Recap: Grafting the energy of a BET crowd that for the most part probably aren’t ardent battle rap fans with fiery punchlines and effervescent current event bars that even your average recluse could keep up with, in this 1-rounder from BET’s Hip Hop Awards show, a more steady hitting DNA is able to beat back (and get a bit of revenge from their earlier match on URL almost a decade ago) a gritty and pretty solid, but a bit too deliberate with the pace and less haymaker-lit K-Shine.
Verdict: DNA (W) 1-0
Favorite line: DNA – “I’m a dump a Glock, he gonna hit with a bunch of shots, then I’m a make him disappear outta nowhere…like the monkeypox!”
Recap: Rare to see a battler go up against Bill Collector and stand out with a more performance-heavy round. But in this competitive 1-rounder from The Battle Academy, K-Shine uses some eletric storytelling, a bunch of witty barbs/personals, gritty punchlines/gun bars and stifling name flips to beat back a pretty solid (esp. towards the end of his turn) overall and punch-heavy at times, but less consistent and much less stage-lit B.C.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Just like a nigga, put an extension on Bill right after I got paid!”
Recap: With about half-a-minute of audio being lost during K-Shine’s 3rd round of this URL/N.O.M.E. 12 bout Real Sikh, gonna go ahead and call round 3 a tie. And while that prevents the consistently performance bar-lit, name flip savvy, punch-heavier and witty Shine from scoring a 30 after handily taking rounds 1 and 2, considering that we hadn’t seen him on the big stage in quite awhile and the ever-rambunctious Sikh gave him a run for his money throughout, the victorious Shine still left quite an impression.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Another New Jersey nigga with a death wish, taught my old gun a new trick…fetch this!”
Recap: Eazy the Block Captain versus K-Shine on the Smack Volume 9 card deserves all its praises as the two put on a fire and competitive show throughout their 3 rounds. A cesspool of hard street rhymes, feening (Eazy: “I’ll get close to Shine, I got insight!”) wordplay, stinging punchlines, charismatic machismo, gripping gun bars, piercing personals and greasy name flips on both sides that coupled with Shine’s rich performance bars and Eazy’s instructional gutta talk made for a crowd-pleasing draw, this close battle comes down to a more condensed Shine edging round 1 before a more steady pounding Block Captain took round 2. The deciding 3rd round, equal on straight-laced heat and quantitative haymakers (with Eazy going a minute or so longer longer than Shine), makes this one debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Before I had a gun, I had to be in the streets with just a star and a flag liek I’m Vietnamese!”
Recap: Not exactly K-Shine or Hollow Da Don at their best during this Summer Madness 11 matchup, but both vets still put on pretty solid performances in what was a much anticipated bout. Hollow, seemingly mimicking Shine’s rambunctious style at times and scoring at will with a gang of wily punches, flexing wordplay and witty/mocking/storied personals in spite of a few subpar lines here and there, would standout when it came to his rigid set-ups and stifling anecdotes. On the other hand Shine would keep it competitive with a bunch of performance-rich mayhem, pointed personals and dope storytelling/4-bar setups (esp. in round 3, his best turn). A close one throughout, the slightly more haymaker lit Hollow takes both of the opening rounds for the win before Shine took the 3rd clearly to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Hollow Da Don (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hollow Da Don – “Fuck that, fuck that, back to the metaphors…I’ll [bends down] get lower than your credit score!”
Recap: Against a performance-heavy, but topsy-turvy K-Shine whose wild idioms and oft-reckless punches made it seem like he was just throwing anything at a wall to see what sticks, Chilla Jones enlists a dope Matrix-themed round 1, before unleashing a wide barrage of festive name flips, mocking/righteous personals, piercing punchlines, some quality wordplay and a spitfire 1st round freestyle to handily gain a 30 in what was a highly-anticipated URL Smack Volume 7 matchup.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “Have you ever seen Morpheus glasses?, I mean your style’s is a reflection of it clear, ‘cuz yeah, it look good on the lenses, it just got no connection to the ear!”
Recap: In this long-awaited, Smack Volume 6 battle between K-Shine and Pat Stay, the usually gritty Shine does a solid, 3rd-round impression of his opponent but wouldn’t need it (or the final round race angles) as beforehand a performance-heavy Shine, helped by a witty at times, but less prepared Pat, would use a boatload of fiery gun bars, well-executed punchlines (esp. in a sublime round 2) and righteous set-ups to handily take the opening rounds for the win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I knew you would come here talking about your size, that shit is gay, [switches voice to do Pat impression] ‘I’m 6-7, 200 and something pounds’…sounds like you looking for a date!”
Recap: A closer battle then what the reactions and recaps have showed, a performance-rich K-Shine’s raucous rhythms, nasty personals, witty anecdotes, flashy gun bars and piercing punchlines/schemes are enough to give a punch-heavy, but wordplay-moderate and a bit slip-up prone E-Hart, a rare loss (debatable 2nd, but Shine took the 1st and 3rd rounds) in this Kings vs. Queens 3-rounder from URL/Smack.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I changed the game, you ain’t got the same passion as me, Johnny Tapia, about to fill the whole casket with E!”
Recap: A battle years in the making (and closer than a lot of people have given it credit for), a righteous talking to from K-Shine in round 2 gives the NWX capo the win in this spirited bout versus Chess. The two battlers, who have been forever linked due to them both battle rapping from a very young age, a similarity in styles and course, the near fisticuffs that was produced between the two at Summer Madness, definitely brought their A-games to the battle with Chess getting busy throughout via gritty punchlines, some exquisite wordplay and lucid gun bars/name flips and a performance-heavy Shine doing his thing with more direct personals, fiery schemes, boastful barbs and piercing punches/name flips/gun bars. That said, it’s a more condensed, versatile and gripping Shine who takes both of the opening rounds for the win before a more haymaker-lit Chess snatches up the 3rd to avoid the 30.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “You’d rather place the blame ’cause you got a lane that you ain’t pursuin’, it’s URL, Shine – even yesterday, JayBlac, the stre…everybody but Chess!, nigga, you ain’t influenced, quit playin’ stupid, stop pointin’ your finger and put that boom box on your shoulder, you gotta face the music!”
Recap: 1-round Quarantine battle from URL between then-both NWX members K-Shine and Nu Jerzey Twork, while filled to the rim with plenty of mayhem and aggressive gun bars, still goes the former’s way as Shine’s more consistently-lit punches score with more than force to beat the raucous, but slightly less substantive Twork.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I fuck with the Roosters, but you the one I got the Tek on, told my bitch, meet me downstairs with ya sweats on, got my chicken hawk on a rooster…Foghorn Leghorn!”
Recap: A fire, close and raucous-on-both-sides round a by a scheme-heavy Charlie Clips (who rather astutely shut down a heckler midway through his round) and a performance-lit and fiery-punching K-Shine in this URL Genesis battle reminded the crowd of why these two Harlem vets have remained on top of their game for so long. Afterwards? Not so much. As while the two battlers kept it solid and competitive for the latter two rounds, neither Shine or Clips could quite get back up on their A-game when it came to consistency and substance. So after the slightly more direct Shine edged round 1, even while choosing, for the most part, not come too direct with the personals (except when it came to dissing NWX and Dot Mobb), Clips’ more rigid wordplay/set-ups, witty barbs and continuously sound schemes combine to score enough points to beat back a still gritty and personal, but less steady with the punches Shine in rounds 2 and 3, thus giving Charlie a comeback win.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “Headshot when I walk in the room, I got Shine all in the house leakin’ I did a good job, cause I left Shine in the room like good housekeepin’!”
Recap: The first battle between Tay Roc and K-Shine was close and as it should be, so is the rematch. Stellar efforts from both of these vets with a versatile, witty, (“Fuck the Cave, I got 200 in a milliliter like a half pint, strap jaw, I get my clap on [claps], that’s light!”) performance-stunting and punch-heavy Shine edging the 1st round over a ridiculously gun-heavy, but slightly less potent (and too DNA-centered) Roc. It was Roc’s turn to mix it up more in the 2nd round, a sublime and well-executed turn that saw the Cave Gang captain light up the stage with more armored mayhem, but also flex with a gang of spitfire wordplay, piercing name flips and astute punchlines to beat back a pretty solid, but not as haymaker-friendly round by Shine. And just in case you wondered what got Roc so tight when Shine accused him of once being a member of his “Zip ‘Em Up” clique (an allegation that would spark their infamous brawl during the 1st 2-on-2 between Shine and DNA vs. Roc and Tsu Surf), Tay would address the issue in the 3rd. The former Dot Mobb soldier delivering a plethora of scathing (“When I got wit’ the Dot’s you was wild hatin’, I took ya spot then put the Dots on my back…Dalmatian!”) personals to address past beefs to go along with some spicy name flips/punches that worked together to beat another aggressive, scheme-friendly and gritty, but at times redundant round from Shine and give Roc the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Who brave? You’ll get ya wig split like I do braids, I’ll dig you a new grave, he won’t know if me or Surf cooked him, ‘ause when he saw Tay [sauté)] he got souffléd!”
Recap: From URL’s Lockdown card, in Philadelphia against the gritty stylings of hometown fave Reed Dollaz, a performance-lit K-Shine uses a barrage of rare off-the-dome heat, head-ringing gun bars, fiery name flips, stifling personals and raucous punchlines to handily beat back an oppoent who while solid throughout, was hurt a bit one too many subpar punches/similes, granting Shine (who really wasn’t on his A-game) the ability to still score a 30.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Kaboom, was a part of y’all crew, but why you think eh came to NWX?, the trust fund, it’s crazy, he had to put Dollaz aside to touch money!”
Recap: In this 1-round Draft Night Road to K-Shine battle, the yung-un Dess650 puts forth a solid, but a bit pedestrian and flow-challenged effort that gets easily beaten back by Shine’s rich and aggressive combo of stinging name flips, heated punchlines, witty barbs and fiery wordplay.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Scope on it, I’ll take the pick like I’m light-skin!”
Recap: While there are certainly others to blame as well for exploiting the narrative over the years, most of the onus on Rum Nitty chiefly being a ‘gun bar’ dude falls on Nitty himself. The self-proclaimed ‘Gun Line King’ (going back to one of his earlier battles against Tycoon Tax) deceiving us all by making it seem he’s so one-dimensional in various battles and interviews, all the while chasing Tay Roc for the notorious title. The nerve of the guy, fooling us all in this URL/NOME 4 battle with a gang of prolific verbal heat that included a flawless 2nd round here against K-Shine, with more than just stifling gun bars on the menu, but also a steady proliferation of nasty punchlines, daunting wordplay, rich metaphorical zingers and sublime name flips on the entrees as well. Indeed, another reminder that Nitty’s versatility with the heat keeps getting overlooked and only makes him more dangerous. Not to knock anything Shine did here, the performance-heavy NWX capo delivering 3 dope rounds of gritty darts, frenzied anecdotes, piercing name flips/personals, raucous punches/gun bars and some witty barbs. All the while lacking the consistency to keep up with his opponent in the first couple of rounds, before a rare trio of slip-ups by Nitty in the 3rd helped Shine avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “You know I’m clapping, stone-face savage, so the pole I’m packing, go over heads…with no reaction!”
Recap: I’ve said it before, when the battle itself can reach its immense hype, you know that you got a potential classic on your hands. That’s certainly the case in Geechi Gotti versus K-Shine, two battlers who had a stupendous 2018 meeting on the Smack/URL stage for the ‘Champion’ of the year. Gotti, with a hardbody, (“I don’t even think Shine real, he need a diamond tester, arm stretch ya, y’all gonna find K laid out with his fore head open, coroner showed up, I’m like ‘What y’all waiting on, y’all already know K slogan!'”) wordplay-heavy, personal and aggressive round 1 didn’t lose the opening round as much as a witty, gun-savvy, more performance heavy, rapid-punchline (“Give him rounds from the .80, Party Arty back!”; “Pound on the side of coffee mug like ‘No. 1 Dad!'”) kicking Shine won it with a little variety to edge what was easily one of the hardest-hitting 1st rounds we’ve ever seen in battle rap. Round 2 was also fire with Gotti lifting up his performance game to dish fire personals, talk that hard (“I don’t wanna hear no Blood call, keep it neutral, I’m ain’t saying but [Bwoh!]…rather let the coroner ‘Suwoop’ you!”) gang shit and continue to flex with sizzling gun bars as well bodacious punchlines. On the other hand Shine came through with another fire, (“Compressor, I let it whisper in ya ear, ‘Gotti can ya keep a secret!'”) iron-friendly, punchline-crazy turn, that while consistently solid throughout, didn’t reach the overall potency and precision of his opponent. Anyone who’s paid attention to Gotti’s battle rap career would know that he’s the rare rapper who can often have his 3rd round be his best and that can be argued here as the Compton, CA, rapper once again shows off the ability to kick that real, street shit that one can only speak on if they lived it. Spouting on the everyday, hard knock lives of himself as well as his homies, Geechi is well-equipped with those real (“I’m one of the realest nigger’s in this shit, I demand that stripe, my partner got a ‘L’, then they charged him with another body, yeah I said that right, ‘cuz ain’t never coming home, But somehow he got a second chance at life!”) polemics on surviving the streets, much less the mental and physical effects it has on those trapped in the hood. And while Shine once again came through with another witty, punch and wordplay-heavy, (“I palm the biscuit, heat-seeking till I find the victim, then take the sensors off…this non-explicit!”) gun-blasting turn that left you wanting more, altogether it just wasn’t enough to beat a more intricate and condensed turn by Gotti.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “All that clique shit in battle rap, I ain’t feeling it ‘cuz, you nigger’s was fighting over Twork like it was only one bitch in the club!”
Recap: As expected, a tough, competitive one between Ave and K-Shine with a shitload of fierce mayhem, lofty (K-Shine: “Nina, pushing everything back, I’m procrastinating, .40 blowing everything up, I’m exaggerating!”) gun bars, dope wordplay, a gang of fiery name flips, some personals sprinkled in, a little wit here and there and boastful punchlines that were often brought back, because yunno, battle rappers like to do that sort of thing. Still, a goodie and a near debatable with a tight 1st (edged by a more condensed Shine) and 3rd (edged by Ave) rounds, it’s the middle round that serves as the difference-maker as Ave just went ham with the punches…pointed, relentless and most importantly, lighting up the scoreboard with ferocious (“Shine ain’t real, this is costume jewelry!”) haymakers to edge what was a slow start, but lyrically ascending, versatile and altogether fire turn from Shine.
Verdict: Ave (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ave – “…or I’ll be at your New Crib with the semi, have plenty flying, I’ll turn that stick and get Shine threw a window like mini-blinds!”
Recap: A generational battle between two Harlem vets, a returning-to-the-stage Jae Millz and gritty stalwart K-Shine, the most noteworthy part of what was otherwise a pretty one-sided match, was Millz readily admitting in round 3 to coming back to battle rap for the check: “Who said that I don’t do this shit for the culture?, Little nigger, I was battling for free for the longest, so let’s be honest, why would I not come back and get the bag that I’m owed, y’all actually paying homage!” That said, other than a tight first round that saw Millz’ cocky and punch-heavy bars almost display enough bite to keep up with a more versatile, personal-savvy, scheme-heavy and consistently (“This is Harlem, you know what’s up, double them up, crab sticks?, wasn’t enough, butter them up!”) fire Shine, this wasn’t close. Especially in the 2nd round where Millz literally time-traveled back to the late 90’s/ early 2000’s and brought back a shitload of dated (yes, that was a wrestling NWO scheme) bars that many predicted beforehand would be his downfall. And while Millz was able to pick things back up with a more solid 3rd, his frequent use of very basic bars not only had the crowd bothered, but along with a motivated Shine, who while not quite on his A-game punch-wise, still served up enough exquisite personals, stinging name flips, witty barbs and fiery performance bars in the latter rounds to dominate the battle and receive Harlem bragging rights.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Lazy chef, I take out Millz when I don’t feel like cooking!”
Recap: In a battle that was loaded with plenty of Bad Boy Records and Dot Mobb references, K-Shine versus E. Ness from The Battle Academy in Philly still made for a solid showing with both battlers kicking spicy darts throughout. However, at the end of the day this one would prove to be all Shine as after kicking a spitfire, punch-heavy 1st round that reeked with haymakers, the Harlem vet just proved to be hsrder with his bars, using eccentric Philly references, hot schemes, fiery performance darts and some wicked punchlines/gun bars to beat back a mostly pedestrian Ness in the latter rounds and walk away with a 30.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Two arms behind him like my baby took his first step!”
Recap: An under the radar battle that took a year to get released, K-Shine versus B. Magic contains a gang of nifty punchlines and schemes from Magic, some gritty wordplay and fiery punches/personals from Shine and after keeping it close for two rounds, Magic struggling with his flow in the 3rd round and almost choking before cutting his turn short. Therefore, with Shine clearly up on haymakers in both the 1st and 3rd rounds, it’s NWX for the win here.
Verdict: K Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K Shine – “Here’s for my next trick, give his whole circle the L…that’s Alexis!'”
Recap: I can’t think of any way you can prepare for a haymaker that’s about your man getting knocked out before the battle…by your opponent. But hey Young Kannon certainly tried, addressing the matter within his first round here when he wasn’t spitting other scintillating (“Louie V put you to sleep recently, what was that fight ’bout?, how the fuck your name is Shine if nigga’s keep putting your lights out!?”) personals and back-breaking mayhem. Still, for all of K-Shine’s hot-headedness, the guy couldn’t have lasted this long in the game if he couldn’t rap and that made for the difference here as YK, for all his comeuppance, aggressive set-ups and sublime raps, overall just got out-barred. Indeed, after a dope 1st from YK, K-Shine, using some hitting performance (“Stomach shot, he get that gut [rubs his belly] feeling like something’s wrong!”) bars, nice crowd control and some ill (“You might as well call me Earl, this man a G.O.A.T. [Manigault]!”) wordplay, ends up edging the round. And another personal-tinged, punch-heavy and overall solid turn by YK in round 2 gets beat by a more eccentric, (“Hey, we ain’t the same, I’m nothing like you nigga’s, I’m a double shot of 1800, that’s twice the killer!”) punchline-spazzing and witty Shine. And while YK fell a little victim (again) to some redundant themes/personals used against Shine in the past, his 3rd was still pretty nice what with some flexing punches, fire (“I’ll put the K to K, k?, that’s white supremacy!”) gun bars and jaunty wordplay to salvage a round and match another comical, but potent, (“play it safe, or I’m tagging the Guerilla [gorilla] like Bathing Ape!”) punch-heavy, braggadocio and gritty turn from Shine
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Since – “I’m good, when I got these hands out, shit 10 minutes ago I just knocked your man out!”
Recap: A punch-fest filled with a lot of history and brimming tension, K-Shine and Danny Myers is certainly worth the look. As for who won? The feeling here is Shine and that’s despite a pretty epic (“I’m better with the blade ‘cuz I cant miss, I get up close, give him 5 strikes on the side, now he’s K Swiss!”) 3rd round from Myers. However, before the final round, Shine’s ability to combine wit, fierce (“All that money you gave Rex, nigga, you could’ve been a sponsor for NOME!”) personals and heated punches with hardly any filler did a lot of damage to a less versatile, less adjoined and more prone to pedestrian bars (esp. when he attempted to get personal) that didn’t always match his aggression in Myers. Indeed, Shine’s verbal repertoire, stirred with just enough set-up rich dishes, gets him the 1st and 2nd rounds here.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Your next birthday, I ain’t gonna slide up like a dancer, I crept through, you 37, we gonna make .38…special!”
Recap: Bad Newz’s penchant for solid gun bars and braggadocio room shakers can work against most opponents. But with a more versatile battler and harder-hitting puncher in K-Shine, who besides the aforementioned dalliances, can also mix in incredible wit and performance…well overall, Newz’ tank just isn’t equipped with enough juice here, especially in the 1st and 3rd rounds, thus Shine earning the win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “They 12 deep?, 6 shot revolver, who gonna die, who gonna carry ’em?, I’ll let these cats choose, ‘cuz whoever don’t die gonna be the bearer of Bad News!”
Recap: In an at-times surprisingly one-sided battle from URL’s Summer Madness 6, a punchline-spazzing, fiery-personal dishing and heavy with the mayhem Hitman Holla dominates a mostly subpar and sometimes listless-with-the-pen K-Shine. Not that a confident Holla needed any assistance from his opponent as the St. Louis vet set the tone out the gate with combative (“You told T-Rex you gonna knock him out if he disrespect your baby mama or your daughter nigga…man I’ll fuck your baby mama in front of your daughter, nigga!”) shiners and continuously cutthroat aggression mixed in some feelgood wordplay to easily take the first two rounds with little on the performance end. And while the lyrically sizzling Holla, already with the win in hand, came through with a solid 3rd round, Shine (who was so pedestrian with his bars during the early rounds that he started to get booed in the 2nd) finally found his bag, got in and did enough with stinging performance bars, witty (“You on TV, you supposed to be lit for the cameras, glitz wit’ the glamour, talkin’ to the Wild N Out strippers and dancers, instead, he up there showing his temper with tantrums, all aggressive, talking ’bout gripping his hammer, walking up gettin’ the [EEEEEH!] before he get to the answer!”) barbs as well as some gritty punchlines/personals in a slightly more condensed turn that allowed him to salvage the final round and avoid getting 30’d on battle rap’s biggest event.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “You un-loyal ass bitch, I can’t believe you, you had the nerve to give a fake five to the nigga that used to feed you!”
Recap: Guessing that, when it comes to his battle rap career, that this one of those days K-Shine would like to forget about as the Harlem vet incredibly chokes and then when given a second chance, stumbles again before giving up on a 1-round bout versus a pretty hyped up, well assisted by his man’s and gun bar rocking, but mostly pedestrian King Esco.
Verdict: King Esco (W) 1-0
Favorite line: King Esco – “After this murder y’all gonna watch the doc get rid of DNA!”
Recap: In front of a UDubb crowd that seemed unusually enthused throughout the battle, a more versatile K-Shine utilizes just enough nifty punchlines, aggressive heat and gritty name flips to edge round 1, then survive a spitfire turn by Red in the 2nd before a more condensed turn in the final round (that featured an appearance by Therapist Red) gets Shine the win
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “They say try not to sleep on Red…I’m in a coma!”
Recap: Credit to Joe Scrap for making it competitive against a top tier with a solid combo of nice storytelling bars and witty punches that could warrant a PG one day if he stays on point. But a rambunctious and consistently spitfire K-Shine, delivering heaters with steady moxie and relative ease, proves to be too much in this one-rounder from County Ground Battle League.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “They 9 deep, I swing on 8…Chris Childs!”
Recap: Punchline feen versus puncher sees a more rapidly consistent and a little more versatile K-Shine take this spirited one-rounder from an up-n-down and a bit filler-prone Ty Law.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “With the .40 I’m like a proud new dad…ready to Pop!”
Recap: With so much history and brotherhood between T-Rex and K-Shine, of course the two of them battling each other is an event you thought you’d never witness. But after over a year of drama, chirping back-n-forth and misgivings that reached its breaking point when Shine and DNA formed NWX and Murda Mook kicked Shine out of Dot Mobb, here the two battle rap vets are, on the Smack stage for a battle that while unable to quite live up to the hype beforehand, still was mostly solid throughout and not as one-sided as the crowd would make you think. After all, Rex’s 1st round was a fiery punchfest, scoring with its variety of wit, steely (“Shit ain’t about Dot Mobb, this shit was all about Shine, I told that nigga to hang on, but he ain’t wanna see Roc climb!”) personals and boastful punches/gun bars. Still, confident throughout with a wide array of jaunty personals, some fire wordplay, nice angles/set-ups, aggressive schemes and heated (“Nigger, he done, but stick the fork in his grill…Mazaradi!”) punchlines, after and even round 1, a way more consistent K-Shine would prove to be too much in the latter rounds, especially as Rex’s bars waned towards the end of his turns and got more pedestrian. Clearly more prepared for this battle and with a lot more to get off his chest, it was easy to see that throughout K-Shine wanted this grudge match more and the result proved it.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Nigga, part of being a man is how you handle shit, you don’t go straight to the ‘Gram if I’m supposed to be your man’s and shit!”
Recap: In what could go down as a one-round sparring match, K-Shine uses aggressive performance bars, NWX cohort DNA and some stinging name flips is beat back the standard punches of relative unknown EB.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I’m live, bars connect in the air…Wi-Fi, you another burger that’s buns…Five Guys!”
Recap: Mostly lackluster battle between Jai and K-Shine on the Udubb stage features bad impressions, plenty of filler, K-Shine taking a round off and Jai catching a bout of Earl in round 3, which along with Shine’s more titillating (“That’s banging on sight [site] like Backpage!”) bars in round 1 essentially serves as the difference-maker.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Glock-9, mean laser, —-, bean chaser, act out, nigga, I done backed out more than Qleen Paper!”
Recap: K-Shine uses gritty name flips and aggressive punchlines to make quick work of Shogun, who besides a nice ‘Victor Cruz’ gun bar line, didn’t really have much to offer here in this 1-rounder from iGrind Battle League.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “When my guys pull at him [Adams] it’s not Yolanda, once a dead body’s on the ground, it’s not Rwanda!”
Recap: Considering their recent sordid history it only made sense for K-Shine and Charron to settle their differences in the ring and John John da Don gives them the opportunity via his Bullpen Battle Leagues (major props to whoever does the edits btw, that shit is not only unique but fire!!!). K-Shine gets off to a hot start in round one, killing it with repeated verbal heat that consistently (“Ladder on the side on his house, I’m [points at Charron’s head] about to fix his roof!”; “Fuck is up?, smacking my hat, that’s what you wanna do?, the first time was a shitty situation, don’t make this a number two!”) landed…hard. And while Charron dropped a dope Pokemon rebuttal along with some crazy (“Last time he called ny bluff, he was decking me quickly, but I’m a 17 in blackjack, you gonna regret that you hit me!”) punches and personals that hit, a little too much filler gave the edge to Shine. Round two was a clear win Charron as despite a nice rebuttal and aggressive wordplay from Shine, a couple of slip-ups and shortened turn stood little chance when faced with Charron’s feelgood crowd-pleasers, Slim Jesus spiels and witty (“Listen pipsqueak, when you see this midget 6-feet, it won’t be a growth spurt!”) bars. Going into the last round, both battlers spit enough fire to show that they came to win in what ended being a really good battle, K-Shine, back in his bag after a substandard 2nd round, brought steady punches (“Kyrie and Lebron, I could’ve said ‘cuz it made your warrior sleep, but it’s ‘cuz you think it’s a game 5 till you get this .40 a piece!”) that landed and an ill performance that combined with a couple of (“I’ll give his back shells, like Ninja turtles, I got the ooze [oooh’s] boy you better go ask Stella I got the groove, switch hands, young Mick Jagger, I got the moves, cooking with this Mac in the box, i got the blues!”) haymakers, could’ve had anyone thinking he’d win the round. But Charron proved to be equal to the task as the self-named “URL Killer” stood the test again with more (“I thought I knew this crowd like I knew the palm of your hand!”) self deprecating humor and continued personals that hit. All told, call it even.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Charron – “Desert eagle, A-R, i ain’t saying I got that work, I’m just listing Gun Titles to give him flashbacks of Roc and Surf!”
Recap: Here’s another in a long list of one-round battles that probably would’ve better off going the full distance with three. As while both Kaboom and K-Shine went in, each showed enough holes in their armor that a 3-rounder would’ve been a better revelation of who was the better battle rapper. . For Shine, while failing to take advantage of his full time limit and mostly relying on righteous name flips and wicked (“Beef with them burgers, I ground that shit, keep ’em sticking around like a down-ass bitch!”) punches, it left for a more condensed round. On the hand, while Kaboom hit hard with some gritty punchlines and showed a little more versatility (that included some delicious personals with his bars), his elongated round clearly showcased some filler that got overlooked/gassed by the hometown crowd. That being said, taking in both battlers bar quotient, the consensus here is a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Kaboom – “He say I’m washed up?!, that just mean I was getting dirty first!”
Recap: Despite eliciting a horrible 3rd round that served as the lowlight of this battle, on the strength of a superb 1st round and a pretty dope 2nd, K-Shine still sneaks out a win over the always potent Ill Will. Strong and aggressive 1st from Will with ample (“Cal pulled out a few weeks ago, right?, it’s cool Call, Ill Will I guess they shook of him, but I already killed 4 Brothers from the D anyway, i’m what Victor Sweet could’ve been!”; “Either you get bagged or we drop a classic, either way these hoes will still riding Ill dick like Cookie on top of Magic!”) haymakers and nasty bully bars that hit hard, yet his turn did decline a little bit when some bars didn’t quite meet the standard set by his more consistent zeal. Thus, Shine taking advantage with a stronger start, flexing hard with ill set-ups (…niggas ain’t seen Miles since Moesha had her show up”), fiery performance (“Couple bucks I just [spins] spin and give Will a [Wheel of] Fortune!”) bars and raucous (“Tell Will to chill or I’m dumping the semi, I’ll just pull it to the side and I come [cum] for a quickie!”) haymakers that had the away crowd hype and even left Will nodding his head in approval. Shorter 2nd round from Will saw some crazy wordplay and more delicious (“Slide through, I’ll be there, guns blazing, you the first to hit, they like ‘Why Will solo?, the Secrets under the arms like anti-antiperspirants!”) gun bars from the Pontiac rhyme-slinger. Yet, Will’s ill verbal mix still edged by a more stalwart K-Shine using a nice URL (“…confused alcoholic, you was whining in the Yak!”) rebuttal to get started and then seguing to a steady stream of feisty (“Twin revolvers, two thumbs up, ‘Way to go’!”) gun bars, lofty (“He ain’t even know he was clapped, Charlie Sheen was there!”) punchlines and dope anecdotes that all landed. As alluded to earlier the 3rd round was no contest, with Will supplying his best round dishing out more dope (‘My verses explicit, them [puts hands out like a gun] drums will have his organs on the front lawn like the church got evicted!”) gun bars, an ill mid-round 2-on-2 with Mackk Myron and potent (“My nigga lets let the world debate, I’ll give ya bitch ultra combos and cinder [send her] to the pearly gates!”) punches that literally left the world. Criticize and all K-Shine for being lazy with apparently not writing whole a 3rd round, but that doesn’t take away from him just doing enough to edge the first two rounds and the win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I’m a 100 O.G. nigga, you a 100 Emoji nigga!”
Recap: What would’ve been a close battle between Qleen Paper and K-Shine bar-wise, becomes a 3-0 thanks to Shine’s repeated slip-ups in the latter rounds and a surprising choke in round one. Qleen, who came nice with witty (“I talk shit and back it up, bitch that’s bad plumbing!”) anecdotes, dope (“I got a deal for you Shine, like two for five, No I came to deal with you Shine, like two .45’s!”) punchlines and hard (“I be on some fuck battle rap, I’m in the hood getting my transactions up, you in the hood smacking on your he/she because your trans acting up!”) personals throughout his 3 rounds, clearly had it in him to win this battle anyway. But K-Shine, who when he wasn’t getting caught with the EARL bug dished out a load of fiery name (“I came here to clean [Qleen] up Paper, like the money launderer”) flips and potent (“What we got?, another Midwest nigga with a death wish, nah, fuck the audience I clap first trying to get a cheer started, quick to throw a round in a round, like I’m beer-ponging”) storytelling bars that made things competitive, practically gave this one to Qleen with miscues that are unbecoming for a vet.
Verdict: QP (Qleen Paper) (W) 3-0
Favorite line: QP – “Say no more, I’m about to intervention him, Bruce Jenner him, he don’t even want to hold the thing no more!”
Recap: Maybe he’s just been inspired by all the new guys around him…DNA, Big T, etc., all the dope lyricists in the NWX. Maybe he’s just remembering to eat his Wheaties every morning…ahhh, the heck with it. Whatever the reason, this 2015 version of K-Shine, whether battling solo and in 2-on-2’s, is on a killing spree, commanding the stage and dropping haymakers on a whim, spouting too-rich (“I’ll let that bitch fly for cheap, that’s rainbows, he could conversate from a box, let’s Tango!”) performance bars at a drop of a dime and rapidly delivering fiery bar after bar with little room to breath. As a lukewarm J. Dose found out here…zip him up, no debating.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Stomach shot, head shot, niggas is moonwalking!”
Recap: K-Shine slips a little bit towards the end, but thanks in part to Big T’s out of nowhere animated gun racket’s and a couple of quality (“I got two guns, I’m using both then shits, Ash Kash, Cortez, they both got Clipped”) freestyles that may’ve saved him from possibly choking, Shine’s round of mostly fiery performance bars easily outpoints what was a pretty inconsistent round from Dirtbag (“I’m in Holyoke, Mass. for the weekend like a college kid on a heroin binge!”) Dan. Indeed, despite the presence of the guy in front of him, with possibly only one day to prepare Dan didn’t seem able to come up with enough lines for DNA’s replacement.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Go ahead and start somethin’, I got this red light just to alarm somethin’, large button, have your whole family dressed like they job hunting!”
Recap: Nice, gritty and aggressive with the bars even before the Zip ‘Em Up!’/Dot Mobb/NWX days, in front of a crowd that was clearly rooting him on, K-Shine snaps on an overwhelmed Carter with a host of steely punchlines and boastful one-liners to take this one-sided 3-rounder that was posted to YouTube in 2015, but clearly took place long beforehand.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Lick a shit at your mother, with my meat in her mouth…she went out like a sucker!”
Recap: In a battle that started off as a crescendo, but ended up on a light note when it came to performance and bars, after a debatable 1st round, a wordplay-heavy, simile-lit, storytelling/gun bar-bent and personal/punch-savvy K-Shine easily beats back Aye Verb with the St. Louis vet, who got off to a dope start with a witty and entertaining round 1 before succumbing to a bunch of redundant personals and punches that were mostly rarely stung.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I got a Puerto Rican chopper, I gotta call Cortez just to work the button, the Desi’ African American, I can’t get it to work for nothin’, but the .40 Mexican, I can put it to work for nothin’!”
Recap: Strizzy Streetz had a couple of nice (“He try to run from me, good luck, I’m hitting every house up like I’m fundraising!”) lines and the MJ bars were cool, but other than that the local hero failed to impress with way too many reaches to count, plus standard bars that were totally gassed up by the hometown crowd. And even tho you didn’t get the best K-Shine here (not to mention how hard it was to hear some of Shine’s bars with all the chit-chatter going on throughout his round), he still managed to impress with some righteous name flips and feelgood (“Boy I get him wet in broad day, that’s a sun shower”) punchlines to gain an easy win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “You gonna jump whp?, nigga you don’t see they shells? I’ll get Streetz [streets] blocked off like PAL”
Recap: Rookies vs. Vets battle between the charismatic Mr. Wavy and the wily K-Shine certainly had its share of moments (like Wavy’s 2nd round ‘Oh I get it, you like ’em, a little debatable’ punch which I thought was actually a lot better than the notorious ‘Shotgun in the pants leg I’m walking like a zombie wit it’ performance line from round 1), gritty punchlines, flinging (Shine: “The kick back gon make it look like he shot me!”) mayhem. ringing name flips (esp. from Shine), rook vs. vet chatter, fiery schemes/storytelling and even, in the 3rd round, a human prop courtesy of Shine. That said, overall Wavy (give him the 2nd and 3rd rounds after a debatable 1st) gets the edge here as the Brooklyn emcee not only displayed a level of versatility with his raps that you don’t normally see from relative newbies, but Shine’s often erratic flow combined with a somewhat lazy 3rd round definitely gave you the feel that he wasn’t as prepared as his opponent, thus the loss.
Verdict: Mr. Wavy (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mr. Wavy – “I put niggas in front of lines like they got some free throws coming, that Bull shit’ll get you hurt, I got a D Rose button!”
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”
Recap: Easy win for K-Shine versus Hue Hef here as Shine impresses with heavy bars, a rich performance and steady wordplay. And yet while we get that this is battle rap, considering the unfortunate circumstances that went down with the man’s death, was that Eric Garner line really necessary?Just saying.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Your bars is weaker than a nigga who left his charger”
Synopsis: Perhaps if bars just decided rap battles, a scheming wordsmith like JC would most likely be undefeated. But of course, that’s the kind of thinking that has some of the gifted pen’s of the battle world living with their head in the sand as they struggle to accept other attributes that can win you battles. Then too, if you go in the boxing ring recognizing that your opponent is noted for having a superb left uppercut, you and your trainer’s job is to come up with an effective plan to counter that move with an effective game plan that can get you the win. That’s what K-Shine does here in this 3-rounder against JC on UDubb: using his own talent for showmanship, running with his opponent’s biggest weakness and milking it for all its worth. And who could blame him? I mean what is he supposed to do? Go toe-to-toe with JC on bars alone and most likely lose? Puh-leeze. Granted, K-Shine is no slouch in the ring when it comes to punchlines. But as he showed in his infamous ‘Professor Shine’ 3rd round against DNA, when your opponent has an advantage on you in one area, why not return the favor and counter with what you do better? In this case perform. And that he did with an insanely adept (i.e. classic), dope and crowd-rocking MIchael Jackson scheme in the deciding 3rd round (that had JC literally flinching and talking to himself) to earn the win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “You know them bitches Love Sosa, but this more like Oprah, they all get the gift from under the seat!”
Recap: Mostly lackluster battle between K-Shine and Cortez. Round one sees the Murda Ave kingpin throw an ample lot of punches, but fail to land much–as opposed to K-Shine whose wanton brevity still managed to fashion some fiery (“Walking through Myrtle Ave with that weapon out like I licensed it!”) bars. Next couple of rounds saw Cortez get tighter and more efficient with his wordplay as well as up his performance to what was at times comical (“The nigga Rex is mad cuz his girl is bald like me, he ain’t think I’d peep that”) effect. While K-Shine, who outside of round one, seemingly didn’t take this match that seriously, in the latter rounds struggled with his delivery and bar potency–those factors combined with Cortez’s overall comeuppance gave the kid from Brooklyn a come-from-behind win.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “You see we surround towns, I bring the noise to every corner, surround sound!”
Recap: Can’t front, close battle, almost too close, almost a debatable. But after a few listens the edge goes to Yung Ill only because the feeling here is that he put more effort into the battle while outbarring (not so much haymakers, but a lot of jabs/punches) and using more angles on K-Shine, who relied a little too heavily on performance and a few angles in which only one stood out (Ill stretching his schemes was nice, the ‘Who Is This Nigga?’ semantics was ok, but the ‘Is Ill Gay?’ shit has been played to death). Then too the Hitman Holla remix, while funny to watch, didn’t quite hit on effect and Shine’s attempt to pack so much heat in short rounds was sorta hit (that “You stop for a minute and stretch every line and then you started using hard” line in round 3 had to hurt) or miss while overall Ill was more consistent with the bars, storytelling, punchlines and performance.
Verdict: Yung Ill (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Yung Ill – “I could talk about his priorities but ‘X’ that, I’m a contract killer I’m just signing where the ‘x’ at!”
Recap: MC War 2-round battle over beats between Math Hoffa (“About to see I get Shine boxed like little Tommy in Goodfellas!”) and K-Shine is a goodie as both emcees go in, lacing a piercing beat with boastful barbs, spicy punchlines and rugged personals. Always intriguing to see a battle rapper rhyme over a beat, with an equal amount of consistency with the bars, cadence with the beat and rich content, we give both rounds a draw, making the battle itself a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: K-Shine – “It’s like a nigga saying goodbye, when that Larkin clap, as soon as a nigga peace [piece] out, it go in Hoffa back!”
Synopsis: Close call, but the edge here goes to K-Shine, partly due to overall better bars, schemes, the midget and IMO clearly winning round 3 (tho like him vs. Calicoe, he did O’D on the name flips). But then too, while Ars won round 1 handily, his clear disrespect of Shine (touching him several times and talking while he rapped throughout the battle) was wack for a vet and should lose him points on any card. Arsonal can do his disrespectful thing and put on a dope performance without breaking battle rap’s code of conduct. Plus, he knows damn well he wouldn’t have done that shit against certain other dudes. That being said, props to K-Shine for the win (esp. after the clear loss against Big T) and for literally being the bigger man on stage.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Best line: Arsonal – “You nothing but a Dot-mob flunkey, Rex never gonna promote you, Shine, what’s your first action when a terrorist approach you?, and I got the leverage to smoke you, these niggas hate seeing on they screen, you like the nigga in the Everest commercial”
Synopsis: A classic round is like a knock down in boxing, a 10-8 round, a knockout, or that rare round where a battler is just perfect, no filler, no stumbles, regardless of the angle/perforamnce/bars/storytelling, etc., the type of round that belongs in a time capsule for battle rap opulence. Well, score one for Big T here, as he put forth a round that exemplified what a battle rapper can do when he’s at his best, delivering personals, schemes, bars, name flips, a crazy performance, creativity and angles that pretty much deaded this battle (granted Shine’s 1st round was decent) from the opening gate. Credit Shine tho for showing up and he made it close with a dope (“fat bitch on Instagram all it take is head shots”) 2nd that relied heavy on some ill gun bars. Much as it was hard to live up to his classic 1st round, Big T got off to a slow start in round 2, but still dropped some haymakers, esp on Shine’s street cred (“fruit cup, a lot of flavors, sweet cakes, a lot of bakers”) that ended up making round 2 debatable. A restless crowd didn’t help Shine in round 3 and neither did his slip-up, but overall his round was decent, yet took away any chance he had of winning as Big T’s 3rd was clearly more polished.
Verdict: Big T (W) 2-1
Best line: Big T – “I ain’t giving up bunny ears when I hold this piece behind his head”
Recap: First of all, salute to Lil Caeser and Wyclef, who co-hosted this battle and of course, R.I.P. Biggie Smalls. That said, besides an educational, spitfire and classic appearance in round 3 from ‘Professor Shine’, a couple of things always stood out about this battle between K-Shine and DNA. For starters, there’s the dope schemes/name flips and personals shown by each battler throughout the bout. Secondly, you have all the Charlie Clips mentions. And then there’s the fact that for all the ridicule DNA’s gotten for that WTF moment in choosing to rap-on-beat towards the end of his turn, up until that disastrous decision, his final round was not only crazy, but competitive and looking to be his best round of the night..Either way, a pretty memorable battle that would spearhead one of the greatest battle-rap duo’s of all-time, would be decided by a speed-rapping, but gritty and punch-heavy Shine taking the 1st round before an equally-stout, but also condensed DNA edged the 2nd. And ably assisted by an electrifying cameo from the rarely seen and previously mentioned Prof. Shine, a versatile and consistently hitting Shine would take the 3rd for the win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: K-Shine – “I’m in shape like Rocky when was boxing Apollo, ‘If he dies, he dies!’, I got the conscious of Drago!”
Recap: This is the version of K-Shine that’s damn near impossible to beat: exquisite execution, on-point delivery, a consistently confident performance, wicked (“…she asked me to freestyle, so I came off the top”) wordplay, potent (“I got that .40 in a bag like a wino, and I don’t fuck with Blanks, I ain’t never deal with tae bo”) bars after bars and even an on-the-spot rebuttal mixed in. All in all a schooling session for an aggressive, but mostly average J-Money and a bodybag for K-Shine.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Nigga point me to the money, I need all of it, I’ll make a movie with that uzi, you can star in it!”
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.
Recap: In this 1-rounder versus K-Shine, Anymal gets off to a gritty and solid (liked the ‘you tried to refund a tattoo’ line) start before suddenly choking, leaving Shine’s turn of righteous name flips, rigid personals and fiery punches with an easy win.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “The camera crew, people that’s viewing you and the watchers know, I’m a leave here with Animal on my back, I’m King Jaffe Jo!”
Synopsis: K-Shine always puts forth a good (his “Pass” scheme in the 2nd round was crazy) effort, but coming from Harlem and not knowing that Tupac was born there is a never a good look. Still, Pass’ hard-hitting bars, rebuttals, wordplay and personals would’ve been too much to overcome anyway.
Verdict: Pass (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pass – “Now you been doing this since Smack was on VHS”
Recap: Classic Lionz Den battle between K-Shine and Goodz goes the Animal’s way after the two split the first two rounds. The sometimes witty and ever boastful Goodz, dallying in street semantics, noted playa themes, stinging 4-bar set-ups and piercing punches/personals throughout the battle, does enough consistency-wise in the 3rd round to beat Shine’s rapid-fire mayhem and spicy punches.
Verdict: Goodz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Goodz – “Buck-fifty? nah, I give scars as long as two dollars!”
Synopsis: Overall, this one was definitely a yawner, but blame Nov for going on way too long with mostly elementary school, playground bars. So chalk up an easy dub for K-Shine who came with a better delivery, some nice Vegas bars for the hometown fans to eat up and scored heavy with the wordplay.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Best line: K-Shine – “I’ll drag his ass to Texas, where dem checks is, empty, when I used the shotty, they’ll need more than Ray-J to find that Houston body!”
Recap: Infamous Rap Battle America card that also featured Hitman Holla vs. Goodz as well as T-Rex vs. Yung Ill, brings you St. Louis vet Big Will against K-Shine and despite a pronounced Will at times hitting with gritty jokes and raucous lines/schemes on his opponent’s Harlem hood, too many pedestrian bars from Will along with a confident Shine frequently scoring throughout this 1-rounder with gritty punchlines/schemes, lucid gun bars, fire angles and potent name flips, gives the Zip ‘Em Up/Dot Mobb crew member a solid win here.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “Give a click and a bang, it ain’t hard to get him wacked, ‘cuz every rapper with ‘Big’ in his name get an RIP attcahed!”
Recap: Stunting with a confident and gritty Harlem flow that was consistently backed by infectious punchlines, razor-edged bars and plenty of mayhem, K-Shine scores a 30 in this 3-rounder versus a solid, but much less engaging Strictly Bizness (SB).
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 3-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “He could die off the first try like ecstasy!”
