No Bias. No Narratives.
Recap: A slow start and an early slip-up in his 2nd round, but outside of that, this 3-rounder from The Battle Academy is all T-Top. The Bear utilizing a boatload of dope name flips, hardbody punches, boastful barbs and piercing personals/trap talk to take all 3 rounds and beat back a gritty, but mostly so-so Topfloor Lut.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “But I like dawg so I don’t really wanna call it beef, we just separating North from the South like Market Street!”
Recap: Fire battle from URL’s “Bars Over Politics” card sees Jerry Wess and T-Top got at it for 3 highly competitive rounds. A real ‘road game’ for Wess when you consider that the bout took place in Top’s home state of Narth Carolina, but the Brooklyn, NY, emcee wouldn’t be rattled. The EFB member utilizing a steady bag of salacious personals, righteous darts, piercing set-up/punchlines and hard gun bars to keep things close. While Top gave the crowd their money’s worth with a gritty barrage of fierce gun bars, steely punches,/wordplay some dope rebuttals, hitting trap talk and witty/flexing personals fo his own. And while his opponent more than held his own throughout, a consistently superb and haymaker-lit round 1 (i.e. classic) from The Bear would earn him the opener, before the slightly more efficient and vefrsatile Top would also edge round 2 for the win. A crazy 3rd from Jerry with a fire rebuttal towards the end would allow Wess to beat back a top-notch, but not as sturdy final round from Top and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “So if ya make the wrong move, you get shot in ya shit, you’ll meet ya favaorite battle rappers nigga…Hollow and Clips!
Recap: From URL’s Summer Madness 14/Kings vs. Queens card, former members of NWX, O’fficial and T-Top face off for 3 rounds and outside of a debatable (thanks in part to O’s two solid rebuttals at the start of her turn) round 2 it’s all Top. The Bear utilizing a bunch of witty (the irony of both battlers dishing a bunch of fat jokes towards each other was not lost here) personals, gritty punchines/trap talk, forthright storytelling bars, potent (in this case New Orleans) hometown bars and pure, mayhem-lit darts to handily take both the opening and final round’s for the win over an opponent who overall displayed little versatility with her raps or originality with her themes when she wasn’t spitting way too many pedestrian bars.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “And you know with me it’s all love, but see my knife got a grudge, and its something we gotta hold against you, drove it in you, I’m the only one who spin with a blade…I’m Yoshimitsu!”
Recap: From Streets Soprano/Gen X Ent., a 1-round rematch between Charlie Clips and T-Top features plenty of mean set-up/punchlines, witty personals and gritty darts from both battlers, But after a pretty solid (tho a little flow challanged) run by T-Top, it’s Clips who ends up standing out more. The Harlem vet adding a gang of hilarious name flips and formidable freestyles to the mix during a more condensed turn to earn the win.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “A grown man naming himself Top is disgusting, my bro hit my phone and said this nigga Top fire, I hung up, no discussion!”
Recap: This 1-rounder from OSBL sees The Bear get off to a bit of a slow start. But once he got heated up a steadier stream witty/mocking personals, gritty street/trap talk and piercing punchlines would coalesce to build a formidable turn with enough heat fr T-Top to beat back a street-themed and righteous at times, but mostly pedestrian round from Hoodlife Vito.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I’m from the Park, before I slide or swing I use a ladder!”
Recap: From The CampOut, Tennessee battler Dice spouts a gritty and pretty effort in this 1-rounder versus T-Top. But not to be undone, much less have an up-n-comer pull off an upset on his birthday, The Bear’s rugged combo of stinging set-up/punchlines, piercing name flips, hitting street rhymes, wicked gun bars and spicy off-the-dome heat gets the North Carolina vet the win.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “If we warring, I’m popping up to every damn hood, to make an opp a vegetable, you se every can good!”
Recap: From URL’s Nome 14 card, utilizing a gang of gritty trap bars, a 2nd round angle so rich in grimy aesthetics that it certainly had this writer believing that Danny Myers and E-Hart were smashing and other solid personals and set-up/punchlines, T-Top drops a fairly easy 30 on a Bar God who while expansive with the lyricism throughout, couldn’t keep up with his opponent when it came substantive punches and pointed darts (esp. when Myers spent a quarter of his 3rd round going off on Loaded Lux).
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “Knife to his chest, I bet the blood will scare Myers, doctors gotta pull it out from the front like a air fryer!”
Recap: From Membarz Only Battle Rap League, less than a day after battling Chef Trez in the States, T-Top ventures over to the UK to take on Gemin1 in a 3-rounder. Indeed, a pretty impressive choice by Top that’s made even more challenging by a pretty solid effort from his boastful, versatile and often punch-lit opponent. But with Bizzy showing off (again) a nice rebuttal and freestyle game to go along with a bunch of gritty trap talk, rugged set-up/punchlines and flexing name name flips & gun bars, after the two split the first coupel of rounds, it’s a condensed and slighlty more efficient T-Top who edges the 3rd round for the win.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Bitch, you practice Islam?, cool you gonna die and lose Ak, I’ll pull up, catch him making Salat with two glocks!”
Recap: T-Top and Chef Trez both give the Bullpen Battle League crowd their money’s worth in this fiery, competitive 3-rounder that stayed close throughout. And while the battle featured what you’d expect when it comes to Trez’s off-the-dome theatrics and Top’s greasy angles, it’s the Bear’s slightly more efficient use of crispy punchlines, boastful barbs and ridiculous name flips that edged him the victory. The more versatile Top taking the first round with a boatload of well-structured set-up/punchlines to set a strong tone early on. However, Trez would fight back hard in the second, showcasing his freestyle prowess and earning the round (over a solid, scheme-heavy turn by Top) with a bunch of impressive street darts and witty personals. Going into the 3rd round tied, T-Top would seal the win with a powerful closer, blending fire schemes, gritty trap talk and crowd control to tip the scales in his favor while also being assisted by a suprisingly righteous (tho Trez did turn it up and score more frequently in the latter half of his round) turn from his opponent.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “You my brother chef, so I don’t wanna let the beef continue, but you been asking for it like a secret menu!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from The New UDubb, T Top’s return to Arsonal’s league turns out to be one he’d like to forget. As in a surpising turn, The Bear simply couldn’t get out of his own way, stumbling and forgetting his bars several times before eventually choking here against Yung Deezy. A Gates of the Garden alum who in fairness, came to compete what with consistently gritty punchlines and other mayhem-lit darts that might have had him pull off the upset regardless of his more well-known opponent’s subpar performance.
Verdict: Yung Deezy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Yung Deezy – “So chill, you bet’sta be calm, ‘cuz to e real you got a fat girl image, that’s why I put a little extra on the arm!”
Recap: From The Playform Battles, Kansas City battler Jay Dat Guy does well and stays consistent with a bunch of gritty punches and fierce drug bars/talk throughout his 3 rounds here against T-Top. But unbeknowest to apparently everyone in the room but Top himself, The Bear’s surprising ability to add a pretty solid rebuttal game to his repertiore to go along with a fiery bag of hard-hitting set-up/punchlines, boastful barbs and stinging gun bars/trap talk, helps him edge in each round for a Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “Y’all see how I wnt from fight to blade to pistol, well just know I always keep them things on me, but he ain’t wanna see the Mac go last, like Steve Harvey!”
Recap: From URL’s Smack Volume 11 card, after failing to take advantage of a beatable round 1 from T-Top with a flat-out choke, the graphic and twisted mayhem unleashed from Nu Jerzey Twork scores with enough haymakers to edge round 2 and tie things up going into round 3. However, utilizing a boatload of righteous heat, sturdy set-up/punclines. fierce name flips and hardbody street raps, it’s the more efficient T-Top whe edges the 3rd for the win in a bout that may have been a little underwhelmimg what with two battlers being close friends outside the ring.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Murda Mook, I’m a do you dirty in a small room and ya record gonna have a scratch on it!”
Recap: from URL’s Redemption 3 card, one of the best openers in the game, Snake Eyez’s 1st round is nothing but hard-hitting street rhymes, aggression and bullish boasts. But as per usual, the former Dot Mobb head 2nd and 3rd rounds, while remaining gritty, don’t meet up to the sheer intensity and efficiency of his round 1. Thus, the ability of a more versatile, lyrically adept, name flip-crazy, trap talk-lit, set-up/punchline rich and witty with the personals when necessary T-Top to score more haymakers and edge the first round, before handily taking both of the following rounds for the 30.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “On dating sites, all his pictures got a dark disguise, he gives awkward vibes, and his description says ‘snake skin’ and ‘marble eyes’!”
Recap: From URL, not a great T-Top (including struggling with his flow at times, which led to a debatable round 2) here, but with a solid bunch of fiery boasts, piercing trap talk, gritty storytelling/punches and a boatload of well-oiled personals against an earnest, but mostly pedestrian Prep, Top’s cacophony of stirring rhymes are just enough to edge him the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Ypu my name in ya mouth again, I’m a send my guys to come and get you, I mean you better say it under your breath like you and mom’s is having issues!”
Recap: From London UK’s Membarz Only league, T-Top’s trip overseas is a worthwhile one as The Bear utilizes a gang of sublime name flips, daunting trap talk, gritty gun bars/punchlines and a 2nd round roasting session (and scheme) mocking his opponent Whispers’ teeth to get a 30 over a European rapper that was solid and gritty overall, but didn’t have near enough steady heat to take on the likes of Top.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “The pound spit and y’all call him the ‘Knife Bar’ king, y’all got him super gassed, ‘cuz as soon as he pull out that knife, bitch I’m a shoot his ass!”
Recap: T-Top’s facial expressions during battles can be hilarious at times. That said, against a gritty and pretty solid Kapo Bravado for URL’s Final Exams 2 card, The Bear unleashes the whole bag, styling on the Crucible alum with a wicked variety of fire set-up/punchlines, dope name flips, hard-hitting trap talk, righteous/witty personals, wily schemes and even a fierce couple of rebuttals to earn a 30 in what was still a competitive battle.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “We had drink by the liter, we ain’t never had to stress dope, just to get a prescription, we pretended we had strep throat, we took the paper in the pharmacy, walked in with our head low, we couldn’t read it but knew how to play it like a clef note!”
Recap: Against an opponent drenched in trap talk and solid metaphors, T-Top does him something better, offering not only expansive lines on life in the trenches, but a bunch of searing name flips, sturdy punchlines, brash storytelling bars, gritty set-ups/boasts and even some spicy rebuttals to gain the win in this 1-rounder vs. KashMoney from The Campout.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I seen ya battles and you nice but you’ll never get a step ahead, ‘cuz you got too many dry spots, pussy, like Sexyy Red!”
Recap: Battling a second time in a sequel to their earlier 1-round meeting way back in 2014, T-Top and fellow angler John John Da Don go at it for 3 rounds, this time at URL’s Summer Madness 13. And altogether it’s a no-brainer. The Bear taking advantage of his opponent getting off to slow starts in both the 1st and 2nd rounds with a steady mix of flexing gun bars, rich storytelling/struggle bars, hitting boasts, stinging personals and fiery trap talk to earn the win before JJDD, proving to be a better angler on his day, came through with a more well-crafted, personal-lit 3rd to make this a twenty-one.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Nigga, what have you done?, I’m one of one bitch, you ain’t even one of them one’s!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from URL’s ‘Outside’ card, with his plethora of speedy/gritty punch work, salacious metaphors/wordplay and head-ringing gun bars Real Name Brandon keeps it close all the way. But after getting edged to his just as efficiently punch-heavy, but a little more condensed opponent in round 1, a more flow-steady, witty and bar-lit T-Top edges the 2nd round to even things up before the more versatile Bear uses a roundhouse of a 3rd round, filled with a gang of fire name flips, storied street raps and even more hardbody punches to handily take the final round for the win.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “This ain’t right ‘cuz this ass-whooping was for Loso, but I got Brandon [branding] on a tee like a logo, I’ll put homie before the ratchet…it’s the bro code!”
Recap: Wishing for the crowd’s to get more into your battles? Learn how to perform, utilize stage presense and control the crowd the way T-Top and Loso do here in this 3-round URL ‘Redemption 2’ matchup. Entertaining and competitive throughout in front of a crowd that was captivated from the beginning to the end, all the while dialing up versatile displays on both ends with plenty of Christian-laced darts/disses, hard-hitting personals, spicy (Loso: “Hey yo, you a lame bra, I know we not in Florida, but out here college football is what the doctor order, in other words why play off Top for, TCU getting washed in Georgia!”) set-up/punchlines, witty barbs, frenzied angles, rich struggle bars and solid wordplay, both Top and Loso kept it gritty for a trio of rounds. Add in some dope name flips by Loso and a crazy ‘How You Know Jesus Was Black’ trope by Top in round 2 to make things even more amped and after a debatable round 1, it’s a more haymaker-lit T-Top who takes the 2nd before a more steady punching/scoring Loso took the 3rd to make this sizzling bout a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: “T-Top – “I said ‘pause’, bro you was voted the sexiest man in battle rap, in a culture that’s 98 percent men and he had the nerve to be smiling after, they said it was between him and John John and J2’s vote was the deciding factor!”
Recap: From URL’s Lite Work, a shortened 3rd round from the Bear still doesn’t stop T-Top from utilizing a gang of fire name flips, sterling rapidfire punches/gun bars and some wily personals/trap talk to handily take rounds 1 and 2 and get the win over a mostly subpar and set-up lengthy Holmzie Da God.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “The chrome firing or I got a bomb that I could detonate, they gotta make a GoFundMe for God, that’s a collection plate!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Showtime Battle Arena, the hard street rhymes/trap talk, blunt storytelling and gritty punches from Leeno Brown combined with a guttural cadence make for an impressive performance. However, thanks in part to his opponent rhyming twice as long as he did as well as a sublime rebuttal to start off his round that settled into a rich combo of charismatic personals,, rich name flips and hardbody (“I don’t give a fuck who in Sam’s club, I woulda pulled his card at the door!”) punchlines, T-Top does just enough to make this a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Leeno Brown – “I come from the belly of the beast and selling crack was helping me feed it!”
Recap: Damn, I guess Tay Roc really felt like he lost that virtual 1-rounder he had with T-Top awhile back. Because outside of the occasional grudge match, I can’t see any need to have hour longer (which in this N.O.M.E. 12 rematch on URL, had Roc clearly spouting the longer rounds) battles. Nonetheless, despite a mostly strong, gritty and at times punch/personal heavy run by Top (who was a bit hurt by some subpar punches and tedious angles along the way), it’s a 30 for the Gun Bar King. The Maryland vet dishing an elongated, but crispy and fiery 3 rounds of stinging gun bars, fire wordplay, stirring ‘AMG Mode’ rhythms, witty/rigid personals, grimy mayhem, boastful barbs, piercing punchlines and sporty name flips to easily earn some payback.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Smack, he don’t want smoke, he The Bear, he scared of fire!”
Recap: As much as we talk about his gritty trap talk and syrupy angles, too often T-Top’s wit doesn’t get enough credit for him becoming a top tier mainstay. And indeed, in this URL Resolution 2 matchup against Charron (prepped on two weeks notice), the Bear’s funny bone and versatile approach would certainly help him earn a draw. Top, using a bunch of piercing set-ups, solid storytelling and hitting (“We need a classic fileld with content, it’s only gonna work if we both do it, this ain’t a Weekend at Bernie’s and I ain’t carrying no white boy this whole movie!”) punchlines to edge round 1, before a more consistently punch-lit, off-the-dome sharp, personal-crazy and witty as ever Charron took the 2nd round to tie things up going into the 3rd. The last round was just as entertaining and competitive as the first two with Top dishing some hilarious personals to go along with a gang of fiery punches, while an elongated and a bit topsy-turvy but still scoring Charron would deliver a multifaceted turn that with enough haymakers to quantify with his opponent and make this bout a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Charron – “Your bitch sucks dick in HD, mine has a PHd…the brain’s different!”
Recap: Offsetting a creative use of the stage lights by his opponent with a fire rebuttal to start off his round before dialing up a plethora of fiery trap talk, salacious wordplay/struggle bars and some fire punches (without a single mention, as EK had suggested he would earlier, of his Caucasian better half), T-Top puts together enough work to beat back a punch-heavy and versatile, but not as steadily potent turn by Emerson Kennedy in this 1-round Banned battle from URL.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I had to watch my cousin shootig heroin in the living room, you came in this world with money, but I was born with a silver spoon!’
Recap: T-Top gets past a rare mid-round slip-up with a raspy mix of fiery punchlines/schemes, some sizzling name flips and bruising gun bars/trap talk to beat back a mayhem-rich, but mostly pedestrian Statz G in this 1-rounder from Houston Bar Code.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “He’ll got shot playing hardball, have his mother screaming ‘G Baby!'”
Recap: Needs to come more steady with the bars in the future, but still a gritty and at times punch-heavy turn by Pry The Great would make things competitive, before the fiery storytelling, trap talk/wordplay-lit and brazenly set-up bent T-Top gave The Bear the win in this 1-rounder from The Campout.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “Bro, we all had chicken, but I ain’t know about now shake and bake, my whole life was backwards, guess that’s why I added bake to shake!”
Recap: His only mistake being prolonged rounds, in this URL/Civil War bout against Mike P, T-Top uses a versatile and name-flip lit round 1 before delivering a terrific, set-up savvy and stifling race angle in round 2 (that was capped by a sublime cameo from Top’s ‘white friend’ Anderson Burruss) to take that round as well and get the win before spouting a personal-bent 3rd round, that while redundant in is theme (more knocks on Mike;s girl), was still witty and punch-heavy to make this a 30. Mike P, who struggled to gain any momentum back after Top’s (in front of his hometown, Raleigh, NC, crowd no less) stellar 2nd, never seemed to never be in his bag either way, what with an up-n-down opening round, a Street Fighter scheme that didn’t transition well and a gang of subpar punches that when he wasn’t scoring with his usual assortment of graphic mayhem and jaunty punches/personals, gave him little chance in this battle.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I love you, Mikey, just disappointed in the way it was handled, you damn near stopped her from havin’ y’all child, ’cause you felt like you were takin’ a gamble, well, I’m from Carolina, it woulda hurt to see the baby [DaBaby] get canceled!”
Recap: A battle between a couple of Carolina heads long in the making, helped by Swamp (who otherwise came through with 3 punch/personal-heavy rounds and even a couple of nice rebuttals) slip-ups in each of the opening rounds, an angle-deft (tho a little elongated throughout the bout) T-Top also uses a bunch of righteous storytelling/schemes, wily personals, rigid set-ups, witty barbs and piercing name flips/punchlines to take each of the opening rounds of this URL Super Fight IV matchup for the win before his more condensed opponent edged a close 3rd.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Tell him we could go shoot the fade right now if ya man’s want it, but I never been a bitch so he probably won;t put his hands on me!”
Recap: Organyzed Cryme Battle League, which has been putting out some fierce 1-rounders of late, brings you another one here with T-Top facing off against rising newcomer R. Payso. A competitive battle that saw the veteran Top get busy with a gang of gritty punches, charismatic trap talk and rigid (“I don’t give a fuck about Pay so I’ll put the .4 in money!”) set-ups/personals/name flips. However, showing the crowd that he could hold his own against the best of them, a steely, but earnest Payso would spout a fiery stream of flexing street missives, solid wordplay, boastful barbs and hardbody name flips/punchlines to make this one a debatable.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: R. Patso – “This bulldog got a kick back, it’ll fuck up a get-together and kick back!”
Recap: Dope Ultimate Madness 3 opening round matchup here between Jakkboy Maine and T Top has the more consistently hitting, wordplay/name flip-spicy and metaphor-rich Jakk taking the only clear win in round 2 to get the dub and move on to the round as while Top’s dizzying angles, rigid trap talk and piercing punches kept things close and competitive, some redundancy/laziness with the personals would cost The Bear in the end.
Verdict: Jakkboy Maine (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jakkboy Maine – “;Cuz y’all lookin’ at a Bear in a hat, so what’s next is the forest fire, nigga no survivors, the steel’ll air, third eye, I’m still aware, I was out in Memphis, gettin’ arms with legs and muzzles so I could Build-A-Bear!”
Recap: Both T Top and Coffee Brown bring their A-game’s to this fiery URL Kings vs. Queens 2 battle that arguably was the best bout from the card. C. Brown, with her love for persistent mayhem, aggressive/hardbody punchlines, gritty trap talk, spicy personals and boastful barbs stayed lit throughout the match. While the shrewd styling’s of Top what with a fleet of stinging name flips, hard-hitting/witty personals, gripping angles/schemes, righteous punches and plenty of raucous heat proved that the NWX capo can bring it just as crazy with the women as he already does with the fellas. A close battle all the way through with 3 lengthy rounds by both battlers, a slightly more direct overall, funny and haymaker-lit Top manages to edge both rounds 1 and 2 for the win before, in what was incredibly her best (after two fire rounds beforehand) round of the battle, Coffee used a consistently punch-heavy, spitfire turn to take the 3rd.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Don’t forget before your Sugar Daddy came with the cream, you were Black Coffee!”
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Recap: In a competitive battle that, as expected, was littered with loads of trap talk, gritty punchlines and quips on each other’s street cred, a loquacious, but still more consistently more versatile, name flip/personal-lit, witty and spicier with the set-ups T-Top takes all 3 rounds to earn the win over Eazy the Block Captain in this matchup from URL’s Super Fight card.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “You could come and fool them with all that fake hustling, talking about he was cooking as kid, yeah Eazy [Easy]..Bake Oven!”
Recap: A couple of spiffy freestyles for the Swamp tag-in-turned-cameo only displayed an ounce of the Bear’s versatility here, as T Top also drops a wide mix of fierce 4-bar set-ups, piercing punchlines, rigid name flips/gun bars and boastful shiners to beat back a solid, but mostly unvaried effort from Devy Ruffin in this 1-rounder brought to you by LetsTalkAboutIt TV.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I’ll let a razor come out, he leak, he leak, it’ll be like Spanish women kissing…cheek to cheek!”
Recap: A close, competitive and spicy Summer Madness 10 battle all the way through with a gang of the usual personals we see on the respective ends of both B. Dot and T-Top, while the witty at times and more angle-licious Top kept things fierce and entertaining throughout, a slightly more intricate, rebuttal-friendly, personal/scheme-lit and name flip/punchline and wordplay-heavy Dot edges each of the opening rounds for the win before a more potent altogether Top handily took the final round.
Verdict: B. Dot (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B. Dot – “Same difference, the game shifted, this caffeine coke nigga finna get knocked out by a woke nigga, and it’s gon’ look like he punching on me, but here’s the noose, I rope a dope nigga, hang it up!”
Recap: 2 round Quarantine battle between T Top and Tay Roc certainly had its moments of witty/mesmerizing personals, flaming gun bars, battle team (“You single-handily gave Cave Gang a fall to the ground and we was gonna let Roc slide, but we seen it all coming down!”) stunting and boastful barbs. But after a more piercing with the punches Top takes the 1st round, a cleaner-flowing and slightly harder punching Roc edges round 2 for a tie.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Smack, he don’t want smoke, he the Bear…he scared of forest fires!”
Recap: Against a B. Magic too often mired in pedestrian name flips and a sometimes bland punch game, T-Top uses a boatload of surefire trap talk, gritty punchlines, rigid gang-related darts and fiery personals to take both rounds and get the win in this URL Quarantine battle.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I was looking for magic 8-ball, shook him up and he told me everything I need to know!”
Recap: Exquisite name flips, stifling punchlines, gritty trap talk, fiery schemes and sizzling braggadocio bars, in this GOTG 1-rounder versus a pretty solid and at times punch-heavy Drop 30, for a hyperbolic T-Top the steady ensemble of heat is all there, allowing Top Bizzy to handily beat back his less potent opponent.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “But I’ve been spraying with the arm, fuck it, I’m a shoot him first, I came to split 30 in half like I ain’t used to perks!”
Recap: No, they’re not battling in a church (after viewing what looked to be two crosses stationed at the top of the stairs, had to scan the Comments to verify that this battle actually takes place in a Houston club). That said, in this 1-round battle between T-Top and hometown fave Scotty, the latter’s penchant for wit and dishing entertaining narratives/personals remain indisputable. However, when it comes to Scotty’s weakness: lack of potency/intricacy with his punchlines, well, that’s another story and more importantly here, the difference-maker, even against a slip-up owning, B-grade T-Top who’s redundant themes was still gritty, personal and consistent enough to help supply him with the win.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I really tried to lose wight, but I’m a hustla dog, so every pound you see me with, I tried dumping it off!”
Recap: Outside of yet another elongated, but this time subpar 3rd round, in this 3-rounder from URL’s Genesis card, a versatile T-Top uses a gang of hard-hitting personals, witty barbs, fire set-ups, rich storytelling, fierce punchlines and hardcore street rhymes to get another win off of Arsonal who Top had just upped in a 1-roudner the year prior. This rematch, while entertaining at times with Arsonal nearly causing a melee in round 1 as one of T-Top’s boys didn’t seem to take kindly to some of Ars’ more disrespectful bars at Top, often lacked substance on both sides (which can probably be due to them battling again so quickly). But while Arsonal was solid throughout lyrically, disrespectfully and aggressively, way too many pedestrian bars by the Jersey capo would also hurt in the end.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Grab a cig and put the loosie over the Grape like Ricky Ricardo wife!”
Recap: Bill Collector’s capacity for providing (“Better yet, let’s have a two nigga’s that can’t fight, fight!”) wit, urban street semantics and performance-rich theater are a welcome addition to almost any battle. But when the Pennsylvania rapper is able to add some top-notch bars to his arsenal, he makes for a formidable opponent against any battler, including here against T-Top. Still, while BC sometimes gritty trap talk, humorous anecdotes and other festive name flips/punchlines make for a competitive battle and even a debatable 2nd round, overall ‘The Bear’ would prove to be too much, lyrically wrecking BC in the 1st round with his own series of steely (“If I ever hear he making a statement, I’ll put his face in the pavement then drop off half of Bill like a payment arrangement!”) name flips, fire rebuts to ward off his opponent’s more pointed personals and spitfire schemes as well a more personal 3rd round/closing verse littered with fiery set-ups, well-lit pontifications and a boatload of searing punchlines to take each round and the battle.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “You got knocked out, I fell on stage, just know the difference, the fans killed me, [but] I took my lick like a Prohibition!”
Recap: In the face of repeated mom disses, ringing mayhem and a gang of lyrically acute punches from Cortez throughout the battle, after a debatable 1st round, T-Top 1-ups his opponent in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds with a wide array of fiery personals/schemes, witty barbs, stinging punches/name flips and weighty trap talk to take this mostly competitive 3-rounder from the URL app.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “The reason nobody had ever bought your shit is ‘cuz we love the Big Apple, we just never wanted the core of it!”
Recap: Both T Top and Rum Nitty have built up such stellar and consistent careers in battle rap that the two top tier vets finally meeting up could only be a goodie. And neither disappoints here, splitting the first two rounds (Top edging the 1st before Rum came back to take the 2nd round) rounds with blistering gun bars, a shitload of banging (T Top: “Nigga you punch, I vacuum seal, we rap [wrap] different, you throw up C’s, I put up G’s, we stack different, you wear brims, I know brims, the hat different, you owe Troy, I sold boy, we SMACK different!”) punchlines, finessed wordplay/name flips, spinning (Rum: “We cool, but I’ll split ya shit, serious YNW Melly…not the one to get too friendly with!”) metaphorical bangers and some mocking personals thrown in. And Rum, coming off a spitfire, haymaker-drenched middle round, had no reason to think that yet pretty solid, lyrically acute 3rd wouldn’t put him over for the win…that is until Top came through with one of the most innovative, hilarious and personal turns you’ll ever see in battle rap, building a superly-executed hybrid between his opponent’s alleged past employment at Walmart and today’s more notorious ‘Gun Line King’. And with a barrage of witty angles, stinging punches/personals, jaunty storytelling and a Walmart vest outfitted for good measure, an altogether potent, crowd-pleasing and classic turn by T Top in the deciding 3rd gets him the win.
Verdict: T Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T Top – “Say it wit’ me ‘Self check out!’, the cashier taking all day, ‘Self check out!’ like hotels after a long stay, ‘Self check out!’ like doctor visits on an off day, ‘Self check out!’ like Tech-9 before the court date!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from Manslaughter Battle League, T Top gets everything but his opponent’s birthplace right, dishing sizzling trap talk, veteran battle rapper chatter, gritty name flips/personals and fierce punchlines laced with urban street flair to beat back an earnest and versatile, but mostly pedestrian with the bars Solidfoeluchi.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I got the key to the streets, I’m like the mayor with the bricks, I’ll take him with the grip and spray the nigga whip, if I put a hit out on Luchi then every day it’s getting lit!”
Recap: Mostly solid and fierce battle between Qleen Paper and T Top as a seemingly motivated QP kicks that real street drama along with witty personals, festive (“This bitch loud, some shit you ain’t trying to hear like an intervention, big chopper, I gotta put it on a stand like it’s a witness!”) gun lines and slick punchlines to stay competitive for two rounds, before running out of gas midway in the 3rd. However, even for all of QP’s real talk and more acidic lines, for each round Top would have an answer for everything his opponent dished via steely trap talk, stinging personals/name flips, rich storytelling schemes and his own barrage of heated (“It ain’t a game, the dessert so long I gotta pray for rain!”) punches to earn a 30.
Verdict: T Top (W) 3-0
Favorite line: T Top – “Speaking of coke, I remember when my uncle wouldn’t sell me nothing, now he the first one line for me to sell him something, cops used to ask us questions, but I ain’t tell ‘e, nothing, fat nigga, used to keep an 8-ball in my belly button!”
Recap: A solid effort with the punches from the loud, aggressive and sometimes witty Reesco Wells, but T Top’s gritty street talk, fiery gun bars, well-crafted angles and smoking wordplay/punchlines consistently outshine his opponent in this 1-rounder from Street Status.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I’ll knock you the fuck out, your man’s included, y’all all getting the same beats like Spanish music!”
Recap: First, it’s a little weird that this battle between Arsonal and T Top got no promo since they’re both top tier dudes and there’s a bit of history with them what with Top once battling on Ars’ UDubb league back in the day before he made a name for himself on URL/Smack. But then upon watching this 1-round battle and seeing Arsonal (who was just coming off battling Geechi Gotti) slip-up so much midway through what was a pretty solid turn, before giving up on his written’s and free-styling his way through the rest of his round, one could understand why this battle git no buzz. Then too, with Top making the battle a cinch with his usual assortment of fiery trap talk and sizzling gun bars to enhance Ars losing on his own platform, makes it clear why this battle got the hush treatment.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “He say he retiring, leaving the game of battle rap, then realize this the only stage that he matter at!”
Recap: A game plan based around hardbody, but redundant name flips, Jewish jokes/barbs, head-twisting gun bars and residual trap talk makes for a fine blueprint against Iron Solomon…if you have the wit, punch efficiency and talent of a top tier like T Top to pull it off. And here, face-to-face with Solomon on the URL Summer Madness stage, Top certainly did his thing, scoring (“I wish you asleep right now, I’ll wake him up, bulldog under the pit, let’s make a mutt!”) haymakers left and right with his arsenal of gritty lines throughout the battle to keep it competitive. But when your opponent is a veteran noted for having one of the top pen’s in the game, the strategy…well, let’s just say it wasn’t enough, even in a 2nd round that Top only edged because Iron’s most flexing bars were directed (“Volume 3 comin’! Aye Verb, stop runnin’!, Surf, how you take five shots and still duckin’!?”) at other rappers. The 1st and 3rd rounds here however, just provided a tutorial on how to rap, a condensed, confident and aggressive Solomon granting you nuisance with almost every punch, stunting with the wordplay, anecdotes (“Melvin!”), punchlines, schemes, personals while mocking Top’s rap credentials along the way. Again, a close one because Top is nice like that. But damn if Solomon didn’t take it to another level here.
Verdict: Iron Solomon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Iron Solomon – “I’m on the best comeback since Jesus returned, that’s why I’m heated I ain’t get to eat the feast I deserve, but when they bring out the cracker, you know T [tea] getting served!”!
Recap: When a couple of top tier battle rappers both bring their A-game, you have the potential for a epic matchup. And T Top versus Geechi Gotti meets almost all the criteria of being a memorable one: competitive throughout, haymakers raining down everywhere, heavy on the punches/name flips, a stickler for righteous personals and of course all the mayhem/gun talk/gang related spiels that one can stand for. A wittier, just-as-punch-heavy. schemes/storytelling-dishing and personal (“Speaking of last day, you said in January you was going to prison for a year, we was counting too, I guess he got a 5 minute sentence, then got out in 2!”) flexing Top edges a spitfire first round before Geechi unloads again with a just-as-fire-as-his-first, but slightly more versatile, personal (“Cuz the moment you joined NWX, Brizz joined Cave Gang and you was mad about that, so pretendin’ that you not is what we not gon’ do, you and cuz came in together, you was like damn Brizz, you was mad, why he could not go witchu, it instantly reminded you of the relationship witcha mother, ‘cuz now another person that you love chose Roc(k) over you!”) savvy and fire rebuttal spitting 2nd round that easily beats an overall solid and fiery, but not as potent turn by Top. The 3rd and deciding round is a close one with the once-again-rebuttal-kicking Gotti still slinging a diverse and (“I remember being outside shooting, goin’ in the house, my mama be like, ‘Son, be careful. Somebody was just shootin’ outside!'”) steely, but also at times funny barrage of wicked punchlines, while Top mostly went the sermonizing route with a gang of righteous (“If Crips wasn’t so fucking disloyal, Bloods wouldn’t even exist!”) pontifications and other braggadocios lines that brought down a whole lot of heat on his opponent’s well-documented gangster lifestyle. However, the feeling here is a more condensed and unwavering Gotti edging the round for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “Only thing scarier than being chased by a shooter, is going to trial and the witness showing up!”
Recap: As expected, when Daylyt comes to actually rap, his anecdotal, oft-abstract play with the words stylings can make things competitive in almost any battle. As is the case here in this heated 1-rounder versus T Top, where Daylyt’s punches are often (“They ain’t seasoned for this type of beef, let that marinate!”) effective and/or stinging. But at the end of the day, a few too many pedestrian bars from Day along with a versatile T Top scoring at will throughout his turn via a variety of seismic name flips, fierce schemes, ill trap talk, fire (“Scope on him, my career based on a long shot like the new Madden!”) gun lines and potent personals/punchlines would just prove to be too much to overcome.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “.30 clip, inf beam, they go with it, bald head, dum-dum, like a Tommy and Cole visit!
Recap: In a battle of two former UFF champions, Ill Will uses ear-ringing name flips, hitting personals/schemes, a barrage of aggressive mayhem, spicy hometown references and witty/fiery punchlines to easily beat back a solid overall, but seemingly none-too-motivated-with-the-pen T Top. Indeed, energetic throughout, backed by a sterling performance and galvanized at showing a festive Houston crowd who the real champ is, it’s a virtuoso showing from Will that could’ve equated to a classic if Top hadn’t come with raps that were seemingly originally left on the cutting room floor.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ill Will – “I riddle nigger’s, every time I hit these stages, my buzz get a little bigger, spread all the rumors you want, I been sick of nigger’s, Benjamin Button, I been 100 since a little nigger!”
Recap: In what would turn out to be a cameo appearance back on Smack.URL, Bigg K gets T Top in a wild one that saw a forever (“I ride on ya, hell raiser, Clive Barker, you fighting Luke Skywalker with a flyswatter!”) snapping and oft-witty K use a more condensed turn to take round 1 from an almost as potent, a but little too prone to filler and elongated Top. Things would begin to turn around in round 2 tho as K would almost drop the comedy routine altogether for rapid punchlines that while loaded with utter mayhem, didn’t stand out too much when it cane to haymakers, thus leaving a more versatile, trap-talking and (“This getting old, y’all don’t remember the shit I did to Sno?, I been whupping crackers in the ring, I’m Riddick Bowe!”) personal-heavy Top with enough grit, grind and consistency to take the round. A pretty solid 3rd from both battlers sees K get sarcastic and busy with some fire set-ups/schemes/personals, before Top uses his turn to parlay his own round of spicy racial jargon, pointed/witty personals and enough loud, aggressive and potent punchlines to take the deciding round and earn the win.
Verdict: T Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T Top – “I’m Donald Trump sitting in office…a head cracker!”
Recap: If his classic (not just for the controversial and ill-advised ‘Kenneka Jenkins’ bar), haymaker-drenched 1st round didn’t prove that T Top wasn’t motivated for this battle with JC, then certainly his fiery and elongated 2nd and super-long 3rd (which even featured a cameo from a pop lock dancer, because yunno THIS once happened) did. And maybe with him tossing out everything but the kitchen sink, including wild name flips, potent (“I brought this [turns hand like gun over JC’s head] to press on your mind like postpartum!”) gun bars and some killer punchlines, Top might’ve had a 3-0, if not for JC being JC (minus a few redundant quotables here and there) what with a barrage of exquisite (“I’m no fool, but I’m on the street like Will Ferrell in Old School!”) wordplay, witty personals and hellbent gun bars/punches that were spicy (and condensed) enough to force a debatable 2nd and 3rd. Thus it’s the aforementioned 1st, the only round with a clear victor, that garners Top an appearance in the winner’s circle.
Verdict: T Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T Top – “My grandma told me you was coming, yeah that’s what she said, but she ain’t tell me he was 5-2 clapping the lead, a Vice Lord?!?, with a bandana wrapped on his leg, I thought Jesus ran with Disciples, ain’t that we read?!”
Recap: Long in time, but consistently potent and entertaining, T Top and Ave put on a dope battle on URL that consisted of a variety of stinging name flips, witty personals, fierce punchlines/wordplay, righteous gun bars/trap talk and mostly solid schemes. Close throughout with a more versatile, hitting (“Fuck that, I’ll put your daughter in a bag, by her ponytail, then I’ll dump the bitch on Ave., we got coke for sale, you ain’t even plugged in Virginia, who you know for real?, talking about you Grinding…you don’t even know PharrellVerdict: Ave (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ave – “What you reppin’, Parklife?, y’all ass, who cares, you the star on that garbage squad?, well that’s Bad News Bear!
Recap: If there’s one chink in T Top’s armor (and the same goes for his bro Brizz Rawsteen) it’s that too often he just raps too long, thus diluting rounds with unnecessary bars that while more often not still lean on being fire, don’t quite meet the standard of haymakers and in turn risk lowering his ratio of haymakers per round. But surprisingly, here against the always stylish, talkish and confident Goodz, besides a substantive time differential between the two battlers in round 1, in the latter two rounds, they spit for around the same amount of time. That said, with a more condensed and shit-talking Goodz edging the 1st round before a boisterous, punch-spazzing and (“Dog, I would’ve battled Yung Ill twice on the corner and then sold him what he needed, got him right on the corner!”) personal-heavy Top drops just enough more haymakers to take round 2 and tie things up. With the match on the line in the 3rd, T Top’s elongated turn still makes for a solid effort with a gang of spicy name flips, personals and punchlines. However, Top’s final round proves to be no sweat off the back for Goodz, who with the reliable cup of Henny in hand, unloads an extra witty, (“You sound like Jadakiss with cancer!”) personal-themed, punch-heavy and swagger-licious turn to beat back any chance of his opponent taking the bout.
Verdict: Goodz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Goodz – “You ready T?, ‘cuz we don’t talk much, if it’s personal we park the car and do walk-ups!”
Recap: As much as you can appreciate a rising star like T Top going back to his home base and giving local spitters like Barburying Diggy a shot, when a guy references ‘Khrush Groove’ and Kris Kross in the same round, you just know it’s an early wrap. Indeed, one can only hope that Top’s paycheck was worth putting up with this one round scrimmage.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I hit the stopclock [Bawh!!}, I came to call ya bluff, dump you then shit on ya Queen, that’s a royal flush!”
Recap: Some early points on this battle: 1) This would’ve been a debatable classic if not for the Tsu Surf’s choke in round 3, 2) Surf has to do a better job at handling crowd reactions, it’s something every battle rapper has to deal with and ever since the 2-on-2 battle with Surf & Tay Roc vs. K-Shine & DNA, we’ve noticed that Surf has a hard time dealing with interruptions and 3) Yes, as Loaded Lux proved versus Calicoe, you can still win a battle even with a choke. That being said, this one clearly comes down to the first round as what was setting up to be a dope 3rd round (what with a great start by Surf) got deflated by two slip-ups by the Jersey vet before the aforementioned choke. So all Top had to do was deliver a solid, slip-up free turn, which he did with some hard personals and an ill (“Battle two times a month and you fucking up on your verses, Ha!”) Juvenile impression that showed off Top’s lowkey comical side. 2nd round easily belonged to Surf, despite a dope (tho elongated) turn from Top, it’s a confident Tsunami who dials up a blueprint on how to beat Top what with potent angles on Top’s trap house (“If we gonna rap, let’s rap, only what’s true nigga, like how your mother was on smack waaaayyy before you nigga!”; “She smoked your stash, that’s why you don’t fuck with ya mother!”) duplicity as well as righteous haymakers that more than hit their mark. Onto the first round where the only debate lies, what with both Surf and Top bringing their A-game and landing hard with winsome bars and steely street chatter. A close round with an equal amount of haymakers from each, it’s Surf who edges it with more creative angles, flawless flow, fire punches, a slightly better performance and more originality (in what added up to be a classic) in that Top may’ve bitten a couple of shiners from fellow adversaries Math Hoffa (the ‘Plies’ bar} and Tay Roc (the ‘Spic-n-span’ bar), the latter of whom, ironically, was on stage at the battle. So while the choke in all likelihood prevents this battle from being a contender for ‘Battle of the Year’, this spitfire matchup does nothing to take away from each battler’s top tier status.
Verdict: Tsu Surf (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tsu Surf – “Custodian after school, walking with a mop, Earl Manigualt, i could knock a quarter outta Top!”
Recap: Against a mostly subpar and elongated Eulogy, T Top for the most part trades the trap talk for stinging name flips, syrupy punchlines/personals and bodacious gun bars, more than enough heat to easily take this 1-rounder from Wilmington N.C.Rap Battle League.
Verdict: T Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T Top – “I see your baby running around and I blast her in the face, the .40 left your daughter fucked, call it statutory rape!”
Recap: A somewhat surprising Math Hoffa choke and T Top’s relentless personals and hard-hitting punches in rounds 2 and 3 gives the Parklife colonel a victory in this quasi-dope 3-rounder from Smack/URL. Math, who still showed up and can’t be knocked for being a little distracted considering he had a baby that same morning, edged round one with a more condensed and (“4 glocks, catch this fat nigga in the coke spot, twist him with all 4 burners, that’s how you stove Top!”) hard barfest that hit at a higher ratio than Top’s (“They called me, say Math trying to get back on Smack, I said ‘cool’, I’m used to putting nigga’s back on smack!”) storytelling-drenched, but elongated and laborious 1st round. Round two was a clear body for Top, who while continuing to dish hard on old themes/name flips associated with his opponent, mixed in some more recent drama surrounding Math (i.e. Chris Unbias and Taxstone beef) and niftly threw in his renowned drug talk with urban (“Glock 40, can you read the serial Math?, if not I’ll jam the numbers in ya head, that’s Miracle Math!”) street flair to easily even things up (the aforementioned Math choke non-withstanding). With momentum on his side going into the last round, Top went for the kill and more than delivered, spouting a brutal, edgy and classic turn via seismic (“I bet he ain’t been the same since the Arabs whooped him, now when he in all the corner stores, it feel like the all the Arabs looking, hey the bitch won’t even order a sandwich if the Arabs cooking, he go to the Popi store and say the Arabs crooked!”) haymakers, aggressive (“You went to Cali without your gun?, that’s a bad move, you always supposed to carry your one, that’s a Math rule!”) personals and fiery (“…BOW! That’s for getting stole in the mouth!”) performance bars to beat what was an at times funny and (“Nigga, suck a dick, just like your mother used to do, to get another hit!”) solid, but ultimately a little too laborious turn by Hoffa. Hopefully Hoffa, who seemed to be hinting at quitting battle rap at the end of this battle, can come back less distracted while getting the match-ups he really wants/deserves, if he chooses to return.
Verdict: T Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Math Hoffa – “I told NuNu I wanted Top, she ain’t understand!”
