by Aztech
This was the first iBattle event I've attended in person, so i wasn't fully sure of what to expect, I've obviously seen a lot of they're battles online..but we all know live events is a whole different monster. When I walked in there was definitely good vibes, Uno Lavoz was in the building along with a few other familiar faces. Being an event made up of mostly undercard battles, it was definitely a real dope night. The card was mainly the first round of iBattle's 16 man up and comers tournament. There were also two Main Event battles and two Money Fights, which means almost every battle was judged on the entire card, something i think we all miss.
Tommy Gunn vs Jeffrey
First battle of the night, also the first battle of the tournament. Crowd wasn't fully awake yet which I think took some of the energy away from the battle, little bit of a style clash which isn't a bad thing.
Grade: B
Winner: Tommy Gunn 2-1
Ju Davil vs Kinetik
This was possibly my favorite battle from the tournament, both MC's were on point with real clean performances. Ju Davil definitely had the more intricate style, but Kinetik's rounds were all straight at the throat. Both had quotables, but I personally think Kinetik's performance was just too strong, by far the best I've ever seen from him(Boston bias aside).
Grade: A
Winner: Kinetik 3-0
Theo Manchild vs 3sk
Another definite style clash, this one I think might have confused the crowd a little bit. Personal opinion, one was just way more direct than the other, and I think that's what swayed the decision. Brings me to the point of when battle MC's just come with random verses and say nothing about their opponent directly..its a battle!
Grade: B+
Winner: 3sk 3-0
Ghost vs Eclipse Da God
This one was VERY dope. Another favorite of tournament, Ghost has a cool style that I think if he polished more, he could be a real problem. Eclipse was full of no nonsense bars, which took it for him.
Grade: B+
Winner: Eclipse Da God 2-1
Q Da General & Suspense vs Ju Davil & Young Skills
Battle of the night hands down. Extremely heated, wasn't very familiar with these cats but I'll definitely be checking for all of them now. There was $3200 on the line which brought the heat up like crazy. Definitely the closest battle of the night, to the point where if one team didn't have a minor slip up in the second, it would have been almost impossible to call.
Grade: A+
Winner: Q Da General & Suspense 2-1
J Vik vs Dnarro
I actually ended up guest hosting this one, another battle that fans would label "Bars vs Jokes."(which by the way doesn't make any sense, I'll explain some other time, but if you're an actual MC you already know what I'm talking about.) Battle was cool, it was really hard to match the energy of the 2 on 2 which happened right before, but both cats had good showings, $400 on the line for this one.
Grade: B-
Winner: J Vik 2-1
Gwitty vs Bishop White
This battle was cool, Gwitty had a few stumbles which ultimately cost him the battle. Bishop White definitely had the crowd on his side in this one.
Grade: B-
Winner: Bishop White 2-1
Kevin Vann vs D22
By this time of the night, the crowd was getting pretty tired and restless, and were probably waiting for the main events to pop off. This battle was cool, in my opinion definitely had a clear winner.
Grade C+
Winner: D22 3-0
Young Steady vs. Stretch Millz
Main Event, dope battle. Young Steady had the crowd on his side, unfortunatley i think a slip up cost him the battle. This was i think the only battle of the night besides the tryouts that weren't judged.
Grade: B-
My Winner: Stretch Millz 2-1
All in all definitely a dope event, big ups to Logic and GodAwful for having me come through. In my opinion I think iBattle is filling that void that GT left, which I feel alot of heads are looking for, big shouts to iBattle!
- Aztech