Recap: Chef Trez might disagree, but members of the crowd screaming ‘1-1’ after two rounds of this dope KOTD, 3-round matchup between Trez and Xcel, had it correct. As the slightly more efficient and haymaker-lit Trez edged round 1, before (despite some solid freestyles/rebuttals that took place during a jaunty turn from the Chef) the ever wordplay/punch and name flip-heavy Xcel returned the favor in round 2 to split things up going into the 3rd. And that’s where Trez really turned it up, got versatile and had a classic, utilizing some more salacious personals/gun bars, fierce off-the-dome heat, fire set-up/punchlines and graphic/mayhem-lit darts/name flips to take the 3rd for the win in light of another competitive and gritty turn by his opponent.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “But you still act like a bitch do, the boy hating, act wrong the toy blazing, I’m for sure waving, the handle wood, but the slide chrome, it got a nickleback, peep the formation!”
Recap: From TBL, flexing throughout this battle with a boatload boastful barbs, witty personals, stinging name flips, gritty gun bars and well-crafted punchlines, a more versatile and consistently hitting Xcel does more than enough to take rounds 1 and 3 (call round 2 debatable) for the win over an aggressive and piercing at times, but less substantive Snake Eyez.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “You said I don’t have impact, it don’t matter my guns do!”
Recap: From TBL Shark Tank. In one of those competitive and scintillating barfests you don’t often get to see, a slightly more versatile, personal-spazzing and scheme/punch-lit Chilla Jones takes the 1st round and (after a debatable 2nd) and edges the 3rd to gain the win a pretty dope Xcel in a battle that when it comes to sizzling wordplay/metaphors, fierce name flips/anecdotes, seismic similes, high battle IQ, boastful barbs and piercing set-ups/punchlines offers up a tremendous start to 2023.
Verdict: Chilla Jones (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chilla Jones – “You trying to buy music from ‘Cel?, back in the day I ain’t even buy ring tones!”
Recap: Cortez, who’s been talking a lot lately about needing his peers to start ‘putting respect on my name’, stops by iBattle for a 3-rounder against the lyrical wordsmith that is Xcel and after a debatable and fire-on-both-sides round 1, uses a righteous at times, personal-heavy, gritty, and more punchline-lit rounds 2 and 3 to earn the win over an opponent who gave a game effort, but just couldn’t keep up with Cor’s verbal barrage in the latter two rounds.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “It’s global warming, I make blocks hot for the winter!”
Recap: Seen better overall bouts from both battlers, but this rematch between Born and Xcel at KOTD’s Season 1 tourney is still a goodie with plenty of spicy lyrical burners, standout personals, stunted wordplay/braggadocios lines and fiery 4-bar punches reigning galore. But after losing round 1 while struggling a bit with his flow, Xcel gets it together in the latter two rounds with more consistently hitting darts to gain the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Talking about you airing a Ruger, this nigga wouldn’t draw if he was Aaron McGruder!”
Recap: One-rounder from King of the 5 Battle League sees Xcel use a slew of consistently hitting punchlines to go along with a gang of scorched-earth wordplay and boastful barbs to handily beat back back a solid and gritty, but nowhere near as potent turn from Arod.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Bro, you are a wannabee, and as as rap I’m everywhere that you want to be, nigga I took a hundred steps back so you could stand in front of be!”
Recap: A couple of slip-ups cost him round 1, but here against a gritty, versatile and pretty solid effort from Xcel, the rest of the battle is all Marvwon as the Detroit vet’s consistent barrage of righteous zingers/gun bars, stinging name flips, piercing punchlines and hard-hitting personals gets him rounds 2 and 3 for the win in the 3rd round of this KOTD GP2020 tournament.
Verdict: Marvwon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Marvwon – “I say dig, I’m a great shooter, I’m always [raises arm’s like holding a rifle] lifted [Lyft-ed]…I hate Uber!”
Recap: After surviving a gritty patchwork of rudimentary rhymes by Head I.C.E. in round 1, a boastful Xcel gets in his bag of wicked 4-bar set-ups, fiery wordplay, rigid name flips and hard-hitting personals/punches to take both (with a little help from I.C.E. slipping up a couple of times in round 3) of the latter rounds, win the battle and move on to the next round of this KOTD GP2020 tourney.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “I’m Heisenberg, I’ll show y’all the method for cooking Ice!”
Recap: From KOTD’s Grand Prix tournament, plenty of good shit from Eddy I., who with a boatload of fierce gun bars and versatile punchlines, gave himself a nice shot at winning. One wrinkle tho: his opponent happened to be Xcel. And with the Team Homi mercenary getting extra spicy with the wordplay/name flips, spouting some off-the-dome shiners and flexing with a studious and rim-rocking punch game, it’s Jason who moves on to the next round with a well-earned 30.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “You is a young goat, it’s just not your time, you Lebron with the headband!”
Recap: Opportunities are opportunities, but I’m taking on a couple of dope pen’s like Ill Will and Xcel within a week’s time, might just be asking for too much. Not that A. Ward, with his ability to spout witty barbs, rigid punchlines and wily off-the-dome heat didn’t keep things competitive. But in this 3-rounder from IBattleTV, Xcel’s piercing wordplay, fierce set-ups, boastful punches, bruising personals and witty/righteous heaters wins him all 3 rounds here.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Now answer me quickly so the subject can change, I won’t speak ill on your God because we one and the same!”
Recap: From IBattleTV, a close 1-rounder here between a gritty and gun-bar-lit Ken Savvy and a personally righteous, intricate, scheme-friendly and surprisingly witty at times Xcel comes down to the Team Homi capo delivering a cleaner turn to go along with a slightly more multifaceted performance for the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Y’all say Ken is sick? well it’s looking like Ken a bitch, another weirdo on Shady shit, you Ken Kaniff!”
Recap: In this punch-lit 3-rounder from IBattleTV, KOTD champ (belt not on the line here) Real Deal gives Xcel all he can handle with a wide array of piercing 4-bar set-ups, boastful barbs and blistering personals. But with a consistent run that featured some stinging wordplay, plenty of righteous darts that landed, some rarely seen wit and a gang of rigid mayhem, it’s Xcel who edges both of the opening rounds for the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “And I got the biscuit, I’ll lift your spirit up, I’m optimistic!”
Recap: Mixing fiery mayhem with a nice pound of (“I ain’t come to play not a game with you, gay fight, the flame hit you!”) wit and a boatload of searing punchlines/schemes, after a debatable 1st round and a punch/wordplay-heavy/God-barking Xcel easily taking the 2nd, Sha G is able to make a comeback, win the 3rd and make this competitive 3-rounder from iBattle a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Xcel – “Head shot, I’ll put your cabbage on your dog…no sauerkraut!”
Recap: In this competitive battle from KOTD, a rarely-seen-solo Quest Mcody puts forth a solid effort with a wide load of brazen punches, witty barbs and even some off-the-dome freestyles. But over the course of 3 rounds, a more condensed Xcel proves to be too much for his opponent, using a wide array of righteous punchlines, potent wordplay and fierce name flips to score a debatable 2nd round when he wasn’t edging both the 1st and 3rd. Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “A death match how?, this ain’t even a setback now, when X marks the spot, yo I got Quest mapped out!”
Recap: From the URL app…Young Kannon and Xcel spit a boatload of lyrical heaters, righteous mayhem, sturdy name flips, ready and loaded punchlines as well as stinging personals in this highly competitive 3-rounder from the URL Banned Legacy card. Noteworthy when considering that both battlers came through with 3 weeks and nary a stumble, the vic here goes to YK who edged the first two rounds via a slightly more consistent and condensed turn in the 1st, before landing more haymakers to take the 2nd. Call the 3rd round, which overall saw Kannon and Xcel come down a notch bar-wise, as a debatable.
Verdict: Young Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young Kannon – “Give X bucks after he gone…that’s alimony!”
Recap: Delivering well-crafted name flips on a whim, lofty gun bars and jaunty punchlines/wordplay with steady aggression, Xcel does just enough to beat back a gritty and competitive, but not quite as consistent Real Sikh in this fierce 1-rounder from iBattle.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “If he sick [Sikh] I’m terminal, that’s what we on this stage for [Stage 4]!”
Recap: Here versus Xcel on the KOTD stage, the comedic, name-flip potent, storytelling, hometown-friendly and rebuttal-lit stylings of Frak not only make for an insane 2nd round, but more importantly a tie going into the 3rd. But just like he did to take the opening round, Xcel’s on-point lyrical jousting, punch-savvy wordplay, Jewish barbs, wit and sizzling set-ups/personals prove to be enough to take the deciding 3rd round and earn the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Why come fuck with the hood when white privilege sided with you?, but y’all love adrenaline, so that help me find this clue, this put you close to danger, but not really in it, this is the VICE for you!”
Recap: As seen here, Prep’s ability to aptly freestyle can keep him close in any battle. But in this solid 3-rounder from Jack City Battle League, after a punch-for-punch, debatable 1st round, Xcel’s more versatile punchlines, fiery wordplay, wily personals and in-depth schemes were a bit too much for a less consistent with the punches ‘Dirty Prep’ to keep up with in the latter two rounds.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Word-wise and bar-for-bar, I’m one of the best family, ‘cuz my whole appeal is kill son, understand that’s what the Plan B [plan b]!”
Recap: A 2nd round choke by Habeeb is essentially the difference here as a pretty righteous, mayhem-rich and personal/punch-heavy back-n-forth between the IAMI hip-hop band member and Xcel gets the latter both of the opening rounds, before a more consistently spicy Habeeb took the 3rd of this 3-rounder from Southpaw Battle Coalition.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Well let me guess, he don’t watch football, he’s on his Kaepernick, well you stand for peace?, well here take two of ’em, I got active fists!”
Recap: Well, that went downhill fast. After utilizing a stream of nifty/witty punchlines to match Xcel’s more detailed and salacious wordplay/punches in the first, up-n-comer Sweeney is brought back down to earth via a more pedestrian 2nd round, before faltering altogether and choking in the 3rd. All this while Xcel continued to land hard and score repeatedly with consistently hot darts and bodacious schemes to easily take the latter two rounds and the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “But, I don’t doubt your pop’s showed you how to use a gun and click…but ’round here, wild life shoot back on them hunting trips!”
Recap: A couple of nice rebuttals and heated punchlines by Xcel makes things competitive, but a cleaner, witty throughout and set-up/personal-heavy turn by Cable Guy gives the latter the edge in this one-rounder from Colosseum Battle League.
Verdict: Cable Guy (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Cable Guy – “You oughta be top tier, main stage, making classics, but on your road to Summer Madness, you got stuck in Traffic!”
Recap: Sporting a plethora of showmanship, wit and rapid lyrical aptness, Madflex matches bars with the always flexing wordplay and fiending punches of Xcel for 3 rounds on the KOTD stage. A solid and spirited battle throughout, a fire middle-of-the-round (“…when his LIFE come out his chest like the shirt on his skin!”) freestyle by Madflex allows him just enough room to match a versatile and fire (“You not the truth, I will rock your roof like stalactites!”) turn by Xcel. The 2nd and 3rd rounds however, sees each battler out-maneuver the other what with Madflex’s more consistent darts and finite (“If I offered you a featherweight fight, you look light, you’d bring a pillow!”) penmanship beating back a less potent turn by Xcel in the middle round, before the Team Homi vet comes back with a more punch-heavy and surmisable in the 3rd for the draw.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Xcel – “You wanna try angles, but got the wrong hypotenuse!”
Recap: This one-rounder from Gates in the Garden sees a strong, punch-heavy performance from Monstar. However, a little too much filler versus a more condensed and gritty, if not a little esoteric showing from Xcel, ends up putting the Team Homi member over.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “What more is there left to say, I’m the God, I should be at rest today!”
Recap: If you were long anticipating Xcel’s return to the URL stage, it was well worth the wait as you certainly got a goodie here versus an also impressive Stuey Newton. First round was close, what with Newton’s hardbody barbs combining well with an air of (“I’m a make this Homie look bad…Poison Pen with the microphone!”) wit and steady aggression. However, with his own allotment of stinging (“Plus, the ratchet lick Offset’s [off set’s], it act just like Cardi act [cardiac]!”) wordplay and more potent punches, Xcel was able to do his opponent one better and take the opening round. Despite a solid turn by Xcel in the 2nd, there was just about no way he could beat an almost perfect mid-round by Stuey, who besides a nice freestyle and rebuttal to start things off, went with a personal-themed (“You ain’t been carrying your weight, so it’s clear XL [Xcel] doesn’t fit you!”) round that scored heavy when he wasn’t already bodying things with delicious haymaker after haymaker to come back and even the battle out. Tied going into the 3rd, Stuey Newton came back with another (“I can kill nigger’s with facts…the truth serum!”) hard and righteous round, all the while flexing his versatility, however, a few dry spots here and there would leave the door slightly open to defeat. And Xcel did just that. With a more condensed, even more righteous and straightfire (“See nigga, they gas you, I air it out ‘cuz I prefer less pollution!”) turn that spoke to every bar literally counting, the Team Homi linguist reminded URL viewers of what they’ve long been missing, while edging this altogether dope battle by taking the 1st and 3rd.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Can y’all feel the gravity of this moment?, I’m here for the death of Newton!”
Recap: Plenty of prophetic speak, rich set-ups and hot bars between Xcel and Ha Double in this 3-rounder from iBattle. However, with H.A. reaching quite a bit and Xcel righteously spitting a more spicy variety of stinging wordplay and God-mode darts with less dry spots, it’s the Team Homie member who takes the first couple of rounds for the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “I ain’t moved by names or views, they turned on me so I turned the tables too, I’m Paul Pierce, got stabbed in my back, but I remain the Truth!”
Recap: Dope battle, until the 3rd round anyway, between Joey 357 and Xcel had them both spitting haymakers, intricate wordplay, steady punches and especially in the case of (“Get’cha top blew, I never knew he was that anxious to die!”) Joey, a versatile flow that spoke to a flexible cadence. Still, after coming back in the 2nd with a spitfire (“I take steel and stick figures, that’s an easy draw!”) turn that pushed back a solid, but elongated round from his opponent, an old case of the slip-ups returns for Xcel, causing him inexplicably choke and lose the deciding round, which ironically was Joey357’s worse.
Verdict: Joey357 (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Joey357 – “Joey357 versus Xcel this just goes to show, if I’m behind bars after this ‘cuz he was around 5-0 like OVO!”
Recap: Hot start by a punch-heavy, performance-friendly Don Dollaz (aka Don Marino) in the 1st round gets dismissed by an overall more consistent, wordplay-spazzing and spirited Xcel in this solid 3-rounder from WeGoHard.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Nickle to you head, now you leaking common sense!”
Recap: IBattle League matchup with Qleen Paper hosting finds the rambunctious punches and schemes of Jizz Brown making for a solid performance. However, a few too many dry spots/redundant themes from Mr. Brown and a wittier along with a more versatile pen from Xcel, sets back any chances of an upset.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “For the green, I get him without letting the envy in, I see empty in, I’m emptying the simm he in, banana clip, ape shit, code name Simian!”
Recap: The activist bars of Oops versus the God-complex rituals and acute wordplay of Xcel makes for a fierce and close battle on the KOTD stage. A match that was almost a debatable, if not for the Oops struggling with his flow a few times during the decisive 3rd round after taking tying things up with a magnificent 2nd round after Xcel edged the 1st. Granted, this is the best (“I remember needing capital for an office, now my office is in a capital!”) Oops we’ve seen in awhile, but the decision here is a slightly more consistnet Xcel by a nose at the end.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “I was never rushing [Russian] to be in the stars, I ain’t a cosmonaut, I’m a rapper than been in the field since Rock ‘N Jock!”
Recap: Despite a plethora of hard (“Man, your body ruined ‘cuz the gun is dumping, I’m in your Project X, like Party Crashers, I was fucking up your functions!”) bars and rambunctious haymakers from Dre Dennis (due, in part, to a couple of elongated rounds) throughout his 3 rounds, a slightly more consistent Xcel, dishing intricate (“You say I’m ancient?, but when you rap, you just babble on [Babylon]!”) wordplay, nice punchlines/name flips and even few random personals with steadier aplomb, edges rounds 1 and 3 to earn the win.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Since my Genesis, I’ve been cutting nigga’s…you should know Thee!”
Recap: Albeit, Brixx Belvy got off to s slow start in round one, it’s still nice mix of (Xcel: “I could run up on him, give him 90, just because Belvedere ain’t been popping since the 90s!”) name flips, wordplay and hard ( Brixx: “I got a round from Loso, clearly you heaven bound, I’ll squeeze it then repeat it before I die, like wedding vows!”; “That sweeper will lift a couple off they feet, then they settle down!”) punchlines from both Brixx and Xcel throughout this lowkey, but bar-heavy matchup. So the difference here? When Xcel gets (S.O.N.S.?, y’all on that daughter shit, I’ll shoot a son faster than Marvin Gaye father did!”) personal, especially during an otherwise close round 3, which ended up being the deciding factor after they split the first two rounds.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel -“Killing rappers ain’t new shit, I could’ve took Brixx [bricks] out in the jungle like Frank Lucas!”
Recap: Never let it be said that Wooda Black doesn’t love his (“Scope out, I got a good view of the ratchet, you gonna get some more views when they viewing your casket!”) gun bars, which for the most part, were pretty decent, all the while making things competitive here in this one-rounder versus Xcel. Still, unless you’re amongst the elite of Gun Bar aficionados like a Tay Roc or a Rum Nitty, beating a wordsmith like (“My camp fire, you just storytelling, see why I just advocate for the piece [peace] then protest whatever war he selling!”) Xcel will take much more than 90% one-note gun lines.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “You got a resume, I got a hit-list, that’s different goals!”
Recap: Besides J-Murda arguing with O-Red (and afterwards awkwardly stepping in the battle to spit some freestyles at Nice) and somebody burping out loud in the mic, there’s nothing remarkable to see here as Xcel’s overall bars fail to meet his normal pedigree, while Nice spits just enough hard (“This league made you who were practically branded, left for URL, but lost on UFF, and them nigga’s left you stranded, we were confused, you were confused, couldn’t figure out where your brain is, started losing weight…I guess that’s why you switched to Organik [organic]!”) bars around an average lot to pull off a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Xcel – “Body shots will fold this nigga up…Nice and neat!”
Recap: Hosted by Chilla Jones, a quick one-rounder between Moroney and Xcel showcases Moroney’s ability to crack some nice (“And I’m chilling with your chicken, I’m a stick it in her throat, shortie made me cum [come] quicker than Christmas when ya broke!”) jokes, but also a desperate need to work on his flow/performance. All the while Xcel stays (“You ain’t a veteran, boy you just been here too long!”) nice during his turn with what’s essentially a sparring bout.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Think Molly, you could get peeled for not knowing what I’m cut with!”
Recap: As expected, religious themes/bars dominate this fire matchup between Christian rapper Loso and 5% street theologist Xcel. First round sees both rappers spit an assortment of heat with Xcel going first and mixing in steely verbal hijinks with killjoy wordplay and fierce (“This a real fight, get too close I’m stabbing Loso, I drag him, mop the floor with this nigga…Fabuloso!”) schemes that spoke directly to Loso’s soul. But unmoved by his opponent’s hot start, an aggressive Loso came right back with own potent mix of fiery (“Well, let’s stop that, because that’s not why you got booked, but where you hearing that?, the only reason we got you on this card is because we got Xcel [a sale] for cheap like a clearance rack!”) personals and stinging name flips that let you know that he was here to win. Second round saw another (“But fuck it, since he thinks he a loud and tough dude, I got a loud ratchet, in the front, you can’t rebuttal!”) solid, but not-quite-as-nice-as-his-1st turn from Xecl. But Loso stepped it a notch, going ham with serene personals, lucid performance bars and some stylistic (“Wait, he’s a religious dude, he ain’t felt a gat, plus a 5-percenter’s highest goal is to obtain peace, [click click] well, I could help with that!”; “No matter the outcome of this battle, I’m a have his wig get removed, man you Anderson Varejão, you about to get a ring whether you win or you lose!”) haymakers that clearly got the second round after he was edged in the first for being slightly less consistent (not to mention a couple of reaches) with his bars. 1-1 going into the 3rd, Xcel went straight for the fences with hard-hitting personals in between earnest (“You close to God right, [well] tell that nigga we need his fucking help!”) pontification’s that were perfectly set-up by stiff-armed (“I know, I know, I shouldn’t care about ideologies, ‘cuz cops is profiling us and trying to ID all the G’s [ideologies]!”) spiritual postulations…no soapbox needed. That said, credit Loso for still coming prepared with a fire 3rd round that probably would’ve beaten most, all the while showcasing his durability and ability to turn his opponent’s strengths around on them. Still, with Xcel taking the 1st and 3rd rounds here, with a little too much filler mixed in with his harder bars, on thi day the Christian rapper’s fortitude wouldn’t quite be enough.
Verdict: Xcel: (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “He had gun bars too, but I can’t say he can’t squeeze the thang, because Christians been killing nigga’s forever in Jesus’ name!”
Recap: A typically hyped Xcel uses a barrage of heated systematic punchlines and wordplay to remind a light-bar-heavy Drastik of ‘who he’s rhyming with’ in this one-sided, one-rounder from TrapHouseNY.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “I feel friction, you think Fresh Prince, we will air you, one round Will move your whole landscape…don’t make me give Will barrels [wheelbarrows]!”
Recap: Some borderline reaches here and there, but for the first couple of rounds Big Kannon’s more consistent punch-game along with a boatload of flexing schemes, piercing name flips and hardbody personals gets him the win, before Xcel finally ups the ante to deliver a more steady mix of fiery wordplay and raucous punchlines in the final round and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Big Kannon (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Big Kannon – “It’s filters, Photoshop, you ain’t stop to fix his image yet?, I mean its no direction in your videos, not even a Little X!”
Recap: Thanks in part to Xcel pretty much taking round 2 off, overall it’s a close one between the Team Homi vet and Chi-town’s Heavy Half. But the pick in the end here goes to Xcel, always a beast when he doesn’t choke, spouting enough delicious (“How can X miss [Xmas], when my gift is rap [wrap]!”) wordplay and fierce (“It’s cyanide I provide, there’s poison in every punch, Jim Jones style, all ya need is to test it once!”) punchlines in the final round to squeeze out the win and overcome some rapid (“You ain’t taking nobodies life tonight, you could stop it nigga, you OJ getting off for killing his wife, bitch you NOT the killer!”) punches in the 3rd from Mr. Half.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – Bar for bar..you?, never stood a chance guy, I mean I even came on your terrain-eo (i.e. Calicoe)…it’s still a landslide!”
Recap: An otherwise solid battle between Xcel and Bedaffi Green sees its biggest action occur when it gets interrupted midway by whom one can only guess was the venue’s owner. Still, after dominating the first round with wicked wordplay and hard (“This is battle, you said won’t be close?, bro you reaching, I’m Adobo with the sazon, I’m too seasoned!”) punchlines and barely losing the 2nd thanks to Bedaffi’s more resilient (“Don’t question or try to reason if it’s hot, just do the math and stop speaking in the spot, whatever X ask is Y I point and leave him in a plot!”; “The AR piece longer than a RBE intro!”) heat, Xcel delivers a cleaner, scheme heavy and more (“Mercy for you, I know this must be sad to see, tragedy, I hate it was him that you had to be, but you praised this bull and gave this golden calf to me, so the God must show I don’t tolerate the blasphemy!”) penetrating 3rd to take this one in the end.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “I’m on to you and if you disregard my rules, I’ll give your bull [bill] a right for this shit that you constitute!”
Recap: Good to see the underrated (“I’m a fan of Team Homi, but you mad wack, if you sign?, the deal won’t include mad stacks, they’ll pay you in Newports and doo-rag packs!”) M. Ciddy back in the ring, but too bad here against an always dangerous opponent in Xcel, the long layoff may’ve hampered him a bit as throughout this battle too many of his punches just didn’t hit with the usual flair and intricacy that we’re used to seeing. On the other hand, except for a pretty standard 2nd, Xcel shined throughout with righteous (“I swear, these pussies niggas grow beards and think they like that, but nigga you play Samson, I’ll test the strength in here [hair], you’ll get your life snatched!”) personals, witty anecdotes and searing (“While you was watching Pokeman, I was poking niggas for mine!”) invectives that were backed by a versatile and aggressive gameplan that he executed to a tee.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “How you gonna win?, say I’m a bum, talk about how my apparel fits?, well since I’m bummy I guess it’s [only] right I keep the barrel lit!”
Recap: As expected, a barfest between Xcel and JC. It’s Xcel who edges first round with slightly better wordplay and (“You came up punching on bums, like the Knock Out game!”) personals than the name-flip heavy and always robust (“You throw punches, but the hands is missing, this is Man 1 to vandalism”) JC. Round two is another tight round, but JC edges this one with more consistency, rich (“I don’t dig up on niggas, even tho yours is everywhere!”) personals and fiery anecdotes in lieu of Xcel rapid punchlines that almost got usurped by the easy choice to once gain go after JC’s noted dance move video. Again, things stayed close in the 3rd round with both JC and Xcel dropping (JC: “I still got something in store for your dogs like Petco, but brought the kick back for sales [Cel] like Retro’s”; Xcel: “I’ll let it ring and hit everyone…like open marriage!”) some gems and nice schemes, but neither battler, after splitting the first couple of rounds, did that much to stand out or differentiate themselves….so call it even.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Xcel – “License to kill? Nigga you still get carded for spliffs”
Recap: It takes a lot of chutzpa to call yourself “Bar God”, but with performances like this one Danny Myers just might be onto something. Here he not only spits fiery, wide-eyed (“Your white fans love you, they amazed you can spit this well, ironic it’s only the blacks that getting sick of ‘Cel [sickle cell]”) punchlines with relative ease, but outduels fellow wordsmith Xcel with an arsenal of pointed name flips and effervescent (“If there RZA [is a] weakest nigga in your crew it’d be U-God [you, God]”) haymakers for all three rounds. Credit Xcel, despite continuing to struggle a bit with his delivery, for coming back from surprising round 1 choke to make things (“And bro’ my intention ain’t fucked up, this an intervention because Danny the Bar God is punch drunk!”; “I’ll take a 6 inch blade and connect your freckles!”) competitive in the latter rounds. But altogether Myers resilience and (“Bitch I’ll drown your child, I’mma sick type, around midnight, you’ll see me holding your baby under water like a midwife!”) fortitude was just too much to handle.
Verdict: Danny Myers (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Danny Myers – “Nigga I went postal, I’m fucking up his name like when parents be using their kids social!”
Recap: After slumping a bit in hi slast battle against Born Xcel gets back to basics with a combo of exemplary wordplay, superb rebuttals and a legion of sharp-witted (“I leave earth every time I’m spitting, my alien writtens cut deep, I’m Zecharia Sitchin!”) bars to take a close one from the steadily (“I’ll tag Xcel [XL] with this shit that go over the head…I’m not putting you on”) improving, but still too often word-stretching Steams.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “My first thought, when I caught the first draft of y’all name…was Little Debbie, cux all the Cakes come packaged the same”
Recap: A dope battle between (“Head shot, I done kill more dreams than sleep apnea!”; “Nerd rapper or street nigga, whatever the case, I eat ’em, like Mikey, life made me this way!”) Xcel and (“Every rapper he ate..ass, I could take it a step farther [step-father] like a play dad!”; “X, ain’t nothing God body about false prophets!”) Hazey Williams’ outcome is unfortunately decided early as the former chokes early in the 1st round. What with both batters equally dispensing fiery bars in the latter rounds, it’s Xcel’s lack of preparation that ultimately ends up costing him this one.
Verdict: Hazey Williams (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Hazey Williams – “That nigga prez was your brother, but he got to clap dumb shit, Merci disowned him, that made him a punk bitch, you co-signed it, praising that fuck shit, ‘cuz Five percenters were Islam niggas that jumped ship!”
Recap: The hurting Born’s been consistently putting on dudes for the past couple of years just begs for a return to the URL stage. Indeed, it’s another strong showing here against a (You’ll get cut out the picture by the cream of the crop”) game, but overmatched Xcel. Delivering exquisite (“Run up on him like ‘give it up’. but he broke as hell, nuthin’ on him but Android, I guess we all can’t be perfect Cel [cell]”) punchline after (“Try me, get a single hit like Def Loaf”) punchline with steady ease in addition to a flurry of rich name flips. Born’s consistent verbal hijinks prove to be too much for Xcel, whose shortened rounds and elongated set-ups, didn’t help matters either.
Verdict: Born (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Born – “I said what up nigga, I know you hype to me, but the only way I’ll lose my footing? diabetes”
Recap: Nice, competitive and spirited battle between Xcel and Sicarii stays close throughout, but the difference are mostly the haymakers. And while Sicarii dropped some real heat and funny (“You got that homeless odor, that I’m broke aroma”) quips at times, his quantity of over-the-top bombs, consistency along with wordplay didn’t quite match (“Body after body flooded the net, my name proven for those dope caskets, I’m battle raps Frank Lucas”) Xcel’s. So I have Xcel edging the first couple of rounds and Sicarii taking the 3rd.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel -“Take me in vain [vein] and get drugged, I’ll relapse this dude”
Recap: Exquisite wordplay, wicked (“You’ll get a ring for nuthin’, that’s a TracFone black”) anecdotes and split-hairing bars, it’s all there as Xcel lives up to the title on his t-shirt against an at times game, but clearly overmatched Beach.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Put your eyes in your mouth little nigger, watch who you talk to”
Recap: Too much filler along with way too flat energy does Jay Scott in. But then against Xcel’s sweet esoteric bars, fiending (“I’ll break my foot in your ass, then cut you to get my boot back”) aggression and constant verbal hijinks, this wasn’t much of a contest.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “I’ll bring the ‘SK’ in [skin] to anyONE who push your melon in [MELANIN], nigga I spelled the shit because your skin tone is your melanin!”
Recap: Nice UFF battle between Xcel and Anubis as both came hungry and represented with plenty of bars, schemes and wordplay. Gotta agree with the judges here tho as Anubis’ dope punchlines and hard bars were too much for Xcel’s somewhat light (took too long to get to his punches) and filler-drenched round 1. Xcel came harder in round 2 with a more consistent flow, gritty (“You could be in the Caribbean van and wouldn’t bang steel”) bars and crazy wordplay, while Anubis fell a little flat with too many average bars. With round 3 deciding the winner, Anubis would take it with dope performance bars, cold personals, a hard rebuttal and fierce (“I had you bringing people to pay me, this a pyramid scheme”) punchlines against a good round from Xcel that had plenty of aggression and punches, but not enough potent bars to match his opponent’s heat.
Verdict: Anubis (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Anubis – “I don’t lose position, I write shit that make God himself lose religion”
Recap: Where the hell has Dot Mobb been keeping this Aura kid? Literally slinging a barrage of hot (“I’ll give him [points] four from the deuce, it’s your time square”) bars and slick (“He’s really, made for the one-shot kill, but I’ll give him a second like…’he’s busy'”) wordplay throughout this surprisingly dope matchup with Xcel, if it wasn’t for Xcel dropping more crazy (“Hey Norbes, you dead wrong for putting the boy in this trap, dog you put a Dot against a nigga with stripes, ain’t that a mis match?”) haymakers and flexing double entendre’s in rounds one and two, the kid would’ve pulled off a mild upset here. Indeed, if Aura slows his flow down just a tad bit and adds a little more variety to his bars, this kid will have a bright future in battle rap
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel: – “My rebel arm on steroids, that mean my pen strong”
Recap: Really good battle, barfest, both came with it. However, while Stash got better and more potent with each round, Xcel stayed consistent throughout, delivering heat upon heat with better showmanship, personals and performance than his opponent who saved his best round for the 3rd. However, by then it was too late as I thought Xcel clearly got round one and edged the second.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Dog, I hear the critics, I see ’em when I look, they say my bars is way over heads…well read a book!”
Recap: A couple of shining (“My nigga, I go the damn distance they knew it was a ‘G’ as soon as I stepped in, that’s a grand entrance”) moments from CT, but Xcel’s pen (“You? Kill me? Nigga you got that fucked up, that shit’s like a leather clover leaf, that’s some tough luck”) game, exquisite wordplay, gun (“That beer belly, says you like having cans to the mouth…”) bars and rich schemes were just too much to overcome here.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “I know you like, ‘C3’? Yeah that’s what I name my pistol clown, ‘cuz she small and black, and she keep Official rounds”
Recap: Whew! Brooklyn Carter spazzing from jump with haymaker after haymaker combined with a slow start by Xcel (his 3rd was definitely where he hit the most) gives BC an easy dub.
Verdict: Brooklyn Carter (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Brooklyn Carter – “I’ll pop X with more than one pill, it ain’t a molly, I left him lying without a poly, just his head, leg, arms…but I took the body”
Recap: With Amazing D Boy it’s usually a matter of his bars matching his yelling and agrression and in round 1 he was able so with enough dope wrodplay that he was even able to bring “Dawson’s Creek” into the battle and get away with it. Too bad for D Boy his first round was as good as it got, thereby allowing Xcel to step up his bar (“Try to pull my card, and get the hand like nigga deal with that”) game, retake the lead and easily get the win with an exquisite and crowd-pleasing 3rd.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “You rhyme like a soldier, spit like a threat, but yet when it’s time to shake, them lines gone, you Etch-A-Sketch”
Recap: Even a hilarious (“Cuz when I get in ‘Drive’ you see da feet, that’s the car from Barney Rubble…accel [Xcel]”) 1st round, steady name flips and ever-present antics from Daylyt can’t interrupt or stop the stampede of punchlines and killer (“I’m not one to bet against, I’ll show up with arms on your table like fuck etiquette”) performance bars from a consistently on-point Xcel who proceeds to win this Trap House battle with relative ease.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Your screws loose, all that mean to me is two to your dome, beat me?, you couldn’t get this double U [W] with a clone”
Recap: Competitive and entertaining TrapHouse NY battle between Xcel and Get Right as the latter’s piercing punchlines and witty barbs kept him in the mix when it came to the name flip-savvy, boastful/personal-lit and wordplay-heavy lines from Xcel. A battle so close that it forced debatable 2nd and 3rd round’s, a more versatile and haymaker-friendly Xcel lands the win via the only clear vic in the 1st.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Xcel – “Heat?, you bust none [nun], your gun’s belong in a convent!”
Recap: Not counting rebuttals and freestyles, we all know that battles are pre-written. Still, sometimes a battle can give you a feel of rolling with momentum such as the case where a dude starts off timid or mediocre and then with each passing round gets better and better with his raps, as if something in him clicked on. That’s the situation here as a solid-punching, brazen and extra witty with the personals Jimz takes advantage of a punch and scheme-tossing, but listless Xcel in the opening round, before holding on to edge the 2nd round despite his opponent closing the gap on bar efficiency. Indeed, in the final round, Xcel would finally put it all together and deliver a lyrically sharp and way more intricate turn that’d easily beat back a subpar run by Jimz. Unfortunately, by then it was too late.
Verdict: Jimz (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jimz – “Xcel is straight dusty, bean full of grease and fleas, and y’all can’t tell me don’t look like he sell insense, mix tapes and DVD’s!”
Recap: Xcel and Jey Bundy make a little battle rap history as the first participants to battle on the TrapHouse NY stage. And while the newbies displayed some flaws here and there (Xcel’s 2nd round was mad tedious, while Bundy struggled with his flow in the 3rd), a boatload of lyrical stunting by Xcel and Bundy’s solid punches and wit made for a mostly competitive battlewith the more haymaker-lit Xcel scoring a 30.
Verdict: Xcel (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Xcel – “Your kind?, pork belly, yunno the squeal type, I’m King Cobra, I strike venom in all these real mics!”
