Jonny Storm won the 2004 Scribble Jam prelims and couldn’t make the main event, so when they (mistakenly) called the name “Johnny Blaze” in ‘04, Ozone’s Redd Simpkins stepped up to the plate and had the famous battle against Illmaculate.  A lot of people from the Orlando scene (better known as Ozone) knew Storm’s talents, and questioned what the outcome of the battle may have been if he made the event.  Storm’s debut in Grind Time was highly anticipated due to the fact that a lot of people wanted to see what all the buzz was about - they weren’t disappointed.  Early fan favorite, Mosh Jelton gave his A+ effort in a battle that went down to the wire and had the judges sweating bullets.  Storm vs Mosh opened the door of this generations emcees to appear on highly viewed/respected hip hop media outlets such as, worldstar and allhiphop and was the first GT battle to reach 100,000 views.

Memorable Moment: People’s reaction when Jonny Storm came back from “All that heat” (thanks Swamburger)

Battles with backstories always seem to create a crazy environment in venues and have nice replay value online, so it's only fitting that Quantum Physics aka QP would battle his brother-in-law, AB Hogish.  The personal disses about family members were entertaining enough, but AB proved he belonged on the stage with top level opponents, while QP may have given one of the best written performances of all time.  His material in this battle separated QP from a lot of top level lyricists in battle rap.  What made it even more impressive was that QP also battled Cadalack Ron and Dizaster the same day.

Memorable Moment: Super Mario Bros. - arguably the best scheme in battle rap history

I would love to write a long paragraph describing why this battle is so dope, but just watch it.  Both emcees were on their A+ game - this is how to execute a performance on SMACK/URL; the reason why Cortez and Hitman appeared at the top of many cards throughout their careers.

Side Note: I remember outside of “March Madness” Cortez spit me his rounds for this battle.  I remember thinking there was no way he would lose.  The fact that Hitman was able to perform on that level solidified this as a definite classic match.

Memorable Moment: “Man what”

Please understand that battle rappers have months and month to prepare, so when The Saurus and Mac Lethal take a main event matchup for Battle of LA 4 (BOLA4) on ONE NIGHT notice in a written league, and DON’T CHOKE its kind of crazy.  Until this day, we don't know if it was great freestyling, wonderful memorizing or an act of god, but one thing's for sure - the shit was nuts.  At a time where everyone wants to be a SMACK rapper and have the most gun references, this battle is a reminder how dope other styles of rhyming are at their pinnacle.  Some of the lines in this battle are jaw-dropping.  Seeing two scribble jam champs put on a classic match in a written era makes you really appreciate these artists’ talents.  Thanks to Legendary Clothing who made it happen last minute.

Memorable Moment: The Saurus’ second round - a clinic on how to rebuttal
 

Real Deal professionally takes rappers out and ends careers with mind-blowing performances ... plus he’s white, so I can see why everyone would avoid him on SMACK.  When B-Magic stepped up to the plate and took him on I thought he was crazy - then I saw the footage.  B-Magic may be the best pound for pound punchline rapper in the game, while Real Deal may be the deadliest.  This battle has some of the most hilarious “white guys vs black guy” moments and jokes I’ve ever seen.  If this list was based on replay value, this video would be in the top 3.

Memorable Moment: “So what happens when the white wins ... aiite then”

If you have been following this entire list, you will constantly see me refer to a performance as a battler’s “defining moment.”  A defining moment is point at which the essential nature or character of a person, group, etc., is revealed or identified - if you don’t understand or remember why “100 Grand Jin” was on top, watch this.

Memorable Moment: Game recognize game

After is highly viewed debut battles on Grind TIme, Illmaculate had the idea to bring life back to the Northwest battle scene by taking on fan favorite, Conceited, in a friendly match.  After the battle didn’t happen, bad blood arose between the two, as it was reschedule for “Grizzlemania,” and saw both rappers putting up $500 of their own on the line (a lot of money at the time huh? lol.)  I remember sitting next to Con in the lounge area as he awaited his turn to battle - his hands were shaking because he was so nervous.  I told him to relax, he turn to me and said , “I just hope they like my bars.”  Those words rung out in my mind as he proceeded to put on one of the most dominant battle performances of our time.

Memorable Moment: Mac runnin’ through Windows

At the height of a major feud between Grind Time and URL fans, this battle seemed to stick out as the spark that cause the great “bars over jokes” debate.  Marv was chosen to face off against Verb’s lyrical street style because of his aggressive Detroit battle background.  How ironic that Marv chose to mix jokes into his bag of tricks as an attempt to stand behind his fan base and prove a point.  Verb was in vintage form as he introduced new concepts and styles of battle rap that are still used to this day.  Top 10 Grind Time battle - deserves 1 million views.  

Memorable Moment: There are at least 14 - pick one

After Okwerdz’ historic performance against Arsonal, he made it his mission to take down the top “street rappers” on the battle scene.  In an attempt to put an end to Okweezy’s “shannanagons” Hollow Da Don took it upon himself to represent New York properly on West Coast turf.  Due to Hollow’s popularity, a lot of people will say he killed Okwerdz, but the battle is as close as they get.  A lot of people didn’t think Okwerdz could hang with the best of them, but this is where he earned his respect.  One of the most anticipated matches ever, and it lived up to the hype 100%.

Memorable Moment:  Its hard to pick one, but the last 6 bars of Hollow’s first round set the tone of the battle: “Okwerdz this is the last chapter!”

My personal favorite was the creamy peanut butter line.  If you don’t know what “Non-Perishables” is, just google it alongside the words “fresh coast” in the image search.  COLD!

Rhymesayers Ent. artists and friends Brother Ali and Eyedea would go on to have successful music careers, gain huge followings and help sculpt the Minneapolis hip hop scene.  Their meeting at Scribble 2000 was a classic display of the talent this time period offered - these guys are partially responsible for the phenomenon that battle rap has grown into today; before the views and millions of fans.

Memorable Moment: “At least I got a tape”