No Bias. No Narratives.
Recap: Street-tinged yet patchy with the bars, boastful and aggressive, name flip solid and bullish/witty when need be, a consistent and hardbody flowing Head I.C.E. lets off enough grimy hood dialect to take the 1st and 3rd rounds of this KOTD Grand Prix tournament bout to beat back a personal-lit, but topsy-turvy with the punches Ty Law.
Verdict: Head I.C.E. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Head I.C.E. – “I’m 50% of half the battle rappers that keep it a 100!”
Recap: Still underrated to this day for his punch game, Ty Law uses a boatload of wily similes, some hitting name flips and piercing gun bars to beat back a brazen, but mostly pedestrian Kashmoney in this 3-rounder from Bar4Bar Rap Battle League.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “They say if this was the 80s you’d be dealing the work, nah if this was the 80s you’d be in LeVert!”
Recap: A punch-heavy and witty battle at times, but also a little bent on filler, reaches and a recycled bar or two, after splitting the first couple of rounds, Ty Law versus Don Marino comes down to the unorthodox stylings and ‘over the head’ punchlines of Mr. Law edging what was an overall pretty solid, but a bit flow-challenged turn by Mr. Marino in the deciding 3rd round.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “They deep in every city you live, Mexicans the reason Lowe’s and Home Depot be lit as it is!”
Recap: Spouting an abundance of spicy punchlines/personals/mayhem/schemes with a more consistent handle then we’re used to seeing from him of late, Ty Law does enough in the first two rounds to get by a performance-heavy E. Ness, who while staying close with fierce anecdotal punches, witty barbs and name flips, suffered from one too many dry spells to stay in the bout early on before a spitfire 3rd round allowed him to avoid the 3-0.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “He say he the punch king, he don’t got ’em like that, who punch harder?, E, Con or Me [economy]?, they got you on the bottom like blacks!”
Recap: Solid 1-rounder between Ty Law and Fis Da Beast features a load of spiffy punchlines and fiery name flips on both sides. But a slightly more versatile, scheme-friendly, more personal and condensed Law does just enough to edge this one.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Shot lift him, hey it’s a cig, pick up everything in the room like you got pussy on the way to the crib!”
Recap: Solid, 1-round matchup between Ty Law and Street Status battler B Mac sees the former deliver his standard panache of quirky punchlines, but with the burden of an elongated turn that wasn’t always consistent. On the other hand, B Mac, with a distinctive Midwestern flow that brought a spark to his delivery, just came with more heat, beating his DMV opponent with well-connected punches that were laced with feelgood wordplay, gritty set-ups and even some entertaining wit.
Verdict: B Mac (W) 1-0
Favorite line: B Mac – “She permanent here, [moves arm like gun] cock back and open a case on Law…that’s Internal Affairs!”
Recap: Ty Law and Zay Smoove battle in this rare 3-rounder from Gates of the Garden. Competitive throughout, despite being out-punched Law’s opening freestyles forces a draw to round one, while too many dry spots along with a couple of slip-ups, give a more consistent and (“Put the knife all in him, bring it back out, put it back in, shit look like I’m at the credit card machine, but the chip just won’t work!”) aggressive Zay the 2nd. Behind going into the 3rd, Law gets back on his grind with his best round what with rapid punches that steadily hit. And despite another solid turn from Zay, Law’s more heavy-handed turn makes this one even in the end.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Ty Law – “The fact you got all these battles, not one hot clip, it’s telling like that nigga crying in his mugshot pic!”
Recap: Well, Ty Law definitely had to earn this one. Against a spitfire at times, immensely name flip-dropping and (“Nigger stop, ‘cuz this will be the first 48 if we take this further, my Criminal Intent put Law & Order when I wave this burner!”) scheme-heavy Steve Staples, who seemed to get better with each round, a more consistent with his flexing (“I was scoping you, you fought your boo mad drunk, y’all had a loud falling out like a loose ass blunt!”) punches, nifty over-the-head bars and spiffy wordplay Law, not only rises to the occasion, but manages to drop in a couple of nice freestyle/rebuttals to easily take round one before edging the second for the win.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Pull out a calicoe, he’ll probably choke, peep him coming, press him calmly then I’ll pop him close!”
Recap: Tough one-rounder between Chess and (“You let a breakdancer off you dog, it’s bad when a breaker break a nigger, it ain’t a walkie-talkie call!”) Ty Law sees both battlers come heavy with the punches throughout their rounds. Yet, despite a near choke towards the end of his turn, (“If I catch him in his whip, the weapon will clap 8, leave Law smoking in that van like the detectives in Half Baked!”) Chess survives with a more condensed and consistently nice turn that just edges his opponent’s less potent artillery.
Verdict: Chess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chess – “I don’t look like the blade type?, Y’all think I won’t cut a person?, until I grab the gem and I [Gemini] become a whole ‘nother person!”
Recap: When you admittedly refer to a battle as meaning ‘nuthin’ to you, you might not be as motivated to write your best bars. That seems to be the case here as Ty Law’s notorious punches are frequented by too many listless dyke jokes and ‘over-ya-head’ bars that bordered on reaching when he wasn’t scoring with definitive (“Chrome bitch spitting, I shoot till it’s hot as hell fire, give it to Q to cool in the mouth like a nail-biter!”) shiners here and there. On the other hand the always confident QB, seemingly (“He a faggot, his real name by law [bi Law], they can’t charge me with a crime, and that’s by Law!”) punching a little more these days than flexing with the personals, ably stood her ground in a one-round bout that on paper anyway, looked to be more competitive.
Verdict: QB (Black Diamond) (W) 1-0
Favorite line: QB (Black Diamond) – “That’s why real nigger’s don’t fuck with you and my presence got you feeling uncomfortable, I bust pistols, crazier than a Spanish bitch with trust issues!”
Recap: Punchline feen versus puncher sees a more rapidly consistent and a little more versatile K-Shine take this spirited one-rounder from an up-n-down and a bit filler-prone Ty Law.
Verdict: K-Shine (W) 1-0
Favorite line: K-Shine – “With the .40 I’m like a proud new dad…ready to Pop!”
Recap: In a close and fiery battle dipped with plenty of hot (TL: “I felt my cornea open, never, ever sleep, I forgot the rest…like Born when he choking!”) punchlines and sizzling (KB: “I guess I could talk about your high top since it’s my turn, nigga just because you high top, don’t mean that you can’t get the side burn!”) wordplay, Killa B does just enough to edge rounds rounds 1 and 3, thus taking the win over a pretty solid Ty Law.
Verdict: Killa B (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Killa B – “Geek squad, I unlock Mac’s and open Apple’s!”
Recap: A half-nice, but filler-prone Wev Cravv fails to hold his ground against the repeated onslaught of fiery punches from Ty Law in this one-rounder from Trap NY.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Through your round you’ll shoot me, but real life, we not playing, glock aiming, shots like new fiends, we rock Cravan!”
Recap: Another exhilarating battle brought to you from Bullpen Battle League with Ty Law and relative newcomer PC going toe to toe with animated punchlines, fiending wordplay, flexing gun bars and exorbitant performance lines throughout. However, after splitting (Ty Law: “I bet they don’t catch it like a Bonecrusher stage dive!”; PC: “You act like you some type of thug or something, well I’m 9-tre —, disrespect my blood and you’ll catch a slug or something, I told my relatives at the last family reunion they better not call me cuz [’cause] for nuthin!” ) the first couple of rounds, it’s Law who proves to have the most stamina, with a more (“I’ll PC this nigga, remember?, proceed with caution, pussy chill, protect ya chest or the police will chalk him!”) condensed and solid round that easily takes out what was a mixed and at times, lethargic turn by his opponent.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “You pussy as Cortez, have ya people crying, kill them for nothing like when they popped Cornbread!”
Recap: Closer than what outcome states, as Cedarside Mone dished some hot (“Big eagle, with two lasers, I let that hammer fire, that’s [points at Ty’s head like gun] a desi with two i’s [eyes], I’m trying to spell Desiigner!”) lines here and there. But some lame name flips, righteous filler and Ty Law’s consistently nice wordplay, crazy (“It ain’t no blocking this ratchet, like when ya mom stalk me!”) jokes and fierce (“This dude pen is saying that he only should watch, folks you jock, I’m on they heels like the hole in ya sock!”; “…like ya bitch making orgasms, the moan fake as shit!”) punchlines were too much to overcome in this matchup from Bar4BarRapBattles.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Caught me crankin’ his chick, the slut skated, I grabbed my strap before I grabbed my drawers…pause, I’ll [extends arm like gun] buck naked!”
Recap: Scintillating, last-minute, one-rounder between Ty Law and Qleen Paper has both rappers going full tilt with what they’re readily known for. In Law’s case, hard-hitting (“That gay shit you shout dawg!, make country nigga’s say ‘no homo!’, like left-hand fighters, he make the South pause [southpaws]”) punchlines and crazy (“He knows that was dope, that barrel scary, [points hands like gun towards Qleen] I bet you can’t look straight in that, like Verb in that plastic coat!”) wordplay, while a somewhat surprisingly well-prepared Qleen’s consistently whimsical (“I mean your bars cool, but mines hard stool, I got my shit together!”) bars and gritty street talk reminded of what he’s capable of when he brings his A-game. In fact, with little on the personals side and both dishing out an equal amount of haymakers, it’s Qleen’s slightly more consistent delivery and slightly higher bar quotient that ends up getting this one in the end.
Verdict: QP (Qleen Paper) (W) 1-0
Favorite line: QP – “He gonna talk about somethin’ ‘Yeah I hope you got some hands to go with those loose lips’…boy yeah, I got them hands, fuck you thunk I’mma shoot with?!”
Recap: The Philly battle rapper’s need for more intricacy within their bars displays itself again as while Cyssero spouted more consistency and a better flow here against Ty Law than he did a few months earlier against Cortez, his mostly hard lines and straightforward delivery just couldn’t hang with a more elaborate punchline (“Your pen game like Rogue off X-men, feel her [filler] is hurting you!”) feen, personals (“Me and Cortez ruined ya buzz, my question is who killed him more, Court or Law?…YOU be the judge!”) stalwart and jaunty (“You got frail hands, you ain’t poppin’ no gun, it’s gonna be a nasty sight, tell Th3Saga don’t run!”) wordsmith in Law. So while Cyss’ penchant for guns bars were drenched in cinematic sound bites (and he did manage to spit some (“If I don’t give him a shot, I still Set It Off, you Vivica Fox, eat the butt of the 50!”) fire at times) too often they lacked the adroitness, bite and animated pizzazz of a Big T. So indeed, while the (“I throw lead, go ‘head with the hype shit, AR hit ya car and make it do bike tricks!”) talent is certainly there, if Philly’s best are going to continue to take on the URL’s best, they’re not going to have to catch up to the slick proficiency of battle rapper’s more elite, but come more consistent and even look into drafting a different game plan.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Your time to blow done, your chances like Daylyt [daylight] vs O Red battle, because Day died and [in] ’01 [O won]”
Recap: Not always consistent with his pronounced and unorthodox punch game (which allowed for a debatable 2nd round), but here in this 3-rounder from Alpha League against a spirited and hard-hitting at times Times, Ty Law still brought enough frenzied name flips, piercing punchlines, witty barbs and lofty wordplay to take the 1st and 3rd rounds and earn the win.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “He be talking drive-bys and shit, you like a salve that’s already an Uncle Tom…nigga, you ain’t got a whip!”
Recap: With the chances increasing of a battle ending in a tie, this is why everyone should hate even round matchups. Especially in this case where, if what DNA said was true, Ty Law went past the required time limits in both rounds–so they might as well had done a one-off. Either way, I got this one split down the middle. DNA took the first with real talk(“This gonna be your first battle with 500 thou, so you could tell me your welcome more, ‘cuz Will thought like the police, he used dna to help the Law”) personals and (“The way the Nina kicking at Law, look like a Tekken fight!”) haymakers, while Law’s punchlines was (“Get nigga’s jumped, I hit each gunner, like 3 people in the Flintstone car, see them 6 feet under!”) splendid at times, too many lazy tooth jokes did him in. 2nd round saw Law step it up on the (“Steal him, I don’t gotta smack him, know he feel himself so he get the closed fist like when Saga try to dap him!”) wordplay, nice schemes and more crazy (“I’m dumping at his big-ass head, have this nigga cabbage baking, that dome you’ll get a round 2 to it, like procrastination”) punches, while DNA had a slow start and came with fiery bars here (“Nigga whatever you bleeding on, we’ll be next to the fresh prints [Fresh Prince] like Nia Long!”) and there, his freestyle compensation for Law’s elongated turn, was at the end pretty subpar.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: DNA – “I’m the PG killer, I give them that feeling, made Chess a star, off that [a] million, and showed I even got punches for the kids [balls fist], I’m Kat Williams!”
Recap: As long as Ty Law’s been out of the ring, you had to know he was sitting on a shitload of bars. Still, up against a resilient punchline fiend like B-Magic, the main question here was if Law’s long break would give way to rust. Apparently not as from the jump Law’s pronounced, slow-punching and for the most part (one too many lines on Magic’s past brouhaha with the S.O.N.S’ Fox), consistently biting lines definitely made their presence felt throughout the battle. B Magic, on the other hand, quicker and adept with the punches, while also fierce with the name flips, wordplay and unorthodox polemics, would take advantage of Law’s worst turn of the night (a hitting at times, but somewhat pedestrian 3rd that came right after he tied things up by edging round 2) with a condensed, but ably proficient and punch-heavier round that worked effectively enough to edge him the battle.
Verdict: B Magic (W) 2-1
Favorite line: B Magic – “You better break when it clap like a football huddle!”
Recap: I was in total agreement with the Lox on this one. Had Law easily taking the 1st round while prez maf edged the 2nd. Last round was close (Prez’s “run up on you with a switchblade….and then switch blades!” line was mean!), yet Law was on the verge of taking it till his slip-up cost him near the end.
Verdict: pref mafia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Funny, he studied Law, now he dying in da tourney [an attorney]”
Recap: This kid Jimz has potential (“I’ll show you what to really do with this pussy, like the karmasutra”), seemed to have worked on his versatility and wordplay, but regardless of how many top tier battle rappers he disses, he’s gotta work harder on his authenticity, find a sense of humor (trust me, showing your funny side can win you battles), quit biting lines and get more complex with the bars. Besides that, after pretty much snoozing through round 1, Ty Law woke up and just spazzed, breaking down his opponent’s artillery with punchline (“I’m the one that said I’ll let revolvers blast, no movie thing, shoot the scene like Heartless’ dad”) after punchline (“Annoying single, I ain’t never heard a cornier hit, don’t blink get your eye shot, cornea hit”) along with personals and (tho Jimz’ 3rd was nice, esp. that “I stay with my ratchet, that’s my black girl bitch….black girl itch” line was fire!) crazy execution to come back and get the win.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “All them rounds in his head like the nigga practicing his bars”
Recap: Love Tay Roc’s reactions here in this nice PG battle. That said, Jay Rell has a dope freestyle (the Drake jokes killed) game, jokes and can spit the occasional hard-hitting (“My niggas dumping bury [Berry] like Eric Benet”) bar, but against a Ty Law at his best, dropping rapid (“The .40 ugly when he signing, Bobby Brown”) punchlines after (“My bullets all racist, they be knockin’ niggas melon in [melanin]”) punchlines along with terrific flow and wordplay, combined with his slip-ups there was just no way Rell could keep up.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “When somethin’ from the 80’s get stuck in his head, bitch it ain’t ‘Computer Love'”
Synopsis: Despite a couple of slip-ups in two different rounds, Law not only gets this one for dropping more punchlines overall then his opponent, but also because of the huge amount of filler Real Talk was spitting during rounds 1 and 3.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: “Tell ya’ people I’ll bury at least one or two, I’ll centipede them, they’ll be twenty feet under you”
Recap: Bad footage, distracting background noise, definitive crowd bias…it’s all there in this battle between Ty Law and Ave. Still, if you listen closely you’ll hear a competitive battle nonetheless, edged overall by Raw who despite lacking in performance at times, was slightly more consistent in his bars and able to land more punches in the first couple of rounds to earn the win.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Who bars sell more, Ave’s or Ty’s? This nigga commercial!”
Synopsis: While it might be politically correct to say Sno got this, I’m gonna go the other way and say that Ty Law clearly got the win here. Indeed, Sno’s 1st round (even with the fumble) was a classic, just on the “Marshall Law” scheme alone. But like many battle rappers who open with over-the-top 1st rounds: soon it becomes way too hard to stay on that top shelf for all 3 rounds. That fact alone was fortunate for Ty Law, who just by being himself and staying consistent throughout all 3 rounds, delivering dope bar after bar (“And yeah the best feature on ya’ baby mother is her mouth, her tongue is out I’m nuttin’ on the couch, right when Andy was at work, it’s like she put Andy in reverse, that’s whY D-N-A coming out her mouth”) was able to take the latter 2 rounds and edge out the win.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Best line: Ty Law – “You crackers safe in the house like professional thief’s”
Recap: Ty Law’s wide range of rich personals, potent (“Catch him in his whip, let a Tek aim, head banging on a steer wheel, hit his left brain, had the horn beeping when the feds came, van horn [Van Horn] still was going off like a old ass Nets game!”) schemes and sizzling (“Challengers I’m homy-ing and I’m bodying this slouch, this snitch Jacob the Jeweler, he diamond [dime-ing [diamond] niggas out”) punchlines prove to be too much for even a spelling champ like Boogie Flat, who displayed some (“See, the glock be the toy that’ll leave your spot fractured, I gotcha block mastered, bitch you better back up, watch my bitch act up, son I ain’t no rapper, cock the .4 and let you meet the real 5th factor”) highlights here and there, but until the 3rd round, failed to match Law’s consistency, versatility and overall verbal onslaught.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “I’ll pop your toddler, in ya crib, spark her mad [pow! pow!], two to [tutor] ya kid like I’m smart in math!”
Synopsis: Despite a midway slip-up, Ty Law gets his grind up and takes out a competitive, but clearly outclassed Clemenza in this last-minute promo battle.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “This dopehead sniff and drive, nosebleeding and all, like a bitch that caught you cheating, hoe’s keying his car”
Recap: Ajax kept it close here against Ty Law through two rounds thanks to a nice flow that spouted some dope (“I’m from Shark City where them heaters stay squeezing, you from PG County…where there’s PTA meetings”; “I’mma take this early, see the flow stupid cold [Cole], but I don’t date Big Shirley!”) bars and some fierce wordplay. But a lack of consistency with some filler here and there, a couple of slip-ups in the 3rd round and Law’s more steady punchlines game along with aggressive bully (“I’ll kick his features till his teeth is chipped, no cereal, I got him eating Kix [kicks]”) bars, ended up setting Ajax adrift.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “This guy will get his kin killed when I pull a glock, bullets hot, thought he coudl touch me but now he looking shot, back down B, all you get is a wooden box!”
Recap: Ty Law uses a gang of fiery name (“Usually, I spit three rounds and then I take my opponent’s heart, watch me take Anymal’s [animal’s] in two, this Noah’s Ark!”) flips, buoyant (“You Rick Ross, you know ya man Gunplay [gun play] wack!”) punchlines and sizzling (“I’m in all black like a Saints fan, poppin’ like I breakdance, he try to run I let the .8 blam, spray his whole back like Hollywood Hogan with the paint can!”) schemes to make quick work of Anymal. Who in an apparent grudge match, spent most of his time wanting to “prove” himself rather than attempt to win the battle–a little deflating after he spouted a pretty intense and blazing (“Talking out your jaw, I call and get you all sniped, put your brain on Ty Law spelled backwards, on the wall [Law] aight [Ty]!”) first round.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “Nowadays there’s no fighting, I will pop it, Craig on is day off, who the fuck still boxing?!”
Recap: Thanks to some winning names (“Ever since I was yeah tall, I knew how to break laws, my first crime is I’mma get so high cuz I’ll smoke Ty, then I’ll put a arrow through his bone marrow, I’ll bow Ty [tie]”) flips in the 2nd round, Syckflo makes up for a filler-drenched and candy-bar painted 1st round to warrant himself overtime against a sometimes pensive Ty Law. However, in OT while Law’s expansive punchline (“This OT was planned, we know it’s going to me like Reggie Miller with a minute left”) games shines, an unprepared Syckflo can’t even pull off a freestyle to save himself from a bout with slip-ups and finally a last-minute visit from Earl.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) OT
Favorite line: Ty Law – “You anorexic, you been messing with the meth at night, I’m ambidextrous, I’ve been killing rappers left and right!”
Synopsis: With rigid (“Pour in ya 40’s, like niggas drinkin’ thinkin’ bout their dead homies”)
bars and delirious punchlines Ty Law drops the hammer down on Boka with relative ease.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “This ain’t Lux vs. Mook, it’s a kitten verse a-class”
Synopsis: I know watching a battle live is harder to judge than watching it in footage, but in this case the punchlines Law spit in the 1st and 3rd rounds clearly bodied anything Hindu Rock had to say, so who knows what a couple of those judges was talking about.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “He was born a fag, the fruit of his mom’s labor”
Recap: Midwest battle rapper Dallas spits an aggressive and (“He acts like a bitch to get attention, you’re TYler Perry!”) fierce 1st round, but goes off the bender right around the “Tywanna Man” mark with inconsistent wordplay and corny nerd semantics. Meanwhile, Ty Law only gets better as the battle proceeds and uses some wicked (“This geek rides solo, he don’t get no hoes, only bitch on Dallas…Romo!”) personals along with dope name flips to bounce back for the win.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ty Law – “And yeah he moving white, [but] he ain’t start pitching, he moving white because he off rhythm!”
Recap: In a battle of the Law’s, it’s Ty who scores the easy 3-0 with more consistent punchlines and redeeming (“Call ya dad, your pop he a snitch king, Apple Bottoms run in ya family, you got them bitch genes [jeans]!”) your family personals and against a clearly overmatched J-Law. While not a body, till take away a judge’s cred for anyone who dared called this battle ‘close’ or asked for an OT.
Verdict: Ty Law (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Ty Law – “We all know he ain’t the real law like mall cops!”
