Recap: Not this time. With a growing rep for choking away 3rd rounds, yet winning a battle anyway, Tsu Surf couldn’t be blamed for thinking he had this one. After all, a versatile, performance-hitting and punch-heavier Surf (assisted by a Rum Nitty mid-round slip-up) clearly took the 1st round here and came through with a pretty solid 2nd that had its share of haymakers too. But well-prepped from the jump with a boatload of eccentric gun bars, feisty punchlines that mostly landed, seething wordplay and some telling schemes/personals, after a pretty moderate (for him, anyway) 1st round, Nitty would turn it up in the latter rounds with enough consistent heat to edge the middle round, before practically being given the deciding 3rd round what with his opponent’s aforementioned failings.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I got Champion status, what’s happening, get pressed for real, a whole nigger get revealed, had a whole neighborhood showing they true colors…like Pleasantville!”
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: Can you deliver a classic round and still lose a battle? Apparently so, as despite the condensed and gun bar prolific Rum Nitty dishing just enough seismic punchlines, stinging racial barbs and fiery (“This how a nigga play, If I need something in my house, I’m running errands [run in Aaron’s], I got bills to pay!”) wordplay in the 1st and 2nd rounds to take the win, a returning-to-Smack Iron Solomon, competitive throughout with his own mix of rigid punchlines, quality personals and stinging schemes, delivers a 3rd round for the ages with its stellar offering of well-crafted angles, potent (“You they property, ain’t about to see a proper piece of the profit share, they pay you less than bottom tier…Nitty, you a volunTEER!”) personals and total flexing with the lyrics. Altogether a fire battle (it should be said that a consistent throughout Nitty spit a punch-heavy and dope 3rd round himself) with too many standout bars to count, Rum Nitty versus Iron Solomon goes down as ultimately living up to its marquee bill.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I’ll leave a nigga leaking for intervening, while your people be penny-pinching, mine nickle squeezing I kill em easy!”
Recap: Fire and competitive throughout, DNA and Rum Nitty both do what’s expected of them in this 3-round battle from Smack/URL. Elongated in the 1st round, but more versatile with his (“What you a Crip with your faking ass?, if you don’t wanna die just move, this an imitation crab [Bwoh!] now to try to process food!”) punches, at times witty and scheme-heavy, DNA does just enough to edge what was an unapologetically heated, wordplay (“Y’all the reason why nigga’s saying battling lame, ‘cuz we got 100 wack nigga’s trying to manage The Game!”) friendly and gun-savvy turn from Nitty. The second round saw DNA open up with a fire rebuttal and then launch into some amusing (“I need y’all to picture Nutty at the lunch line, soon as he saw the meal [mil] with the tray [.3]…he got a punchline!”) personals as well as aggressive punchlines drenched with a flair for bluster and righteous polemics. However, after barely getting edged in the previous round, Nitty would come back with yet another more condensed and spitfire round, dishing fiery, back-to-back (“100 in the clip, you getting 80 D…pay attention!”) punches along with steely name flips and more bodacious gun lines for that ass to take the middle round. The 3rd and deciding round saw DNA attempt to drop a few rebuttals to open things which turned out to be hit-n-miss, before seguing into a versatile turn of solid punches, gun bars and personals that were again a bit on the prolonged side, but still a hard go at it nonetheless. But overall Rum Nitty would just prove to be too much in the end, keeping his foot on the pedal with syrupy gun bars, more finessed punches, a high-level performance and even mixing in a little wit to take the final round, complete his comeback and get the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Let’s scrap fam, I’ll drop a bomb on a nigga from the Gap band!”
Recap: I’m guessing that all those shouting “3-0!!!” in the crowd were either diehard JC stans or on crack or something, because this was nowhere near a shutout. To start, ummm yeah, that was Rum Nitty taking off with a fire first, delivering righteous (“I said you bitch made timid, I’ll walk up to ya whip then raise with it, then put .5 on the glass like an inmate visit!”) gun bars and steadily potent with the metaphorical (“You thought I left the .4 at home, I keep it Loaded in the gray hoodie, I never leave my nose alone!”) wordplay to edge a raucous (“Instead of taking a slit wrist, I took a big risk and made every step count…like a Fitbit!”), personal -savvy and thematic turn by JC that the latter might’ve won if not for taking a little too long to get in his bag. The 2nd round wasn’t quite a fire as the first, but was still a dope round nonetheless. Rum, fresh off a sizzling round 1, came down a bit here, but still remained competitive, dishing steely personals and aggressive (“You Vice Lord right?, well I’ll put you under the .5 and bang it to the left!”) heaters with ready, aim, fire semantics that would’ve beat most opponents. But after an up-n-down first, a confident JC stayed turned up, dispensing steadier heat with a fine mix of able-bodied (“Nigga you be with a different team every visit, so the next time you switch sides, I’m a be waiting for the shot…just cherry-picking!”) personals, witty shiners and jaunty (“The chopper put him in his place like real estate, and that’s not a punch…it’ll flip a house!”) gun lines that got him the round. Tied going into the final round in what altogether was a near classic, Nitty stayed on point, continuing to score with fiery punchlines and more (“Your soul lifting, one in the doem hit him, now Carter can’t feel his face…and got no ceiling!”) lead for that ass that while mostly hitting their mark, could be knocked a little bit if only for its repetition. That said, it’s where a slightly more versatile JC edged it, mocking (“You make those Gunz look worse than Love and Hip-Hop!”) Rum’s rap style, spouting plenty of dope 4-bar set-ups and staying on point with a load of spitfire (“I don’t even do subliminal’s, I let the sub tweet!”) wordplay.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “I’m not here to pass Roc, I’m ball-hogging…I want the last shot!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from Smack/URL, a plethora of weak rebuttals/personals, inconsistent with the heat, a handful of reaches and elongated with his turns, despite a solid (“For his style you just gotta watch movies, to get my shit, you gotta go through something!”) showing overall, a Chef Trez that wasn’t on his A-game throughout the battle makes for an easy vic for a seemingly way more confident, consistent and over-the-top with the punches Rum Nitty. The Arizona spitter flexing hard for 3 well-crafted rounds with sterling name flips, eccentric (“Raise the arm on a Chef if he throwing salt, who the fuck want it!”) gun bars, ill wordplay, fiery personals, a fire rebuttal and spitfire, often back-to-back punchlines to beat back his former Writer’s Bloque brethren and score a well-earned 30.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I barely gotta squeeze to let it off on ya set, ‘cuz the trigger like a hair on a meal…let me talk to the Chef!”
Recap: To quote Tay Roc: ‘You fucked up a classic’. But then that might’ve given Rum Nitty a little too much credit, because even without the silly antics (i.e. pocket checks and igniting a couple of scuffles) and the horrible decision to start his 3rd round with a lame tranny angle, take a away a few dry spots here and there and a more condensed (“If this jam, head go over the fishing tank, you get pushed in, I’m a hold you down till you die…I’m a good friend!”) Rum in the 2nd round, Roc’s multifaceted arsenal, mixed with exquisite wordplay, steely (“Roofless hit, something to air you, I’ll have Nitty staring down at a shotgun…that’s how you have Rum in a barrel! “) combo’s, witty jokes, crazy name flips, potent set-ups and rich performance bars, probably would’ve taken Nitty out even on the latter’s best day. Indeed, with much credit to (“The fan’s telling me, use more personals, put the gum lines up, add some angles, I’m thinking if he get personal, you’ll see the gun line up [points up hands like gun]…at an angle, is that an angle?!”; “I’ll shove a gun down your throat, then tell you ‘run it back!'”) , Nitty for sticking with the ‘Who’s The Gun Line King?’ theme that made this battle highly anticipated and delivering a very solid performance overall, the feeling here is that Roc was not only more versatile, but had a couple of more (“I’m Bruce LeRoi, tell ya nigga’s I’m with the action, Sho nuff, when it glow, you’ll be the Last nigga dragging [Dragon]!”) haymakers than his opponent in what was essentially the deciding 1st round. And what with Roc overmatching Nitty with much more fiery (“You won’t accomplish as much in the game as I did, I’m good with gas, but don’t really need it…I’m the hybrid!”) bars in the aforementioned 3rd round, the feeling here is Roc taking this one with little room for debate.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Nitty, you died on Ave, you like Harold at the light!”
Recap: Great job by Smack predicting a dope one before the battle as Rum Nitty and Ill Will came through with three fire, highly competitive, aggressive and haymaker-drenched rounds to not only warrant the URL league owner’s faith in them, but makes this one an arguable classic. That said, under normal circumstances and in a nod to how (“I was up in the hotel, loading rounds for cousin, big rounds I’m stuffing, they say Ill in the lobby, I grab the nose running, I’m coming down with something!”; “Steel out, hop out the van with that flying, the stick bodying Will [stick body in wheel] that’s a handicap sign!”) exquisite he was with the gun bars and mayhem (and even a few wily personals) throughout this matchup, Rum Nitty wins this battle. But clearly motivated and hyped (a little too hyped actually what with that strange 3rd round faux ‘press conference’) during the entire battle, a more versatile Ill Will, stunting with his own barrage of head-twisting (“Foldin’ yo’ whip, .22 to your daughter, .44 to yo’ bitch, then I give you a ring from another number like, ‘Bro’ I let my phone in your whip!'”) heat, piercing name flips/schemes, well-finessed wordplay, dizzying personals, witty darts and raucous (“My nigga Ray, from Finkle, Dan Marino bullets, accuracy no leeway, shit got his head hangin’ out the window while he driving…Ace Ventura on the freeway!”) punchline after punchlines with very few dry spots in-between, somehow manages to edge (call it a classic) a sublime-on-both-sides 1st round as well as an almost-as-spicy 2nd to get the win, before a debatable 3rd that was partly due to Will being a bit longwinded with his raps.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Come outside and stack in my face, I’ll let a shell burst, break your hands and turn them C’s the other way…[turn to] Jaz you want a Chanel purse?!”
Recap: After just getting edged via some hard (“The smif coming out of the shirt more than J.R. after the Finals!”) punches/schemes, crafty wit and nice rebuttals by Charlie Clips in the 1st round, an aggressively shining Rum Nitty not only steps up his punchline (“Chuck’s getting laced up by a West-coast nigga…it’s nothing new!”) game, but also flexes with heated gun bars and some spirited wordplay in a spitfire 2nd that beat back a hit-n-miss turn by Clips. Already on his opponent’s neck with spicy bar after bar, Nitty continued with more of the same stinging punches/set-ups/personals/gun lines in the deciding 3rd round and while his final round wasn’t quite as potent as his previous turn, Rum still delivered with more than enough vigor to easily back a often solid, but a little less prepared and too-redundant-with-the-freestyles/name flips turn by Clips.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Flavor of Love, this pump can [Pumpkin] spit on this New York bitch!”
Recap: With two exhilarating, punch-drunk rounds as well as arguably the greatest 1st round in battle rap history, there’s really not much you can say negatively about Rum Nitty versus Ave (credit to Smack for predicting this battle could be a classic before it even started). A super-lyrical punchfest from jump, it’s a boastful (“But you ain’t in the streets at all, you bum, your heart not strong enough to run that base…you John Q son!”) and also packing Ave who opens things up and sets the bar high with a classic 1st round that provided textbook 101 material on what incredibly astute (“I stash that fifth, and beat the foul out ya, then point it at the back of your head: that’s Alfalfa!”) wordplay with the proper research and Hip-Hip embedded cultural moxie can separate the top tiers from the rest of the crowd. But not to be outdone and already a noted punchline feen in his own right, Arizona’s Rum Nitty (making his first appearance on the URL stage) would not only prove why he didn’t need a PG with his own turn of rapid haymakers via flexing (“If I whip the piece, your family fucked, headshot your mom’s sister, they gon’ have to M-O-P your auntie up!”) punches after (“If I raise, shit sparkin’, I let that bitch go “blaka,” nigga… like he Facebook stalking!”) punches, but with little to no filler of his own and roundhouse screeds that had the house jumping, the West-coast battler would serve enough heat and frenetic gun bars to make the opening round a draw.
The rare epic battle that was little on personals or schemes or freestyles, had zero rebuttals or much in the way of performance-heavy bars, when it came down who’d take the latter two rounds it was really just a matter of who could punch better. And lack of versatility aside, the 2nd and 3rd rounds still served up a couple of spitfire, competitive turns from both battlers. But with little room for error considering his opponent’s ability to consistently rain down (“That’s child play, the Internet diggin’ this fuckin’ clown, you think you Pac? well, try to be Digital Underground!”) haymakers with steady ease, it’s Nitty’s 2nd round that would be the difference-maker here what with a handful of reaches and subpar punches that allowed Ave to outpoint him. The final round, another classic turn with both battlers on their A-game saw a more condensed Nitty doing just enough (“And on sight, I’ll pick you off, like they photo-flagged him, I’m known for that, mid battle, a 40 clap, that shit will stop Ave dead in a round like a cul-de-sac!”) punch-wise to also force a draw against an opponent who was just relentless throughout the battle, would only add to this battle being one of URL’s best ever.
Verdict: Ave (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ave – “See, that’s why we’re different, geek, ‘cuz see I’ve been about the action, 30 under the 40…that’s an improper fraction!”
Recap: Mostly punch-heavy and at times personal-lit effort from Danja Zone. But in this competitive 3-rounder from URL, Rum Nitty would prove to be too much. The Arizona battler consistently scoring with dizzying wordplay, a gang of intricate punches, brolic gun lines and fiery gun bars/personals/name flips that included a flawless round 2 (i.e. classic) which when you added it all up amounted to a Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “You my nigga, but I’ll give it to you, blade get stuck in a friendZone like how the bitches do you!”
Recap: After getting overmatched by some wild gun bars, spicy (“I’ll hit the stage and wig off on a Ratchet like a Springer fight!) name flips and loud shiners in round 1, a supposed grudge match between Rum Nitty and Ratchet seems like it’ll be an easy win the 4th Quarter rapper. But to Ratchet’s credit, after a pretty pedestrian 1st, he steps it up in the latter rounds with some nice (“I’ll stand there, broad day, letting it ring like missed calls!”) shiners/wordplay to make things competitive. Still, what with Nitty’s pen staying staunchly consistent in the 2nd round, the match is already settled before Ratchet can bounce for a debatable 3rd.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Direct shit hit him, he’s getting more than grazed, try to run the medal popping off liek Forest leg’s!”
Recap: Well, that was quite a turnaround. Granted, he spit like twice as longer than Rum Nitty, but Craig Lamar’s 1st round was still superb, dishing lethal (“I got that fire arm and I’ll put the straps behind ya baby like I did the diaper wrong!”; “Nigga please, don’t make finger this llama like animal porn!”) punches and finessing on wordplay with repeated flair…more than enough to beat a (“You get the line, this nigga dying, you’ll see this finger wave at his baby hair like Ginuwine!”) solid, but not spectacular turn from his opponent. The momentum continued for Craig in the 2nd, more potent (“We burst slugs, bullets will be in the back of ya mind like ya first love!”) punches that were only fragmented by a couple of near slip-ups and an elongated round. However, those minor slights would be the difference as a more aggressive Rum turned it up, getting bent with steely (“This nigag trash, split ya mask, get the mag, arm in his face…[whoop!] hit the dab!”, “40 Glock, let the lemon squeeze at his neck like Corona top!”) haymakers, nice personals and fluorescent shiners in a more condensed round that evened the match up. After a heated round 2, it’d come down to who’s pen had the most stamina and the Writer’s Block would prove himself more than capable, withstanding another decent (“I grip quickly, so talk if you would [wood] like Stick Stickly!”) round from his opponent with more sterling (“9’s striking him, hit his bean with the Wesson or let one sing out the desert…White Iverson!”; “Split ya partna, but a dip for this bitch, kick, nigga hit the Ronda!”) gun bars and delicious set-ups that completed a ferocious comeback for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Craig Lamar – “Aim sloppy, so I got to lean in with the arms like church hugs!”)
Recap: Chess pulls off an impressive road win, squaring up on this West-coast URL Traffic card against a very solid and punch-centric Rum Nitty, with an aggressive and noteworthy performance that was littered with clandestine wordplay (‘think about it’), potent punchlines, righteous (“That trey-fine, in L.A., like I’m holding Blake Griffin!”) gun bars and ferocious set-ups. It’s enough to take rounds 1 and 3, the yung’un only getting edged in the 2nd round (despite a handful of haymakers) due to a slow start and a more consistent and fiery (“I look at you and still see food…Jameis Winston!”) Rum.
Verdict: Chess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chess – “The head shot was unreal like a fake I.D.!”
Recap: A gun bar-heavy and altogether rousing round one from Rum Nitty sets the tone early in this Don’t Flop match against Quill, leading to an almost-as-solid and more versatile second round that gives the Phoenix battler the bout, before Quill (who struggled with his flow in the first two rounds) salvages the 3rd with what would be his best round: a steady diet of nice, self-deprecating raps and witty barbs.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I’m in the spot with a pocket rocket, it sound little but it ain’t, remind you of Shallow Hal ‘cuz this bitch is bigger than you think!”
Recap:In 2014, Snoop Dogg’s “Gladiator School” showcased a battle that often gets forgotten about: T-Rex versus Rum Nitty. Similar battlers in styles and game plans, while in the first round Nitty’s gritty punchlines were a little predictable, they (“Bang! you could jump I gotta bust a K, but with this .45 I’m AC Green…I don’t fucking play!”) more often than not landed. But it’s Rex who shines harder and commands the stage better in round 1 with undeviating (“I’m a gladiator for real, I skipped the school, after Danger, he’ll disappear, like Mystikal!”) braggadocio lines and a more cohesive ethos. And tho Nitty did have some (“It’s all bad if my squad greet you, seen he have on the wrong Colors?, then that Rocket blue [blew], Don Cheadle!”) slept-on lines throughout, in the second round his penchant for guns bars got relatively standard and couldn’t be saved by tiresome personals. On the other hand, while not as grandiose as the first, Rex’s continual virtuosity and flare for the urban (“He acting like [the] type wilding, well fuck it, I’ll stab him, take the knife outta him, then I’ll cold buck it [bucket] on his head, like the Ice challenge!”) dynamics, was enough to edge him the latter round.
Verdict: T-Rex (W) 2-0
Favorite line: T-Rex – “I don’t care if you’re Crip or Blood, you’ll be one bloody Crip or one crippled Blood!”
Recap: Honestly, it doesn’t get much better than this as Rum Nitty and Steams each put forth one of their best performances in this URL/PG battle on the West coast. Going toe-to-toe with plenty of (Nitty: “Think this one shot Mrs? I doubt fire on Kareem [Cream] face”) haymakers, sharp (Steams: “It might look like it, but you don’t really cook, kid’s ovens”) darts, sizzling metaphorical wordplay, name flips, rich performance (Nitty: “Nigga my whole team will shoot, big shit, let an eagle loose, you gonna pull to the side like da ambulance is comin’ and you gonna need ’em too!”) bars and steady urban theatrics, the shouts in the crowd for ‘Battle of the Year!’ were more than warranted. Still, what with Nitty edging the 2nd and Steams edging the 3rd, it’s Nitty’s comeuppance (“I’ll whoop your ass then whoop your ass, I’m on repeat, you’ll get washed up then dusted off again, I got OCD”), fresh personals and hard gun lines that wrecked havoc on an animated and (“Your girl I peep for free, speaking of in boxes I was whispering in your bae’s [bay’s] area like Keak the Sneak”) potent, but inconsistent and overanxious Steams in round 1 to clearly give Rum that round and earn him the overall dub here. Either way, it’ll be hard to top this one in ’15.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Cali, Atlanta, Canada now I’m going to Vegas, I’m doing my numbers around the globe, that’s a notification”
Recap: When a battle rapper spouts a ‘thank you for having me’ speech before he begins his 1st round, dishes an entire round of nursery school lines that each end in his opponent’s last name, drops microphone on the floor in a lame attempt at machismo and spits horrible bars like “You gonna get stuck, chewed the fuck up, left under these boots like gum Nitty!” with the sheer intensity (I’m guess that he thought that “Dope!” when he first wrote it tho) of a dude who clearly thinks he’s nice, not only do you know that you’re in for a long night, but one can only hope the crowd doesn’t throw stuff at him while they boo him off the stage. Yeah, this was that bad, to the point that you got the feeling that even Rum Nitty felt kind of sorry for the guy. Speaking, thankfully for the crowd in attendance and anyone who dares to watch this mismatch, he did his thing with consistently fire gun bars, steely punches and fiery wordplay that allowed for a battle where the fast forward button will certainly be needed.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-0 (couldn’t hear Nitty’s 2nd round due to bad audio)
Favorite line: Rum Nitty -“If a nigga get to fighting, I don’t lift no fist, you’ll see me squeezing in a brawl…that’s O’fficial’s tits!”
Recap: As expected, a close, competitive and entertaining battle between underrated vet Lotta Zay and rising up-n-comer Rum Nitty. Both dropped plenty of hot bars, added a few haymakers here and there and put on a dope performance for the crowd. Still, while Zay had a little more variety with the bars and stayed consistent throughout, Nitty’s wordplay and punches (“Get close up on him, with a snub and a black denims, i grab the nose get back and wet him, that’s a baptism!”) seemed to get better with each round. I got Zay taking the 1st, Nitty edging the 2nd and you can go either way on the 3rd.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Lotta Zay – “You don’t believe I got gun powder on my hands?, Smell My Finger like Suga Free”
Recap: A Dual in the Desert main event featuring the veteran Arsonal da Rebel vs. noted up-n-comer Rum Nitty lives up the hype with a highly competitive barfest filled with exquisite punchlines, wordplay and gritty bars. Both Nitty and Arsonal came strong in the 1st with da Rebel giving what the crowd wants: disrespectful lines, in-ya-face steez and wicked (“And most your chokes they like strangles, this a dual in the desert, it’s 90 degrees out this bitch and you still ain’t gone come at me with the right angles”) punches. Still, Nitty returns the heat with extra fire on top: fierce (“So go ahead, get in my face, that don’t intimidate, I’ll hit a Grape in his melon with this banana clip, i.e. lemonade”) punchlines, hometown bars, name flips and dope personals. 2nd round featured more consistently (“My Tommy will bust before it get to see Pam’s titties”; “Like bitches getting tattoos on boobies, I’m tit for tat”) nice jokes and punches from Arsonal, but also a couple of reaches and an interchangeable scheme (i.e. The Simpsons) we’ve heard many times elsewhere. On the other hand, Nitty spit a savvy round complete with fresh performance bars, rigid wordplay, street talk and (“Boy I got a gun so big…I can’t aim right, security caught me dragging that bitch off the elevator…like Ray Rice”) haymakers. Arsonal’s 3rd round may’ve been his hardest and most consistent what with hard-hitting (“They said you cripping, is it true Nitty? Well your baby mother said you ain’t never read [red] your daughter a story, but you ready to die over that blue Nitty?”) personals, more in-your-face aggression and heavy bars. And while Rum continued to spit that heat with easy swag, passion and ready-to-rumble (“Pause, Who want it? Line up, you’ll wind up red, that’s Merlo, I ain’t switching up breaks but he a prison inmate, you could’ve got this work for low [furlough]”) bars, his last round didn’t quite match up with Arsonal’s consistency. Still nonetheless, I got Rum edging the first couple of rounds to take this one in the end.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Arsonal – “I’m out here trying to fuck while you fingering bitches until your hand numb”
Recap: Don’t let the oft-subdued crowd reactions or reaches by both battlers fool you as both O-Red and Rum Nutty still came with some nice punches and crazy (Nitty: “Nitty not accepting L’s, so if you came to see O win (Owen) in the ring, I bet he fell [fail]”} wordplay throughout this 3-rounder from King of the Dot. However, it’s O-Red who survives a bout with Earl in round 2 and manages to edge the 3rd round round with slightly more consistent heat in light of a solid turn too by his opponent.
Verdict: O-Red (W) 2-1
Favorite line: O-Red – “Pop, pop, pop, his shortie run out when she in that cannon fire, hugging Nitty after 3 roundns, that bitch…Danny Myers!”
Synopsis: If you’re looking for a total barfest, then you’ve got one here as B. Magic faces a budding version version of himself in a game and able Rum Nitty. I got Magic edging the first two rounds only for outnumbering Nitty on the haymakers (“And yett yett, I show out (ShowwOutt) with the nina’s nigga, and let, let my Hitman do the remix nigga”), while Nitty took the 3rd easy when you take in account his stream of elite bars (“Dome shot, close your casket, it’s over Magic, get close and pull this nickle behind your ear, don’t make me show you Magic”) combined with Magic’s slip-up. Not only does it not get much better than this, but can we please see Nitty in the URL?
Verdict: B. Magic (W) 2-1
Best line: B. Magic – “Ain’t no bitches around here, you get the picture?, when you get wet with the calico (Calicoe) it ain’t skinny-dipping”
Recap: Using infinite wordplay and backing up his mettle with a host of nice 4-bar set-ups and spice-minted, triple entendre’s…against a dry spot heavy Rum Nitty on his B-game, Cali Smoov (“I don’t write battle rap bars, I write poetry”) proves to not only be a competent battle rapper, but a guy you might not to face in a game of Scrabble either.
Verdict: Cali Smoov (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cali Smoov – “Man, I been in L.A. County, Twin Towers, fighting a pen charge, I was riding alone, been locked in dorms with more Rolling 60s than retirement homes!”
Recap: More versatile, more consistent and more potent. Faced with the mostly ‘half-assed writtens’ from Tycoon Tax, Rum Nitty stays busy with elite guns bars, swaggerlicious name flips and well-honed (“Bitch, I’m on a roll like Charmin tissue!”) punchlines to score an easy 3-0 in this 3-rounder from KOTD..
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “I hit the function with my hat down low, computer virus, everybody in the background froze!”
Synopsis: Dope battle. But the optics here–from way too much daps between the rappers to the overkill on crowd reactions (esp. on Lush One’s part)–definitely lessens the replay value. That said, while I doubt you’ll ever see a more animated, funny (“I’ll rip up your daughters spelling test and that’s the one she got ’em all right”) and consistently nice Danny Myers, it still wasn’t enough for Rum Nitty’s more consistent punches (“I don’t care what language he speak cuz’ after we meet i bet he pronounced dead”), personals, wordplay (“If your bitch owe me money, fuckin’ right I’ll be on the ho, hop out the car son (Carson) and open palm her (Palmer) like a Cardinal”) and haymakers (“One in the right, one in the left hand, two techs nigga, they both sing with a lisp, so they do wet (duet) niggas”, esp. in round 3, where after 2 rounds that could’ve went either way, Nitty edges it in the end.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Best line: Danny Myers – “I’ll cut you in so many pieces your funeral will be on a conveyor belt!”
Recap: The always competitive, gun-ready (“Sound like I started up a jackhammer when that gauge clappin, one shot leave ya with your head spinning or ya face planted, I let clips flare, so when miles get to popping that B-boy, it ain’t break-dancing!”) Rum Nitty runs into the unique and witty styling’s of (“When squeezing llama’s, bullets eat you like 3 piranha’s, .38 snub, gee I promise, the nose short like Pinocchio being honest!”; “I’m the type to get drunk, start fights at Hooter’s, I will fight every nigger here…like Riley Cooper!”) Young B (RIP) for a punch-terrific and at times hilarious matchup that’s only differentiated point-wise by Young B’s elongated rounds 2 and 3, leaving a just as hype, but more condensed Nitty with the ability to edge each of the latter two rounds for the win.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Don’t gas him up, you’ll get the chokehold for sleep, and that’s just for acting up, you a bitch, a homo, a geek, I’ll let it click and drop a whole row of sweet nigger’s like Candy Crush!”
Recap: In this 3-round battle from KOTD, it’s a punchfest between an aggressive Rum Nitty and a laidback, but still potent (“The loc’s said they wanna see you die, so I’m a open Rum when I’m riding, that’s a DUI!”) AB Hogish, Close throughout due to consistently hot bars, nice schemes and dope set-ups from both battlers, it’s Rum who manages to edge it in the end thanks to a more condensed and a little more versatile 1st and (“Since you’re black and Asian, you like your cat fried, right?”) 2nd round. Hogish’s 3rd, a fiery mix of exquisite (“You not even a star outside of L.A., so why you got on your game face!”) shiners, gets him the 3rd easy.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Who in here think Hog is gonna win, well, you must be on base, lean, medicine, heroine or you family, you share the same blood if you think I’m a lose to A B…negative!”
Recap: Yeah, Rum Nitty (“Food for thought, that tool will pop, you’ll see noodles fly!”) ‘was doing so good’. But a slip-up in round one from the Phoenix battler and a surprising choke in round 3, allows a solid and more consistent throughout Konshis Pilot to barely edge the first round before handily taking the deciding 3rd.
Verdict: Konshis Pilot (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Konshis Pilot – “I’m about to muffle his muzzle with the same barrel that pillow block, like let me tell you a secret, it ain’t gonna be no sweet shit when that pillow talk!”
Recap: Ummm, yeah. What started out as a potentially competitive matchup, what with hard, aggressive bars coming from both sides, quickly turned into a mismatch as Rum Nitty’s stifling wordplay, witty punches and gritty gun lines got more and more potent as the battle went on. While his opponent, 2 Staxx, got worse and worse, stumbling over his speedy delivery in the 2nd round before and dishing a 3rd round that was so filled with potholes, he was left with no choice but to quit in the end.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “My pistol like my bitch, just me and my girlfriend, Pac said it best, just me and her to the world then, I do for her what she would for me, but if a nigga trip, fuck throwing my fists, I rather give you my bitch…I’m sugar free!”
Recap: The Real Ace Boogie gets an ‘A’ for effort, but the lack of intricacy within his bars stood no chance against the fiery personals, punches and 4-bars set-ups of Rum Nitty.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “You pass wack, a nigga need to die, play the herb, I get mad, snap. let an eagle fly…angry bird!”
Recap: This Grind Time matchup turns out to be a close one as Type Z comes (“I say that real shit that I do…while playing Call of Duty!”) witty with the gun bars and the salacious personals, while Nitty (no ‘Rum’ yet) mostly sticks with hard punchlines and potent set-ups. That said, a debatable 1st and 3rd makes for a deciding 2nd round that Nitty takes handily with more consistent barbs and shiners.
Verdict: Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nitty -“I know you can’t stand me probably, I gave his mom a ride and humped her twice…she a camel jockey!”
