Recap: From Bar You To Death Battle League, a bit of slow start by Tay Roc but a couple of minutes in this 1-rounder the Cave Gang capo gets heated up. And with wide variety of punches laced with graphic mayhem, stinging name flips, fiery wordplay and piercing gun bars, a suprisingly elongated but consistently formidable Roc is able to handily beat back a boisterious, aggressive and sometimes hitting, but mostly pedestrian Mr. Mann.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Nigga just quit, I’m sick as it gets, as soon as he talking slick out his lip, the shit will get split, pistols will lift, I really hope you quick as a bitch, I ain’t missing for shit, I’ll catch Mr. in the midst of the shit!”
Recap: The long-awaited clash between Bigg K and Tay Roc finally went down on KOTD, a neutral battleground of sorts what with K repping RBE and Roc of course coming through for URL. If you saw the face-off between these two the day before, you already knew that the tension was going to be through the roof once they battled. And for the most part it was with plenty of name-calling and in-your-face theatrics from both sides. However, after K’s momentous taking off of his cap in round 2 as well as turning the lights blue in the room (in tribute to RBE’s Blue Room) near the beginning of round 3, the tension died down and the two managed to keep it professional, even hugging it out at the end.
As for the battle itself, it’s Roc who pulls off a Gentleman’s 30, edging all three rounds by staying consistent, showing more variety as well as originality and landing more haymakers in an efficinet manner than his opponent. Nonetheless, this bout was competitive and action-packed throughout. But Roc’s consistent firepower, combining a gang of crazy metaphors, some fly wordplay, graphic mayhem, wicked race angles, stinging personals and brutal gun bars, proved why he has to be favorite to win COTY this year. And while K’s rounds were tight and punch-wise often showed the heart of a true COTY when it came to witty punchlines, hard-hitting street darts, and mocking personals, overall the Dawg leaned a little too heavily on personal themes that have long been used against Roc. That slight overuse cost K some juice (even if it was funny at times). Then too was the irony of Ruc flipping K’s biggest moment–finally letting us see what was under the cap–to his advantage with a couple of fire rebuttals to start off his 2nd round, which coupled with the aforementioned roomshakers, the Gun Title co-prez ended up edging as well.
A strong 3rd by Bigg K with plenty of wicked punches, storied but still spicy personals, braggadocio lines and witty zingers only suffered a bit from some elongated set-ups. Nonetheless, Roc wasn’t having any of it. The Maryland vet venturing into ‘AMG mode’ with a plethora of speedy punches that more than delivered when it came to fire name flips, consistently hitting punchlines, potent wrestling bars and stinging gun bars to earn the shutout.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Everybody with me will flip, I am the URL chaperone on this King of the Dot field trip!”
Recap: From URL’s NOME 14 card, against a surprisingly light on performance, less witty than usual and up until round 3 only so-so (esp. when it came to rehashing personal themes concerning his opponent) with the punches Jerry Wess, Tay Roc couples a rarely utilized rebuttal game in round 2 with a gang of flexing punchlines, rich gun bars, potent name flips, solid personals and other mayhem-lit darts in both of the opening rounds to score more than enough haymakers to handily take rounds 1 and 2 for the win before a more steadily-hitting and gritty comeuppance by Wess in round 3 allows for a debatable there.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Y’all gave Jerry Wess the logo, y’all gonna find his body outlined!”
Recap: From Bullpen Battle League, Christian rapper Loso clashes with the seasoned vet Tay Roc (who amongst some-to-retire-talk has been on a prolific and impressive run of late) and with both battlers spouting an all out effort, the bout stayed pretty competitive. However, despite a pretty solid, pronounced and often personal effort from Loso, both of his opening rounds would contain onetoo many questionable darts and pedestrian lines. One the other hand Roc would dominate rounds 1 and 2 with a gang of wicked punchlines, deft wordplay, graphic mayhem, potent name flips, witty bars and a rare (but fly) rebuttal to start round 2, decisively taking the first two rounds for the win. However, proving that he’s no pushover (esp. in light of Roc already scheduled to batle his Four Horseman brethren A. Ward next) Loso would mount a strong comeback in the third round, delivering an angle-lit turn with a plethora of fire punchlines and exquisite personals. And helped in part by a shocking stumble by Roc (who afterwards would deliver a dope, AMG-dripped turn) towards the begining of his 3rd, Loso would edge the final round to avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Who said this Jerk special?, hit his face, burst metal, now the mortivians gonna have a cremation on they work schedule, I’m a grab ya urn, break it, I’m a take it to the worse level, I’m a vacuum a Christian ashes up…in a Dirt Devil!”
Recap: Versus current Dot Mobb member The God Yogi, former Dott Mobb member Tay Roc survives a pretty solid, wordplay-lit effort with a boatload of hitting name flips, gritty punchlines, mayhem-centered darts and wily personals to edge this 1-rounder from Takeova Battle League.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “AMG mode, this ain’t a fair race, I’ll jet through like air space, on an airbase, clap on ya, tap water, give you a lead taste, with no mask, I’m a show Yogi the Bear face!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from The Battle Academy that might as well have beem a 2-on-1 handicap match what with all the shots Prep threw at Tay Roc’s gf Lady Caution for some reason, Roc’s tenacious use of gritty punchlines, stifling name flips, boastful darts and wicked gun bars are more than enough to beat back an elongated and tedious (esp. in the latter half of his round) turn by Prep.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “.9 with extensions, knocking him senseless, he in a casket dressed like the old Prep…bowtie and suspenders!”
Recap: Clearly choosing violence from jump, in this 3-rounder from Black Ice Cartel, Tay Roc keeps it aggressive and stays on opponent Bankhead’s neck with a shitload of graphic/mayhem-lit punchlines, gritty gun bars, fire name flips and flagrant boasts to handily take all three rounds for the win over an electric and earnest, but much less haymaker-lit effort from the Milwaukee battler.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I don’t care, I’m a bang lead till he brain dead, chop his ponytails off and sell bundles of Bank head!”
Recap: In this much anticipated three-round battle from The Riot, Mr “Anti-URL” A. Ward gets his dream battle against Tay Roc and results are about what you’d expect. The more haymaker-lit and pocket-switching Tay Roc taking the first two rounds (which included a classic sublime/classic 1st) via some superb wordplay, clever name flips, witty bars, adept use of religious themes, piercing gun bars and a gang of gritty punchlines. And while Ward kept it competitive with a bunch of impressive freestyles/rebuttals and pretty solid punchlines throughout, the Christian battle rapper’s watered-down personals and lack of efficiency towards the end of both his opening rounds would contribute to him falling short. Despite that, with a will to win proving equally intense and proficient on both sides, the final round ended in a tie. Thus, allowing Ward to avoid the 30.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’ll pull up with a K for you, spark that iron, you pull up on nigga’s and pray for ’em, you call that slidin’?!”
Recap: From BMBL, Tay Roc and Bill Collector meet up for 3 rounds in Detroit and while competitive and crowd-pleasing throughout, the verdict here was an easy one. Bill, wily as ever with a plethora of spririted punchlines, witty barbs and solid personals, gets credit for an earnest performance. While Roc, continuing an electric run this year that’s seen him battle more often than ever before, ran through a gamut of graphic/mayhem-lit darts, hard-hitting g un bars, well-tailored name flips and piercing 4-bar set-up/punches that more often than not made their mark. However, helped by an opponent who ran out of gas punch-efficient wise in round 1, it’s the slightly more haymaker-lit Roc who takes round 1 before the Cave Man capo handily takes round 2 as well with an even more punch-drunk and sublime turn for the win. A pretty solid, but not as nearly turned up run by Roc in round 3 gets overrun by Bill’s more workmanship and personal-lit showing to avoid the 30.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You call yourself the G code, what’s strange about it, what the fuck is a G code to a nigga who beat the game without it?!”
Recap: A long-awaited grudge match between Serius Jones and Tay Roc finally takes place on URL’s Smack Volume 11 card and besides Roc attempting to spoil the show again with his silly and unnecessary ‘almost fight’ antics, the outcome here was just about what you’d expect. Jones, who to be fair almost always gives a full-hearted effort, did seem to listen a bit to critics who’ve recently urged him to update his flow patterns and new era colloquialisms. But despite some hard punches here and there as well as jokes and freestyles (which surprisingly he doesn’t do enough of) that oft-landed, way too many reaches as well as way too many subpar punches/personals to go along with a gang of lyrical schrmical darts during his trio of elongated rounds would once again prove to be too much to overcome. On the other Roc, who’s clearly chasing the COTY award this year what with him battling so often of late, gave a workmanlike performance that reminded the crowd (and hopefully his opponent) that there’s levels to this. The Gun Titles capo unleashing a mostly (after a slow start to his 3rd, Roc would turn it up in the latter half to get the 30) consistent, mayhem-lit, rapid-fire barrage of fiending wordplay, stinging gun bars, rich similes, flexing name flips and sturdy punchlines to score more than enough haymakers in each round for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You trash, I don’t care if they saying that homie is cooking, this pussy say something to make me mad and hook him, wire jaw through a straw, you eating Tapioca pudding!”
Recap: In the midst of another holiday season and clearly in the spirit of giving, Tay Roc lets rising iBattle battler Febou have a crack at it and the up-n-comer doesn’t waste his opportunity. The spirited Massachusetts spitter giving it his all and staying competitiive during this 1-rounder with a gang of witty bars, spicy storytelling and wily personals/punchlines. But never one to underestimate any opponent, via a plethora of mayhem-lit compounds, syrupy name flips, some killer wordplay, rapid ‘AMG mode’ darts, raucous gun lines and mocking personals, it’s the more expansive, battle-tested and haymaker-lit Roc who gets the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Rifle, this bow action, the swat gonna come like I told Jakk, you try to sneak by bro you’re done, is my bro dumb thinking he could stunt my whole run?, I’m too giant for Fe-fi-fo-fum!”
Recap: From We Go Hard, after getting Chef Trez recently, WGH’s Gunpowder Patt gets an even bigger dawg in Tay Roc for 3 rounds in Brooklyn. And frankly speaking, this battle was a little underwhelming as no disrespect to GP, but considering Roc’s long-held top tier status in battle rap, you’d be more inclined to see his WGH debut against the likes of an always competitive Ish Mula or fellow gun bar enthusiast Dougy. Then too is the fact that while GP is well-known for his eager aggression and street wit during battles, all them bumps and touches he was giving Roc in the opening rounds were really being extra and seemingly making it more about showmanship than trying to actually win the battle (until round 3 anyway, when Patt put it together performance and bar-wise to force a debatable there). That said Roc, even while not quite on his A-game throughout, still scored with more than enough rich gun lines, gritty punchlines and solid name flips to take rounds 1 and 2 for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Incredible, you ain’t on my pedestal, unacceptable, his battle is proof that I be making myself too accessible, but I’ll put you on a shirt than buy one if they sell a few, then save it like the one’s like yours, I got collectibles!”
Recap: Ummm, not exactly sure what happened at the end there, but all in all Tay Roc vs. Jakkboy Maine on URL’s ends up being a fire battle. Roc, almost exclusively in kill mode while changing cadences with the punches, delivered 3 rounds of straight heat with a shitload of graphic, mayhem-laced darts, gritty name flips, and flippant personals/gun bars. While Jakkboy met the top tier challenge with a fire wordplay throughout, some scintillating personals and fiery set-up/punchlines that with its accompanied soundscape oftentimes wrecked the room. A close bout throughout, it’s the slightly more haymaker-lit Roc who takes rounds 1 and 2 for the win before what looked to be clear vic for Maine in round 3 was spolied by a couple of last-minute slip-ups, making the final round a debateable.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Buck-50, cut the brim, I’m talking grab a razor and Flip…Above the Rim!”
Recap: Ave versus Tay Roc, a much-anticipated matchup that probably should’ve taken place in front of an East-coast crowd (instead of Summer Madness 13 in Houston), comes with what you’d expect in terms of bars, punches and finally finding out why Ave left Cave Gang (well, according to Ave anyway). Roc with the witty personals, plethora of dope ‘EFB’ flips, pretty solid name flips, rapid-fire ‘AMG mode’ darts and piercing gun bars, came to work. While Ave (who clearly took this battle more personally than his opponent did throughout) came with his usual assortment of rich boasts, fierce name flips of his own, fiery punchlines and storied personals that while a little excessive, for the most part made their point (esp. in round 3). Close for all 3 rounds with plenty of head-nodding by both battlers to show favor of certain standout bars and to let everyone know that there wasn’t any animosity between the two, it’s the more haymaker-lit Roc who takes round 1 before also taking a more efficiently run round 2 for the win. An equally methodical, entertaining and punch-heavy 3rd makes for a debateable.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Say E.F.B. now, I ain’t even fucking mad, you gonna die of a heart attack if you keep eating fucking bad!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle League, consistently scoring all 3 rounds with a bunch of piercing name flips, gritty punchlines, some fire wordplay and flexing gun bars, an AMG mode-friendly Tay Roc (who also took advantage of a personal-hitting, but overall on his B game Real Deal what with a haphazard round 3, a couple of reaches and less-than-potent-punch-arsenal) handily earns the 30 over the Pittsburgh vet.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “He starting to black out, his breath is getting weaker, got him calling the God but he was never a believer, HK this heckler is a sweeper, this will knock 50 percent off deal…it’s better when it’s cheaper!”
Recap: A.I. may frown on it, but watch any Tay Roc battle and you’ll witness just how much work that the Gun Bar King puts into practicing his rounds. What with Roc’s ability to run back his bars with ease, decipher and break them down them when necessary and jump right back into pockets with equal precision, shows you a man who’s serious about his craft. And as this blazing 3-rounder vs. Quban on OSBL shows us once again, no matter the tier of the competition, Roc never underestimates his opp’s either. Not that Quban is anyone’s slouch. The Maryland battle vet keeping it close for all three rounds here with a boatload of gritty punchlines, aggressive heat, syrupy set-ups and flippant personals/name flips. But ultimately, this was Roc’s show. The Gun Titles co-capo using a plethora of head-banging gun bars, flexing punchlines, versatile name flips, boastful barbs, witty anecdotes and sporty personals of his own to land a few more haymakers in rounds 1 and 2 for the win, before an equally potent 3rd on both sides makes for a debatable.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Say ya fucking goodbye’s, chopper dump on his ride, transformers whip into two, he thought it was a mirage!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle League, a hard-hitting and aggressive 3-rounder between Tay Roc and Jae Soldier goes the former’s way as despite a slew of mocking/piercing/witty personals and gritty punches from Soldier, a rebuttal-throwing Roc’s steady bag of rich metaphors, sturdy name flips, boastful darts and festive gun bars allows him to edge each round for the Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Boy it gets tragic, you’ll see something from the side showing, ever seen a nigga get shot in the head?…it’s mind blowing!”
Recap: Take out all the extra, dumb, almost-fighting shit on stage d you have a dope 3-rounder here between Stumbles and Tay Roc from URL’s ‘Outside’ card. Stumbles, with a gang of bullish punches, gritty street bars and witty personals (at Roc and his gf Lady Caution) kept it competitive the whole way. While the ever-aggressive Roc stayed lit with a steady barrage of steely lyricism, some crazy schemes, sturdy back-to-back punches, sizzling gun bars and potent name flips. Fierce and combative through all 3 rounds, outside of a debatable 2nd round, it’s the more steadily punch-heavy and haymaker-landing Roc who takes rounds 1 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Rusty revolver, got fly symptoms, the nose dry, ya soul fly, get sent to the most high, pallbearers will carry ya coffin on both sides, how you wanna look in ya casket, Dirty Prep or bow-tied?!”
Recap: Tay Roc’s 50th URL battle and it’s a goodie as his ‘Kings vs. Queens 4’ opp Ms. Hustle kept it competitive throughout with a gang of gritty/aggressive punchlines, blazing heat, biting name flips and performance-laced darts/bumps that literally had Roc almost falling off the stage. However, after a sizzling and punch-heavy 1st round by both battlers that went either way, thanks in part to Hustle coming off a bit redundant with her personals, the rest of bout was simply about Roc out-punching his opponent. The Gun Titles captain keeping it consistent throughout while scoring with a bunch of witty (including a hitting ‘body bitch’ trope) personals, piercing back-to-back punches (esp. in round 3), flashy gun bars, graphic mayhem and superb punches (esp. in round 2) to take both of the latter rounds and earn the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You summoned the demon, there’s a couple of reasons Hustle is bleeding, 380 on standby like oven pre-heating!”
Recap: Ryda with a bunch of sizzling gun bars, fire name flips and hard punchlines makes for a dope showing in this Banned/URL battle versus Tay Roc. But helped a bit by his opponent’s so-so personals, all the while consistently spazzing with a gang of fiery back-to-back punches, stinging metaphorsical play, versatile name flips of his own, aggressive/flippant personals, lethal schemes and hard gun lines in a slightly more condensed and haymaker-lit turn, it’s the Gun Bar KIng who edges this highly competitive 1-rounder.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Shotgun for Ryda [rider], he got dibs on the fornt seat!”
Recap: From URL’s ‘Lite Work’ series, after witnessing this battle one can tell that Tay Roc had a lot of fun writing those nssty name flips. That and a bunch of hitting wordplay and gritty gun bars spiked with plenty of ruthless mayhem with the punches gets the Gun Bar King a 30 over an overall solid, but costly when it came to taking too long to the punch Swervoo.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “”I’m toting with me two clips on a belt, they gonna have to get him some help, he gonna need unlimied health, like I avoided an accident and still injured myself, I got Swerve out of the way and hit something else!”
Recap: From URL’s ‘Outside’ card, using a gang of nasty schemes that would make Chilla Jones proud, while coupling them with a plethora of slick wordplay, hitting name flips, sneaky but delicous metaphors, spirited gun bars, graphic odes of violence and enough righteous personals to raise the temperature in the room, a steadily bent Tay Roc takes the first couple of rounds here for the win over the ever raucous, in-ya-face punching and street-bar slinging, but less consistent/competitive (esp. during a surprisingly shortened 2nd round) and dry spot prone Snake Eyez before the Harlem rhymeslinger scores with just enough haymakers to edge the 3rd round and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You trying to fight? expect the gadget [Inspector Gadget] to come out the coat pocket!”
Recap: Funny watching emotionally biased bloggers recap this battle and steer their conclusions to their liking regardless of who really out-rapped who. Because isn’t that recaps are supposed to be about? That said, we Tay Roc with a clear win. The Gun Bar King superbly (i.e. classic) using a snitch angle (that literally dropped in his lap before the battle) on opponent Kyd Slade in round 1 via a gang of well-crafted smiles (everything from the dizzying ‘witness protection’ bar to the killer ‘Ah Di Boom/Bigg K’ line at the end), dope storytelling bars and potent personals/wordplay to take an opening round that was as aggressive and heated as we’ve seen on a URL stage without the battle having to be stopped. And while a trap-talking, street rap-lit Slade had a solid 1st as well, Roc’s stellar turn and a couple of slip-ups by Kyd would cost him. The 2nd round was simply a matter of Roc out-punching his opp. This time with a plethora of steely set-up/4-bar punchlines, well-finessed wordplay, residual mayhem, potent drug talk and fiery gun bars that with a slightly more condensed turn equated to a more haymaker-rich and versatile middle round for Roc to earn him the win over another punch-heavy and personal-bent at times, but not nearly as consistent run by Slade. The 3rd round would see Roc go into ‘AMG’ mode and offer up a fire run of speed rap with jaunty punch symmetry. However, it’s a multifaceted Slade, steadily aggressive and head strong with a boatload of piercing punches and hard-hitting personals, who would edge the final round and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You talk too much, we can’t be friends…Deborah Cox!”
Recap: Even with the win, not sure what was going on with Tay Roc in during much-hyped Summer Madness 12 battle versus Swamp. And no, we’re not talking about all the ‘raccoon’ mention’s. First (and a bit surprisingly) there was a highly personal and stellar round 1 from Roc, who while always on point regardless of who the opponent is, usually saves his best rounds for the latter (more on that later) rounds. Then there’s the sheer bewilderment of seeing Roc continuously get into it over all the raccoon talk with a Charlotte, North Carolina crowd that was clearly prideful of their Southern culture. A move we’ve witnessed from Roc before (like against Geechi Gotti in Philly after he took a shot at Cassidy), but one that made zero sense back then and made zero sense here, especially when you consider the fact that the raucous crowd cheered for many of Roc’s bars and wasn’t showing Swamp (who’s from nearby South Carolina) any bias seeing as he got booed too. Lastly, even with just enough haymakers to edge the deciding 3rd and gain the vic (call it a moral victory for Swamp, especially after he came back to take round 2 after getting overmatched by Roc in the opener) in an aggressive battle knee deep in fiery gun bars, highly-spirited personals, solid name flips and gritty punchlines from both sides, the idea that Roc seemingly took Swamp for granted going into this matchup and thought his 1st and 2nd rounds would be enough for a clear win is a move any vet should be wary of making.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Talk to me nice or your jaw I’ma break, nothing’s impossible, God isn’t fake, I can’t take a lake in a swamp, boy but I can toss a Swamp in a lake!”
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: Arguably the best battle from the URL’s Kings vs. Queens 3 card, Tay Roc and Viixen The Assassin make the case with 3 competitive and aggressive (esp. on Viixen’s part, who almost literallly knocked Roc down with a couple of her more rambunctious performance bars), gun-bar-lit, punch-heavy, witty at times and personal-crazy rounds that kept the crowd captivated throughout. But while the loud and brazen (esp. when she was flipping some of Roc’s prior shit) Viixen proved once again that she’s capable of going toe-to-toe with any top tier battler, male or female, in the end Roc just proved to be a little too much here. The B-more vet steady flexing with a more versatile, original and consistent game that also included some fire schemes, a gang of head-ringing name flips/punchlines, sizzling wordplay and a couple of dope rebuttals to edge each round and score a Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I ain’t got no chill, bitch don’t get rocked for real, this little white girl say ‘Catch me outside!’ and find out how a doctor feel [Phil]!”
Recap: Tay Roc versus Danny Myers from URL’s Super Fight 6 card. Let’s deal with all the “controversy” first…well, for starters judging from the hearsay, clips and previews we saw from this battle, the drama that came with it was kind of overblown (and that’s including the argument these two had after their face-off). Accusations of Danny getting gassed what with his friends in the crowd over-reacting when he spit a fire bar? Honestly, outside of rapper Royalty (I think that was him), the feeling here is that Danny’s pals (whether they were going extra with the cheering or approaching him in the ring to dap him) didn’t anything more than what Tsu Surf did rooting on Roc (to the point where even Danny had to tell Surf to shut up). In other words, it wasn’t nothing over the top. Tay Roc using a recycled bar from a virtual battle he did last year against Rio Nkosi? So what. As I’ve said before concerning recycled bars…they’re YOUR bars. So let’s not go crazy and make it like Roc pulled a Prez Mafia here. Then too is the fact that if you go back to the Rio battle, Roc didn’t just go back and use the bars again verbatim. He re-arranged them and it was literally the last bar he spit in a 3rd round I already had him winning. My only issue with recycling comes when either the round is super close (as in a debatable, in which case originality always get first dibs) or if a battler gets lazy and uses a gang of (or in some cases an entire round) of recycled bars during a battle. That said, one could partly blame Roc for stirring the pot in the first place by going on YouTube and stating that he never recycled. Lastly, as we witnessed in the clips to this battle before it dropped, Danny’s rebuttals were superb (esp. the ‘Stop, Hammer Time!’ joint which got him a re-tweet on Twitter from Mr. Hammer himself). Too bad for Danny tho as the rebuts weren’t enough to win. Simply put, after edging round one (which btw was close, thank to a pretty dope turn from Roc) with a classic turn that even the ever-excitable Mr. Myers literally doing push-ups) Danny just got out-barred. Consistently-lit throughout the battle, Roc’s gritty punchlines, fire wordplay, aggressive set-ups, hard-hitting personals (esp. the brazen quips that went right at Danny’s wife and kids) and stifling gun bars were too much to handle in each of the latter rounds. Indeed, except for one or two subpar lines, Roc’s 2nd and 3rd rounds were equally sublime. And while Danny continued to fight hard, dish some fire punches/name flips/witty burners/off-the-dome heat and earn his stripes, one too many indirect bars, pedestrian lines and time spent in the weeds with the mayhem (which Danny is notorious for) would cost him, especially with the amount of haymakers Roc was dropping left and right.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You probably hear those words ‘head wrap’ and feel sick inside, that head wrap symbolize all those rounds you couldn’t memorize, Eazy-E ain’t the only nigga from the West that got Real Sikh and died!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from The Word Sport Battle Groundz, Rio Nkosi raps twice as longer as his opponent and kicks a gang of gritty bars to go along with a mix of rigid personals. But a mostly subpar showing from Rio in addition to a brazen and condensed Tay Roc taking Nkosi to task with bountiful blasts of mayhem and stifling gun bars/punches, gives the Cave Gang capo a handy win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You’re the load that your mother should’ve swallowed actually, your birth certificate is an apology letter from the condom factory!”
Recap: Highly anticipated, but long in the making, Tay Roc vs. Nu Jerzey Twork (with the vet Roc helping matters by putting plenty of pressure on Twork to come with 3 clean rounds) on URL lives up to the hype with the two battlers dishing a trio of rambunctious and competitive turns that kept the crowd lit. Twork, equipped with a gang of mocking/witty personals (esp. at Roc’s gf Lady Caution), fierce gun lines/name flips, some killer wordplay, brazen (esp. that 2nd round Mook/Party Arty line) punchlines, righteous darts and yes 3 ‘Strapped In”s, showed once again that when prepared, he’s one of the best in the game. On the other hand Roc, consistently scoring as usual with a barrage of stifling gun bars/name flips, graphic mayhem, some rigid personals and rapid, but head-shaking punches/4-bar set-ups, more than did his part to make sure this battle got its just due. However, with the more steadily hitting Roc clearly taking round 2, while a slightly more haymaker-lit Twork took round 3, a fire on both sides opening round comes down to a slightly more versatile and slightly more bar-heavy Roc edging the opener for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Clips is gon’ blaze, you’ll turn up dead, I’ll burn the lead, you my brother, I can’t watch you die, so I turn my head!”
Recap: Spouting a bunch of spicy name flips, grabbing your attention with some gritty wordplay and dishing a fierce/aggressive mix of grimy mayhem, punchlines and personals, in this 1-rounder from GOTG that featured Tay Roc making his 1st appearance in the Gates, an altogether pretty solid Wise certainly makes a name for himself. Yet, wasting little time (unlike his opponent, who did spit some filler here and there) with straight-ahead potent punches, wily name flips, fire set-ups, a conversational screed or two to go along with a gang of hardbody gun missives and righteous personals, even within the confines of a smaller league, Roc more than makes his presence felt.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “The gun lift, your mom’s won’t recognize you when that bag unzip, she like ‘That wasn’t Wise, you musta done some dumb shit!'”
Recap: Not a Chilla Jones we’re used to seeing and we’re not just referring to trading in the usual baseball cap with a white towel over the shoulder for an open bald head and a pair of sunglasses. New aesthetics aside, one too many darts surrounding Tay Roc’s Gun Titles partner Tsu Surf, personals that might warrant further inspection and a surprising lack of substantive schemes from Mr. Jones were also befuddling. Yet in this long-awaited N.O.M.E. battle as a testament to his mettle, the 2020 COTY still managed to keep thing close with some steady punching power here and there as well as a gang of fire name flips throughout the bout. That said, outside of 3 prolonged rounds, go figure that Roc would adjust his game plan and still provide enough consistent heat to get the 30. The B-More vet flexing his versatility with a mix of fiery schemes, gritty name flips, stinging gun bars, dope personals, some lyrical showmanship (esp. in round 1) and potent street missives that with concise execution edged him all 3 rounds for the 30.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Somethin’ ’bout me might, pick up a ladder, my main squeeze, fill him with lead, hit Chill’ in the head: brainfreeze!”
Recap: Really now, how many times have we seen one-themed rounds from battlers? Where a battler concentrates on a single topic during an entire round? Quite a few times if you know your battle rap history (Cortez’s “Something we gotta speak about” 3rd’s or Tay Roc himself going after C3 with nothing but name flips during a round when they battled some years back). But somehow, if you’ve seen some of the recaps online to this Roc vs. O’fficial battle, it’s ‘overkill’ when Roc goes in on O’s body for a whole round?!? And mind you, Roc had already announced before this battle that he was going to do a entire round without any gun bars. Yet, they’re mad that he went there for 3 minutes?! And all things being equal, when does a vet get knocked down for trying to get creative with their pen, even if it doesn’t work out? That said, an explosive, gun-bar heavy 1st round by O gets beat by her losing points for a couple of wayward personals that didn’t land, but mostly a condensed, brazen, wordplay spicy and performance/punch-heavier Roc. The 2nd round was less close as O’s sterling name flips, fire personals (esp. on Roc’s gf) and ringing mayhem handily beat a pretty solid, but less hitting turn by Roc. Going into the 3rd round tied, O’fficial would spout another fiery, punch/personal-lit turn that while not as heavy-hitting as her previous round, still delivered on sheer grittiness. On the other hand with Roc centered on personals only, it would just be a matter of how many of his ‘body’ barbs would land and yeah, most certainly did, what with descriptions that ranked between funny, hilarious and just downright mean (and wonder why this already classic round went viral and hit World Star?). Add to that a shrewd, cadence-flexible performance and Roc takes the 3rd for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc (W) 2-1 – “You don’t gotta common, you got a rare body bitch!”
Recap: Another one of those ‘Damn, they ain’t battle already?!’ top tier vet moves as Tay Roc and Aye Verb finally link up for the first time on the URL stage. A solid battle that saw Verb provide a steady dose of boastful barbs as well as some biting personals, it’s still a more well-rounded Roc, unleashing a barrage of fiery gun bars, rugged name flips, righteous mayhem, spirited personals/wordplay on ‘Vegan Verb’ and piercing punchlines, who takes each round for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “You’ll get the .44 and .38 ‘cuz you extra Special, point black, 3 holes will make ya whole head a pretzel!”
Recap: At his best when he’s rapping with a purpose (instead of just trying to out-rap you), deftly breaking down his opponent, tossing in some dope sports flips/4-bar setups and dropping nimble gems within his rapid-fire punches, Murda Mook serves up a consistent, personal-lit and fiery mix of all three to beat back (we score it as a debatable 1st round, followed by Mook edging the 2nd and 3rd) a dope, gun-bar heavy and also personal-driven Tay Roc in this much-anticipated and competitive battle from URL.
Verdict: Murda Mook (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Murda Mook – “The hammer clap, ’til the handle burn like candle wax, Tre on your hat, you don’t even get a Chance to rap, dead rappin’ better promotion, see his fans react, I told Smack, ‘I need chicken’, he sent the Family pack!'”
Recap: People that have followed Daylyt’s battle rap career close enough know he can spit. Just go back in the files and check out Daylyt versus Rich Dolarz or him versus Mike P to get the goods on Daylyt at his best. So seeing Daylyt ‘show up’ here in this URL/NOME X bout against Tay Roc and put forth his A-game really just comes down to ‘Lyt choosing bars over bullshit. It’s not complicated. That said, yeah this 3-rounder, to quote ‘Lyt was certainly ‘one for the books’ with nary a dry spot or misstep from either said. Roc, captivating in the Dracula outfit and sublime as ever with a gang of sizzling name flips, head-twisting gun bars, piercing punchlines/personals and some excellent wordplay, kept it competitive throughout the match. While Daylyt, who rarely battles these days, didn’t show an ounce of rust (except for being, at times, aimless with his raps) despite some long time off. Indeed, ‘Lyt’s 3 rounds were also on ode to versatility with the Quill man spouting a rapid, lyrically stunting, punch-heavy performance in round 1, before switching up a little to a (“Here we can learn the Flat Earth Theory confirm, or the man gifted, can’ lifted, hold up, scroll up, as I break Roc(k) right down!”) wordplay-heavy, solar system-friendly, metaphorical/God-centric and scheme-lit 2nd round before getting bar-heavy, witty and personal with Roc in a fire 3rd. Add some Dot Mobb (Daylyt’s still a member, while Roc infamously left a little while back so you know it had to be brought up) entries to the mix as well as plenty of ringing mayhem and you’re left with a spitfire battle with a more direct and versatile Roc edging the 1st round, a middle round tie and Daylyt edging the 3rd for a draw.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Thought you’d be the champ at King Of The Dot, ha, I had high doubts, nigga, black lives do not matter in that White House!”
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: As far as Quarantine rounds go, it doesn’t get much better than this one from Tay Roc. The Cave Gang capo going ham on an eccentric at times, but somewhat lackadaisical Big T with a sublime turn of fiery name flips, piercing gun bars, sizzling wordplay and gritty punchlines to take this battle easy.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Dump the shotty, up a body, like the selfie of a fat girl!”
Recap: In a true sign of the times, in lieu of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic going on that’s keep us all on house arrest, Smack/URL gets innovative with its first ‘Quarantined’ matchup featuring Mike P. versus Tay Roc. And with no stage or crowd and instead, each battler delivering their bars on video from the comfort of their homes, the battle certainly offers a different feel and dynamic. That said, it’s still a goodie with Roc and Mike competitively going at it for about 5 minutes apiece and Roc, slightly more effective when it came to infusing current-day events into his raps, more consistent on a whole and delivering a steadier stream of dizzying boasts/personals/mayhem on top, taking the round and the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’ll catch Mike and his bitch at a restaurant, beautiful setting, then fuck Mike up in that booth, it’s a studio session!”
Recap: A more condensed 3 rounds paired with a sublime 1st round are the difference here as Tay Roc and Glueazy go at it for a trio of spastic, aggressive, gun bar-lit and punch-heavy rounds on the URL stage. Glu, continuously rocking the scoreboard with a shitload of gritty punches, rugged heat, piercing name flips and festive wordplay/personals, would only be hurt by a few dry spots here and there, some dated personals and a slight lack of versatility especially when it came to wit. On the other hand, a more measured Roc scored left and right with dope set-ups to his punches to go along with head-ringing gun lines, a bunch of racial stingers, witty barbs and some excellent execution with the angles with his only slight coming from one too many name flips/shots at the Goonies. A fire and competitive battle nonetheless, Roc takes the 1st and 3rd rounds for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’ll put a shell in you, hit his Head and Shoulders…Selsun Blue!”
Recap: Long-awaited battle between Dot Mob honcho T-Rex and former Dot Mob member Tay Roc unfortunately, while having its moments here and there, doesn’t quite live up to the hype overall. First, it’s a 1-round battle, a big mistake for two guys with this amount of personal history and animosity towards each other. Then too, when it comes to bars Rex really should utilize his wit more in battles. As seen here Rex’s better moments occurred moreso when he displayed his humorous side as opposed to the rah-rah shit he’s long been known for, which in this case mostly proved pedestrian. Lastly, even with Roc not quite being on his A-game, he easily took this one what with a way more consistent effort that spouted plenty of spent gun shells, stifling personals/bully bars and a stack of gritty punchlines that while at times weren’t as intricate as you’d like, still came off hitting more then missing.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I will fix your grill, knock out all your teeth, it will be hard to speak, you will have an awkward speech, to fix your broken jaws expensive they lied if they told you talk is cheap!”
Recap: Dishing raucous 4-bar bangers and fiery name flips with consistent abandon throughout the battle, while also taking advantage of a flow-challenged at times and gun-bar heavy, but overall not-quite-up-to-speed on quality Tay Roc, Shotgun Suge edges the latter two rounds for the win in this rematch from their 2010 bout.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “Head shot, spill his beans, I don’t like who he becoming!”
Recap: The first battle between Tay Roc and K-Shine was close and as it should be, so is the rematch. Stellar efforts from both of these vets with a versatile, witty, (“Fuck the Cave, I got 200 in a milliliter like a half pint, strap jaw, I get my clap on [claps], that’s light!”) performance-stunting and punch-heavy Shine edging the 1st round over a ridiculously gun-heavy, but slightly less potent (and too DNA-centered) Roc. It was Roc’s turn to mix it up more in the 2nd round, a sublime and well-executed turn that saw the Cave Gang captain light up the stage with more armored mayhem, but also flex with a gang of spitfire wordplay, piercing name flips and astute punchlines to beat back a pretty solid, but not as haymaker-friendly round by Shine. And just in case you wondered what got Roc so tight when Shine accused him of once being a member of his “Zip ‘Em Up” clique (an allegation that would spark their infamous brawl during the 1st 2-on-2 between Shine and DNA vs. Roc and Tsu Surf), Tay would address the issue in the 3rd. The former Dot Mobb soldier delivering a plethora of scathing (“When I got wit’ the Dot’s you was wild hatin’, I took ya spot then put the Dots on my back…Dalmatian!”) personals to address past beefs to go along with some spicy name flips/punches that worked together to beat another aggressive, scheme-friendly and gritty, but at times redundant round from Shine and give Roc the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Who brave? You’ll get ya wig split like I do braids, I’ll dig you a new grave, he won’t know if me or Surf cooked him, ‘ause when he saw Tay [sauté)] he got souffléd!”
Recap: Not sure how wise it was for Tay Roc to go out of his way and invite a Philly crowd to his nether regions after they cheered him for most of the battle and only did so after he took shots at one of their own (in this Cassidy), but Roc vs Geechi Gotti was still a dope battle all the way through. The 1st round was spitfire on both sides with an amped up Roc dropping a gang of versatile and elite bangers via syrupy gun bars, righteous boasts, fiery set-ups/sound effects and sizzling wordplay. On the other hand, while a slightly more condensed Gotti would devote most of his opening round to personals, he was still able to dish haymaker after haymaker centering around the brouhaha that occurred in the recent Summer Madness 10 matchup between Calicoe/Murda Mook vs. Brizz Rawsteen/T Top to edge what will surely go down as one of the best rounds in 2019. As for the rest of the battle? Pretty solid, but the advantage was clearly on Roc’s side as it became more apparent that Geechi didn’t have as much to work with outside of the previous themes on his opponent’s street credibility and his usual barrage of punch-heavy street semantics. And while Gottu was still competitive for the rest of the battle, Roc would take up Geechi’s lack of variety, spitting a fire rebuttal to start the 2nd round, going after Gotti with more salacious personals/wordplay/schemes, extending the clip with more heated gun bars, flexing with fierce 4-bar setups and spouting ever-increasing mayhem to make a comeback, edge the latter couple of rounds and take the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’m uncivilized, why you act like you gorilla size?, all it takes is the right [click] and you minimized!”
Recap: Although the allegations (and they do appear to be true) of Bad Newz stealing a couple of bars here lessens the bite of this battle, him and Tay Roc still put on quite a show what with both battlers dishing some exquisite mayhem, stinging gun bars, some salacious (BN: “He my idol, but tonight in this ring I’m son rifle, ‘bad news’ written all over this hammer, that’s the Gun Title!”) wordplay, gripping personals, snappy performance bars and plenty of gritty punchlines and potent (TR: “If we don’t kill him, we coming back for Newz weekly!”) name flips. Still, for all of Newz’ aggression and potency throughout his round, some pedestrian bars by Newz here and there along with an epic Tay Roc clearly on his A-game, dropping haymakers with rapid abandon with nary any filler throughout, would prove to be too much in the end.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Every nigger in my crew clap for me, I could send Chef and Raw like my food Japanese!”
Recap: Rare to see the normally cool and copacetic Tay Roc stumble, much less get out of his comfort zone when it comes to staying professional on stage. But that’s the case here as after a debatable 1st round that saw both Roc and Pat Stay put forth equally hit-n-miss, elongated turns in which they both coincidentally attempted to try out their opponent’s style, Roc literally loses it. Starting with his temper during the 2nd round in the face of Pat Stay’s downright mean personals, smart aleck zingers, dope performance lines and aggressive punchlines. Then when a still heated (and behind one round thanks to Pat’s aforementioned comeuppance in the previous round along with his own penchant for redundant personals and mostly standard punches) Roc finally returned to his gun bar itinerary in the 3rd and despite a stronger turn bar-wise throughout, surprisingly slip-ups twice, leaving Pat Stay, already commanding the stage throughout with epic showmanship, more versatile his bars and schemes, stinging with some fly wordplay and finally with the verbal stamina to drop freestyles and haymakers at random with yet another opportunity to take the round, which the Canadian rapper obliged in kind to win the battle.
Verdict: Pat Stay (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pat Stay – “People used to fuck with you serious, but nowadays in the URL you don’t get no W’s period!”
Recap: Often criticized for lack of bar potency, in this long-awaited 3-round match versus Tay Roc, Hitman Holla proves the naysayers wrong, utilizing a wide array of piercing punchlines along with flexing personals, scintillating name flips and some head-ringing gun lines to take the first two rounds and win this battle. Indeed, while his opponent suffered from way too many redundant gun lines, the usually performance-heavy Hitman seemed bent on taking out Roc with a consistently fiery punch-game. And he did so, which not only kept the crowd buzzing, but even included a fly 2nd round rebuttal. Ironically, it wouldn’t be till the 3rd round that Roc (who long requested this battle) would earn his keep, finally mixing it up more with the heat, but also scoring with some rugged punchlines/personals to edge a solid turn by Hitman and salvage the final round.
Verdict: Hitman Holla (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hitman Holla – “I’ll knock Tay out, then pull a K out, and light the whole Cave up like I’m trying to find my way out!”
Recap: This N.O.M.E. 8 headliner doesn’t quite give you the best Goodz or the best Tay Roc, but in the long run it still ends up being a pretty dope match between two top tiers in what was a much-anticipated matchup. The first couple of rounds made for clear decisions with a more pointed with the personals, (“I’ll reach for this pole, squeeze and let go, leg shot, it’ll be hard to keep up with half the people you know!”) heat-cocked and punchline-heavy Roc taking round 1 via more overall potency with his bars as well as more haymakers, while Goodz (who already dished a pretty solid turn in the 1st round although it wasn’t as consistent as his opponent’s), snapping with his affable storytelling while also fueled by rugged name flips, (“But you tough tho’, right Roc? Can we be sure?, you from the county, you not even from the real B-More, no projects, no shootouts, no knife killings, the county got big houses, gated communities and nice livin’, what I’m sayin’ is, while y’all run around believing son, ya legendary Gun Bar King, come from a place where you don’t need a gun!”) witty/stifling personals and plenty of boastful shiners would clearly take the 2nd round over a surprisingly subpar and mostly pedestrian turn from Roc. The 3rd and deciding round was close and almost a toss-up. But Goodz, who was hurt a bit throughout this by ‘borrowing’ themes we’ve already seen used against Tay Roc, still came through with a mostly fly final round making use even more swagger-swinging content, storied schemes and some punchlines/wordplay here and there. On the other hand Roc, with nowhere to go but up after a disappointing 2nd round, made good on his earlier prognostications, continuing to aptly take on Goodz’s spicy personals with astute rebuts, dishing hardbody schemes, witty punches, finessed wordplay and best of all righteous gun lines that edged him the round and scored the Cave Gang honcho the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Gun Titles? You don’t want smoke with even half of that, 50 round clip, hangin’ out this automatic gat, just know if you comin’ after the Titles, make sure ya ladder match!”
Recap: A highly anticipated battle for any long time battle rap fan, for the most part Tay Roc versus Dizaster doesn’t disappoint. Round 1 sees the visiting Roc get busy with fire punchlines, crazy name flips and fiery (“I stretch a guy when I’m waving, scope zoom in and out, I exercise when I’m aiming!”) gun bars that proved that he wasn’t here on vacation. On the other hand, the always aggressive and enigmatic Dizaster showed off his mettle as well, using some nice freestyles, loud (“Talking all this bat Cave bullshit, tell me like I don’t know what his world like?!, bitch my last name Bin Laden, I’ve been with this cave business my whole life!”) braggadocio punches and stinging wordplay/name flips to keep up with his opponent’s fire half and split the round.
From there, however, things would change quite a bit as a turned up Roc would up his bar proficiency and versatility game, using a classic, haymaker-drenched 2nd round to take over the West-coast crowd and take the lead when put up against a solid, but too dogmatic at times turn by Diz, before taking the match with another punch-heavy, personal stifling, ably (“Are you a crackhead or a steroid-head?, it’s hella funny, you look like you in shape and out of shape, you a healthy junkie!”) witty and gun-savvy turn that easily beat a less potent, tho (“…you could say it, but I can’t say it?!, Shaniqua gonna get this work!”) clever at times, hit-n-miss round by Diz.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I’ll take ya bitch from you, I’ll have fun with her then be done with her and I doubt that Slut Walk after .21 hit her!”
Recap: Two battle vets who should arguably be in everyone’s Top 5, Hollow Da Don and Tay Roc, come together for a fire, competitive and highly entertaining matchup at URL’s Summer Madness 6. Roc, the self-proclaimed ‘Gun Bar King’, lets his whole arsenal off in the 1st round, a blazing and more condensed turn littered with armored (“Once they paid me my dough, this problem was all yours, Black mask, I’m flashing sticks, that’s Star Wars, sawed off, try to run, I’m all for it, I’ll chase you with it, runnin’ with the Thunder, I’m Paul George!”) mayhem. Still, Hollow would come right back with a more versatile turn that featured a host of eccentric, metaphorical and unorthodox stylings. And tho the di-da Don was able back come right back and land a gang of haymakers with a boatload of stinging punchlines, name flips and personals along with some added wit, despite being more one-dimensional, a more consistent Roc earns a draw in the opener.
Roc would get more resourceful in round 2, using some over-the-top performance bars, more uplifting gun heat, lofty personals and righteous schemes/punches to edge a turn by Hollow that after a slow start and thanks in part to a late flurry of braggadocio bangers, almost got the L.O.M. honcho the round. 3rd round produced yet another aggressive, exhilarating and punch-heavy turn from both battlers with Roc going back to ringing (“My left hook will wobble your shit, it’s a leg shaker, then my right hook? A farmer’s tool, it’s a haymaker!”) mayhem with some piercing personals mixed in. But still behind one round, it’d be Hollow who would turn it up even more, using a plethora of searing rebuttals, hardbody schemes and agile (“I drive different, like a Tesla car engine, I’m the reason the line outside longer than an Escobar sentence!”) punchlines/personals to take the round and gain a draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Hollow Da Don – “You act tough in blogs but when I see you, you change instantly, take the fatigues off in 2K, I want to see the same energy!”
Recap: Old school and the new generation intertwine for a fire battle between Chess and Tay Roc on the URL/Smack stage. And here we see the two battlers give the fan’s their money’s worth starting with an aggressive Chess spitting a lyrically mammoth 1st round (i.e. classic) that shined throughout with its consistent bent for over-the-top punch (“This nigga’s pussy and he’s a frail ho, talking like he’s gonna creep up with his heater, hell no, we ain’t seen Roc put an arm on Chess [chest] since the People’s Elbow!”) acumen, grittiness and stinging wordplay, before Roc (who himself had a pretty solid 1st round) would come right back, after losing the opening round, with a sometimes witty, but brazen with the personals, (“You can’t handle that old Roc that was a teenager, I’ll put ya face in front of a MAC, that’s a screensaver!”) punchline-savvy and gun bar heavy 2nd round to beat a solid but not as potent turn by Chess and make it a draw going into the 3rd. The last round would feature yet another hard-bodied, mayhem-drenched, street endorsed, sometimes personal, braggadocios and rigid turn by both battlers. But with an equal amount of haymakers on both sides along with Roc dishing a more condensed turn with less dry spots, the edge here goes to the B-more vet.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “My block? you would never dare pass, .38 and it hold dum dums, this a special ed class, aye they ain’t tell you my style type gutter?, give you a buck 50, now you and Steams can smile like brothers!”
Recap: It’s only fitting that a rare appearance by Tay Roc outside the URL.Smack stage, here on the UDubb platform, gets met by the so-called ‘Smack-Killer’ Charron. And this one is a goodie, what with Roc slinging a load of fiery gun bars and white ‘cracker’ jokes that mostly killed, while his opponent stayed close with his own barrage of whimsical punchlines, nice rebuttals and a penchant for comedic flair.
The latter two rounds were each transparent when it comes to who prevailed with Roc taking the 2nd with engaging schemes, exquisite (“I don’t like cheese and crackers, so don’t be smiling in my face!”; “I’ll show up to his front door and I’ll nigga knock!”) race flips and gritty punchlines to beat a mostly pedestrian turn from his opponent, while Charron went ham in the 3rd, using robust (“Said I look like I cat-fished someone…well, you don’t know who you’re fucking with!”) rebuttals, some dope wordplay, mocking personals and jaw-dropping (“On Facebook you apologized to Smack for taking this match, as a family man, you should never be sorry for making some cash, he posted ‘My loyalty is with Smack, no other league’s worthy of these gun bars’, delete…disappeared quicker than a Tsu Surf gun charge!”) haymakers that certainly had a residual effect on certain onlookers.
So this one comes down to the 1st and the edge here goes to Roc, who when he wasn’t dishing more fire gun lines along with righteous identity politics and crazy personals, also scored points with his aggressive (“…I’ll have Ars like, ‘Chill out Roc, you know he autistic!”) wit and wild set-ups. And while Charron came through in the opening round with his own turn of potent wordplay/punches/schemes, a few too many dry spots and the fact his (“Those aren’t my bars, I’m not even saying then right, I just wanted to spit a Jdakiss verse before Suge does later tonight!”) best line was towards Shotgun Suge, instead of his opponent, cost him the round and the battle.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I was in school with pussies like you, and they was all geeks, when I wanted my homework done, I kinda gave them a hard speech like, if all my answers wrong, you get fucked up, but if you get ’em right, you get to buy my lunch all week!”
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: One round of predominantly nasty gun bars because after all he is the ‘Gun Bar King’. Then a classic round 2nd of mostly mean, disrespectful zingers to show that, yunno, he could do what the other guy’s known to do and sometimes even better. And finally a 3rd round with a boatload of gritty punchlines and personals to remind you of his versatility and why he’s in everyone Top 10. And in an away game on a stage where his opponent also happened to be the co-league owner, for Tay Roc (while an aggressive and pretty solid Arsonal had his moments, esp. when he was taking shots at Tsu Surf and Shotgun Suge, during the battle), after a debatable 1st round, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Nah, this ain’t no Tay Roc versus legend shit, this me vs. a bitch…look like we running for President!”
Recap: Normally battling dudes, Tay Roc steps away from the testosterone to have some fun with C3 on the Queen of the Ring stage. Round 1 is all Roc, literally getting mean with it through the use of too cold (“You’re not a bitch, you look like a man, let’s fight, I brought a strap, y’all better hope this tran’s vest tight [transvestite]”) personals, vicious gun bars and sick (“Real rap bitch, watch your mouth, don’t think Roc is ya friend, if I hear the wrong bar B [Barbie], you’ll end up in a box with’cha kin [Ken]!”) punchlines that easily took out an alright and too drenched with elongated set-ups turn by C3. Showing off his versatility in the second round, Roc steps away from the personals and switches it up for mostly name flips and it works what with Roc’s consistently aggressive flow now backed up by repeated (“The first bitch run up on me looking like a nigga?!, she gets it, the shit kick like a horse, it’ll go upside C biscuit! [Seabiscuit]”; “Bitch you don’t want none of this shit, keep talking, the clip a retired Crip, it’ll stop C walking!”) epithets that landed and got Tay another round. Last round featured another solid (“Roc the type to go in your pussy hole with a pocket knife!”) round by Roc versus what was easily C3’s best round what with more consistently fiery wordplay, queasy jokes and a DC (“Or maybe you just want the woman to pull out that Hawk man [Hawkman], for every need I got him, but Babs I don’t know you even invited him, like he could adjust [to] this league, this DC nigga a comic!”) comic scheme that scored. Still, for all of C3’s style points in the last round, it wasn’t quite enough to overcome Roc’s overall uniformity and bar quotient to avoid the 3-0.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Bitch, you should focus more on being ladylike, you look like the lazy type, that don’t bathe, you wash up at the sink, with no soap, you just using baby wipes!”
Recap: To wit, the presumptuous idea that John John da Don gets nothing but hate from certain crowds or URL fans just isn’t true. Take his Wavy battle for instance, where JJDD had the crowd eating in his hands, thanks of course to an epic performance, but also because 9 out of 10 battle rap fans just love hot bars…regardless of who’s spitting them. Of course, there’s some hate here and there and yes, Tay Roc has his legion of stans, but so does every top tier battle rapper. Don’t believe me? Just take a few minutes and look at the comments section of any top tier battle rapper and you’ll witness stans who swear their guy (or gal) won, no matter how much the evidence points otherwise.
That said, hate didn’t cause a pretty solid (“I’m like a scammer with some fresh gift cards, my piece is hitting!”) JJDD to lose this battle, a more versatile, performance/punch-heavy, gun bar hitting and consistent Roc (who didn’t use as many gun bars as we’re used to seeing), one too many dry spells (esp. in the 2nd round) and JJDD’s penchant for stealing bars/themes (a winnable 3rd round gets taken away by a failed attempt at a rebuttal, wasted bars pontificating to Smack and because he used the same ‘nonsensical bars’ theme Rich Dollarz used in his battle with Tay) did. Thus, a superb 1st round from both battlers makes for a debatable, while Roc’s personal, witty and punchline-crazy 2nd easily beat a mostly pedestrian turn by JJDD, before JJDD also loss the 3rd due to the aforementioned reasons, but also due to Roc’s continued ability to stay more consistent and dish (“I’m the type to walk in your crib, don’t even speak to mama, smack the plate out of her hand, like miss, I don’t eat lasagna!”) haymakers.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “What’s this, light-skin vs. dark-skin?, well take Drake I Roc with Mill’s, tell the house nigga’s I rock with nigga’s in the cotton field’s!”
Recap: You say what you want about Tay Roc’s affinity for gun bars, but the fact is the guy can rap and you don’t become the face of URL/Smack if you weren’t able to dish out so many exquisite bars, much less have so many of your peers feening to battle you. Trust the process. Summer Madness. A battle long in the waiting ever since Roc dissed Calicoe while he was right there on stage, during his tide-turning battle versus Rich Dollarz not too long back. Round one certainly had plenty of replay value what with Roc tossing salacious gun darts and belittling punches/schemes (natch on the turkey/’turducken’ bars) reckless abandon and only being edged by a more versatile, perfectly-executed, (“See, you just talk them gun bars, then rap about how your shotty spit, I talk that Big Cat, Big Meech and Maserati Rick…they call me Calicoe, but it ain’t the first gun I caught a body with!”) cadence-friendly and bar-potent Calicoe. Second round sees an undeterred and even more aggressive Roc still dishing rampant heat, but also mixing it up a bit with some witty (“Now I ain’t gonna say you was skinny-dipping with nigga’s, but in that picture you was skinny-dipping with invisible bitches!”) personals and a nice rebuttal to beat back a solid, but not near as formidable as his 1st round by Calicoe. 3rd and deciding round was another solid turn by both battlers, with Roc changing things up a bit, going more personal than usual while also hitting with some fiery wordplay and dope (“I clap it till it got a temperature, that’s a scary sight, I’mma wind up in a cell, See us [Celsius], ain’t fair in height [Fahrenheit]!”) gun bars/punchlines. On the other hand, Calicoe, while dishing tru-isms on his hustler days, bully (“He on this stage talking like he don’t love to live!”) bars and his opponent’s love for weaponry, hurt himself a bit with redundant themes on Roc joining Dot Mob and a few pedestrian bars that didn’t quite line up with his steady vigor. Thus, give a more consistent Roc the edge at the end.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Smack fuck with me ‘cuz I son these nigga’s…and sign them over to custody!”
Recap: It’s just too much Roc in this one, as despite Brizz Rawsteen bringing his entire arsenal of deft performance bars, (“Two hands on a .9, that’s real nigga time!”) loud/aggressive and hitting punchlines, pronounced delivery and witty polemics/personals to the match, Tay Roc’s steady ability to floss with rich gun lines, spitfire punchlines, kindred vet (“Nigga’s always talking about what they woulda did, till they the one’s that it happen to you!”) speak, fiery wordplay, ‘random’ (“I said, Summer Madness coming, Calicoe, stop running, Conceited, how you 4-foot 5 and still ducking?, John John still talking shit, he gonna make me steal something…”) shiners and braggadocio haymakers (all of which particularity shined and got him rounds 1 & 2, before a debatable 3rd) prove to be too much for the Dark Side up-n-comer, who while getting better as the battle proceeded, not only had too many dry spots, for the most part just couldn’t match his opponent’s consistency and versatility.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Hey, to all them nigga’s claiming Gun Bar King, them nigga’s not me, I used to carry 1, now I pair it [parrot], they trying to mock me!”
Recap: Some battles lean on consistency and some lean on moments. Tsu Surf vs. Tay Roc? Definitely more momentous, which thankfully didn’t make it any less competitive what with a bar-heavier Roc taking the 1st round before Surf made a pretty flexing comeback in the latter half of his 2nd round to edge that turn and make things even going into the 3rd. A battle littered with plenty of ferocious gun bars (esp. from Roc), understated wordplay, very little personals, a bunch of name flips, boastful barbs, a boatload of dry spots and a slew of graphic mayhem, would see its climax in a surprisingly underwhelming final round that the steel gripping lines Roc managed to edge…because he just happened to have more moments than his opponent.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “Test Roc, get a cracked head and a neck shot, paralyzed from the neck down, he can’t even play his X-box!”
Recap: “Just having fun”. In rounds 1 and 3 anyway, Tay Roc literally toys with DNA here, using steel gripping (“Fuck you and the clique you rep, red beam on your lip. looking like a lit cherry on a cigarette”) lines, gritty gun (“Roc tripping, I will let a glock hit him, man the can come from under the shirt like I’m shoplifting”) bars, congenial name flips, Dot Mobb (for every diss DNA hurled at Dot Mobb, Roc had an answer) darts, a killer rebuttal for his boy Smack and hard (“That tooth, that’s in your mouth? I ain’t got time for all that [instead] I’ll put a loose one in ya mouth like you ain’t buy a whole pack”) personals to overwhelm what was exactly a pretty nice round (“I tell my man keep ya eyes on the clock, so when I shot at 8:59, all y’all gonna see is 9 on the Dot”) from DNA. And while DNA stepped it up round two, using aggressive bars. feelgood (“Since he for peace [4 piece] tell Smack to set it up with Factz if you get the cheese, cuz’ once I serve Tay with this Big Mac I’mma give Mickey these”) wordplay and dope personals (“See? When DNA don’t make sense it’s because I freestyled it, thought of it this very minute, when you don’t make sense you went home, took time out and it was written”) to outwit a pretty average 2nd round from Roc, dissing Smack on SMACK and his boy/fan fave Charlie Clips just made no sense, much less did letting the crowd get to him considering how long DNA’s been in the game for (and he must remember THIS, right?). Indeed, with this battle now posted if DNA’s ever gonna get that match he wants so bad with Mook, he’s gonna have to show more poise, consistency and come up with a better game plan.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I am pure violence, I don’t decide peace, pimp shit, i came with my main bitch and my sidepiece, aim it at that side, you could tell that whole side peace, i done hot so many niggas with the side piece, I lost a sidepiece!”
