cortez defeats Shotgun Suge

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Synopsis: Nice of Suge to finally address the not-showing-up-in-Detroit situation here, but I don’t know if I buy his reasoning considering that it was he who started the whole mess in the first place (in NYC of all places). But back to the battle, which was really loud and vociferous, which is to be expected from a couple of pretty intense dudes. Despite slipping up (no, that’s not a choke ‘cuz a choke happens when you clearly forget your bars) in the 3rd round, I gave Cortez the edge because simply put overall he just out-barred Suge (esp. in Round 1), delivering fierce lines at Suge while holding his own in front of a hostile crowd. Of course, considering Cortez’s longtime experience and vet status over Suge, this battle probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was…but whatever.

Verdict: Cortez 2-1

Best line: Shotgun Suge – “I ain’t grading a paper when you see red on an essay (‘esai’)”

Cortez defeats Hollohan

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Recap: Already setting up his opponent’s love for illegal narcotics with very pointed personals in the earlier rounds, Cortez would take it to another level with a pretty mean (and classic) and thoro round 3, that was more lit on substance than craft. Still, for all of Cortez’s residual mayhem, race-baiting chatter and elicit STD personals, in this 3-rounder from KOTD, Hollohan did work hard to make things competitive, utilizing an aggressive use of ethnically-charged jokes, self-deprecating bars, fiery schemes and some ripping (“I fucked your bitch in your living room, that filthy ho was pathetic, more things happened on the couch than The Simpson’s opening credits!”) punches/wordplay to keep the battle close. However, in the end, it’s a more condensed Cortez who after getting edged in the 1st, scores with more heat to edge the 2nd, before his aforementioned 3rd seals the win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “Real friends help you make yourself, if I was him as a fake friend I would hate myself, all the ‘roids and the cocaine I would hate my health, if I’m the reason my man’s dead, I would take myself!”

Cortez defeats Thesaurus

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Synopsis: No disrespect to The Saurus, a pioneer and true legend of battle rap. But this was no contest as Cortez’s bag of personals, aggressive bars and standout delivery would not deny him the victory.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Best line: TheSaurus – “Are you Asian?, they said you were openly in love with math”

Cortez defeats Marv Won

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Synopsis: Marvwon is probably the least appreciated of the Midwest battle rappers, but with enough years in the game he’s still a solid opponent capable of beating anyone on a good day. Unfortunately, on this day he ran into an all-too confident, consistent and passionate Cortez, who came prepared with a shitload of that ill shit, aesthetically-inclined personals (“This Rick Rock wannabee, not cuz’ you carry shooters, but because you ate Big Meech…AND Larry Hoover”) and nice enough wordplay to easily take the win after Marv edged the 1st.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Best line: Cortez – “Eight Mile, deleted scenes, he thought he was gonna get it in, tried to sneak a written past Marshall and swore he was gonna get a win, but Marshall free-styled and killed you my nigga, so again that battle was like your weight, bitch we knew you was never getting Slim”

Hitman Holla defeats Cortez

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Synopsis: This is the battle Cortez still loves to bring up when attempting to prove his mettle. But every time I watch it I come away with same conclusion: Hitman edged it. Of course, if you’re just about bars (and clear-cut crowd bias), you might give it to Cortez (tho he had way too much filler in round 1). But Hitman had plenty of dope bars too, along with (as usual) performance, jokes, schemes (the “Man, what?!” lines are classic) and enough personals (clearly Hitman bringing up Cortez’s losses bothered his opponent) to get it in the end.

Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 2-1

Best line: Hitman Holla – “You just a Mexican that rep New York but lose when it matter the most, you Mark, Sanchez”

Cortez defeats J-Dice

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Recap: Elongated throughout the battle, J-Dice still unleashes enough gritty punches, witty barbs and Mexican jokes to edge round 1. But afterwards this bout was pretty much all Cortez, as while Dice wasted bars on other’s in the room and the quality of his rhymes decreased, the CT rapper’s more condensed adversary got busy with a gang of piercing punchlines/boasts, head-twisting mayhem, fiery personals and a couple of dope freestyles/rebuttals to easily take the latter two rounds for the win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “I cook up and I shook up crews, his future’s not bright but judging by your height you got a lot you could look up too!”

Cortez defeats X-Factor

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Recap: Take out X-Factor’s choke in round one and you have a pretty good battle between him and Cortez here in this early URL/Smack battle. Both came hard with plenty of personals, working punchlines and heavy bars, but Cortez took it overall by adding better wordplay, more consistent lines and continual name flips that repeatedly scored. However, besides the kid from Brooklyn getting the win, this battle should also be noted to refute those who still say they’ve never seen what’s under X-Factor’s cap.

Verdict: Cortex (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “Just to get a head [ahead] he be giving neck, only time’s X’s on paper when he incorrect”

Cortez defeats Head I.C.E.*

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Recap: This battle caused a lot of controversy what with many feeling Cortez got robbed by 3 celebrity judges who knew little about battle rap. However, upon a closer look this battle was a lot closer than people give it credit for. Sure, Cortez was steady dropping haymakers (“Let’s state facts I’m 25 and I’m ballin’, it’s just my life, Ice your 40-plus, you just got nice!”), but real bar for bar (“Pork niggas who beefing, butter knife his neck, put a fork to his weak chin”) Head Ice pretty much stayed consistent throughout, performed extremely well and easily edged him there. And while Cortez deserves credit for one of his best and most spirited performances on Ice’s home turf, the idea that killed Ice just speaks to those who run with the hype instead of being able to properly judge a battle on their own. That said, I got Cortez edging the 1st and 3rd rounds and Ice clearly taking the OT, tho one could argue there shouldn’t have been an overtime to begin with while another could argue this being a debatable.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1 regulation, Head Ice (W) OT

Favorite line: Cortez – “Fuck it I might as well kick the bucket cuz’ I can’t win, Ice you went to school with all the judges!”

Conceited and Cortez [DEBATABLE]

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Synopsis: No disrespect to Cortez, who came off with a killer instinct throughout here (esp. the BK scheme in round one), enough gumption to enter the last round with the lead. But you could watch this battle for Conceited’s round 3 alone, one of the Top 10 rounds in battle rap history in my opinion. Breaking down Cortez’s over-the-top “rah rah” style, dropping gems on his losses, getting his entourage to go quiet, exquisite punchlines and dope bars, it’s all there, arguably Conceited at his best.

Verdict: TIE

Best line: Conceited – “See I’m flyer than a cockpit, I pick up cats like a chopstick!”

Real Deal defeats Cortez

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Synopsis: I agree with judges with Cortez edging the 1st, while Real Deal takes the 2nd and 3rd with better bars, personals and performance (that Any Emcee getting prepared in the booth impression killed!).

Verdict: Real Deal (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Real Deal – “How the fuck are you thorough when Cortez means courteous in Spanish?”

Cortez defeats Soul Khan

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Overtime

Synopsis: Honestly, I had Soul Khan edging this one after 3 rounds with better jokes, rebuttals and punchlines versus Cortez’s aggressive bars and wordplay. But Tez got the OT from the judges and combined with SK stopping early, easily took advantage, clearly showing that you can never go wrong with being more prepared than your opponent.

Verdict: Cortez (W) OT

Best line: Soul Khan – “That was a garbage-ass round, he was spitting pitifully, I’m G. Dep? [well] Your chick hit me up for a special delivery”

Cortez defeats Yung Sheen

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Recap: Despite coming in as a last-minute replacement for Lotta Zay, a confident Cortez spits three fire rounds like he had this battle scheduled for a week. Still, Yung Sheen hung in there, edging the second round with some aggressive storytelling (“Your bitch in my Crusader, don’t worry I know you saw here, you something like the b-ball gear, nigga’s a Starter”) bars and keen wordplay, after Cortez easily took the first with more potent (“I’m Conceited with an ego bigger than Shaq’s shadow”) lines and more versatility. Last round is close, but Cortez takes it with some iller personals, on-point set-ups and fiery punchlines.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “My niggas will jump Superman, ask Nate Robinson!”

Cortez defeats Mosh Jelton

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Recap: Grind Time East Coast battle between Cortez and Mosh Jelton is entertaining all the way through with plenty of witty barbs/4-bar setups, racial jokes and piercing punchlines. But after the two split the first two rounds, a more consistently spicy, lit with the personals and adept with his ability to predict some of his opponent’s lines Cortez pulls this one out at the end.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “I gave him a pack to flip, he snorted like the half the shit, the other half he gave to David Blaine for a magic trick!”

Kay M defeats Cortez

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Part 2

   

Synopsis: Probably the lowlight of Cortez’s battle career. Against the then-106 & Park Freestyle champ, Cortez uses aggressive bars and nice punchlines to ably take the lead on a weak and very rusty Kay M. However, just when he’s on his way to an easy win, he slips up bad in the 3rd round and forces O.T. After another weak round from Kay M, Cortez start off nicely, but this time he doesn’t just slip-up, he chokes, giving his opponent a win he clearly didn’t deserve.

Verdict: Kay M (W) OT

Favorite line: Cortez – “His nickname’s Weezy, head game’s crazy, he licks the lollipop, he loves kissing babies”

Cortez defeats Jazzy Tech

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Recap: Dishing out so much mayhem on a guy who came through at the last minute to battle you probably won’t make you any new friends. But for Cortez, we’re sure that this 3-round Grind Time trashing of a clearly over-matched Jazzy Tech was strictly professional.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “Fools like him only celebrate on April 1st!”

Cortez defeats Complex

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Synopsis: Not much to see here except some early schemes by Cortex, him choking in the 3rd round and Iron Solomon in the back serving as timekeeper.

Verdict: Cortez 2-1

Best line: Complex – “I remember beating Cortez back in the day when I played Crash Bandicoot”

Cortez defeats Jay Focus

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Recap: DJ Vlad’s brief escapades hosting battle rap sees a spirited (“You here now, but your father was wrong, you an accident, you should’ve been a drink for your mom”) Jay Focus and a punchline-heavy Cortez (which according to Cortez, someone in the crowd just happened to record on their flip phone) go at it in a heated two-rounder (any battle host should know better than to have anything but odd number rounds, but whatever). After the two split the first couple of rounds it’s a good thing that the judges decided on OT which allows Tez to spit storytelling bars and expound on hitiin’ Jay’s girl with the “Dougie Fresh”, edging the round and taking the win.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Cortez – “Your broad I fucked her and made [gestures to someone in the crowd] him tape it last night”