When we speak, our words are felt. For the better part of last week, we encouraged readers and fans to tune into Rare Breed Entertainment’s Rare Breeds Card. The ‘net was buzzing about the card that was poised to change the trajectory of battle rap and at the very least save a summer of lackluster challenging battles. Boasting a stacked card, even Murda Mook heard us when we asked if his return could morph the landscape of battle rap. And like a clanging gong, everyone seemed too committed to not letting fans down.
The debates are fierce and the smoke still isn’t clear. It has been roughly 48 hours since Big T and Ill Will closed out the show, and people are still jacked up by the myriad of dope performances curated by fan and league frontman, ARP.
The Source was in the building and could be counted in the multitude of satisfied fans. To put it simply, RBE presented a top notch experience for the culture.
Qleen Paper vs. Jai 400 Block
Let’s dive into the surprise battle which turned out be QP (Qleen Paper) vs. Jai 400 Block.
The introductory one-round battle set the tone for the night. Jai let everyone know he came to talk about QP’s no-shows and the real reason he came to do that battle. Fans seemed to loved 400’s overall comical breakdown of Qleen. One fan, in particular, Arsonal, screamed “THAT WAS FIRE!” from the back of the V.I.P. and set the tone for the rest of the night. Qleen did not just sit and let a pounding happen to him. Instead, he shifted the focus to the battle rapper and blogger, Jimz, who allegedly has been taking a pounding over the last year from fans, other rappers and regular stragglers who have snuck up and banged on him.
Spanish Harlem vs. Top 10
Next, was Spanish Harlem vs. Top 10. Spanish Harlem came dressed in his “Spanish Fly” purple suit. Ready to prove that Top 10 was nothing more than “the Top 10 things wrong with battle rap.”
“If you can’t tell them Party Arty first round vs. Mook,–Then you– can’t talk with us.”
Still, Top 10 laughed it off, stating he was lyrically sparring with “a broke Harlem n****” who’s never been “Paid in Full.” Adding to this, “another n**** on #RBE tryna’ act like he Spanish, I guess I’ma’ have to drop Jimz on em.” This battle was a great back and forth, just enough to get the fans worked up for the main course battles.
B. Dot vs Swave Sevah
As B. Dot and Swave Sevah took the stage, the livestream caught attention from big names like The Game, Jadakiss, Wyclef and The Money Team. Dave East even posted on his Instagram that the battle was getting started. The RBE team went all the way in with promotion.
B. Dot was “pro-blacking but still toe tagging” with bars that were as soul-shaking with lyrical dexterity, reminding us of a young Lux. But the Lux comparison bothered Swave none. He basically opened up, knocking at B. Dot’s greatest asset. Swave hit him with that “didn’t come here to out rap this rapitty-rap ass n****” and the crowd erupted. Swave did not let up, suggesting B. Dot aimed to profit from the death of Micheal Brown. The back and forth was a respectable style clash, but many in the crowd gave it to the Harlem legend.
Head Ice vs. King Los
Speaking of Harlem legends, Head Ice made his return standing tall against former Bad Boy artist, King Los. We just need to say right here that KING LOS is a special kind of rapper! Arsonal voiced his support for Los throughout the battle and Los encouraged viewers to take a google timeout because he “already previously pre-calculated the possible possibility that 65 percent of you n**** wouldn’t get this shit.” But even with King Los coming to desecrate, Head Ice wasn’t playing games. The KOTD champ might not have taken home the victory, but he definitely did not lose.
Murda Mook vs. Aye Verb
Fans appreciated not having to wait all night to see the main event. The two vets took the stage and it was popping. Dramatic. Energetic. Tense. Immediately, you could feel the atmosphere change as Mook tied his silky du-rag on tight. Verb was ready for the fight, and he responded to Mook’s entrance by throwing his own du-rag into the crowd. Both men brought out their aggression. Steering the tempo, bar-for-bar it was a dogfight all the way through. Mook planned to serve up vegan Verb hibachi style and RBE catered the plate. But the meal was simply not that easy. At times it looked like the vegan made a “mis-steak” as the crowd called him out for his emotional reactions. At other times, you could hear the crowd screaming “3-0” as early as the second round. While people are swearing that their contender killed one over the other, this was a truly a debatable battle. Aye Verb was cooking and Mook with a 22 minute 3rd round was engaging in surgery. The real winner is the culture!
Check out how Murda Mook showed love to The Source.
Iron Solomon vs. Bigg K
Iron Solomon and Bigg K kept the energy high. But this grudge match was spiked even at the URL inspired press release. The Source asked the two “what frightened them most about their opponents” and each of their responses nodded to their Rare Breeds performance. Bigg K responded that he was most frightened by Solomon was a Jew and Solomon’s retort was that K was from Virginia. Solomon broke the ice in his first round by opening with a joke, “It’s would be super awkward at the next Illuminati meeting.” No matter how great he did, he proclaimed K as “the white hood’s favorite” because every round was K, K,K,–You get the hang of it. Yet Solomon wanted to “break down Ku Klux, and take K out” so he could get you, Lux. The name drop struck a chord with the crowd considering Lux was amongst them.
Danny Myers vs. Pat Stay
The self-proclaimed Bar God, Danny Myers came to school Pat Stay but Pat made it clear that you can’t beat him with bars. He is too charismatic and funny. The fans enjoyed another bar-for-bar exchange. This was one of the most extraordinary style clashes ever. The in-house crowd and those watching on pay per view were just as open on the West Coast fire-spitter as they were for the comical (yet still very bar heavy) Nova Scotian. Another win for the culture.
Big T vs. Ill Will
Closing out the show was Big T vs Ill Will. T might love grooving to gun sounds but Ill Will favors what they do to people. And just like that… Ill Will tried to make Mr. Shalakaboom seem small on stage. But he did not. Instead, he allowed the crowd to see flickers of what has kept the vet in the game for so long. Big T tried to show up Ill Will, but it did not seem to work. Ill Will was the victor and continued to keep people on notice that he is not about to take any shorts.
All things considered, #RBE Rare Breeds 2018 was a classic. Check out our exclusive photos from the epic night courtesy of Jose “Dozey” Polanco.
