Recap: Despite often time struggles with his flow and/or one too many slip-ups, with just enough haymakers we’ve seen Swamp survive some of these 1-rounders on smaller leagues with either close win’s or debatables time and time again. But not this time. As while the Swamptown capo delivered a round loaded with a bunch of hardbody punches and raucous darts that often scored, a minute long mid-round collapse that saw an almost handful amount of unforced errors before he got it back together allows an elongated, but forever gritty, witty when necessary, steady with the flow and gun bar savvy Young X to squeeze out this Winter Soldier Event battle from Da Rabbithole Podcast.
Verdict: Young X (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Young X – “The Glock will spark and I keep shooting till the metal lock up like I p ushed the grocery cart!”
Recap: Taking advantage of a Young X who for 3 rounds was mired in mostly pedestrian bars while coming hit-n-miss with the jokes, with a steady mix of slick punchlines, witty personals, solid name flips, banging heat and gritty street boasts, Qleen Paper manages to pull off a pretty easy 30 in this 3-rounder from Smack/URL.
Verdict: Qleen Paper (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Qleen Paper – “Bulldog snubs, thick as mad, this bitch a vest snatcher, I got the long nose on a .44…I got the X factor!”
Recap: Enthralling battle between Young X and Moon sees X run the gamut on trap talk, fiery (“Fuck outta here, you living in teh past my bro, don’t nobody help the old people with they bags no more!”) wit, lofty (“Now he punch drunk, look like he been drinking moonshine, call me lunar eclipse, way I come up and fuck up Moon shine!”) performance bars and frenzied name flips to take rounds 1 and 3 for the win over an opponent who while dropping a load of old-school (“They be like ‘O.G., how should I play the cards [opens hands up] that life dealt me?’, I say, first of all little nigga, stop showing them your whole hand!”) gems, dope schemes and steely (“They don’t know I’m about to be the game changer, Smack went and got the old gun out the stash, tired of putting bodies on the same banga!”) O.G. talk throughout the battle, couldn’t keep up with X’s explosive first (despite a fire turn himself) and thanks in part to a slow start and a little too much filler, got beat back in the deciding 3rd.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young X – “And don’t be coming with that 60s shit, we don’t understand the lingo dog, see you gonna make me catch your old ass coming out the bingo hall!”
Recap: Besides the fact that a performance-heavy (“I’m Debo, or think Craig, now put green in the flip, that was backwards, on Friday my connect hit me with a brick!”) Cali Smoov did a great job of overselling a lot of his more pedestrian bars/schemes throughout this battle and Young X’s ‘Who’s more street?/I’m more realer than you’ themes bordered on overkill, with only X’s penchant for witty punches getting in the way of what was overall a pretty average performance, it’s hard to say that either Smoov or X were on their A-game here. Still, a solid on both parts 1st round makes for a tie while a stronger X clearly took the 2nd, before a more fine-tuned Smoov took the 3rd to officially make this one a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Young X – “Think Cain cousin Harold nigga…that’s a metaphor for reach and get killed!”
Recap: “Reach Gawd, that’s what the haters gave me!” Apparently settled on the idea that he had a point to prove in this battle rap game, a determined D.O.T. ditches, for the most part his noted performance acumen for tedious bar-thirsty polemics and elongated schems that defied logic when you consider the notable run he’s been on of late. Too bad too as outside of an elongated, but pretty fiery, name flip (“Stop playing with me, I ain’t wit’ them X games!”; “I got the aim of an eXpert, baretta’s llama’s semi’s ruger’s, I could show him eXcellence, I been killing shit, I got eXperience!”) doused 2nd round, too many average lines (Rd. 1) and a lil too much pontificating (Rd. 3) spoiled what could’ve been a win over a versatile and funny, but not always consistent Young X. Nonetheless, with a fiery X kicking steady (“D.O.T. could get it any day, nigga I let them semi’s spray, no guns in New York?, fuck you talking to nigga, we brought pistols anyway!”; “Picture X going at D.O.T. and me not winning, when I’ll fuck DNA up and that name got 3 dots in it!”) haymakers and dope guns bars while mocking D.O.T.’s style in the first round and edging out the 3rd with a better bar quotient as well as comical multi-faceted (including another rousing “Get ’em” rant: “You, when it comes to brushing my teeth, I hate reaching-ass nigga!”) verbiage in the last round…on paper it’s a win for Young X. But as far as D.O.T.’s most likely concerned, as long as he got his point across it’s a win for him too.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young X – “I said Smack ain’t pay me, this three rounds of community service!”)
Recap: Choosing for the most part to put aside the jokes, for this battle Young X designs his bars around his opponent Tre Poundz’ (“Like, what you know about that place, where it is not so sweet?, a yoga mat on concrete, that’s where you got your sleep!”) pedigree, as in who’s more authentic. But it turns out to be a risky move. As after dishing enough fierce (“I’ll run up on you while you got on your homie’s ‘Rest In Peace’ shirt, shoot him in the face, the nigga die again on the t-shirt!”) bars to handily take round 1, when Poundz’ gets more versatile, combining that real street talk with (“He’ll stand there and watch if I smack dude mother, type of nigga, rep a set, then get the tattoos covered!”) jokes and some nice wordplay in round 2, for X, an energetic, but filler-lined turn even things up and puts him a ‘lil back on his heels. Tied going into the 3rd, it turns out to be a pretty lackluster round for both competitors, with X edging it thanks only to a little more consistency with his bar quotient. while Poundz started off well, but labored towards the end.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young X – “I’ll punch ya pregnant baby mother, fuck her fetus up, or I’ll burn ya house down and anybody try to help y’all, I’ll fuck FEMA up!”)
Recap: A highly (“Ol’ dirty water nigga, he even made a song about it, Section 8 support this nigga!”) entertaining first round from Squeako, filled with rich storytelling bars and plenty of jokes, makes one think that he’s going to give the ever-amusing Young X some serious comp in this battle from SevenCity Sharks. Well, you’d be wrong as some weak name flips, a startling round 3 choke and Young X’s consistently engaging (“Nigga you wack as shit, up here with that tough guy look like you gonna do something, knowing damn well I will whup your ass till about 2-something!”) personals, gives X the win in a battle that had the potential to be a back-n-forth slugfest.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young X – “Then he had petty larceny, boy I wanted to hug him, ‘cuz that mean Squeak taking shit, but he ain’t taking shit over $200!”
Recap: As loud and aggressive as D Flamez spits throughout this battle with Young X, for the most part his lyrical acumen just couldn’t keep up and it showed regardless of whether it was a first round choke or too many subpar lines like “If this clip bang, you gonna get your shit stained, like you’re supposed to be in drawers”. On the other hand, whether it was dispensing that real (“What you know about your own mama telling ya ‘Boy ya hot as shit’, what you know about telling ya own mama, ‘Girl, I got this shit’!”) hustler shit or dishing (“You wanna win tonight, I can’t let ya, too many of my peeps in here, even tho you had that shit on last Saturday, that’s your weekend gear!”) funny personals or styling on his opponent with rich (“And don’t you dare to to do that fall back shit, trust me when the bullets hit you…then you could do [falls back while waving arms] all that shit!”) performance bars, for Young X it was just another day at the office.
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young X – “Talking ’bout I ain’t got shit, dog if I ain’t got nuthin’ I got a gun for you, and if the bullets could talk, my shits would say ‘we coming too!'”
Recap: If this battle was a one-rounder, Uno Lavos and Young X might”ve had a classic on their hands. That’s how incredible and crazy round 1 was as both Young X (“I ain’t no blood I don’t care if it’s poppin’, but I’ll leave a blue Crip flat in the street like handicap parking”) and Lavos spit that heat, landing blow after low with repeatedly dope punchlines, personals, jokes and bars. If only X had been as entertaining (against the likes of Uno that’s not easy I know, but X has readily shown in the past that he can be a crowd pleaser) as his opponent, which coupled with more haymakers gave Uno the first round. After that things got pretty light as X just couldn’t deliver the consistency, performance and standout (lines like “I’ll put that metal all through your shirt, no coat hanger” didn’t go over anyone’s head, they just didn’t hit) bars we’re used to seeing from him. Yet, while Uno landed some punches with the “reach” jokes, Young X doesn’t have a rep for reaching and his round was a little too short. Come the 3rd, Young X continued to disappoint (“Lyrically I’m sick, this how Aids sound”) with the bars to the point where you might’ve thought this couldn’t be the same guy who had a near classic/debatable battle against the likes of Brizz Rawsteen. After X’s turn, with an easy dub at hand, Uno stepped it up with a slew of jokes, personals and nice flips on X’s flow/style, just enough to overlook that slip-up/near choke towards the end and take the win.
Verdict: Uno Lavos (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Uno Lavos – “I said who told you you could get on this stage to rock with me?, I got two guns, Rick Ross, Ja Rule, both spitting about 50”
Recap: Similar styles make for a close 3-round battle between Young X and St. Louis’ SK. Indeed, gregarious name (“Ya bitch suck dicks and bring money back to my car, that’s how I pimp my ride, put her on eXhibits!”) flips, potent gun bars, dope schemes, random (SK: “Boy I bet this nigga sweeter than a grape vest, one of them ho type nigga’s, that make threats through a hate text!”; “You useless to this sport, like dick-suckers with no necks”) jokes that hit and scheming braggadocio (Young X: “No wrestler with paint on my face, the way I steam this nigga, he try to copy what I do that let you know that bro ain’t smart, y’all remember how steam used to come on the ring?…, well this Owen Hart!”; “You so pussy, if you could, you would run off and leave yourself!”) lines make for an intense, but electric matchup throughout. However, after splitting the first two rounds, it’s SK’s nice rebuttals, nice freestyle game and continual verbal onslaught that stand out to gets him the win.
Verdict: SK (W) 2-1
Favorite line:: SK – “Talk that drug shit in St. Louis and try and roam, nigga X will get silenced…xXlophone!”
Recap: Filthy (“I heard ya mama gave the best head…back in the day!”) jokes, rich storytelling/performing bars and wild punchlines versus a unpoised battle rapper who had little to offer besides some righteous filler and ok jokes? As Young X aptly summed up: ‘This battle was a breeze!’
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young X – “You like a unknown porn star, who da fuck are you?!”
Recap: P.G. Skillet had some nice schemes and hard (“I’ll spin his shit back, y’all gonna miss X…like Christmas time!”) bars to edge the second round and put up a decent fight against Young X. But X’s versatility, a fine mixture of rich storytelling bars, requisite jokes that landed, steely (“And all that cook coke shit, nigga you can kill it, every hustler in here know you can’t cook coke with no skillet!”) name flips and some fiery personals, gets him the 1st and 3rd rounds and the win.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young X – “You that nigga that won’t get no pussy, catch me getting getting pussy and be like….I’mma tell!”
Recap: Brizz Rawsteen versus Young X comes down to who the better 2nd round. As thanks in part to a lackluster second half of what was a quality (“You the type to get mad at’cha bitch, try to punch her out, but you ain’t punch that nigga who took ya tray when CO’s was passing lunches out!”) first round by X, but mostly due to Rawsteen’s righteous (“I mean they tried everything, telling me this bitch was a thug, then they tried switching it up, said he was flipping them drugs, [but] that ain’t convincing enough, we only seen X with O’s when it’s kisses and hugs!”) name flips, rich performance bars and a couple of (“Dirty nigga’s, how they compare smiel quality to God kind of speed, I’m a prodigy, my mom’s kind of deep, to kill the daughter in front of the boss…Godfather 3!”) haymakers, it’s Brizz who clearly takes round one. While X, thanks in part to a short round by Brizz that included a huge slip-up, but mostly due to the fiery versatility he displayed–that included some dope (“And I got a knife called ‘eyewitness’, because it SAW a nigga’s face!”) wordplay/double entendre’s, crazy punchlines, a hilarious roasting session and raucous (“…all y’all know he hang with a bunch if stupid nigga;s, they think he going to heaven because they buried him in True Religion!”) comedic timing–it’s X who clearly took the 3rd. All said, a dope middle round from both (Young X: “…nigga you’ll be like a flat spare tire, you’ll be in the trunk for nothing!”; Brizz: “I come with the best raps, that’s just facts, I got it figured out, you trying to get it out, but good shit is what X lacks [Ex-Lax]!”), but it’s Brizz who edges it with more quality punchlines, nice set-ups/name flips and an overall better performance.
Verdict: Brizz Rawsteen (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Brizz Rawsteen – “They think I’m joking with Charlie, I get silly with Clips..then aim right for ya baby, Gillie the Kid!”
Synopsis: Dope battle and who knew they battle rapping out in Nebraska? Still, Young X got this with a slew of haymakers in rounds 1 (“When it’s war you be on that ‘Yo dog, let me out'”) and 2 (“You stupid as fuck if you think I ain’t spraying, I’m about as hungry as those kids on commercials with Amazing Grace plans”) along with performance bars, mean schemes and tremendous wordplay. Saint Mic came with it in round 3, but by then it was too late.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Saint Mic – “Nigga, you are Charlie Murphy, straight darkness!”
Synopsis: Hey, props to Dece for showing older heads that if you still think you can put in that work, don’t let anybody tell you not to get in that ring. However, no matter how old you are, too much filler combined with average bars and a lack of versatility just won’t make it in today’s rap battle world.
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Synopsis: Young X – “If my granddaddy was alive I bet he’d say, this that same clown he battled in the parking lot when he went to see James Brown”
Synopsis: Young X is a different breed of rapper, from his southern swag to his keen wordplay to his passive-aggressive bars, as seen here, this kid is a problem.
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young X – “You ain’t know? I got flow [Flo] like the bitch from Progressive”
Recap: Poetically Kushin’s mostly one-dimensional real rap (“Sunglasses at night nigga?, what you think you Canibus, son?”) talk and standard gun bars prove to be no match for Young X’s better mix of braggadocio (“Y’all about to hear more oooh’s and ahhh’s bars than an Ave. battle, but I’m really saying somethin’!”) bars, name (“See?, I don’t fuck with Kushin and them, I don’t fuck with Kushin’s crew…so I guess it’s safe to say that I don’t fuck with A Chosen Few!”) flips and aggressive punchlines.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young X – “I got a revolver, his gun on safety, that make the score 44 to 2…I said I got revolver, his gun on safety, that make the score .44 to .2!”
Recap: Not the most consistently methodical Young X you’ve seen, but too much filler, pontificating and short rounds from his opponent (“You play with the Heat, but never shoot…like Juwan Howard!”) Prop J, leave X’s steadily nice (“This a very awkward battle, look y’all…this the first you seen a kicker make a linebacker look small!”) punchlines and wicked street chatter with more than enough room to score an easy 3-0.
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young X – “I kill nigga’s in the battle and I’m nice on the beat, you a faggot, riding on a bike with no seat!”
Recap: After splitting the first couple of rounds (Young X [“See, when the narcs want to know who on the block moving yah ’round, they just pull up, Ave hop in the back seat and lay down”] took Rd. 1 while Ave [“Now I got this new mark, thinking I’mma lose heart, shit I’m smooth as GQ in Juice and this the roof part!”] got Rd. 2), it’s Young X’s versatility (personals, jokes, nice set-ups and even a crew chnat0 and slightly better consistency with the bars that edges this 3rd round and gets him a win this highly competitive and spirited matchup from Seven Cities Shark League.
Verdict: Young X (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Young X – “Yeah, you ain’t think i heard about you?, you security guard, what the fuck gave you the audacity to pick up a mic?, this ain’t even your style of work, go break up a fight!”
Recap: With the ability to go three rounds without spitting a single direct bar at his opponent, who knows if Young Mike was woke enough to realize that he was in a battle and not just spitting bars over a beat in the booth. Not that it mattered to Young X, who styles on Mike with enough steady jokes, nice (“I make Christians when I rap. I got the people like ‘Gawd’!”) braggadocio lines and rich storytelling bars to score an easy 3-0.
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young X – “Tell the truth, stop lying, you ain’t never slang hard, purse-snatcher, running off with people’s Medicaid cards!”
Recap: It’s an easy bodybag for Young X as his prolific and jaunty (“You couldn’t fuck with me, you ain’t half as wicked, you’ll turn state’s evidence over a traffic ticket!”) personals along with a slew of rich anecdotes trounces a slip-up and substandard-bar prone 811.
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young X – “You ain’t got the power to blow and you lost because 8:11 was a couple of hours ago!”
Recap: If one can get past the sometimes-amateurish footage, you’ll see a spirited Young X use rich gun (“I keep a Mac like a computer with an Apple on it!”) bars and hilarious storytelling “…all the girls like ‘y’all chill’, I’m like ‘fuck this dude’, I’ll take my finger, lick it and touch his food!”) lines to 3-0 a choke-prone and clearly way-in-over-his-head Push.
Verdict: Young X (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Young X – “This nigga like a cartoon character, he don’t grow up!”
