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Head Ice

Ill Will defeats Head I.C.E.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0NucsUmxik

Recap: Considering the weight of the names, a bit surprised that this 3-rounder from HOC Rap Battle League received such little promotion. Either way, while Head I.C.E. kept things competitive for two rounds with his parlance for gritty street talk, indirect but flexing punches and witty barbs, Ill Will’s persistent combo of rambunctious punchlines (esp. during a stellar round 2), stinging personals, fiery name flips and gripping mayhem/gun bars would in the end prove to be too much, thus giving the Yaktown native a well-earned 30.

Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’m from Pontiac where we can turn babymamas into ransom notes!”

JC defeats Head I.C.E.

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Recap: From URL’s Ultimate Madness 5 tournament, round 2. The O.G. Head I’C.E. puts forth a pretty solid and competitive effort with plenty of hardbody raps, some unique, ‘bottle’-capped word association lines (with props included) and a few hitting personals. But it’s a JC heavily armed with a gang of sizzling gun bars, festering God-body punches and a fleet of seismic punchlines who earns the 30 here and moves on to the next round.

Verdict: JC (W) 3-0

Favorite line: JC – “Changing my stock, I gave every nigga I came with a Glock, no instructions, just aspirations…aim for the top!”

Aye Verb defeats Head I.C.E.

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Recap: From Smack’s Volume 8 card, unleashing nothing but lyrical warfare for 3 consistent rounds, a straight-stunting Aye Verb mixes in some righteous talk, rapid braggadocios banter and witty barbs/personals to his repertoire and handily beats back the hardbody, but too anecdotal and often nonsensical stylings of Head I.C.E.

Verdict: Aye Verb (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Aye Verb – “You nigga’s used to spit knowledge, drill and shake something, I killed a gang of y’all but I still pay homage through seances!”

Head I.C.E. defeats Ave

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Recap: After half a decade battling elsewhere, Head I.C.E. returns to the URL for a competitive goodie vs Ave and the Harlem O.G. does his thing with a gang of stifling O.G. talk, hardbody bangers, a sprinkling of wit, roughhouse wordplay/punches and of course some nonsensical shit to keep you scratching ya head. A bit long-winded at times (esp. in round 1) with a few pedestrian bars mixed here and there, over an opponent who came equipped with his usual assortment of fiery braggadocios zingers, head-ringing name flips, rapid punches and in this case oft-funny ‘old head’ zingers, it’s still the slightly more haymaker-lit and quantitative I.C.E. who edges rounds 1 and 3 for the return win.

Verdict: Head I.C.E. (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head I.C.E. – “Outside this league, you a nobody, then you joined a group of nigga’s and you the nobody!”

Xcel defeats Head I.C.E.

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Recap: After surviving a gritty patchwork of rudimentary rhymes by Head I.C.E. in round 1, a boastful Xcel gets in his bag of wicked 4-bar set-ups, fiery wordplay, rigid name flips and hard-hitting personals/punches to take both (with a little help from I.C.E. slipping up a couple of times in round 3) of the latter rounds, win the battle and move on to the next round of this KOTD GP2020 tourney.

Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Xcel – “I’m Heisenberg, I’ll show y’all the method for cooking Ice!”

Head I.C.E. defeats Ty Law

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Recap: Street-tinged yet patchy with the bars, boastful and aggressive, name flip solid and bullish/witty when need be, a consistent and hardbody flowing Head I.C.E. lets off enough grimy hood dialect to take the 1st and 3rd rounds of this KOTD Grand Prix tournament bout to beat back a personal-lit, but topsy-turvy with the punches Ty Law.

Verdict: Head I.C.E. (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head I.C.E. – “I’m 50% of half the battle rappers that keep it a 100!”

Rosenberg Raw defeats Head I.C.E.

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Recap: In this 3-rounder from RBE, a hot start by Head I.C.E. in round 1 gets blown to bits in the latter rounds by an increasingly sublime Rosenberg Raw, who’s more bullish/old man mocking punchlines, steely street chatter and fiery wordplay combined with an opponent who didn’t have much to offer in rounds 2 and 3, proved to be more than enough for the win.

Verdict: Rosenberg Raw (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Rosenberg Raw – “They pack trey’s [.3’s] trust me, if the gat wave they buck him, it’ll crush ICE, now he just a gas-station Slushie!”

Geechi Gotti defeats Head I.C.E.

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Recap: Geechi Gotti versus Head I.C.E. might’ve looked promising on paper, but the battle itself tells a very different story. Simply put, Gotti’s rambunctious name flips, steely boasts, witty personals, spitfire gun bars and gritty, urban-laced punchlines combined to do unbearable harm on an at times elongated opponent who when he wasn’t struggling with his flow, oft-times immersed himself in nonsensical punches and pedestrian abstract barbs that went nowhere. And with a 3-0 over the former KOTD champ, it’s yet another impressive victory for Gotti.

Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “This ain’t the same I.C.E. that battled Goodz, he should be getting no bread, so unless your grandma came to suck all our dick’s…we not getting that old Head!”

Chilla Jones defeats Head I.C.E.

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Recap: With the KOTD championship on the line, after a pretty subpar 1st round that he still won thanks to opponent Head I.C.E.’s elongated and mostly nonsensical turn, challenger Chilla Jones ups the ante on his bar efficiency, wordplay, personals and schemes in the latter rounds. Only getting edged by the champ in a competitive round 2 due to I.C.E’s funny bone going on nuclear, before Chilla easily takes the 3rd and deciding round with a punch-heavy and versatile turn that overcame yet another unorganized, mostly pedestrian and zany go-around from I.C.E.

Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “So yeah, you the King of the Dot, but you really think they impartial?, they just wanted a Black on the throne like Meghan Markle!”

King Los defeats Head Ice

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Recap: When not entrenched with way too many Daylyt references/name flips, King Los makes for a solid effort here in this 3-rounder from RBE versus noted vet Head Ice. The West-coast industry rapper showing off swaths of jaunty lyricism and some intricate punchlines throughout the battle, while also scoring here and there with some daunting personals and racial pontifications. Still, Ice being Ice, the Harlem vet with his vaunted bully bars, abstract polemics and sometimes witty personals stayed in the battle, even if he was often hurt by his own penchant to spout nonsensical raps along with angles that were completely ill-assorted. And tho Loso had his own bouts of pedestrian bars, pointed Lux-isms that didn’t quite bite and plenty of filler, after taking a loss in round 1, the noted freestyle emcee’s ability to submit more ringing wordplay as well as more steady and potent shiners (including some nice off-the-dome darts) in the latter two rounds gets him the win here.

Verdict: King Los (W) 2-1

Favorite line: King Los – “I got a gun so big…it only exists in battle rap!”

Gorilla Nems defeats Head ICE

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Recap: Still going after mother’s, daughter’s and anyone else close to you with utter disrespect all these years later while spouting scathing, self-assured raps/real street narratives with a menacing aura that makes his lines even more authentic, after getting edged by a punchline-heavier Head Ice in round 1, former Fight Klub champ Gorilla Nems delivers enough spiteful shiners in the latter two rounds to beat back an opponent that while dialed back on dishing mayhem and retribution, crumbled instead to a boatload of pedestrian bars and nonsensical stunting.

Verdict: Gorilla Nems (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Gorilla Nems – “Nigga, I’ll go to the graveyard and kick over your mother’s tombstone like ‘Bitch, fuck your after life!'”

Cortez defeats Head I.C.E. (Rematch)

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Recap: Gotta roll with the crowd on this one as the seeming lack of excitement during this KOTD title match between Cortez and Head I.C.E. was totally understandable in what was mostly a snoozefest. Indeed, as lengthy as pretty much each round was here, while one can appreciate the effort put in from both battlers, judging from all the dry spots and filler, neither emcee was on their A-game. Still, considering it was a rematch from their controversial bout way back in the days of the Lionz Den, the irony of Cortez receiving another loss to I.C.E. when the opinion here is that he hit with enough hard punches, personals, angles and rugged heat to easily take the first two rounds against an opponent who was all over the place with his rhymes, super long-winded and too often lacked any spice with his punches, shouldn’t be loss on anyone, especially the hosts.

Verdict: Cortez (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Cortez – “I told y’all I ain’t playing with I.C.E, if I air [ear] one then it go one out the other, I ain’t take his advice!”

Big T defeats Head ICE

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Recap: Dishing proverbial (“Y’all see Wolf, I see a coat for the winter!”) wordplay, potent gun bars, nice angles and an epic 3rd round that spoke (“I just think your brain’s fly…LAX, Ice going over everybody’s head…ALS!”) directly to Head Ice’s penchant for nonsensical bars, Big T is able to fend off nice (“I’ll walk up on T like ‘Hey, give the charm up’!, you so fat that you willing to give me the money, but pitch me a fit ‘cuz you gotta put your arms up!”) but standard fat jokes in-between heated (“We don’t eat on china, but we eat off china!”) urban theatrics for a close win in what altogether was undoubtedly a fire battle from KOTD.

Verdict: Big T (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Big T – “What is it about a nigga throwing up on eggs, make him less criminal minded?, is it because he in a jam and the toast ain’t beside it?”

Bigg K defeats Head ICE

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Recap: A super on-point and witty Head Ice impression in the 3rd round coupled with a continuous stream of sublime punchlines and fierce set-ups/personals that went as far back as the 1st round (which he only lost after Ice came through with one of his most steadiest, punch-heavy, cogent and gritty turns we’ve ever seen from the Harlem vet) allows Bigg K to take the latter two rounds and get the win in this fiery and competitive 3-rounder from KOTD.

Verdict: Bigg K (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Bigg K – “You a champ, he ain’t say nothing nice the whole round, your first record deal?, 65 with Motown!”

Head Ice defeats Math Hoffa

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Recap: Like DNA choosing to rap over a beat in the 3rd round versus K-Shine or John John da Don choosing to go on BET’s Rap City and get beat by a no-name, white kid…you can file this one under
‘Worst Life Decisions’. How else to explain Math Hoffa, co-headlining a much-anticipated and long-awaited matchup versus Head Ice, choosing to show up in a robe, set up a DJ to provide lame horror film sound effects while he rapped, all the while spitting what amounted to mostly pedestrian bars that lacked any sort of spark or ingenuity? To think, throughout this battle, what with a bunch of nonsensical blather and that took away from some lowkey funny and gritty shit that landed, Head Ice clearly wasn’t on his A-game either. But damn if Hoffa even cared about winning this battle in the first place, he was that bad.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 3-0

Favorite line: Head Ice -“You a one-way ticket, if tables ever turned you’ll get gunplay with it, nigga’s will have trays all over your head like this Riker’s Island and we want your Sunday chicken!”

Arsonal da Rebel defeats Head Ice

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Recap: Plenty of bully (Arsonal: “Like a new refrigerator, all it take is the click of a button for me to crush Ice!”) bars, street (Head Ice: “You only ride around one them hoverboards because real street dealers in the hood told you to watch your step!”) chatter, old man (“Why you ain’t tell me you and my grandma know each other?”) jokes and braggadocio quotables in this sizzling battle between two wily vets, Arsonal and Head Ice on the KOTD stage. Putiing on a dope show despite a readily known friendship outside the ring, while it’s ICE who edges the (“You the nigga that know a nigga that know a nigga that know a nigga that got the pistol…I’m the nigga that know the nigga that know the nigga that know the nigga that drove the nigga that got with you!”) haymaker count, altogether a more consistent with the delivery and versatile with the bars gives this one to da Rebel in the end.

Verdict: Arsonal (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Arsonal – “Them Top 5 combos?, you don’t ever get mentioned in, [so] I’mma melt Ice down and send him to Flint, Michigan!”

Head Ice defeats Midwest Miles

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Recap: After a potent first round that saw him use some nice gun (“I got a bunch a niggas outside with drums, it look like I threw a parade for you nigga!”) bars and aggressive personals to edge round one, Midwest Miles dated bars and crowd pandering catches up to him–allowing Head Ice, despite a few bouts with reaches and nonsensical raps, to stay more consistent on the storytelling front, nifty (“Man, what you doing with all these miles and ain’t got no direction? that’s why you stuck in the mid ‘cuz everything west from you don’t see no progression!”) wordplay and gritty street talk to come from behind and take the latter rounds along with the win.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice – “Know your places, I run through your team with an old forty-four, Ernie Davis!”

Head Ice defeats Real Deal

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Recap: A more concise and diplomatic Head Ice and an always (“Your fucking old ass is one stroke away from redefining Harlem shaking”) confident, but punchline sketchy Real Deal split the first couple of rounds here in this matchup on KOTD, before Ice’s signature Harlem swag along with a crunching (“As far as my bodies in this rap shit, I’m the American Sniper!”) bar game edges him round 3 and the win, when put up against Deal’s lack of consistency in the final round.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice – “I ain’t kidding with you, shells big [points] as cow’s nipples, give him Down Syndrome!”

Head Ice defeats Serius Jones

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Recap: Decent battle between Head Ice and Serius Jones, who’s making the right move what with shifting his rap battle career to KOTD. However, Ice’s more esoterical rhymes, performance bars and aggressive (“You be tripping, but staying out of the helicopter route, cuz when we be tripping, we be bringing helicopters out”) wordplay (vs. Jones mostly standard bars and shorter rounds) gets him the first couple of rounds and the win here. A close 3rd round, but Jones (as even Ice acknowledged) spit a couple of the nicest (“See, I never got beat up, I got snuffed, but you give the game a black eye for having Ice around, see I coulda got a lump sum for Blackout, but you know when you put Ice on, the knot goes down”) bar in the round to edge it.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice – “Now you know that I’m a pet lover, the desert eagle will leave you, but the hawk [swings] will be a step-brother!”

Head Ice defeats Caustic

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Recap: Even against a well-equipped (“How you 50 years old making tracks that are garbage?, you gonna be the first rapper to die from natural causes”) jokester like Caustic, Head Ice’s repeated tales on urban theatrics, introspective machismo bars and (yes, he has a funny side) dope (“How ya sister call her slippers house shoes if she got ’em on at the corner store?”) one-liners along with fanged lines dipped in personals and an eccentric (“I keep the peace like I’m Sharif brother, I bang, but ain’t no set gonna find these colors”) thug life are too much for those obsessed with racial semantics versus the simple thesis of who rapped better. Indeed, much as Caustic’s collective witticism garnered plenty of guffaws, too much filler and average bars against Ice’s quantitative heat and variety also did him in.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice – “Fucking bird, when you go sniff coke your nose hit the table first”

Head Ice defeats K-Shine

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Recap: On a Grind Time stage, definitely. On a King of the Dot stage, perhaps. But on a URL stage two-minute rounds should never be agreed to again, especially considering the exposure granted on the “world’s biggest arena”, level of the platform given and the costs heads gotsa pay to see their favorite battle rappers perform on Smack’s main events. And hopefully, this matchup between Harlem’s Head Ice and K-Shine (who deserves props for having the gumption to apologize for his shortened round) will be the last we see of two-minute rounds on Smack. As for the battle, while Shine came more prepared then we’ve seen in a minute, consistent in his flow and diverse in his (“If you so much as jump or move your leg it’ll be an ASL challenge Ice, bucket on his head nigga”) raps, it wasn’t enough to beat Head Ice’s assortment of street lines, aggressive stage performance, witty bars and that slick (“How you rap ’bout guns but ain’t got no closet for that?, You mean to tell me if I thought you was rich and wanted to murder ya I ain’t got the option of running into ya crib and flip furniture?”) talk so-called “real” heads love so much, especially in rounds one and three to edge Shine and take the win here.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice – [BANG!] One in the head shot, real killers ain’t gotta give ’em a dead kick, we could tell by how they leg twitch”

Head Ice defeats The Deadman

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Recap: All the way from Harlem, NY, Head Ice puts a hurting on The Deadman with mean name schemes, personals and aggressive bars to move the crowd and shake the room. The Deadman had his moments (“I’ll stomp Ice out till I’m walking on water, Jesus Christ!”), but for the most part Ice stayed in control of the battle and easily took the win.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice –  “No wonder they labeled you The Deadman, you overdosed”

Head Ice defeats T-Rex

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Recap: A couple of things of note with this Quiet Room battle: considering their long and renowned history, one would think that a long-anticipated battle between Harlemnites T-Rex and Head Ice would take place on a bigger stage, much less for 3 rounds instead of 1. And while Rex came with his typical ‘grown man’ (“Even silencers is loud when you in a Quiet room”) bars, taking into account the alleged backstory between these two, one would think he’d have a lot more to spout off than the roughly 3 minutes he barely gave you here (plus too, this was a one-round, unlimited). As for Ice, it was all there, steady painting pictures with a round of linear bars, brash (“Know your roley, I provide niggas, I’m bamboo strapped, I don’t speak ‘cuz I know the witnesses gonna tell ’em everything they need once my hand go back”) wordplay, jokes and some amiable personals mixed in to calmly and collectively cop the win.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Head Ice – “Your mouth spoke on more metals than Gabby nigga”

Head Ice defeats Marv Won

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Recap: “He weight-hating!” LOL!!! Seriously tho, a little surprised a vet like Marvwon would try to out bully the likes of Head Ice here. Sure, Marv had a couple of nice (“He ain’t gonna be the same when he leave Minnesota, nigga this gonna be like Marbury all over again”) bars, but with so many angles to choose from, you’d think he’d know better almost spending his entire round on “Who’s Harder?” semantics, esp. when at times it didn’t look like even he could take what he was spitting that seriously. Still, Ice being Ice, spends half his round spitting hilarious fat (“I don’t give a fuck how much water in your knees, your titties may kill you in your sleep, cuz we black folks”) jokes and the rest of it that street shit he’s renowned for, working both lanes to full effect with a performance to match then heading back to Harlem with another vic on his hands.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 1-0

Favorite line: Head Ice -“I’m your boss today, and I feel like you taking up too much office space, so…’CLIP!’…’BOOF!’…you off today!”

Head ICE and Pat Stay [DEBATABLE]

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Recap: Two top tier emcees with the ability to readily mix in searing bully bars, fierce punchlines with adept wit in their bars, Pat Stay and Head ICE battle to a highly entertaining draw on the KOTD stage with an equal amount of haymakers making round 1 a tie, before a more gamely comedic, personal-driven and consistently fire Stay edges the 2nd. Down one going into the 3rd, ICE makes what would be his longest round count with some classic stunting that was backed by some salacious (“You’ll get chased in my hood, I’ll put money on it, just for stepping in them Esco jeans with your spandex shirt like ‘Let’s go eat!'”), punches to beat back a solid, but elongated and beatable turn by Pat and force a tie.

Verdict: TIE

Favorite line: Pat Stay – “I mean it’s just weird, he gets charged with a felon, but his record is crystal clear, it’s like he slipped and dropped in quicksand, he fell and [felon] he disappeared!”

Head Ice defeats Swave Sevah

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Recap. A couple of Harlem vets, Swave Sevah and Head Ice, go at it on the main stage and the angles are pretty noticeable here with Swave hitting with hardbody punches when he wasn’t getting metaphorical with pronounced schemes/break-downs of his opponent’s moniker. While Ice gets busy with righteous punchlines, able-bodied personals and in taking the 1st round, witty storytelling bars that were highlighted by Ice’s appreciation of Swave’s girl hitting him off with ‘home fries’ after a great night of passion. Judging from Swave’s inability to keep a straight face thru Ice’s more comedic barbs, it’s all in good fun tho, even after Swave easily takes the 3rd round with a load of stinging (“Your battles are like the rumors of you knocking Rex out, ‘cuz if it has an impact, it’s not from one of your punches!”) personals and other lyrical shiners. Thus, this one comes down to the 2nd, a solid turn from both battlers, but with Ice dishing (“You ain’t built for the streets say the punches that your jaw take, back to karate-chopping board games!”) straight heat more consistently with a little less filler, it ends up being a close win for Mr. I Control Everything.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice – “You probably feeling like we supposed to be friends, taking off ya glasses like we supposed to be twins!”

Tech-9 defeats Head Ice

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Recap: “No subliminal shots”. Is there any battle rapper out there that means what he say and says what he means more than Head Ice? I don’t think so. Still, for all his intimidating gangsta (“Shit I check a crew like Nikes I catch your crew wilding, stomp ’em with ACG’s I give ’em New Balance”) talk and slick delivery, Ice’s lack of angles and wordplay can sometimes be a disadvantage. Such is the case here as while bars over jokes may be the pedigree for so-called “real” battle rappers, Tech-9’s overall medley of bars, jokes, perfromance and personals scored him a close win here.

Verdict: Tech-9 (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Tech-9 – “Your baby mom got a mean back, when I fuck her she scream back ‘Go deeper Daddy’, me and my niggas call her ‘Freak Nasty’, the bitch a freak and bitch nasty, little dirty in the butt ashy, i make her shower first”

Head ICE defeats Goodz

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Recap: All things considered, it would take a cool vet like Head ICE to out-swag Goodz. But this one really came down to, as it usually does…who had the better bars. Something Goodz seemed to run out of as the battle went on, while ICE’s slick talk, storytelling lines and boss chatter stayed moving the needle in his direction as the battle proceeded. Split the first round down the middle. The rest? All ICE.

Verdict: Head ICE (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head ICE – “And I’m a bark back, come to the dog show, catch you by yourself slipping, expect to get long-nosed!”

Head Ice defeats Quest MCODY

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Recap: Dope 3rd round by Quest MCODY doesn’t make up for too many lame (“If you were a puck, a hockey player wouldn’t put you on ice”) name flips during the first couple of rounds against Head Ice who faltered a little bit towards the end, but still had enough (“Try to see me the water’s deeper, you could die in the floor, ask those who really saw Katrina”) left in his tank to pull out the win.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 2-1

Favorite line: Head Ice – “I know the real McGruff so if I start to fire I’m good”

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!”

Head Ice defeats Tye Knots

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Recap: It doesn’t get much better than this as Head Ice puts it down for Harlem by taking out not just one, but two (granted the 2nd dude in the red cap who took the OT round came way better than the guy he replaced, Tye Knots) CT spitters with in-your-face aggressive rhymes, fierce (“You sleep, I’m still bombing, Pearl Harbor nigga”) punches and hard-hitting bars. Indeed, a handicap match like this would probably intimidate most heads, but as Ice proves here it’s just another day at the office.

Verdict: Head Ice (W) 4-0

Favorite line: Head Ice – “I know some wheelchair niggas that legs move, when it comes to the drama..you run…they shoot!”