No Bias. No Narratives.
Recap: Upping the ante on an already nice punch game, but also flexing with some sublime name flips, a dope 2nd round rebuttal, witty barbs and a plethora of piercing gun bars, Nunn Nunn puts together 3 straight superb rounds of consistent heat to beat back a hitting at times, but mostly lackluster Skates in this Survivor Series 3-rounder from URL.
Verdict: Nunn Nunn (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Nunn Nunn – “You ain’t really G, I can’t salute you, you the Duck Hunt dog, I’m mad I can’t shoot you!”
Recap: Name flips serve as the difference here as in what was a scintillating, gun bar-heavy, (Skates: “Cave Gang look like the Lakers so you trying to tag along, but you got enough to get the King here, but now the Magic gone!”) punch-drunk, (G Lowe: “I had options, I told Norbes lock in whatever you think is smarter…and the best bitch from Tennessee Volunteered…Candace Parker!”) personal-lit and close battle between rising stars G Lowe and Skates. Indeed, with the two battlers spitting a equal gang of gritty street narratives (along with a few witty barbs mixed in here and there to add a little levity) during their rounds that kept the crowd tuned in throughout the battle, the big guy from Tennessee was able to stand out with his usage of more intricate wordplay when it came to his opponent’s moniker. All in all, one of the dopest PG’s on record, but the edge here goes to Skates for rounds 1 and 3.
Verdict: Skates (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Skates – “My homie a ho, talking about I ain’t going 3-0, won’t believe me till he see the body…well Lowe [low] and behold!”
Recap: It’s funny how often performance-leaning battle rappers get conflated with not having quality bars. As is the case for this PG matchup here with so many in the comments section concluding that Gunpowder Patt lost this battle to Skates because the latter had bars and Patt? Well, he’s nothing but a comedian. Like darts such as “Nigga’s wanna live like the movie till they lose a child…everybody wanna be Ace until the deuce is wild!” and “Bring me two extra quarters, I’ll bring you back double…overtime!” weren’t high-grade caliber. Of course, anyone who’s witnessed Skates perform before this battle, knows that he comes well-equipped with (“This is Chinese alchemy, ‘cuz discovering Gunpowder was an accident!”) gritty, sublime, hardbody bars and schemes for days. And a fiery, (“Gunpowder fuck around he gonna be on the dirt shaking, EMT saying ‘GP are you with me’ like Kirk Franklin!”) consistently on-point 2nd round here, proved that. But thanks, yes in part to a better overall performance, a more versatile palette, lofty/relatable bars that hit and Skates penchant for pedestrian bars to segue between angles, the consensus here is Gunpowder Patt taking rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Gunpowder Patt (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Gunpowder Patt – “I don’t like Uber Pool ‘cuz I might get in a car with a nigga that I got beef with!”
Recap: This latest PG matchup is a standard gun-bar fest between Haixian and Skates, who both use aggressive and well-aimed darts/punchlines to split the first two rounds before Haixian falters a bit with a shortened and pedestrian turn in the deciding 3rd, while Skates keeps up the live action, using boastful punches and hardbody set-ups to easily take the round and the win.
Verdict: Skates (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Skates – “Dipshit, big shit, flip whips, I’m Derek Fisher with Matt Barnes’ wife!”
Recap: A ‘Napolean Dynamite’ reference highlights a versatile performance here by Skates, who versus a solid and (“The .4 will straighten him up, y’all better get Skates in line!”) gun-centric Bars the Animal, uses a plethora of bully bars, lofty (“When this .22 feel like a .9, what’s wind chill factor?”) gun lines, fire set-ups, fiery punchlines and even some rare wit to outshine his opponent for 3 rounds and take what, despite the final score, was still a pretty competitive battle.
Verdict: Skates (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Skates – “It don’t matter of it’s 30 years later, you’ll still get got nigga, ‘cuz I’ll give my own son the contract, I’m Doc Rivers!”
Recap: Steady from the go with his punches, Skates makes his name here in this one-rounder from Body Bag Battle League with just about zero filler, all the while dishing rampant heat that matched his aggression. On the other hand, while Dre Dennis kept it competitive throughout with an entertaining mix of fiery gun bars and sturdy name flips, a little too much reaching along with some lines that clearly fell more on the pedestrian side makes the difference for Skatez’ win.
Verdict: Skatez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Skatez – “I ain’t come with a bunch of name flips or clever shit to say, but you still might see your damn name flipped on the list today, ‘cuz after this they gonna say the best nigga’s in Loud is Bonus, Holmzie and then it’s [Dennis] Dre!”
Recap: Even with tools like props, set-ups and name flips at his disposal, Sky’s mostly pedestrian lines are no match for Skates way more potent hardbody punches, righteous wordplay, rugged name flips and steady heat in this 3-rounder from Body Bag Battle League.
Verdict: Skates (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Skates – “Nothing subliminal about these shots, when I sneak dissing [this in]!”
Recap: In this West-coast PG battle, Skates and Krucial Ken chop it up with the usual assortment of electric gun bars, stinging personals, fierce punchlines and righteous bully bars with a nicer and more condensed Ken taking the 1st before a fiery, set-up rich Skates ties it up in the 2nd with the most hard-hitting round of the match. 3rd and deciding round is close, but a slightly more consistent and versatile Skates edges it to take the win.
Verdict: Skates (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Skates – “Well, I know you nigga’s wondering what’s next, well a-ight cool, I’ll take his bitch up on the roof because I’m a sheist dude, while she hanging off the ledge, step on her hands with my Nike shoes…then watch her let herself go like a bad bitch after high school!”
Recap: Plenty of fire punchlines and mayhem dished from sides in this one-round battle between (“These battle nigga’s make a little change and they spit some garbage shit, my nigga, Birdman couldn’t pay me to drop the bar to 6!”) Skates and (“Nigga, I’m in monster mode, shooting crazy guns, nigga’s think I got a Contra code!”0 TGO. However Skates, with a little less on the filler and darts on the pedestrian side, gets the edge here.
Verdict: Skates (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Skates – “No borders, when it’s beef with pill poppers and coke snorters, deuce-five in his face..close quarters!”
Recap: Confident and concise with his raps, R Streetz impresses with a steady stream of potent gun lines, fiery set-ups and fierce (“I don’t rap with a lisp, so if you catch a little spit…it’s intentional!”) punchlines to beat back a solid overall, but too often pedestrian Skates in the first couple of rounds here for the win, before an elongated and slightly running out of gas Streetz gets edged by a more consistent and hardbody (“Your set can get it too, what you claiming?, red or blue fucka?, it don’t matter, a couple of shots will make him show his true colors!”) Skates in the 3rd.
Verdict: R Streetz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: R Streetz – “Now I checked them game tapes, and it seems these lames think, that you got all these power lines…so I’m a have hang Skates!”
Recap: With $3k on the line, this should’ve been an easy decision as Barz Major’s attempts at free-styling and witty barbs essentially go nowhere, leaving the way for a more disciplined, bar/scheme-heavy and consistently gritty Skates to leave with a 30.
Verdict: Skates (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Skates – “Them guns in sync [N’Sync], I Swear, you’ll get ’em, All For One!”
