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Cassidy Ain’t Going Nowhere … Thanks to Rare Breed Entertainment The Philly Hustler Reclaims Respect in Battle Rap

By: Kershaw St. JawnsonCategory: News

Even though Hitman Holla won the battle, Philly legend is the talk of the town.

Rare Breed Entertainment bounced off April with their Max Out card continuing “brick by brick” to build the battle rap franchise’s cache.

Star-studded and highly anticipated, the event was not only the premiere of former Jive recording artist Cassidy on the league but was the first big room event since the 2020 coronavirus global pandemic brought the industry to a halt.

1SKS

 

The event started with the 1SKs featuring two one-round battles from Jay Breed VA vs Delvo and Super Black vs. Jay Lopez.

Jay Breed might be a small stick of dynamite, but when he gets lit — he is combustive. His energy and wordplay felt more seasoned than his diminutive resume reflects. While he ascended as the victor to Houston-backed Delvo, he did not totally body him. It was bad but nobody. Delvo performed well and deserves another look.

The next one-rounder was with Super Black and Jay Lopez. Lopez, who had recently suffered from a car collision (which stopped him from attending the press conference/ face-off), did not come to play any games.

The Milwaukee spit-kicker was the underdog as battle rap is usually character and personality-driven and his opponent has plenty of those makings. Also, Super Black is a vet and was expected to do what he is known to do: cook.

But that was not the case. The crowd not only was distracted but was not interested. Lopez took the win.

Black Compass Media analyst Tony Bro commented on the battle noting that the talent was exceptional and dubbing Jay Bread as one of them one’s to watch. He posted on Twitter, “Both were dope to me. They was treating this like the smoke break battle man smh. Jay Breed the 1SK MVP tho, he made me a fan today.”

https://twitter.com/Tony72067861/status/1378414707271376896?s=20

ROSENBERG RAW VS. SHOWOUT

 

Rosenberg Raw Showout

Brooklyn’s Showout needed to prove his value to the culture during the Max Out event. His expressed interest was to embarrass his opponent, showing him why his career has been a bunch of hype. However, those plans were stopped short and Rosenberg Raw. Dressed in an all-red Phillies’ baseball jersey, he meticulously unpacked his Show’s character with humor and crowd-pleasers. The driving narrative of Raw’s performance was to poke fun at his reported sexuality and his former friendship with disgraced battle rapper, Adhi Boom.

The crowd seemed to hate Show by the end, and it impacted him greatly. He basically gave up and handed the well-deserved win to Raw. 3-0 The Philly Buhl.

ILL WILL VS. A WARD

 

This battle was fire. FIIIIIYYYYAAAAHHH and indeed the battle of the night (possibly a contender for the best ones of the year).

Ill Will came out the gate with straight attacks on A Ward’s race, religion, and his engagement with Blackness as a white Christian battle rapper. Without ever doing too much, Ill Will has the charm and talent to pull off just about any and everything that he puts his mind to. Getting A Ward up out of here was his objective.

However, A Ward ain’t no slouch. #TheChristiansAreHere

Just as much as the crowd loved Ill Will, they loved A Ward. Going second is dangerous for either one of these freestyle masters because of the power of rebuttals. And the Christian took full advantage of this. Blasting off his first-round with “off the domes” left and right.

But as mentioned previously, Ill Will has the same superpowers. He came back rebuttaling (four if we counting) and reminded the world (that’s been streaming battles for over 10 months) what it feels like to be in the room.

HE WAS ROCKING THE AUDIENCE LIKE A BREASTFEEDING MOTHER ROCKS HER NEW CHILD TO SLEEP.

The two were 1-1 going into the third. And this is where the Pontiac rapper took his foot off the gear a little. That doesn’t mean his material and delivery were not exceptional — of course, they were … it is Ill “MuthaFlucking” Will, but he stopped short. His third-round just was not as competitive as he was in either one or two. A Ward took advantage of this and made magic happen. He took this win with a solid 2-1 (but there is no debate if someone gives it to Ill Will). #CLASSIC

JAG vs. O-RED

When Jag was announced against O-Red, many saw this as a straight mismatch. But considering how the crowd let loose their boos, the “many” were right. They both were not great. If there is a winner, Jag maybe 2-1.

Many believe that it should not have been this close. O-Red was the first Champion of the Year just four titles ago. But the Jersey artist seemed unmotivated and discouraged once the crowd turned on him. Jag on the other hand came with the purpose of establishing himself within the modern era of battle rap. While he has definitely progressed since his Math battle, he is still not quite there.

Regardless of the bountiful levels of disrespect he crafts in his bars, Jag has to learn that levels are needed. Being able to rap is not enough when you are dealing with this level of performance. He has to find his own key to success in this space. Still, a victory over O-Red is a feather in his cap, even if he was not the O-Red that people usually tremble in front of.

BIGG K VS. CLONE

 

Originally, Bigg K was scheduled to battle Serius Jones but due to unfortunate circumstances, he was unable to partake in one of the biggest cards of the new year.

Luckily, the minds of Rare Breed Entertainment were able to secure another talent with only sevens days to go until the battle. The team tapped Bullpen battle league gunner, Clone to replace the vet. Clone versus Bigg K seemed to be a better battle.

And it was a good match-up. The junior emcee was able to sharpen his steel against one of RBE’s biggest stars. And Bigg K challenged the young buhl (or bull’s) pen, stepping it up. But unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough.

Bigg K, the anti-star, is a fan favorite and came to get busy. The Dawg is the top dog in the house that blood, sweat, and tears built. And he that for good reason — he takes everyone regardless of tier with the same level of aloof disregard that makes his opponents either feel disrespected or really insecure.

Bigg K took this with a 2-1 (possible 3-0), but it is important to note how well Clone did.

CASSIDY VS. HITMAN HOLLA

 

The main event of the night was Cassidy vs. Hitman Holla. Both artists have succeeded far beyond the typical battle rapper’s scope. It is out of this well of exceptional talent that this battle yielded attention from celebrities and commercial rap fans.

Hitman brought out his Brotherhood frats who were sprinkled throughout the venue. John John da Don took center stage with his best friend. K-Shine did a tribute to DMX. X-Factor and Tsu Surf were in the cut. Battle rap’s elite came out to support one of its own.

Cassidy might as well have rung out a Morrone’s truck single, popped out some freshly baked soft pretzels, cracked the Liberty Bell, and wrapped all that up in a chicken cheesesteak … for all throughout the club were Philly representatives rooting for their city’s son.

This battle will be debated.

Cassidy showed just why he went to Central High — he listened and learned new tips on how to update his style and craft rhymes for the crowd versus himself. BARS are back. While still a little long-winded, he was more than prepared.

Hitman definitely was prepared also. He was entertaining and demonstrated why he is in such high demand. His BET show and Wild ‘N Out acclaim could’ve had him “too Hollywood” to rock the crowd. But it didn’t. From his requested remix in round one to his special guests in round three, he emerged as the victor.

The rapper did fail to remove the “Hotel” chart-topper in some people’s eyes.

He was supposed to get Cass out of there. Instead, he let the “Hustler” get (or appear to get) a round on him in the first.

He is after all a commercial rapper, coming back to the sport after it got lit. Right? That would be wrong reasoning. One can tell that Cass loves the culture. He loves the rush of competition and seems to be on a crash course to getting a legitimate and resounding victory.

In our opinion, the second and the third went to Hitman, but there will surely be a lot of fans that will side with Cass based on preference. But with that 1-1 going into the 3rd and then ShowwOutt’s anticipated appearance and Nick Cannon surprise pop-out, it is hard not to give the former basketball player the W.

He was good and should rightly be proud of his performance. He definitely reminded us that he was a star. Check out how other battlers chimed in.

https://twitter.com/AllThingsBattle/status/1378521541479178244?s=20

https://twitter.com/AllThingsBattle/status/1378528452068978688?s=20

Rare Breed Entertainment can also take a bow. The Max Out card marks the official return of the big room and this league ushered it in like true thought and cultural leaders. BRAVO.