Recap: In rounds 1 and 2 of this URL Summer Madness: Kings vs. Queens battle, John John Da Don takes advantage of an aggressive and gun bar/punch-solid, but mostly pedestrian Coffee Brown with a boatload of flippant 4-bar set-up/punchlines, fiery schemes and a gang of hard-hitting personals to win the bout. Despite lacking much fervor as well as a steady punch game in the earlier rounds, Coffee would come back with a blistering, personal-lit 3rd that handily beat what was a solid nonetheless, but still JJDD’s worst round to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “I could make it dark Coffee, have someone I know cream her!”
Recap: History says John John Da Don should know better. The longtime battle rap vet insinuating before this KOTD bout against Frak, that when it comes to bars ‘jokes’ aren’t as substantive as straight-up lyricism. And while that opinion may have worked at times against his opponent (indeed, based on JJDD’s ‘Jokes vs. lyricism’ stamp beforehand, during the battle Frak would admit to purposely fine-tuning his bars a bit away from usual comedic slants), when you consider that JJDD got his start in the backpack raps and jokes era of Grind Time, one would think that he of all people wouldn’t go there. Nonetheless a dope and highly competitive 3-rounder with plenty of fierce angles, stifling personals, fiendish Jew tropes, witty punches, solid wordplay and righteous darts comes down to (after the two split the first two rounds) to the 3rd round where JJDD unleashed an angle/punch-lit, witty at times, personal-drenched turn that was certainly substantive in its potency. While Frak came with a slightly more versatile round lit with more solid JJDD-isms, some racy political theater, ironic (“We control the King of the Dot, even got a couple of Rosenberg’s hosting too!”) puns and fierce punchlines/personals that altogether proved to be just as meaty as his opponent. Thus, making this one a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “You a struggling Jewish rapper, it got to be so few, ‘cuz shining should never be a problem for no jewels!”
Recap: Serius Jones versus John John Da Don, a matchup between two battle rap vets that one would’ve thought had taken place already awhile ago considering the longtime allegations of bar thievery (i.e. the notorious ‘All of the Above’ scheme frequented by both), finally takes place for 3 rounds on Chrome 23 thanks to Aye Verb who backed out of battling Serius at the last minute. And let’s just say, what with 3 days prep, JJDD showed levels here. The Bullpen Battle League head honcho delivering a stellar (classic) 1st round that superbly encapsulated rhyme structure as well as variety with its fire personals, potent set-up/punchlines, wit, braggadocio darts and flexing name flips. In round two JJDD would go on another dope run with a gang of fiery schemes, more nasty personals and piercing wordplay. And while Jones kept it competitive in the early rounds with a bunch of hard-hitting punches and less filler than usual, the former Fight Klub champ was still mired in elongated rounds when he wasn’t rapping one too many pedestrian schemes, personals and bars. Round 3 with a bit of a consistent comeuppance by Jones punch-wise and a bit a still pretty solid, but shortened turn by JJDD, ends up as a debatable.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “We all had our battle rap beef, it’s not embarrassing, but this is Philly where A.I. crosssed-over, it’s how you carry it!”
Recap: Does a two-minute or 2:30 time limit per round even benefit Calicoe? A battler known for storytelling bars, righteous darts and expansive build-ups/breakdowns. That’s what I couldn’t help but think as the Detroit spitter continuusly complained about opponent John John Da Don allegedly going over the time limit during this 3-rounder from Bullpen Battle League. Either way, Cal wasn’t beating John John on this day. The Yonkers, NY to ATL vet matching his determination with a consistent display of fire punchlines, some gritty wordplay, rugged name flips, hitting personals and solid schemes to handily get the 30 over a way less efficient and spotty 3 rounds from Cal.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 3-0
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “You only at the table ‘cuz this the one you dying in, you ain’t really living this life you rapping, they only believe it’s real raps ‘cuz you lie with passion!”
Recap: From Chrome 23, a highly anticipated matchup with plenty of back-n-forth between the battlers beforehand, with 3 action-packed, brazenly personal and punchline-lit rounds, Eazy The Block Captain versus John John da Don lived up to the hype. Eazy (aka ‘The Trap Bar King’) consistently brought the heat throughout the bout, not only with a plethora of gritty trap talk, but also with a gang of hard-hitting/mocking personals, boastful barbs, some gutsy wordplay and stinging punchlines. While JJDD kept it competitive with a fierce pallette of dope schemes, fiery name flips, solid punches and a boatload of piercing personals. However, one too many pedestrian bars from JJDD combined with a roundhouse, haymaker-lit round 1 by Eazy would handily give the Block Captain the opener, before a more personal/righteous, but still sublime turn by Eazy in round 2 would also hand him round 2 for the win. Round 3, despite another crazy turn by Eazy, would go JJDD’s way as the Bullpen Battle League capo turned it up on the personal front in what altogether was a fire battle.
Verdict: Eazy The Block Captain (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Eazy The Block Captain – “Nigga you tricked me, keep it a bean you ain’t do shit to get me, you were the B-side, I picked you, if you was the A-side you could’ve skipped me!”
Recap: Always an earnest tactician, in this competitive 3-rounder from Bullpen, it’s admiring to see John John Da Don flex with some sterling wordplay (esp. at the start of his 2nd and 3rd rounds) in this bout against 40 B.A.R.R.S. in what was an often punch-lit showing from both sides. Too bad for JJDD tho as from the jump the Boston vixen showed that she didn’t come to play. Ms. B.A.R.R.S. styling on her opp with a gang of opportunistic, but stellar personals (esp. in round 2), sizzling punchlines, sublime similes and righteous boasts/storytelling bars to take the 1st and 2nd rounds for the win before a debatable 3rd.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “I guarantee this dog will not see tomorrow, this veterinarian, I’m scaring him, his fans don’t want me to see the bull…they vegetarians!”
Recap: Battling a second time in a sequel to their earlier 1-round meeting way back in 2014, T-Top and fellow angler John John Da Don go at it for 3 rounds, this time at URL’s Summer Madness 13. And altogether it’s a no-brainer. The Bear taking advantage of his opponent getting off to slow starts in both the 1st and 2nd rounds with a steady mix of flexing gun bars, rich storytelling/struggle bars, hitting boasts, stinging personals and fiery trap talk to earn the win before JJDD, proving to be a better angler on his day, came through with a more well-crafted, personal-lit 3rd to make this a twenty-one.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Nigga, what have you done?, I’m one of one bitch, you ain’t even one of them one’s!”
Recap: From Bullpen (in Yonkers, NY instead of ATL), against a valiant and gritty effort from Jae Millz who continues to hurt himself when it comes to consistently hitting similes (but might wanna expound on his humor a bit more in future battles), John John da Don uses a versatile palette of stifling (esp. in round 2) punchlines, sturdy name flips, piercing personals and potent set-ups to take the middle round and edge the 1st and 3rd’s for the Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 3-0
Favorite line: John John da Don – “The best secret I ever kept?, my aim is more accurate with strangers, ‘cuz it’s hard to miss people I never met!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from Street Status, Yung Ill’s storied set-ups, slick wordplay and rich performance bars keeps him competitive and erans him a debatable round 1. But with the ability to hit all cylinders when it came to name flips in addition to a gritty punch game and a gang of piercing personals, it’s John John Da Don who handily takes both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “You washed up, the face of this gun?, I’m still popping, clip longer than a Netflix series…you still watching?!”
Recap: Good to see the vet John John Da Don battling again in 2023 after a long time away from the stage. And in this fiery 1-rounder versus Reggie P, the Bullpen Battle League head honcho showed the crowd that he still has it, using a bunch of crazy set-up/punchlines, witty personals and crafty name flips to edge a gritty, performance-heavy and punch-lit at times, but not as consistently bent Mr. P.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 1-0
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “I don’t got nothing against you, but any opportunities after this I’m not coming to get you!”
Recap: From URL’s ‘Redemption’ card, former Bullpen Battle Leageu star Chef Trez faces off with BBL owner John John Da Don and as expected it’s a highly personal one that also featured a shitload of dope punches from both battlers. Add to the mix plenty of righteous pontificating and rigid name flips from JJDD and of course, a handful of spicy rebuttals and hitting gun bars from Trez and this matchup stayed competitive throughout. However, while the curious battle fan certainly got their fix what with all the accusations John John and Trez hurled at each other on why their business relationship frayed, as for the battle itself outside of a debatable 2nd round, it’s a more steady punching and slightly haymaker-landing Trez who takes the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “…but y’all know Muslims wake up before sunrise and thank God, so why wouldn’t I use the Don as prey [pray]!”
Recap: Imagine how much more cockier Tsu Surf will get if he regularly brings 3 rounds with him. Pretty much all Surf here (tho a mostly up-n-down John John Da Don did have a standout 2nd round with the dope call-n-response [‘You are not bigger than the culture!’] he did with the crowd) in this Summer Madness 11 bout as the Jersey capo used a blistering barrage of self aggrandizing bangers/schemes, fire personals, fierce gun bars, rigid street rhymes and hitting punchlines to score an impressive 30 against one of his longtime adversaries.
Verdict: Tsu Surf (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tsu Surf – “All this multiple choice battle rap shit, man, you ain’t runnin’ wit’ the thugs, my multiple choice was: cop out, trial or snitch, my lawyer said, ‘None of thee above!'”
Recap: Plenty of buildup for this John John Da Don vs. Ace Amin Bullpen battle, but was it worth an entire 50 minutes? Not so much as both Ace and John John had one too many moments of running back bars and filler throughout the bout. Still a solid matchup considering all the backstory here (esp. JJDD’s history with the Goonies), all the pre-match interviews and who to believe when it comes who did what and when as far as previous run-ins on the street. Gritty personals, as expected, pretty much dominated this battle tho what with John John bringing up everything from Ace’s notorious prison bid to his love for interviews to his battle rap flaws to his emotional (“You can’t tell a man how he should react to any harsh threats, only one to respond to these bold types…large Tek’s [texts]!”) idiosyncrasies. All the while, the ever aggressive Ace showed zero restraint in getting in his opponent’s head via a bunch of gripping punches/schemes on JJDD’s alleged sexual misdeeds, penchant for tall tales as well as his battle vet rep to go along with some dope off-the-dome heat, piercing punches and other performance-enhanced mayhem. A pretty solid battle that was also intriguing due to the large, mask-less crowd that looked on despite a pandemic still being in the midst, after a debatable round 1, we got a punch-heavier JJDD taking the 2nd before an angle-lit and highly personal Ace came back to take the 3rd and make this one debatable.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Ace Amin – “This cannot be, I gave 10 years to the system and I got free, you gave to this culture and you got me!”
Recap: An aggressive lyrical warfare through and through with some rigid personals here and there from both battler’s, a slightly more consistently hitting, name flip/mayhem-rich, witty at times and wordplay/punch-lit Ill Will takes both of the opening rounds of this URL/Summer Madness 10 matchup vs. John John Da Don for the win, before an angle-bent and spicy when needed JJDD edged the 3rd to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’m the Michael Jodran of this shitm ‘cuz I’m the only one who can get out of space and still ain’t animated!”
Recap: Another one of those ‘Can’t believe these two never battled already’ bouts pits longtime vets DNA and John John Da Don finally getting together for a 1-round Quarantine matchup on IG live. Both JJDD and DNA sprung together some punch-worthy turns with some dope schemes, fire wit and grandiose personals mixed in. But with an equal amount of haymakers from each battler, DNA’s ability to kick a wicked freestyle in the midst of his writtens and go extra hard on the personals, gives him the edge here.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “He shaking his head, I see a lot of ‘nahs’ [Nas] here, but that’s a Thief’s Theme!”
Recap: One of the best anglers in the game and the 1st battle rapper to call out (even tho he’d do it himself later) dudes who use ‘chest’ instead of ‘Chess’ when using name flips against his opponent, a super confident John John Da Don does his research and uses a superbly-executed mix of gripping/witty personals, fiery set-ups/schemes, nifty wordplay and righteous punchlines for 3 rounds to beat back a solid and gun-lit throughout, but sometimes flow-challenged, pedestrian and seemingly even overwhelmed at times Chess in this Genesis battle from URL.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 3-0
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “Be honest fam, Steams or Tay Roc, who’s your true leader?, look at him, having flashbacks, forced to make a bold decision because he couldn’t eat without those 2 liters [leaders]!”
Recap: Rare forfeit here as an emotionally bent Jakkboy Maine (who also got booed at the end of hsi 2nd), the brunt of a classic 2nd round by opponent John John Da Don, gives up his 3rd round (ironically, this blog had the battle tied 1-1 going into the final round) by jumping into the crowd in an attempt to confront a heckler who kept interrupting his turn. Jakk’s refusal to return to the stage would in turn give JJDD the round and the battle in an entertaining grudge match that featured a plethora of heated personals from both sides, some dope punchlines, a pretty excited Tay Roc, , a bunch of head-ringing gun bars, a well-executed 1st by Jakk that deftly played to JJDD’s rep for copying his peer’s style and of course, a sublime, punch-heavy turn by JJDD in the 2nd that was highlighted by a $79.99 ‘Black Wealth’ chain, courtesy of Walmart, being hurled into the raucous crowd by John John.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “You fuckin’ fruit! 12-gauge will bust his grape, vital signs go ‘Wooooooop’, let’s just say that Shotgun got one thing straight!”
Recap: An equal amount of haymakers, fiery schemes, gimmickry, witty barbs and wicked punchlines throughout their battle make John John da Don versus Jerry Wess (from the URL app) a close and competitive one. But the veteran JJDD’s more condensed and name flip spazzing 1st round coupled with slightly more intricate wordplay and more pointed personals in the 2nd allows the ‘Other da Don’ to edge the first two rounds and gain the win before Mr. Wess, after a bit of a slow start, takes the 3rd with what was an onslaught of rich set-ups and righteous mayhem.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “This what you call a risk?…only the people that got the Apple watch!”
Recap: Considering all the brouhaha that’s gone into one man, John John Da Don, building up a rivalry by himself against an entire battle rap collective (The Goonies), one can understand JJDD being a little sensitive and not allowing Nu Jerey Twork to tag in his bro Jakkboy Maine to kick some bars in that 3rd round. But as a battle rap vet and rapping in an age where tag-ins have become all too common, the feeling here is that John John should’ve just let it go. Either way (and near brawl aside), outside of a strong 2nd round from JJDD (who while versatile with the bars, was wildly inconsistent throughout the match) that made the round close (tho Twork with more haymakers still edged it here) this URL/Resolution battle was all Nu Jerooz as the Goonie capo’s gritty idioms, raucous/mocking personals (funny how Twork even predicted that John John would do strip bar scheme), ripping sound effects, stifling gun bars, a fire ‘multiple choice’ scheme of his own and bruising punchlines just never let up. Indeed, Twork, in one of his most consistent showings, just stayed on his opponent’s neck with such clear confidence throughout the battle that he was even dished a couple of rare, but solid rebuttals…all without his signature ‘Strapped In!’ move. That said, give that man the 30.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Llama blazin’, or pistol whip, get the MAC involved, y’all heard me say I was up early, right?…crack a Don [of dawn]!”
Recap: Armed with a fire rebuttal game to go along with his noted arsenal of gritty street tales, flexing (“You like to put your pen to the pad, they wanted to make the pen my pad, we got different rap sheets!”) personals/punchlines and a boatload of raw machismo bars, after getting edged in the first round by a (“Geechi got bundles and Geechi got shot, that’s what you telling me?, well damn, I ain’t know the hair business was this deadly, Sheesh!, you selling weed, I could help you triple your units, Geecho got bundles, I got a bald head, business is booming!”) spitfire, versatile, personal and slightly more consistent turn by John John da Don, Geechi Gotti formulates a comeback that despite a valiant and competitive effort from JJDD in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds, gets beat back by more haymakers, some nice freestyles and also a couple of multifaceted turns by Gotti.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Good shit John John [claps], but now I finna snap on him…y’all ain’t even catch that I told Johnny [Bravo!] then let it clap on him!”
Recap: As much as John John da Don deserves credit for really getting innovative via the wardrobe-change-for-bars in the 1st round, overall O-Red’s surreptitious lyricism and consistency would prove to be too much here. The Jersey vet (who was surprisingly pretty condensed throughout here) scoring mightily with fiery wordplay, potent sports bars, seismic gun play, hard braggadocio lines, fire personals and fierce schemes/set-ups to beat back a pretty solid and versatile, but not always steady with the potency showing by JJDD.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 3-0
Favorite line: O-Red – “I be doing what I want, they wouldn’t boo this [Buddhist] with a monk, naked nigga, sky-diving, you knew this [nudist] from the jump!”
Recap: Long-awaited battle of the ‘Don’s’ goes Hollow’s way as besides a few reaches here and there, the TX/NY rapper’s execution, whether via scintillating punchlines, pointed personals, racy schemes, witty bars (that were helped by some well-timed props), fiery wordplay and an adept usage of topography when it came to the battle’s London location, was almost flawless. And for John John, Hollow’s top-notch readiness would prove to be a steep hill to climb. Not that JJDD didn’t make for a solid effort as even with the veneer of ‘stealing’ bars over his head (then too, you just knew Hollow was going to exploit that angle), the Bullpen Battle League boss took the allegations head-on with spicy punches of his own, when he wasn’t dishing some flavorful name flips, rigid gun lines and spirited/aggressive personals. However, besides having to deal with his opponent’s strong performance, while the effort was there throughout (with enough potency to make for a debatable 3rd round), JJDD would hurt himself in the earlier rounds with a lack of consistency when it came to bar efficiency as well as utilizing bars that were way too dependent on the infamous fight the two had almost a decade ago. Therefore, score this one a clear win for a punch-heavier Hollow in the 1st, before a more versatile Hollow edges the 2nd round for the win.
Verdict: Hollow Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hollow Da Don – “He even let nigga’s call him the Dininon, oooow that shit is wrong, but you’re such a follower you moved to Atlanta when you was little John [Lil’ Jon]!”
Recap: ‘Mr. Everything’ John John da Don and gun line aficionado Rum Nitty go at for 3 rounds on the URL/Smack stage and it’s a goodie with JJDD going after Rum with resident name flips, but also some angles/allegations you don’t often see against the Arizona spitter: being one-dimensional with his raps, biting (“You took Roc’s whole style and took pride in the shit, your writing legit but nah, it’s not as exciting as his, Gun Bar King, Gun Line King, yeah you biting his shit…the Stone Cold Stunner, RKO, it’s the same move, minus the kick!”) other battlers and dishing questionable bars during past battles. Those factors along with some witty (“But I’m supposed to believe that you let your gun blam, when you wore those supposed-to-be-Jordan’s…that let us know you wasn’t real from the jump man!”) punchlines and gritty schemes/personals make JJDD more than competitive here. But Nitty being Nitty, while never lacking for sizzling (“This shit wicked, like government assistance, Nitty tripping, dump the body, put 4 eyes in the river…Mississippi!”) punchlines in any bout, did more than enough to stay in this one (even with a rare slip-up in the 1st round that caused him to end the round early and get edged by JJDD), thus bringing enough heat with his pen to make for a debatable 2nd, before taking the final round with enough haymakers to beat back a very solid turn from his opponent.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “This was one of your go too guys on the URL, off the belt I’ll pop a Smack shooter like Sugar Hill!”
Recap: Well, who doesn’t love a battle where the two contestants face off that really don’t like each other? That seems to be the case here as after a year or so of social media banter, threats, interviews, blogs, etc., Bigg K and John John da Don finally take their differences to the battle stage on RBE.
And yeah, it was a goodie with JJDD going first and cleverly taking on his old threat to slap BK ‘when he sees him’ to set off a round of solid bars, dope personals and some stinging set-ups. However, Bigg K wasn’t having any of it, not only addressing JJDD’s backing out of his threats, but barking in his opponent’s face with a shitload of fiery punches/personals and feelgood (“I’m seasoned with the elbows, like Salt Bae on the Gram!”) haymakers that won him the round. Still, John John came right back in the 2nd, dishing on Bigg K’s tumultuous history in battle rap with pointed punchlines, witty (“The k got a kick like…you, when you don’t like a bar!”) barbs and just to make sure he totally got his point across…a picture prop with Bigg K not looking his most gangster that was accompanied by a gang of raucous heaters. And while Bigg K came back with a solid round of funny personals and stinging (“You just want to sell a battle, get your check, claim the fame on it, I want to sell a shirt that got the death, date and name on it!”) punchlines, overall it wasn’t enough to take the round.
Split going into the 3rd, with plenty of tension in the air, John John sticks with his game plan, going after his opponent with more and more personals that included a nice mix of flexing personals and potent schemes. And while K started his 3rd hot with a couple of banging personals/shiners, his swift adjustment to a rapid stream of nifty punchlines was not only head-scratching when it comes to tactics, but more importantly, not enough to take the round, thus giving JJDD the win.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “URL don’t fuck with you, care to tell the people why?, better yet I’ll tell ’em, just in case you feel a need to lie, after choking twice he went and set his price extremely high, but they was down for you K [U.K.] until you showed your European side!”
Recap: Well prepared going back to his GrindTime days, John John da Don has always known how to keep his rounds short. And even after a year-plus hiatus from battling, JJDD’s ability to condense his bars continues to pay off. Indeed, JJDD after getting edged bar-for-bar in the 1st round against fellow PG vet (“No exaggeration, against wack emcees, I rap with ease, in big battles you would think I’m half-Asian…I’m Blackenese!”) Chilla Jones, the more condensed, Bullpen Battles league owner comes back with storm of banging {“You went from league owner to PG, that’s still pushing through, I went from PG to league owner and now I’m booking you!”) personals, witty barbs and fiery punchlines to take the latter two and gain the win.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “Prep, you beat Prep? Yeah, you beat him after I’d already crippled him, Gjonaj?, that was after Dizaster had already finished him, even Illmac loss to Rone, he couldn’t keep his belt and as far as Th3Saga go…well, we all know he beat himself!”
Recap: After a rumored new contract and a pretty dope battle recently versus Mike P on Smack/URL, one wouldn’t be too pressed to think that Daylyt was finally done with the antics along with other on-stage nonsense he’s become renowned for and was back to taking battle rap seriously. Well, it was a nice thought anyway. As since the aforementioned battle, Daylyt has pulled a no-show against DNA and then puts forth this mess…clearly winning round one here against John John da Don with some fiery bars and nice (“…and the only reason you got labeled an all-star is because you show up to battles with Con verses!”) personals, before completely falling apart. First, Lyt quits midway during round 2 (a round he could’ve easily won as an erratic JJDD didn’t put forth his A-game till round 3) before stumbling hard in the final round and practically quitting again after a weak ‘freestyle’. Altogether, a pretty ugly 2-1 for JJDD.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – I’m surprised you ain’t suck Drake dick to get them Views from the 6″
Recap: This Don’t Flop 1-rounder between Pat Stay and John John Da Don features a solid and competitive performance from both battlers. But with more intricacy to his bars, schemes and name flips, nice with the boastful punches, shining with his well-known sarcastic wit and dishing slightly less filler than his opponent (who as predicted by Pat, went with a race angles throughout his turn), it’s Pat Stay who gets the edge in this one.
Verdict: Pat Stay (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Pat Stay – “[pretending to be JJDD] ‘Yeah, white boy what you know about being poor and all you get to eat…is a gun!'”
Recap: Not that UDubb emcee Amp didn’t provide him with any (“I keep a clip full of bald heads, but that’s Common!”) comp, but my guess is that at this stage in his career a veteran like John John da Don would only take a match against a relative unknown for the bread and for practice before his big match coming up versus Big T. Still, JJDD has been known for making plenty of ‘bad decisions’ in the past, but thanks to some nice (“I’ll hop up on ya block like who want it, with tools dumping, you’ll get your whole strip blown [blue] money, like them new hundreds!”) wordplay throughout and a more consistently hot bar quotient, John John can feel good about this commitment.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 1-0
Favorite line: John John da Don – “Y’all gonna get this fag robbed, this nigga wouldn’t let the hammer fly if he was Thor…cuz lo-key [Loki] you ass God [Asgard]!”
Recap: To wit, the presumptuous idea that John John da Don gets nothing but hate from certain crowds or URL fans just isn’t true. Take his Wavy battle for instance, where JJDD had the crowd eating in his hands, thanks of course to an epic performance, but also because 9 out of 10 battle rap fans just love hot bars…regardless of who’s spitting them. Of course, there’s some hate here and there and yes, Tay Roc has his legion of stans, but so does every top tier battle rapper. Don’t believe me? Just take a few minutes and look at the comments section of any top tier battle rapper and you’ll witness stans who swear their guy (or gal) won, no matter how much the evidence points otherwise.
That said, hate didn’t cause a pretty solid (“I’m like a scammer with some fresh gift cards, my piece is hitting!”) JJDD to lose this battle, a more versatile, performance/punch-heavy, gun bar hitting and consistent Roc (who didn’t use as many gun bars as we’re used to seeing), one too many dry spells (esp. in the 2nd round) and JJDD’s penchant for stealing bars/themes (a winnable 3rd round gets taken away by a failed attempt at a rebuttal, wasted bars pontificating to Smack and because he used the same ‘nonsensical bars’ theme Rich Dollarz used in his battle with Tay) did. Thus, a superb 1st round from both battlers makes for a debatable, while Roc’s personal, witty and punchline-crazy 2nd easily beat a mostly pedestrian turn by JJDD, before JJDD also loss the 3rd due to the aforementioned reasons, but also due to Roc’s continued ability to stay more consistent and dish (“I’m the type to walk in your crib, don’t even speak to mama, smack the plate out of her hand, like miss, I don’t eat lasagna!”) haymakers.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “What’s this, light-skin vs. dark-skin?, well take Drake I Roc with Mill’s, tell the house nigga’s I rock with nigga’s in the cotton field’s!”
Recap: In what one can guess was an attempt to make battle rap more mainstream, Poison Pen brings John John da Don and Shotgun Suge all the way to the West coast for a 3-round battle in front of a laidback crowd that didn’t seem well-versed in the genre. Still, JJDD and Suge put on good showing with plenty of witty personals, funny barbs, spirited schemes and resident gun lines that seemed to keep the audience’s attention throughout. Still, after splitting the first couple of rounds, it’s JJDD who proves to have more stamina, with a non-exciting, but much more clean and versatile round than his opponent.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “You let Surf go to Detroit with a pistol, he could’ve got anyone clapped, so how you getting Dough boy in anyone’s trap, when Boyz in the Hood the last time we seen Shot gun have anyone’s back!”
Recap: In this one-round rematch from John John da Don’s new BullPen Battle League, JJDD does a nice job displaying his (“These problems is like a diet, that’s something you don’t want Clips”) wit as well as calling out some of Charlie Clips past nonsensical lines. But other than that, too many average bars and long-winded set-ups don’t stand a chance against Clips way more versatile stream of performance bars, witty jokes, delightful schemes and proverbial (“I didn’t come here to battle John John, I came to start a relationship with John’s mom, when she dressed we argue, but when she in her underclothes we get a long [along] john”) wordplay.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “Your bitch ass is the type to pull out a gun and then get robbed”
Recap: One could easily nickname this battle ‘Doing Too Much’. From John John da Don doing too much by unabashedly dissing Smack/URL on their own stage. Or Mr Wavy doing way too much in an elongated 2nd round, that while littered with a few haymakers here and there, was belabored by too many mediocre bars and simple schemes. Then too there was a crowd doing way too much with constant interruptions during Mr. Wavy’s 3rd round amidst loud, continuous cries for an end to a battle they felt JJDD had won handily. Still, while John John showed his (“These rappers is food, what y’all call the stage, is my eatery, I set him up for the shot, I guess that just the PG in me!”; “I’m charged up, back to back like that light-skinned nigga, but he could be Drake, I’m Quentin Miller, I gotta write for this nigga!”) vet mettle throughout this battle with fiery schemes, aggressive punches and mocking (“Deuce in a boot, got me walking like I sprained an ankle!”) personals, besides the final round, this certainly wasn’t a body as thanks in part to a mid-round slip-up during round 1 and Wavy’s ability to comeback (“…John try to haul ass, get that animal to his neck like a Lacrosse tag!”; “You lost to Shine, I sonned Shine, go check the forecast!”) nicely and make things competitive after a rambunctious turn by JJDD early on, the ‘Rookie’ almost made the 1st a debatable. And despite dishing more (“Nigga, you ready for combat? ‘cuz I get busy, ain’t shit iffy, construction work out glove, that grip with me!”) haymakers in round 2, it was Wavy who hurt himself there with a feast or famine turn before completely faltering in the 3rd (tho he began with a nice rebuttal) in light of a somewhat biased crowd as well as JJDD’s continued heat.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 3-0
Favorite line: John John da Don – “That nigga Chizzy said he chased you and made you jump from the steel, you seen the clips and got pussy, ain’t that Netflix and chill?!”
Recap: Utilizing a potent pen game to predict and mock his opponent’s penchant for adapting other battle rapper’s styles within his raps, along with a fiery punchline game, a gang of spicy rebuttals and a fire mid-round freestyle/rebuttal in the 2nd round that earned him a draw there, Charron easily beats backs an inconsistent John John da Don in the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win in this 3-rounder from KOTD.
Verdict: Charron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charron – “You lost your URL spot to Tay, you speak Spanish, you shoudl know your career is ondelay!”
Recap: Thanks in part to Cali Smoov ending what was a pretty (“…that’s why I’m confused, like why do I hear a Mark all throughout John’s verses?!”) solid round early, John John da Don survives a 2nd round choke with some hard personals in the deciding 3rd to edge this one on the road.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “I should leave him alone, ‘cuz he ain’t got no money, but I’d rather give him bucks on sight, like GoFundMe!”
Recap: Good to see Kid Twist, one of the best Canadian battle rappers out there, taking on a URL head in John John da Don. Even better is witnessing a good battle between two contrasting styles as neither battler underestimated their opponent. JJDD came hard with some dope gun (“I bought my Nina a friend, Why? because she enjoys company, I feel like Andy with Buzz and Woody, these toys stuck with me, I let ’em take turns with Kid like joint custody!”) bars and rich punchlines, while Twist’s penchant for tactful rebuttals and witty (“But I’ll bring in the real reason for your name into light, you’re a double-john because hookers started made you start paying them twice”) jokes scored heavy. Got Kid Twist taking the 1st round easy and the same goes for JJDD with the 3rd. So with the battle coming down to the middle round, it’s Twist who gets the win with more consistently nicer bars, better crafted angles and doper (“….you’re like a kid who didn’t make it in sports, you been getting the Battle Rap Participation Award”) personals.
Verdict: Kid: Twist (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don -“I bet you thought I was coming with some wack shit, sorry, this ain’t what you expected, you been Catfished”
Recap: In this Rookies vs. Vets battle between John John da Don and Prep. even with the (“Hold on, NuNu Nells your manager?!, fuck you had to do for that?, how we supposed to know what she could do for you, when we don’t even know what she do for Smack?”) hottest line of the beginning round JJDD still gets edged by a slightly more wordplay-heavy and set-up (“Question: verse Hollow, how did it feel to finally throw your own punch?!”) rich Prep. After that, thanks in part to Prep making rookie mistakes like wasting bars on other rappers and tossing out rebuttals that didn’t land, it was pretty much all JJDD. Who even while dishing his own versions of a couple of bars you might’ve heard before, still offered up enough witty personals, hot punchlines and PG-centric tutorials to take the latter two rounds over much less strapping opponent.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “No wonder you from the DMV…with all them L’s you got!”
Recap: Arsonal and John John da Don are pals outside the ring, but that side note seemed to have more an effect on JJDD than da Rebel during this battle as John John struggled to stay consistent with his personals, set-ups, aggression and bars, all which cost him in the end. What with pretty much a debatable 1st and 3rd round, it’s Arsonal who gets theatrical and distances himself in the 2nd, cleverly taking one of battle host Snoop Dogg’s lines from Baby Boy to set up a nice mix of stifling (“I give a fuck if ya daughter was with you, I shot the both of ya, what you thought I was only gonna hit you and not the stroller?”) gun bars and disrespectful shiners. Overall, not the best showing from either battler, but it’s Arsonal who definitely came more prepared.
Verdict: Arsonal da Rebel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Arsonal – “You told niggas you was signed for real?! Nigga, Bow Wow pay you to suck dick and lip sync, that ol’ Ashanti deal”
Recap: Proving once again that he’s at his best when he drops the multiple choice schemes and isn’t stealing other people’s shit (tho he remains steadfastly in denial about the latter) John John da Don mimics his Grind Time days and uses stellar bars and solid anecdotes to take the first two rounds and beat Don’t Flop President Eurgh in a spirited battle. Visiting all the way from the UK Eurgh put on a pretty good show and certainly had his moments with some wicked metaphors, jokes, (“So I came to belittle John ‘cuz you forgot about your native roots, YOU came to belittle John, now you’re an outcast [Outkast] because they don’t like The Way You Move”) wordplay along with a couple of decent rebuttals thrown in the mix, but too many Multiple Choice shots and inconsistency with the quality of his bars did him in long before JJDD practically gave him the 3rd with a short round that was hit-or-miss personals (the DNA quip being the best of ’em), Meanwhile, whether JJDD was hitting with the gun (“You see this .40? get out the way, have respect for your elders”) quips or coming heavy on the (“Give this foreign bitch a ring, like I was trying to get a Visa”) punches, along with some dope set-ups and performance bars, all said it was more than enough to take the win.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “Y’alll wanna hear a sad but true story about this fucking corn? He took his girl out her birthday while their love was strong, but she left with another nigga’ and made a fucking porn, he seen it and apologized like he the one that did something wrong”
Recap: Battle of the Two Most Hated Battle Rappers (with good reasons) goes down as expected with lots of lame lines, boo’s and plenty of WTF’s (Verb: “I am a rooster”). But somebody had to win and in this case it’s John John da Don who survives Aye Verb 80’s swagger-jacking (“What you know about being in a cell ith a nigga facing a murder, got you scared to go to sleep cuz’ our crimes don’t match?”) the first round to edge the 2nd with better (“Just cuz’ your mother got a metal dick, that don’t mean you here cocking steel”) bars, personals, PG schemes and more spirited punches, while easily taking round 3 with winning anecdotes on Verb’s recent battles, nicer angles and a harder perforamnce versus Verb basically taking the round off and stopping short early.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John da Don – “You got them white boys really thinking they could own us, for letting them take your shine on stage, here go some slow bucks [Slowbucks]”
Recap: The effort–hard-hitting, braggadocios, street-laced raps with a little wit and consistent aggression–was there. But in 2014 battle rap, where schemes, wordplay, metaphors, name flips, personals, angles and similes matter a whole lot more than they did a decade prior, Reed Dollaz really had no chance, easily bested by a confident and punch-heavy, but albeit methodical John John da Don for 3 rounds with a plethora of the aforementioned attributes that included the now-infamous ‘It’s in the car!’ response to one of JJDD’s more spirited disses. Include way too many pedestrian bars from Dollaz and even for a JJDD that wasn’t always on his A-game, a shutout over a Philly vet many consider to be a battle rap legend, still counts on the scorecard.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 3-0
Favorite line: John John da Don – “We was supposed to do this out in Philly, I would’ve came Reed, but now you getting drugged in New York, I’m a Duane Reade!”
Synopsis: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when John John da Don isn’t stealing bars or continuing to use Serius Jones’ old-as-hell “Multiple Choice” scheme, he’s one of the nicest battle rappers out there, good comp. for just about anyone out there including top tiers. That said JJDD proved my point here (tho he did swipe that opening from O-Red), with a versatile array of personals, solid (those “Popeye’s” line was nice!) schemes, jokes and dope punchlines. Indeed, his experience came through here and it had to because a game T Top gave just as well as he took, only losing points for too many “Trap” bars and trying to use the “multiple choice” back on JJDD. Good battle nonetheless.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 1-0
Favorite line: “It ain’t a hard choice, you want to earn all coffins, but since they riding with the dead we brought hearses for all of ’em, and when these shells get to bursting upon him, I’ll have his brains hanging out like they ain’t gotta work in the morning”
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?””
Recap: A rare peek from inside URL’s Vault here finds John John Da Don going up against Qleen Paper and up until Qleen pulls out his phone to remember his bars towards the end of his 3rd round (which, ironically he was receiving doubt over whether or not he’d even having a 3rd round, considering some more recent, ill-prepared performances) it was a goodie as Qleen’s mocking personals (esp. towards Rosenberg Raw), witty performance bars and gritty street boasts edged him round 1, before the versatile, set-up/punch-lit and brazen JJDD (who’s only problem here was way too many shots at Calicoe here, yunno, instead of the guy he was facing) came back to edge round 2 to even things up. However, as alluded to earlier, despite some effort that got him half-way through, a solid final turn by Qleen (against another fiery run by JJDD in the 3rd) would amount to a huge misstep by the Detroit up-n-comer when he forgot his lines and had to go to his phone to complete his round, thus helping John John seal the win.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “I hear this pussy say it again, like John John ain’t real he just faking again, I reply like ‘What nigga?!’, put the .8 to his chin, it’ll be the first time he won’t say it again!”
Synopsis: I can get with the “Quiet Room” concept, it’s something new and different, but 8 minutes of BS before the actual battle?!? Really??? Anyway, this is more about John John losing this than Charlie Clips winning as John John continued use of Serius Jones’ “Multiple Choice, All of the Above” scheme is an utter joke, the hula-hoop bar he used seemed very familiar and JJDD even stealing Clips “sike” line was straight corny. Charlie, despite some stumbles, won this easy with better freestyles and personals than JJDD’s written’s.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 1-0
Best line: Charlie Clips – “Stuttered against Yung Ill, so what, when you on a Spree well, you get to choke like that”
Synopsis: Not too much to see here as while JJDD had better lines overall (esp. when he stuck to the name flips and schemes), he shot himself in the foot biting off himself in round 2 and pretty much giving JC the 3rd. Granted, this wasn’t your best JC either, but his overall consistency–sticking with JJDD’s penchant for stealing bars while dropping some dope personals in between–clearly gave him the W.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Best line: JC – “See, you thought we liked it because we was cool with a couple of cats, but the problem with you is we always hear lines back and even ‘Bron know you can’t cover that”
Synopsis: Very good battle. Both JJDD and The Saurus represented well with a chock full of bars, jokes, personals and nice name flips. But even though John John (whose been talking about taking down legends on Twitter recently) practically gave away the 3rd round, I thought he dropped better consistent lines and subpar schemes in rounds 1 and 2 to edge the win.
Verdict: John John Da Don (W) 2-1
Best line: JJDD – “Why am I giving you the shot if you the vet?”
Synopsis: This battle really made no sense. JJDD, a Proving Ground neophyte, versus Math Hoffa, a seasoned veteran. Sure, both are well-known and in 2013, they’re battle game has gotten real prolific. But there’s no history here, much less any beef, plus you’re dealing with two completely different styles. So I can only garner a guess that Hoffa felt he was doing JJDD a favor by battling him, who knows?
Either way, John John took a serious L from the start, thinking he could go completely out of character and bully URL’s No. 1 bully instead of using the type of stellar name flips, schemes and work play that he put up so well against X-Factor–just another in a series of bad decisions. Then he plays himself by bringing up Dose while proceeding to turn his hat backwards. After that (tho, you could arguably give JJDD the first round only because Math’s was so short) it all went downhill from there and not even John John’s best “Multiple Choice”could save him. Especially against vintage Math: consistent aggression while completely sonning John John in both the 1st and 3rd rounds, addressing JJDD’s renowned thievery, spitting a classic 2nd round, crowd control, personals, biblical schemes and of course…bars like that.
Verdict: Math Hoffa (W) 2-1
Best line: Math Hoffa – “For murder I come loaded with 3 clips beams that will shine, I spot your tee, I’mma leave shit clean, that’s 48 shots, that’ll make me see with spleens, they asked why son died, I gave John 3, 16…”
Synopsis: Emerging in the wake of PG’s dudes feening to take over the scene, Danny Myers has unequivocally displayed his thirst with a ridiculous amount of battles in a short timespan. And while a mid-tier like John John deserves props for giving Myers a shot, stolen bars aside, on skills alone this one shouldn’t have been close. But after JJDD struck hard with that 1st round (dope wordplay along with a superb “lumberjack” scheme), it all went downhill from there as JJDD literally gave away the 3rd and tho the 2nd round was close, Myers’ delightful horror scheme, aggression and onslaught of assault bars edged it in the end.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 2-1
Best line: Danny Myers – “He is my son, but I have no respect for this nigga, cuz they still taking money out my check for this nigga”
Synopsis: Caustic delivers a steady stream of jokes, personals, bars and even calls out a John John da Don still in heavy denial about his penchant for stealing bars, to take the win.
Verdict: Caustic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Caustic – “This is Office Space, watch a white boy beat the shit out this copy machine!”
Synopsis: Gotta love the crowd here, going crazy and supporting their man as he attempts to pull off an upset against a visiting, on the road SMACK rapper. And while Ave went in hard for the most part, a little too much filler in the 2nd half of his round combined with JJDD using a beyond tired Multiple Choice scheme made this battle closer than what it should be. Yet, on the nice side JJDD’s bars and schemes were more condensed (plus, I don’t think he stole any bars here) and what with Ave’s slip-up towards the end, JJDD edges it in the end.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 1-0
Favorite line: John John da Don – I’m strapped like a Tyler Perry shoot, I’m so live, naw, I’m strapped like a parachute, I’m so fly, naw, I’m strapped so I can perish u, that mean u gon’ die, naw, I’m strapped like a pair of shoes, that don’t tie”
Synopsis: Hey, John John was actually pretty original here, what with his own consistently nice bars, some fresh wordplay, funny personals and wait for it….a WHOLE battle without recycling someone’s bars. But despite the occasional struggle with is delivery when you’re dropping haymaker (“You a African American, that lost to a white man onBlack Entertainment Television”) after haymaker (“Walk up to the body, give him that ‘Is he dead kick?'”) after haymaker (“another 6 foot nigga’ with a death wish, sawed off shotty shooting out breadsticks”) along with dope name flips while mocking JJDD’s style carried with consistent aggression as K-Shine reps here, you really don’t stand much of a chance.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Best Line: K-Shine – “Straight out of Locash stupid lil nigga named John John, Twin 40’s got em looking like pom poms, have this nigga sticking up, Einstein, that 6 clap push his wig back call him bron bron”
WTF: Yeah that’s Bow Wow on the stage in the hoodie supporting John John.
Synopsis: “You make the worst life decisions!” Here’s why John John da Don gets hated on: stealing other people’s bars and for making ass-backwards decisions with his career like this one. I mean the idea that John John (or someone in his camp) thought it’d be a step forward to go back to “106 & Park” and battle after coming off what was easily his most popular battle with Hitman Holla, just makes absolutely no sense. Zip. None. Nada. Battling on 106 & Park is a beginners move, not something you do when you’re already established. And for that JJDD got what he deserved: a bodybag from some unknown white dude on Black Entertainment Television.
Verdict: Voss (W) 2-0
Best line: Voss – “I ain’t lying with those ears you could probably feed Mike Tyson for a year”
Recap: In battle rap, a veteran giving a new blood a shot goes all the way back to the legendary Busy Bee famously letting Kool Moe Dee get on the mike to roast him after one of Bee’s performances in what was alleged to have been the 1st one-on-one battle ever. So all these years later, Hitman Holla providing up-n-comer John John Da Don with a shot on the big Webster Hall stage just continues a long-standing tradition. But unlike the fabled Moe Dee vs. Busy Bee battle, outside of a pretty dope and highly entertaining 1st round from both battlers, this one was a bit of a letdown as both Hitman and JJDD suffered from a boatload of pedestrian bars and subpar angles that even led to some boos from the crowd in the latter rounds. Ironically, with a punchline-heavier JJDD taking the 2nd round and practically giving away the 3rd round by spending half his turn delivering some tedious pontifications to Holla, it’s the 1st round that would end up deciding this battle. And the edge here goes to Hitman, the St. Louis vet standing out with a classic turn that featured some dope punchlines/schemes, sublime crowd control, stunting anecdotes/wordplay, performance-heavy heat, witty personals and a seismic/patented remix that altogether when placed head-to-head against JJDD’s hard-hitting at times, personal-lit and scheme-heavy, but also a bit of an imitative turn that would lose him the round and the battle.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “Cock that 4-5 like fuck it, give him 9 more, turn his apple to seeds, see what they call him John for, Johnny Appleseed]s all over, bring the pine, boy, shout out to my nigga, free Hollow, he ain’t Da Don boy!”
Recap: John John da Don versus Bill Collector on the Smack/URL stage equates to a lot of entertainment, a bunch of performance bars and a whole lot of filler in a battle that overall should’ve been a lot better. Indeed, in a first round that you could be forgiven if you thought it’d set the tone for the entire battle, both JJDD and Bill Collector got in their bag with some dope personals, crowd-pleasing antics, witty barbs and pointed name flips. However, after a literally dancing at times Bill Collector edged the round with more consistently stirring lines that matched his energetic flow, a competitive battle turned lackadaisical with Bill’s bars getting less and less potent, while a slightly more versatile and turned up with rapid punchline waving JJDD also relied on effective, but elementary imitations of his opponent as well as fellow rappers to get through the latter rounds. That’s why, all in all, it’s BC’s sudden loss of a nice pen game after round one, along with a fleeting comeuppance by JJDD that gets the latter the win here.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: John John Da Don – “First hand, keep a cig, that’s gonna wet ya man, and while that’s smoking, you might die from the second hand!”
Synopsis: Nice battle, close throughout, both Money Bagz and John John da Don went in. However, I just think JJDD edged it with more versatility, and consistency along with better punchlines.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JJDD – “…You that nigga on the roof giving signals for the cops, your nickname is ‘Teapot’ you just whistle when it’s hot!”
Recap: Only found this matchup after seeing the Half Past 7 vs. Bigg K battle. Half Past had some heat (“Top news John John got stabbed in a brawl and if his friends request beef then I’m tagging them all”), but overall JJDD came with better name flips, delivery, creativity and all-around hotter bars.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 1-0
Favorite line: John John da Don -“Tired of hearing all this bullshit how you squeeze teks, so take those AR’s out your bars ‘cuz it’s BS”
Synopsis: One of those early Proving Ground battles that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. As John John makes his first appearance on the URL stage and almost goes toe-to-toe with a typically nice B-Magic. I gave Magic the slight edge because I just thought that his punchlines and personals hit a bit more than JJDD’s, while as his round went on Magic just seemed to get nicer with each bar.
Verdict: B-Magic (W) 1-0
Best line: B Magic – “Bitch I get long dome like Stewie head, bangin’ cans behind your car like a newlywed, think you sick well B-Magic is the Sudafed, this right hook will give you them Zab Judah noodle legs”
Synopsis: John John was spitting some mad heat (nice rock metal scheme early on) till he choked in that 2nd round (tho the Hollow da Don impression was pretty tight). But he more then made up for his choke in round 3 to easily take this rematch.
Verdict: John John da Don (W) 2-1
Best line: John John – “When I smack ya ass it’s not for good sportsmanship”
Recap: Dope, competitive 1-rounder from Grind Time between Brixx Belvedere and John John Da Don sees JJDD display some versatility by changing his flow up midway through his turn to dish some fast-rapping techniques when he wasn’t spouting fiery punchlines, cocksure boasts and piercing personals with his normal delivery. But a pretty solid effort from JJDD would be topped by the consistently clever wordplay from Brixx, the S.O.N.S. rapper spitting a gang of well-played punchlines, spicy schemes, braggadocios raps and pointed personals with a nuanced flow/performance and nary any filler to gain the win.
Verdict: Brixx Belvedere (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Brixx Belvedere – “So we on the same page, nigga you could catch a bullet scar, straight off the Ave, I ain’t street, I’m Boulevard!”
