Recap: A 3-round rematch between Cortez and Drugz from URL’s Lite Work card goes the former’s way as the veteran Brooklyn emcee not only takes it back to his old Grind Time days with a boatload of gritty street rhymes, but with an addition of a bunch of spicy name flips, some sizzling wordplay/Spanglish and more consistently hard-hitting punches manages to take rounds 1 and 3 (call round 2 debatable as a pretty and aggressive Drugz stepped it up there) for the win.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “Fuck I look like wrestling with drugs…Eddie Guerrero!”
Recap: When you’re a straight gunner like Shotgun Suge, even against Drugz you ain’t staying away from the name flips. And in what was an altogether superb performance, a more consistently spicy Suge gets busy with a gang of potent ‘drug’-associated flips/storytelling bars/trap talk, punchlines and personals to handily get the 30 over an overall solid/aggressive with the punches/gun bars and witty at times, but less steady and too often indirect Gun Show in this 3-rounder from URL’s Battle in the Bayou card.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “He ain’t ever use a tuna top for a razor!”
Recap: Hey, even Fonz (who had all the material and hitting punches here, but was hurt by one too many slip-ups and an elongated turn) in his opening bar acknowledged Drugz’s incredible ability to quickly prepare for a battle. Add to that a cleaner flow, a bit lengthy but well-crafted punches, superb Ave angles and a bunch of aggressive/blazing heaters, gives the Gun Show the win and a bit of an upset in this 1-round Banned battle from URL.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Put the piece up to his roof, he could see the leg dump, then give Fonz a shell, it’s a Easter egg hunt!”
Recap: From IBattle, with only two days prep still a dope and competitive showing here between Drugz and Chef Trez. The two splitting the first two rounds (had the slightly more versatile punching Drugz edging the opening round before a mil-centric and gun bar lit Chef took the 2nd) and then a fiery and raucous 3rd by both battlers gets edged by the rebuttal savvy and set-up/brazenly punch-lit Trez for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Drugz you don’t hold weight for real, I can tell, I’m on a different scale!”
Recap: Versatile and potent at times to makes things close, but an altogether halfhearted effort from Drugz eventually gets run down on by the systematically bruising punchlines/personals from Big Chauncey in this 1-rounder from GOTG.
Verdict: Big Chauncey (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Big Chauncey – “[Bwoh!] I’ll get it go like Snowfall…man, boy you done fucked up like Season 3!”
Recap: Considering them both repping the DMV as well as the brouhaha they had some years back when Prep battled Spanish Harlem, one would’ve thought that Prep and Drugz would’ve met up on a battle stage awhile ago. That said, the wait was worth it. An aggressive bout lit with a plethora of hard-hitting personals, for 3 rounds each battler would rain down haymaker after haymaker to compete for battle of the night. And while Prep lit up the scorecard throughout the match with a variety of revealing idiosyncrasies on his opponent to go along with mocking jokes and a gang of NJ Twork comparisons, outside of a minor round 2 slip-up, the more consistently hitting, angle-savvy, name flip-rich, original and witty Drugz edges the 1st (a superlative turn for sure) and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “And I don’t give a fuck if you in your feelings because salt is how you kill a leech!”
Recap: From the 2nd round of URL’s Ultimate Madness 3 tournament, Rum Nitty uses a barrage of sizzling punchlines, rigid name flips and steely personals/wordplay to handily beat back a personal-loaded, but overall spotty Drugz (who ironically seemed to do better against Nitty in their 1st bout).
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “The first time I took Drugz, I ain’t play no games…I’m Len Bias!”
Recap: OK, I’ll just come right out and say it, I miss The Goonies…now back to our regularly scheduled recap. Besides the ever-excitable Drugz talking through his opponent’s round at times, ex-Goonies, Ryda vs. Drugz for 1 round on Battle Rap Trap, is a dope one. The Gun Show putting away the firepower for the most part and getting busy (and witty) with a fierce angle on his opponent’s alleged drinking issues, sex life and street cred. On the other hand, a more versatile Ryda was consistently on go what with a stellar round of shrewd name flips/metaphors, hard-hitting personals, righteous schemes and piercing punchlines/wordplay. A close one with enough intensity and skeletons coming out the closet to likely lessen any chance of the Goonies ever getting back together, the more haymaker-lit Ryda gets the edge here.
Verdict: Ryda (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ryda – “You got into the NBA of this shit and couldn’t perform well in the street?!, You had a one-on-one, with Moon, one the block, hands up, you was never supposed to be leaving your feet!”
Recap: Pretty emotional and righteous at times, but still competitive Ultimate Madness 3 opening round battle between Yoshi G and Drugz sees the latter go beyond the usual gun bar semantics and wholly address the alleged sexual exploits of his opponent. Whether it was steely lines on protecting his daughter from a wayward lifestyle or ill breakdown’s on Yoshi’s proclivity for thot bars or hard-hitting punchlines dipped in spicy wordplay/real life shit, outside of a near choke in round 3, Drugz had it all here. All the while beating a Yoshi G who while stunted at times with her punches/wordplay and head-ringing/thought-provoking at times with her schemes, could never put it all together with enough consistent heat to avoid getting shutout.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “You ain’t even think you was gonna win, just wanted to be with 13 nigga’s in a small room!”
Recap: The Gun Show makes a visit to The Colosseum Battle League for a 1-rounder against Swagtanna and despite a dope, name-flip-lit and gritty performance from his opponent, pulls out a close win with a spirited, witty at times, punch-heavy, personal-friendly and gun bar-smoking turn that capped a battle that was fire as fuck.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Bitch, I’m walking with an extra arm like a birth defect!”
Recap: A superlative, name flip/metaphor-rich, classic ‘Who Am I?!’ 3rd round by Danny Myers caps off an overall superb showing from the Cali vet here in this URL Super Fight battle versus Drugz. Danny, who also served up a fiery mix of hitting punchlines, mocking personals and boastful barbs, would land enough haymakers to take both the 1st and final round, hurting himself a bit only when he attempted to blast his opponent on an alleged incident with Yung Ill in St. Louis and thus leaving the well-armed, blazing at times and aggressive Drugz with enough room to force a debatable 2nd.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “This battle was the highlight of your life and I’m the neon marker!”
Recap: Fire battle between Mr. Wavy and Drugz features a shitload of eccentric gun bars, performance-heavy showmanship, fiery personals (esp. from Drugz during a superb 3rd round: ‘You tore the building down verse this nigger [points at K-Shine looking on in the crowd] like literally…but you never did it again!’), stunted lyrical shiners (esp. during round 1) and a host of formidable punchlines. And while Wavy may have went a little overkill with the name flips (as is expected against Drugz), most of them were pretty dope, while the always aggressive Drugz flexed a versatile game that often gets overlooked when it comes to The Gun Show. That said, an equal ratio of haymakers in the 1st round makes that one a tie, before Wavy clearly took the 2nd round with a standout and an almost flawless turn that gave the Brooklyn rhymer the edge going into a final round. And while Wavy was still cooking plenty of heat in the 3rd, an aforementioned sublime turn by Drugz would give him the round and force a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Mr. Wavy – “You barely made a name after the group…this nigger Kelly Rowland!”
Recap: URL/Ultimate Madness 2 matchup between two gun line extraordinaire’s, Rum Nitty and Drugz, stays competitive for 3 rounds with plenty of back-n-forth action and heat. However, despite a pretty solid effort from The Gun Show, it’s the slightly more versatile, condensed, set-up/name-flip lit and intricate punching Nitty who edges each round for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Razor blade, cut him, the wound will heal up, NBA bubble, you better play it safe!”
Recap: Drugz and Riggz keep it pretty intense, competitive and personal in this URL/Smack App exclusive battle that took place outside somewhere in the Carolina’s. A tight one for 3 rounds that also featured a host of rigid punchlines. well-lit gun bars and fiery name flips, after splitting the first two rounds, a very close and exhilarating on both sides 3rd round is decided by one more haymaker and a bit less filler from the more direct Riggz.
Verdict: Riggz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Riggz – “You wanna get uploads on YouTube, I got another funeral to go to…we view different!”
Recap: Some fierce name flips, a gang of hard-hitting punchlines, spicy current event bars and a bunch of stinging set-ups/gun bars/braggadocios lines gives JC the win over a gritty, but overall less substantive Drugz in this Quarantined 1-rounder from URL.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “This ain’t comp, this a case, that’s gonna be easier to get out of than grade school!”
Recap: Will we see more of this Drugz in the future now that he’s a part of NWX? As even with a loss here, this is one of the best, consistently punch-heavy and (“You with wifey?, I’ll put the chrome to her chest, and let the hammer blast, bucks in breast, like grandma’s stash!”) gun’s-a-blazing versions of Drugz we’ve seen of late. That said (undoubtedly to his opponent’s chagrin) DNA happened to be on his shit too, the battle vet delivering a steady stream of fire name flips, fierce personals, rigid battle rap tutorials and a host of lyrical (“Wolf of Wall Street, Drugz [drugs] gonna make the stock drop!”) shiners to take rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: DNA (W) 2-1
Favorite line: DNA – “Beam, I’m a buck it tonight, Ray Charles, I’m a shoot Drugz [drugs] with nothing in sight!”
Recap: A bit of a surprise matchup between Arsonal and Drugz sees the Jersey vet captivate the small room crowd with a gang of fiery lyricism that coupled with plenty of witty personals/anecdotes, some solid name flips, stunted punchlines and fierce schemes, edged Ars the first couple of rounds over a nice-with-his and gun bar heavy, but less versatile and a bit long-winded opponent. A multifaceted and personal hitting Drugz easily takes the 3rd round over what was pretty much a throwaway turn from Da Rebel.
Verdict: Arsonal (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Arsonal – “I’m toe-tagging, double C on my sneaks, my closed [clothes] caption!”
Recap: In this DMV vs. Baltimore 1-rounder from Pit Fights Battle League, an aggressive Drugz showed off his pen with a versatile and fiery turn of roundhouse heat, witty personals and fierce punchlines. But assisted by his opponent struggling a bit with his flow, yet also equipped with a gang of bruising set-ups, steely wordplay, soul-reaching gun bars and some spicy personals/name flips, it’s Murda who ends up earning the vic here.
Verdict: Murda (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Murda – “I’m not playing, it’s way simple, put blood in they mouth, turn that glass jaw into a stain window!”
Recap: Even his opponent had to acknowledge (several times) this impressive performance by Chris Dubbs in this 1-rounder from GOTG, Dubbs, ably mixing up his punches with plenty of confidence and vigor, does enough to edge a pretty solid, but a little less consistent turn by Drugz.
Verdict: Chris Dubbs (W) 1-0
shit Favorite line: Chris Dubbs – “Nigga, check my history, shit I woulda done more than snapped, seen a mag first, my past worse than 3rd-stirng quarterbacks!
Recap: Since he has one of the most generic (and all too popular when it comes to subject matter) monikers in battle rap, the easiest route to go when facing Drugz is name flips. So if you’re gonna there and want to stand any chance at winning, ya better be unique with it as Yung Griz displays here. The West-coast battler shining throughout his one round with a gang of sublime flips on his opponent’s name when he wasn’t scoring with popping wordplay, some dope personals and daunting gun bars. And with nary any filler, Griz’s top-notch effort would still only edge a pretty solid and gun-centric showing from Drugz.
Verdict: Yung Griz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Yung Griz – “Your name Drugz and you look like you used to do drugs, I get the feel, like if we give you a plate to go and a plate of blow, you would skip the meal!”
Recap: Some day Drugz is just going to have to accept the fact that he might have the easiest moniker in battle rap to name flip. That said, even with a spitfire and ridiculous 3rd round, Bad Newz, for all his gritty bars, storytelling lines and flexing (granted with Drugz talking throughout his turns, being overtly aggressive at times wasn’t his fault) just keeps hurting himself with elongated rounds, in turn, making for too many pedestrian bars and to his opponent’s dismay, a wide of load of subpar name flips. And with a more condensed and consistent Drugz dropping a variety of lyrical shiners, stealth gun bars and rigid personals throughout his first two rounds, add another win to the column for the Gooonies.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “If I clap stubs, he bleeding, not one, I’m dual wielding with the chrome, two pounds on his hip like a Superhero pose!”
Recap: Matching his loud and aggressive performance with perfunctory heaters, frenzied name flips, some witty barbs and jaunty punchlines, a more than confident Drugz easily beats back the gritty, but mostly pedestrian punches of King Beanz in this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “The 5 7 f-ing is blasting, to hook a beam, I ain’t no snitch, and the dog ain’t gonna tell…I’m in ya bushes Beanz!”
Recap: Impressive showing by Drugz, who for 3 rounds brings a boatload of heated artillery from his noted ‘Gun Show’, yunno, visceral mayhem, fire 4-bar set-ups, lofty punchlines/personals.storytelling and of course, a load of righteous gun bars to unload on King Jables and after a debatable 1st round, beat back his solid and aggressive throughout, but not-quite-as-nice opponent in the latter two rounds and win this iBattleTV matchup.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “…bet things were going good on the job, then they gave him one of them late night shifts all to himself….shit went haywire, he call the bell(???), customers complaining, he put all the back pain relief medicine on the bottom shelf!”
Recap: Funny how at the beginning of Bill Collector’s 1st round Drugz seemed to be shaking his head at the thought of Bill not taking this battle seriously, when as unorthodox, off-the-cuff and entertaining as he can be, outside of Bill and perhaps the people in his camp, does anyone have a clue what Bill’s coming with before a battle? Good thing for Drugz and the crowd tho, Bill did take this Banned Legacy battle serious, even bringing his Super Duper Scope with him for verification. And with that, what proceeded was a pretty dope and competitive battle, Drugz (aka ‘The Gun Show’) bringing a wide load of fiery gun bars, stinging set-ups/name references, a couple of biting tag-in’s (from NJ Twork and C3) and piercing punches/personals in 3 mostly condensed rounds. While Bill, ever the showman, would come heavily armed with a gang of witty barbs, some scintillating punchlines/wordplay, mostly hitting name flips and a host of Gooonie disses. A close bout till the very end, it’s a more qualitative Drugz who edges rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “What are you calling yourself nowadays?, Bill? the Devil, that just means there’s be hell to pay!”
Recap: Short notice, 1-round battle between the prolific Drugz and the ever-entertaining Uno Lavoz contains its share of fun, rich performance bars and antics, but a more condensed and consistently punch-heavy Drugz ends up pulling it out at the end.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Ain’t you a comedian?, I’ll knock this nigger out and tell him ‘Stand up!'”
Recap: After a debatable 1st round that saw them both toe the line on potency, E-Hart’s stinging wordplay, gritty name flips and searing punchlines (that even included a rare rebuttal) are more than enough to beat back the boisterous and oft-witty, but hit-n-miss and a bit flow-challenged stylings of Drugz in the latter rounds of this 3-rounder from Bring Ya Barz Battle League.
Verdict: E-Hart (W) 2-1
Favorite line: E-Hart – “Drugz, if I’m offended by anything you said today, weapons spray, your last good day will be yesterday!”
Recap: Ever animated and always welcoming newcomers to his ‘gun show’, a more condensed Drugz dishes more than enough heat and fiery punchlines to beat back a solid, but a little too filler-prone Whosane in this 1-rounder from The Colosseum Battle League.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Shots out the llama soar, everything in here will buck like the Dollar store!”
Recap: Yeah, in this 1-rounder from Gates of the Garden, Drugz recycles (check him vs. Oozie) a lot and as lazy as that might be, they’re still his bars and damn if some of his (including the original one’s) set-ups and punches weren’t fire as well as more than enough to beat a gritty, but not nearly as potent (or consistent) Truth.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “I never loss, I’m a whole different nigger inside the gates…Luca Brasi!”
Recap: Flexing gun bars, your resident name flips and habitual mayhem on both sides of this 1-rounder from Close Combat Battle League, sees a little more gun-savvy and consistently potent Drugz get the 1-up on a solid till his slip-up towards the end Oozie.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Infrared, I kept the light on for you like Motel 6!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from IBattle, credit Jack Casserole for a bunch of nifty punchlines and the ability to stay away from the normal set of name flips you witness versus Drugz. It kept things competitive at least. Still, however, crafty with the punches, nice with the name flips/set-ups/gun bars and biting with the smack talk, it’s a more potent Drugz who does more to get each round in this one.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “I wanna put hands on ya, just because I’m fed up with you nigger’s like cannibals!”
Recap: Hitting with rapid, but gritty and aggressive punchlines Krzy Bby puts on enough of a quality show to force a draw with Drugz, who’s condensed turn of mostly mayhem mixed in with salacious (“Silencer, something copper hit the ground, but you couldn’t hear a penny drop!”) gun bars might’ve given him this 1-rounder if not for an unnecessary tag-in from Dre Dennis.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Krzy Bby – “I ain’t seen nothing this ass on a plate since Cow and Chicken!”
Recap: 40 B.A.R.R.S. can make it look so easy sometimes, dishing intricate punchlines at a rapid pace without breaking a sweat. And that’s certainly the case here as outside of a slip-up near the beginning of her turn, 40 uses some exquisite lyrical dexterity to beat a solid and aggressive, but not as consistently hitting Drugz in this intergender matchup from Do or Die Battle League.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 1-0
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “You like .5 on a scale, misdemeanor fuck you telling me?!”
Recap: Even with Bankhead rapping twice as long as his opponent, in this fiery 1-rounder from Black Ice Cartel against the also highly energetic Drugz, the future NWX member’s higher percentage of stinging (tho a bit excessive at times) name flips, potent gun bars, rapid mayhem and gritty, oft-performance heavy punchlines are enough to beat a pretty solid, but not as consistent showing from his opponent.
Verdict: Bankhead (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bankhead – “What happened to that Drugz with substance? that’s the nigger people was actually feening with, how the fuck your name supposed to be Drugz with no active ingredient?!?”
Recap: For all of Drugz’s loud talk and aggression here, substance-wise it was more like he just showed up with righteous throwaway one would use for an OT round if they had to. In other words we’ve seen better from the DMV rapper and even if S. Dot wasn’t always consistently nice, the Boston spitter certainly came with enough heat and spitfire punchlines to beat his more pedestrian opponent.
Verdict: S. Dot (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “I got a son now, I gotta chill, ‘cuz my life like Monopoly, every time I end up on the wrong corner, I end up in jail!”
Recap: Punching (“I know I’m a long way from home, but I’m far from pussy like a long-distance relationship!”) extra hard from the jump, Drugz’s first non-PG, URL battle goes pretty well and leaves a mark. But a slightly more consistent Stuey Newton, witty at times and dropping (“And next is the easy victim, I’ll swing Rome DMV by the arms and beat you with him!”) haymakers all over the place with reckless abandon, takes this dope 1-rounder that set off an Initiation card.
Verdict: Stuey Newton (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Stuey Newton – “I will scrape and stretch Drugs, I need all the extra’s!”
Recap: If Drugz had written a 3rd round (tho he did offer a short, but solid freestyle-enriched turn to make it through without just giving it away) this one might’ve ended on a different note. As after getting out-punched in the 1st, the DMV/Goonies rapper came back with a more consistent. condensed/punch-heavy and fire round 2 to tie things up. But the ever steady YK, while going overkill on the name flips throughout the battle, still came heavy in the final round with some fiery personals, stinging punchlines/schemes and salacious gun bars to easily beat back any chance his opponent had of taking the round, much less getting the win.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Drugz been on my nuts, I’m trying to smuggle shit!”
Recap: In this one-rounder from Gates of the Garden, Drugz runs with a witty ‘light-skin lookalike’ theme that’s exemplified by his usual high energy and fanatical punchlines. However, with a couple of dry spots and a slightly shorter turn than his opponent, leave it to Bonus, consistently scoring with fiery set-ups and rigid gun bars, to take advantage of Drugz’ more sluggish bars.
Verdict: Bonus (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Bonus – “Nigga, my pen hot too, but it’s some different that I’m a send by you, I don’t even need a 3rd, it’s like playing basketball in the street…I gotta win by 2!”
Recap: Fire battle between Gwitty and Drugz, what with plenty of dope personals and real tension in lieu of past drama between the two for the past year or so. Drugz shines hard in the 1st round, dishing steely punches and stinging gun (“Mini rocket launcher look like a news camera!”) bars left and right with wild-eyed intensity on his mark, while easily beating back a mostly pedestrian turn by Gwitty. 2nd round, however is all Gwitty, scoring at will with crisp (“This the dirtiest matchup on Smack…Xcel verse Anubis!”) jab after (“You out here acting reckless, they think he wilding, his record clean, that’s why they call him Drugz [drugs], he non-violent!”) jab, all the while slumping his opponent to the point of pretty much giving up the round and evening up the match. A solid, (“Have my bitch suck his dick, my ratchet head-tap him…blow his brain!”) punch-heavy, personal-drenched turn from Gwitty in the 3rd and final round gives him a nice chance to take a win here. However, Drugz wouldn’t be having it, dishing exquisite (“But my daughter was born yesterday, y’all seen Final Destination? the only think that could stop death is new life!”) set-ups in-between witty pontifications and grandiose braggadocio bars, it’s the more versatile DMV rapper’s vic for the taking.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “Now I bring death upon Paper…a eulogy!”
Recap: Dispensing some ill name flips and hard bars, Shyce makes himself a noteworthy opponent, that is, until a severe case of the slip-ups overwhelms him into ending his round before a rambunctious Drugz delivers his usual assortment of hardbody rhymes and performance-spiced heat to get an easy win.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Nigga, you’ze a lame, this toolie bang, let me put a round in your stomach, bitch, and see if you move the same!”
Recap: After Drugz puts together a phenomenal 1st round that pushes (“Do business with him on the street?, I couldn’t even fathom that, why you pack pitching and gat-toting anyway? don’t the captain of the block supposed to have nigga’s to handle that?!”) back on his opponent’s entire battle rap repertoire, Eazy the Block Captain displays plenty of mettle by refusing to wilt. Indeed, with the Philly rapper upping his gritty stylings with fiery set-ups, fierce (“Oh, you back with your team now huh?, oh that’s cool, you winning, but just like the Goonies, wasn’t fucking with they own brother in the beginning!”) personals, potent jailhouse raps and discernible ‘real rap’ bars, even with a couple of elongated rounds, thanks in part to a more pedestrian Drugz coming back to earth in the latter rounds, the Block Captain edges rounds 2 and 3 to earn the win.
Verdict: Eazy the Block Captain (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Eazy the Block Captain – “All that tough shit, nigga you can have that, but on this stage don’t let it go past that, or a real bar could go over your head…and y’all don’t gotta ask ‘Did he catch that?’!”
Recap: A couple of school of thoughts here about this fire, one-round battle between Drugz and Truth Watson. Drugz getting emotional (again) and attempting to leave the stage after Truth goes there with a line about his opponent’s uncle recently killing himself. Did Truth go too far? Was Drugz being hypocritical in light of how often uses (this battle included) soul-gripping personals in his raps? Or is talking about those who have passed on (see: Suge, Shotgun) just a line that goes too far? Even in the world of ‘anything goes’ battle rap? I’m of the feeling that while the deceased and kids should be off-limits, battle rap being battle rap, the idea of any kind of censorship in battle rap, no matter how cutthroat, bothers me. And if you can’t handle it, go fly a kite or something. So while one can sympathize with Drugz (and give hin credit for leaving the stage instead of say, swinging on Truth), within the confines of the stage, a battle rapper should be able to say what he or she wants–that, after all, is the essence of battle rap. That being said, with Truth choosing to end the battle on his own, Drugz, with a slightly more versatile, cleaner, punch/personal-heavier and haymaker-raining turn, gets the win here.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “I’m supposed to believe that you airing a gun, when half the time your hair is in a bun?!”
Recap: Drugz’ loud and aggressive style works wonders when his bars match his delivery. And while he’s able to hit it out the (“Go to D.C. and ask about Drugz…you gonna get a bag!”) park here and there in this altogether raucous and entertaining battle against R Streetz, too often then not, Drugz buoyancy really comes off as filler. That said, it’s a more well-rounded, (“I’ll clap Yusef, bang on him, Yusef is dead, if Yusef survive, he gonna lose use of [Yusef] his legs!”) performance-boastting and more consistently hitting Mr. Streetz taking rounds 1 and 2 for the win.
Verdict: R Streetz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: R Streetz – “I hate Yu [Jew] so much, I’ll give you anti-sematics [anti sem atics]!”
Recap: Despite an awkward one-minute pause near the beginning of his round, Showoff still manages to dish enough delicious (“This .9 my favorite meal, I guess that’s why my finger-licking good!”) gun bars and aggressive punchlines to edge a win over a sometimes (“I’m surely inspired, that y’all thought I’d be moved by Omar from The Wire!”) nice, yet inconsistent (but heavily gassed either way) Drugz.
Verdict: Showoff (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Showoff – “I’m just real nigga that act out and use a name, Drugz an internet nigga, trying to act out his username!”
Recap: Get past host Norbes and Jazz the Rapper dressed in their PJ’s and way too many sights of Nu Jerzy Twork’s underwear and you’re left with a barfest of a PG battle between Jakkboy Maine and Drugz. Start with the fact that Drugz, steadily aggressive with surefest punches and gritty (“I’m showing him why Drugz is one of DMV’s well-known soldiers, when it’s wartime, you a cannibal late to dinner, you get the cold shoulder!”) shiners, did much of anything wrong in round 1, but an oft-understated, but highly polemic with fine-tuned (“These [points up two guns] like kids at a puddle, they jump across!”; “Gun up, but a big let down like something for what you wasn’t expected!”) gun bars Jakkboy did way more to take round one. If you thought the first round was fire, the second round was even better, but moreso for Drugz, whose steadier flow raucous gun bars and audacious (You was up there talking about my debatable’s right? knowing damn well you in a relationship with a debatable dyke!”), personals gained him a split going into round 3. Which while solid on both sides, significantly lacked the consistently flagrant verbiage of the previous two rounds and contained some stumbles from each battler as well, so call it even.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “MJ impersonation, it ain’t right [points up fingers like gun] without the spin, 6th man, ya face will see ya backboard when ya meet the rim! !”
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!”
Recap: Going up against a strong-arm display of piercing (“[Bwoh!] I got that shit in Durham, nigga’s in Greensboro was like ‘You heard that?!'”) gun bars and flexing personals from Drugz for 3 rounds, after surviving a couple of slip-ups in round 1, Zig Zag for the most part dumps the resident name flips and with two rounds of quality-equipped punchlines and ripping mayhem, comes back with enough heat to edge the 2nd round before an equal amount of haymakers from both battlers makes this one a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Zig Zag – “If I raise the stick, I bet it’ll change his tone, I’m a vocal coach!”
Recap: First, I love how Nu Jerzey Twork stepped in first and was like ‘We not doing that!’, basically doing what should’ve been the host’s job and preventing a fight during Quban’s round. Secondly, this battle was not only intense throughout, but lyrically fire all-around with there obviously being some history to these two battlers, thus sparking spitfire pen’s from both (“I came here for a clean body, Yusef, I’m trying to get drugs [Drugz] out your system!”) Quban and (“As far as nigga’s, we surrounded Quban’s [Cuban’s] just like the embargo line!”) Drugz that made for flexing personals, lofty punchlines, heated gun lines and some nice performance bars. Equal in haymakers and as close of a one-rounder as you can get without calling it a debatable, the feeling here is Quban, more potent with the set-ups and ever-so-slightly more consistent with less dry spots, gets the win.
Verdict: Quban (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Quban – “But you gonna tell me how you wilding on the block, you J. Reed, you pretend to be something you not!”
Recap: Plenty of heated gun bars and nice set-ups to the punches by both Drugz and Holmzie Da God in this close battle from Spit Dat Heat. However, in the final analysis, it’s Drugz who stands out harder with more cohesive rounds, wittier bars and an aggressive performance. Granted, Drugz was a little over-the-top at times with his aggression, but his palette still stood out more, altogether giving the DMV spitter rounds 2 and 3 and a come-from-behind win.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “I get a kick out of Holmzes [homes]…I’m evicting this nigga!”
Recap: One of those battles where you should definitely NOT be paying attention to the comments section as so many got Ha Style this one winning…easy. Yet, upon watching the battle itself, it’s really a much different story as Drugz albeit had a lot of one-dimensional street flair, still sparked remnants of authenticity and enough (“Get these pussies stretched, somebody get him some vinegar!”) action/wordplay to easily take the first round and hang in there for the rest of the battle. Moving on, Ha’s aggressive, old-school flow was uplifted when he went (“That’s your style? A nigga can hit your girl as long as she don;t suck it, you give em dap and a smile?!”) personal on his opponent and repeatedly landed with spot-on jabs to the middle round. 3rd close wasn’t the best for either battler, however, despite Ha dishing a couple of loud haymakers and Drugz mostly going hit-or-miss, ultimately it’s still Drugz edging the win with slightly better (“I’m that pissed, you never seen me that like this before, I guess you did get Cat-fished!”) consistency to his bars, unlike plenty of ample reaches, spectator bars and righteous filler from Mr. Style that got tended to get lost in his amped-up performance..
Verdict: Drugz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Drugz – “I’m a hype beast, white sheets, a fraud, it’s what you seem to be, those 7,000 views are not yours, so your chances of success without Roc are quite Bleek!”
Recap: On reactions alone, Drugz wins this battle by a landslide. As for the bout itself? Well, Drugz happens to take this 1-rounder too, using a gang of gritty punches, rigid gun bars and spicy ‘Street’ name flips/metaphors to handily beat back a solid and hard-hitting at times, but name-flipping excessive and mostly pedestrian Streetz Messiah.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Where you be at when the judge’s banging the gavel down?, exactly Messiah, when we need you never around, so to your name you’re a failure and contradiction, looks couldn’t stop me from steaking this nigga, that’s loss prevention!”
Recap: In this close 1-rounder from Bar Bendas Rap Battle League, the bullish punches from Teak (who gets credit here for barely using a name flip–an all-too-common occurrence when it comes to Drugz) validates a competitive bout. But with a consistently torrid and spicy turn of piercing punchlines and shrewd set-ups to go along with some fire wordplay, it’s Drugz who gets the edge here.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “No leg shots, only the top’s getting filled in like I forgot my password!”
Recap: Honestly thought J Protege was done when he mentioned Avril Lavigne in a bar in round 1. But credit to the kid for pushing on, tho he’d eventually slip-up and choke in the latter rounds, all the while handily losing to a brazen, punchline-lit, gun bar-dishing and wordplay-spicy Drugz in this tryout battle from SupaNova/STC.
Verdict: Drugz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Drugz – “Right after I get the pump, you gonna lay there like an airbed!”
