Recap: Versus a hard-hitting (mostly in round 1) at times, but a bit half-hearted in the latter rounds and also flow challenged throughout Don Marino, Ave dominates. The EFB rep using a sizzling barrage of fiery punchlines, witty/dope personals, mayhem-lit darts and fly Spanish/Mexican references to handily get the 30 in this 3-rounder from The Riot.
Verdict: Ave (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ave – “Fuck with me, that’s just gonna lead to you in the viewing, or a fresh [swpies air like a blade] Buck 50…G-Unit reunion!”
Recap: No Mexican bars from Don Marino in a 1-round, GMDW battle where the theme was wrestling. Nonetheless, still a solid effort filled with a gang of filthy punches from the Florida hombre. Then it was Jerry Wess’ turn and that was pretty much it. The EFB squad member using his turn to get busy with a bunch of sterling build-ups, sturdy punchlines and a kaleidoscope of sublime, wrestling-themed punchlines to score more than enough haymakers for the win.
Verdict: Jerry Wess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “We are not in the same tax bracket, I will finish this dude, scam your bank statements for Photoshop….make ya signature move!”
Recap: A couple of past URL mainstays, Don Marino and Mike P, meet up for a 3-rounder on Bear Armz and it’s about what you’d expect. An aggressive Mike P with the explosive punches, performance-lit bars and solid name flips/personals, while Don Marino’s expansive ‘Mexican bar’ tutelage’s, rugged struggle bars and piercing punch/personal game continues to make him a worthwhile opponent. Pretty solid throughout (outside of Mike P clearly not putting too much into his 3rd round), it’s the more haymaker-lit and consistent Mr. Marino who takes the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I don’t even know what part of New York you from, I don’t even try to beef, hand me my beer, this Long Island weak!”
Recap: Showing off more performance with his punches while flexing with a wide array of hitting bars, in this close 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden, it’s a slightly more haymaker-lit and versatile Don Marino who beats back a very witty (esp. when it came to the Mexican jokes), but mostly one-dimensional Bill Collector.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “When you move how I move you don’t have to fight, they lift the gat and they spark it, the clip got a curve like a neck on an ostrich!”
Recap: In a battle he clearly wanted to win (word has it that not only had Don been wanting to battle A. Ward for at least two years, but the back-n-forth these two were engaging in online after the match was announced got a little testy at times), a versatile and hard-hitting Don Marino gets in his own way once again, choking away what could’ve been a fire 2nd round (after getting edged to a just as punch-lit, but also off-the-dome spicy Ward in round 1) to lose this WarTown Battles 3-rounder, before taking round 3 in a competitive bout that was also laced with fiery personals, schemes and set-ups by both battlers throughout.
Verdict: A. Ward (W) 2-1
Favorite line: A. Ward – “You are a URL benchwarmer, Coach P gets to choose y’all reps!”
Recap: Ryda versus Don Marino on URL’s Civil War for the most part is a goodie with the Miami rapper dropping his usual assortment of struggle bars and wily punches for more consistently hitting/spicier punchlines and a creative use of an angle in round 2 that was well lit with hitting personals. However, after getting handily beat in round 1, Ryda would step his punching acumen and via a barrage of witty darts, flexing/mocking personals, fire set-ups/storytelling bars and oft-Mexican themed, but either way still gripping bars that altogether edged both of the latter rounds to the Maryland battler and earned him the win.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ryda – “You got a great resume, low stock, your career’s been an odd one, you gotta be the only Mexican I know that can never get the job done!”
Recap: Grind Time/KOTD vet Madness takes it right to Don Marino with 3 rounds of witty personals, hard-hitting Mexican barbs and other consistently piercing punchlines to handily beat back a spicy at times, but overall unsteady effort from the Miami legend.
Verdict: Madness (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Madness – “For you, battling me is on the top of your bucket list, for me it’s…whatever the fuck this is!”
Recap: Granted, a few slip-ups, coming off less witty than usual and a couple of oft-tilt themes by Your Honor certainly didn’t help his chances. But altogether, a focused Don Marino, spouting a series of rich name flips, captivating struggle bars, piercing personals and fiery punchlines/gun bars/self-deprecating lines, while a bit on overkill at times, still manages to put forth enough steady heat to earn the 30.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “They gave the Honor to a Mexican like Cinco De Mayo!”
Recap: From URL’s Born Legacy 12 card, Don Marino gets back on his grind, avoids the notorious unforced errors and while taking advantage of an elongated Danja Zone who was prone to filler after a punch-heavy and strong, multi-layered round 1, unleashes a hefty bag of piercing name flips/punchlines, hard-hitting struggle bars, some solid rebuttals and stinging set-ups/personals to edge round 1, score a debatable 2nd and take round 3 for the win.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Marino – “When it comes to smoke, I’m no stranger Danja, you just pointed out the wrong person!”
Recap: A bar or two? Sure. But at this point, if you’re going to dedicate an almost entire round on the tired subject that is Danny Myers wife and it ain’t beating that classic 2nd round Mike P. put on Danny last year, you might want to try another topic. Besides that, for a guy who battles nearly every week at this point, as even his opponent here, Don Marino, admits to, Danny always give 100% effort, something a lot of battle rappers could learn from. And while he’s struggled recently with lack of preparation in battles, for the most part (that is, when he was being original with his themes) Marino came correct here, spouting some ill lines and breakdowns on Danny’s battle regimen in round 1 and delivering some dope punchlines when he wasn’t spitting what would be his best round, the 3rd, which saw Don get busy with a versatile turn of rich-set-ups, some exquisite wordplay and fiery personals that didn’t involve Danny’s other half. Unfortunately for Marino tho, in both of the opening rounds an always energetic and performance-stunting Bar God was at his best, unleashing a gang of piercing punches, rigid wordplay, jaunty Mexican-laced personals, fire name flips, boastful barbs, a searing mid-round rebuttal, righteous chatter and rugged gun lines that hit with enough heat to take both rounds for the win in this rare 3-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “You use performance to cover up your sorry flow, what, you think you the Mexican Hitman?, Sicario!”
Recap: It’s not complicated. If you’re a mid-tier battle rapper complaining about not getting bigger plates, when one comes your way, you have to take advantage of it. Really now, ‘cuz say what you want about a Holmzie Da God or a Drugz, when they go face-to-face with a top tier, the effort is there and at the very least they show up with 3 full rounds. Unfortunately, the same can’t said about Don Marino as unforced errors continue to be his downfall. That being the case here in this 3-rounder against an Ill Will, who besides a killer 1st round loaded with fiery punchlines, brazen gun bars and witty personals, could’ve been beat with a standout showing. But after a pretty solid and punch-heavy at times 1st, Don, while continuing to score with a handful of spirited punchlines/set-ups, just couldn’t avoid the slip-ups in round 2 (which helped a versatile and punch-heavy Will take that turn), before starting off his 3rd pretty rigid, getting little past midway and succumbing to a choke.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Little flare, any wrong move the 5th will [ap]pear, pistol so close to Don…it’s a consigliere!”
Recap: Assisted by a middle round choke from his opponent during round 2 (credit to Nitty for letting Don Marino make an attempt to complete his turn, which he still ended up cutting short), but scoring at will with a host of fiery punchlines, mocking personals, deft wordplay and flaring gun bars, Rum Nitty handily takes the first couple of rounds for the win in this Super Fight Matchup from URL. A fire, personal-lit 3rd round from Marino combined with a still solid Nitty choosing to go mostly indirect during the same turn allows the Mexican standout to avoid getting shutout.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I’m a do you Shady fast…it’s a Rap [wrap] God!”
Recap: In his first return to battle rap after getting the Covid, Don Marino impresses all the way through his 3 rounds, spouting that Mexican pride but also dishing a boatload of spicy personals (at opponent Marvwon and the host Smack), intense struggle bars, some fiery wordplay and piercing punchlines/gun bars. For the veteran Marvwon, while rarely seen on the URL stage, the Detroit vet’s often-witty punch-game kept things competitive and was sublime at times, but an overall topsy-turvy showing along with Don’s comeuppance here would still give Marino the shutout.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I had small leagues bidding for me and Nitty, they was calling soon, I use that plate to cover this plate, like I’m leaving the BBQ”
Recap: Having a hard time finding his grind of late, Don Marino gets back to basics, using consistently banging (“Child’s Play, when I was killing shit, I didn’t need y’all to put the batteries in my back!”) punchlines/personals with a little added wit, lofty gun lines, fire schemes and hitting, but also thought-provoking struggle bars to….force a draw here with Big Hann. Indeed, while Marino put on a show, so did Hann. The Philly capo matching his steely aggression with a wide load of blistering street shit, boastful metaphorical bangers, ringing mayhem and some gritty wordplay/punches/personals to edge round 2 (after Marino took the 1st) and force a tie in the deciding 3rd round.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Big Hann – “You know the truth, you wanna check my stats?, I’ll show the proof, I kept an eagle on me, I used to to pull up in a drop top and let a bird fly the coop!”
Recap: In this Ultimate Madness matchup bout between Eazy The Block Captain and Don Marino, after splitting the 1st two rounds, the Block Captain’s more gritty street stories, fiery gun bars and hardbody punches/personals beat back a less versatile and mostly struggle bar oriented turn from Marino in the deciding 3rd.
Verdict: Eazy The Bock Captain (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Eazy The Block Captain – “You did dishes?, I did dishes too, You went fishing? I was castling lines from one cell to another nigger, I went fishing too!”
Recap: Fire, competitive battle between Don Marino and B. Magic features a variety of slick punchlines and fierce set-ups throughout the battle. And while Marino was able to dip in some pointed personals here and there, a more condensed Magic, after losing round 1, would score with enough (“Act tough and uh, Tek’s gonna hit y’all, it’ll calm that shit down like Pepto Bismol!”) haymakers to edge round 2, before hanging in there versus a robust turn from his opponent in the deciding 3rd round and force a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Don Marino – “You only got one or two moves in the ring…Mankind!”
Recap: You’d expect a tight, competitive and fiery one between ex and current group members and that’s what you get here as newfound NWX head Don Marino faces off against former NWX rep Th3 Saga in this blistering 1-rounder from GOTG. A near debatable with both battlers spilling their guts worth of sizzling punchlines, fierce personals, ringing mayhem, potent name flips/gun bars, Spanglish and slick wordplay to make for an almost equal amount of haymakers, what with less filler and even lesser predictability to his bars, the edge here goes to Mr. Marino.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I’ll let it blam, the big fall, triggers on both sides…pinball!”
Recap: A Pass equipped with a bunch of mocking personals, hard-hitting history lessons, boastful barbs and piercing punchlines/name flips versus a well-prepared and clearly motivated Don Marino dishing a gang of versatile punches/personals, hometown heat, lofty name flips and well-oiled Mexican bars makes for a fiery, competitive and even split during the first two rounds of this URL/Smack Volume 5 battle. In the deciding 3rd round however, a solid and condensed effort by Pass would get handily beat back by a boatlaod of killer personals and set-up/punchlines by Mr. Marino, giving the Miami legend a well-earned win.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Marino – “Dan Marino in the shotgun, I hit the screen Pass!”
Recap: A punch-heavy and witty battle at times, but also a little bent on filler, reaches and a recycled bar or two, after splitting the first couple of rounds, Ty Law versus Don Marino comes down to the unorthodox stylings and ‘over the head’ punchlines of Mr. Law edging what was an overall pretty solid, but a bit flow-challenged turn by Mr. Marino in the deciding 3rd round.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “They deep in every city you live, Mexicans the reason Lowe’s and Home Depot be lit as it is!”
Recap: Dishing fiery struggle bars galore throughout this battle along with stifling gun drama, potent set-ups and wicked (“I said let’s keep it G, they gonna have to redirect me, the piece is deadly, hear a ring before the round…the pizza’s ready!”) punchlines/personals that had the crowd buzzing, under normal circumstances a Don Marino consistently on his A-game would get the win. But you don’t win Champion of the Year for having a mediocre pen, much less a spitfire rebuttal game that always comes in handy when you’re in the face of a barrage of constant heat. And that’s the case with Geechi Gotti, who somehow edged a superb, but one-themed 1st round from his opponent with a versatile array of stunted (“Nigga, I’m a Loc, yeah, twin cannon’s, twins blasting, the .40 with the .9, somebody call Chris Hanson!”) gun bars, urban street fair and scintillating braggadocio lines before using his stellar punch game, a boatload of stinging personals and his innate, off-the-dome skills to rebut Marino’s Mexican swag in the 2nd. And with Geechi pulling back with a solid, but condensed turn in the 3rd that easily got beat back by more of Don’s jaunty wordplay/name flips and real-life drama, Gotti getting the win here was well-earned.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “32 and down, basic cable, yeah nigga, good luck, but you getting everything 40 and up, the Mexican came and gave me the hook-up!”
Recap: At times to his opponent’s clear annoyance, a pretty solid throughout Don Marino pulls out all his tricks in this Survivor Series versus Swamp: Mexican bars, fiery punchlines, NWX entries, struggle bars galore, jaunty name flips (tho he did go overboard when it came to using Swamp’s gov’t name)/personals and a host of pointed gun lines. More than enough altogether to take round 1 over a less direct Swamp and potent enough to him competitive in the latter rounds. In other words, Marino made Swamp earn this one. And the South Carolina spitter certainly did, getting more direct with the punches in rounds 2 and 3 while also adding a gang of filthy trap talk, mocking personals, hitting rebuts on his opponent’s struggle narratives, rich set-ups, blistering punchlines and piercing gun chatter to take both rounds and get the win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “Fix ya face little bitch, he stressing, depressing, get him a Volume please, leg shot, his legs looking like Megan the Stallion knees!”
Recap: Hate to get personal in this space, but damn if Danja Zone wasn’t annoying the shit out of me with all those over-the-top reactions. Nonetheless, dope, punch/grip ready/personal/struggle bar worthy and competitive battle between Holmzie Da God and Don Marino comes down to the final round after the more haymaker-drenched Holmzie took the first before Marino came back with a condensed and more punchline crazy 2nd to split things going into the 3rd. And while both battlers, on their A-game throughout the battle, would get uber-personal and kick a couple of sublime turns in the final turn, an almost flawless, condensed and more direct go-round by Don (who also admirably predicted that Holmzie would use race angles during his turn) would give the Miami capo a nice comeback for the win.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Marino – “We could take the savage route, what this man about?, ladder out, [Bwoh!] leave God all over the crib….it’s a Spanish house!”
Recap: Spouting blistering name flips that even his opponent had to nod his head and approve as well as a boatload of fiery punchlines/set-ups/gun bars/schemes that had the crowd spazzed, in this 1-rounder from the Slums Battle League Don Marino shines throughout while unloading a gang of haymakers to take this one over the always entertaining and gritty, but in this case not as consistent Gauge.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “Who you be trolling?, I dare lames, before I see the bus, buck-fifty, ain’t fair change!”
Recap: Competitive and fierce 1-rounder between newly appointed, NWX member Don Marino and newly appointed Cave Gang member Bad Newz features a host of venom, airy gun semantics and hardbody punches from Newz. But a more versatile and slightly more consistent with the punches Marino–flexing with his storied Mexican bars, but also scoring with plenty of jaunty punchlines/personals, fire set-ups, some stinging Spanglish/hand-offs, witty barbs and a very rare rebuttal that he spit despite going 1st–gets the win here.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “How you gonna stop this?, that’s the mean bars, that scheme hard, not a Chico talking white like I applied for my Green card!”
Recap: Don Marino scores this one about right, using flexing personals, lofty gun bars, stinging name flips and a boatload of fiery punchlines (esp. during a spitfire round 2) to come from behind, take the latter two rounds and beat back a research-heavy, but after spazzing with fire/witty punches and personals in the first round, very inconsistent Jonny Storm.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I said we could go to war, I could give him war, Tsu Surf said I look like the Uber driver?, that’s ‘cuz I bring the mil [meal] to ya door!”
Recap: Spicy personals, hitting punchlines/gun bars, fire set-ups and gritty name flips/schemes, in this 1-rounder from League of Championship Kulture, it’s all there for Don Marino, indeed enough steady heat to beat back a solid overall, but not as versatile or potent Young Herb.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “I raise the tool, it got a little kick to it like Cajun food!”
Recap: Perhaps a little wary of having to do his 3rd Proving Grounds battle, a serious Jey The Nitewing lives up to his open ‘I ain’t come here to play’ declaration with a sizzling 1st and classic 2nd round filled with spitfire punchlines, intricate wordplay, varied/heated personals and pontifications towards an opponent in Don Marino who entertained and came punch-heavy throughout, but overall just didn’t have enough to keep up with Nitewing’s more potent bars.
Verdict: Jey The Nitewing (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jey The Nitewing – “What you take me for, fuck your hustle, when it come to the struggle nigga anybody could play that card, see I came from cold showers, all my euces know, but see most was broke, nigga Jey was poor, I ain’t have a mattress till I was 16, I had to wake up and make the floor!”
Recap: Spitfire battle on both sides as Dre Dennis and Don Marino drop a load of versatile, performance-sparked punchlines to make for a close and competitive 1-rounder. However, it’s Dennis with slightly less dry spots as well as a capacity for more haymakers, that gets the edge here.
Verdict: Dre Dennis (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Dre Dennis – “I believe in the ratchet, like I support her dreams!”
Recap: A fire, haymaker-drenched, Mexican-lit and (“Paranormal activity, I had lay powder down so you can see my next step!”) punch-heavy 2nd round from Don Marino serves as the best round of this PG battle versus Gunpowder Patt. But one too many repeated themes and a surprising 1st round choke from Marino along with GP’s witty(“You look like you got bullied in class all ya life…nigga, you was home-schooled!”) musings, solid personals and fiery 4-bar set-up’s/fierce schemes in the 1st and 3rd rounds gives the We Go Hard grad an earnest win.
Verdict: Gunpowder Patt (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Gunpowder Patt – “Drug bars, y’all know that saying, ‘Step on a crack, break ya mama back’?, yeah I see that shit real clear, in the trap, so much crack getting stepped on my mom in a wheelchair!”
Recap: Let’s go out on a limb and say that Prez Mafia was inspired for this one. Against a very solid and witty (“The Mexican making the Garden look good!”) Don Marino, a hyped up Prez dispenses with straight heat, delivering well-packaged punchlines and righteous (“Stomach shot, nigga you’ll lie on ya belly for not trusting your gut!”) gun bars in between frenzied set-ups that all landed. To think, with Marino making such a dope impression in his last battle on Gates versus Chess, Prez’s spitfire showing here may’ve brought his opponent back to earth.
Verdict: Prez Mafia (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Prez Mafia – “You got a PG in July…first nigga to get a ‘Juan Demarco!'”
Recap: Mexican bars are something you gotta deal with. And if you’re vet like Chess, while you probably wasn’t expecting much from a relative newbie, for a versatile Don Marino, hitting on all cylinders, from righteous (“We used to fuck with you ‘cuz we heard the struggle in your bars, now we don’t fuck with you ‘cuz we hear you struggle with your bars!”) personals to potent punches, it’s a worthy chance to prove yourself against a stalwart opponent. Which he certainly did throughout his one round to pull off the upset. On the other hand, for Chess, even with the loss, coming off a long bout with Earl, a solid (“Who gonna play the field for you when I pick up 9’s and bag your bitch like pick-up lines!”) showing with no unforced errors here, lets us know that he’s not done just yet.
Verdict: Don Marino (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Marino – “Let me guess, you used to ride around with something illegal, I ride around with someone illegal!”
Recap: After this battle I’m guessing that Court probably wished he’d brought his ‘hardest shit’, instead of mayhem-inducing, but mostly pedestrian bars that failed to match the impact of opponent Don Marino’s more potent name flips, righteous gun lines and versatile punches in this 1-rounder from AHAT ATL.
Verdict: Don Dollaz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Don Dollaz – “If its beef, I’ll put .5 on .5 on Court…now we got a game!”
Recap: Out-punched and struggling a bit with his flow in round 1, Machete Trevy withstands the heat and in the latter rounds–using a gang of witty/mocking personals with some piercing punchlines mixed in–comes back to beat a rebuttal-nice, but less potent with the punchlines Don Dollaz.
Verdict: Machete Trevy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Machete Trevy – “Why would you name yourself after money if you ain’t getting any, you’re not Don Dollaz…you’re Peasant Pennies!”
Recap: Hot start by a punch-heavy, performance-friendly Don Dollaz (aka Don Marino) in the 1st round gets dismissed by an overall more consistent, wordplay-spazzing and spirited Xcel in this solid 3-rounder from WeGoHard.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Nickle to you head, now you leaking common sense!”
Recap: Nice punch-fest between Tapedeck and Don Dollaz is only spoiled when Dollaz chokes in the 2nd round. However, with just enough fiery punchlines, piercing name flips and fluorescent gun bars in the 1st and 3rd rounds, Dollaz edges both to still receive the win.
Verdict: Don Dollaz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Don Dollaz – “After I hit him with the .5K’s, I’ll take his bread…I’m the best rapper of the tournament!”
